UPDATED::Group sues LDS Church, bishop and other members for allowing alleged sexual abuse | fox13now.com

UPDATE:: Trial against Mormon Church begins

Five men and one woman were selected Thursday morning to hear a case accusing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, otherwise known as the Mormon Church, and local church officials of covering up allegations that Michael Jensen sexually abused several children over a period of more than five years.

UPDATE:: Jury to hear case against Mormon Church, officials

A Berkeley County jury will hear the accusations and evidence against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, otherwise known as the Mormon Church, and local church officials in early January for allegedly covering up allegations that the son of local church officials sexually abused 12 children over the course of more than five years.

Generally I do not post concerning civil cases unless, well,,, reasons.  This is one of those cases.  Lest I need to remind people, child sex crimes are not just a RCC problem and run the gamut of religious belief.  Child sex crimes are not just a religious issue either.  What makes them more egregious is the fact that we hold the "godly" to a different standard; just as we do teachers and EMS personel.

As much as we may hate to admit, children are our future.  How the church (religious) treat our future is telling.  When accusations are poo pooed away as in the following is very telling.

Several John Doe and Jane Doe complainants filed a lawsuit against the LDS Church, and several stake leaders Monday, saying they knowingly allowed an individual who had a history of sexual abuse near underage children.

According to a complaint filed with the Circuit Court of Berkeley County, twelve plaintiffs were suing for damages caused to them from sexual abuse while they were minors by Michael Jensen.

Jensen was sentenced to 35-75 years in prison in 2013 for first-degree sexual assault, after he allegedly abused several minors, while in a position of leadership and counsel to young church members.

In essence, according to the suit, after receiving the information, church elders did not inform the authorities and continued to allow Jensen around children who were also victimized.

Group sues LDS Church, bishop and other members for allowing alleged sexual abuse | fox13now.com

Misleading Mormons: Voices of False Hope | The Bilerico Project

This weekend, North Star International is hosting a conference at the Utah County Convention Center in Provo. It's advertised as an educational event, with "integrity" as one of the core values of the proceedings.

North Star bills itself as an organization providing "community for Latter-Day Saints who experience homosexual attraction or gender incongruence," which is their Victorian way of avoiding the words "gay" or "transgender." Within conversations about Mormon orthodoxy and sex, North Star occupies a lynchpin cultural position. The organization reinforces the belief that LGBTQ people must be treated with conditional love and tightly restricted "acceptance."

Take the story of a 17-year-old woman, posted on North Star's own website. This young, devout Latter-Day Saint read an article in LDS Living magazine about a "mixed-orientation marriage," meaning a marriage in which one spouse is gay and the other spouse is straight. In it, the couple claims their marriage is not based on emotions or hormones, but on their religious belief that one man and one woman are to be partnered in this life in order to fulfill their cosmic obligation.

At the time the young woman read that article, she was struggling to reconcile the fact that she was a lesbian with the religious beliefs and culture she embraced. The article left her in such a state of distress that two days after she read it, she put a gun to her head and ended her life.

The turmoil, self-loathing, and hopelessness required for a person to end their life are too much to bear, but the perverseness of North Star's response to this tragedy is astonishing: they publicly take credit for giving the deceased young woman "hope."


Misleading Mormons: Voices of False Hope | The Bilerico Project