The LDS Church is a wonderful place to worship, serve and love others. Over the years, I have associated with thousands of people who are good, caring individuals, committed to loving the Lord and blessing the lives of others. After a recent difficult surgery, ward members brought countless meals, visited me and cheered me. The church can be a peaceful place where we can worship God and transform our lives so that we become more like him.
In any group or neighborhood, there are some folks who pretend to be good but are wolves in sheep’s clothing. Sexual predators can be found in most institutions—and the church is not an exception. In fact, the church is attractive to abusers because it is so easy for them to hide their abuse.
As the #MeToo movement has exploded, more women are coming forward and sharing their accounts of being sexually harassed or molested in the workplace. Now the LDS Church needs to step forward and acknowledge that they, too, have a problem with sexual violence being covered up. They can no longer continue to ignore the problem or to silence victims.
Perhaps church leaders disregard the pleas of survivors because:
• They assume that all leaders are righteous and are called of God.
• They want members to trust them and to trust those whom they call to serve in priesthood positions.
• They refuse to acknowledge that some whom they have called are perpetrators.
• They assume that local leadership is monitoring and removing perpetrators from positions where they can abuse others.
• They believe that women who report abuse by ecclesiastical leaders and others are lying or exaggerating.
None of these assumptions are true. Not every leader is called of God and deserves the trust and confidence of the people they serve. Local leaders are not effectively monitoring or removing perpetrators from positions where they can harm others, and almost all who report abuse are truthful. Few tell how terrible the abuse was or how significantly it impacted their lives. It takes great courage to step forward and report abuse.
When church leaders side with perpetrators, they send a message to their congregations and to the neighbors and friends of survivors that victims cannot be trusted or believed. They shun and silence survivors, which further abuses them. They also send a message to the law enforcement authorities that the victim’s account is false.
We urge the leaders of the LDS Church to follow the example of Jesus. He loved those who suffered. He spoke out forcefully against evil. He healed the broken hearted. We know that when the Church develops a genuine zero-tolerance policy regarding sexual and physical abuse, it will attract more members and will be a beacon of light and hope for people throughout the world. We pray that our leaders will take the necessary steps to do so.
“That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness… but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man.” D&C 121: 36-37