I joined the church in my 50’s. A stake leader introduced me to a single man also in his 50’s and 6 months later we were married in the temple. Three weeks later I found out that he took the innocence of a 7 or 8 year old girl and that he was convicted of attempting to rape a 13 or 14 year old girl a year before that. He confessed to the stake president, branch president, and a stake mental health professional. Nothing happened. His mother was terminally ill and I agreed to stay married until she passed. She passed 2 months later and I filed for divorce. I moved to Denver. At the new ward, I talked to the bishop about what happened and he showed me a book that handled sexual offences and the reasoning was good. The next week I was contacted by the bishop and was told my temple recommend was removed and I needed to repent for lying about my soon to be xhusb and confess to lying. NOT. Since I refused, I received a call from the RS president who also asked me to repent. NOT. I was shunned and treated like a convict. I retired and decided to see the country. I moved to NM and a repeat of Denver. I moved closer to family in Mesa AZ, repeat of Denver. I had been shunned, had VTs refused to come to my home, HT who asked me to repent every month, and treated me like scum. All this for trying to protect young girls from losing their innocence. So I decided to go back to the original stake president and get answers. After being shunned by another ward, I waited for the meeting. He was one hour late, obviously hoping I would leave. He said, “There was a meeting for my x and he was given the option to confess and turn himself into the police and take whatever punishment by law and be excommunicated or say it did not happen.” Like a good molester he said it did not happen. Therefore, I was a liar and problem maker. This explained what happened in the past. I was told that if I did not stop telling what happened, and shut up immediately I would regret consequences. The consequences were never stated. I was also told they put him over the primary to prove I lied. So I walked away from the church. That was almost ten years ago.

In March 2010 I went to visit an old friend in the hospital. She helped me deal with the situation a decade before. She said she was excommunicated and when I asked why she said because she told the truth. She said she was offered to lie and then everything would be dropped and she would keep her temple recommend or tell the truth and be excommunicated. She told the truth. We were reading Isaiah 5:20 which gave me peace after my ordeal and we both had an aha moment.
The church was run by Satan. Yes it is true. The church was not what it claimed. If you told the truth you were excommunicated. If you tried to stop young girls from being molested you were shunned and threatened. But if you lied you were an upstanding member in the church and allowed the honor of going into the temple. The church proved that lies and molestation is good, and truth is evil. It was in the Bible and the BOM (one of the Nephi’s is almost word for word to the book of Isaiah). We both laughed and cried together knowing we were given the greatest blessing of all; being throwaways of the LDS church. My friend died 3 weeks later but I was glad we had the moment together. In July or August of 2010 I put my ex’s name in an internet search and it came up on a sex offenders list. After looking, I found out he was convicted of two counts of taking the innocence of children. I called the police where it happened. One was the child I tried to protect and other happened after I left the church. I don’t know who the other was and did not care. He was sent to prison and will remain a sex offender for 15 years. Who knows he probably still has his recommend.

I found peace knowing he was convicted but sad that another child (probably more) was destroyed by his actions and the church condoned it.

I never missed the church; I guess all the TBMs who shunned me and treated me like crap took care of that and I feel each and every one of them is as responsible for the second child losing her innocence as my ex. I am glad I found this forum so I could get my name removed.

I sent the email and got the first Dodge letter in December. I sent a second email 1.5 weeks ago and told them if I did not get a letter confirming my name was removed in two weeks I would take legal action and notify the press. On March 1 if I have not received the final Dodge letter I will follow through with a lawsuit and let everyone know why. Perhaps a lawsuit will bring justice to others that have been wronged by the church. You would think they would send me a letter asap and be done with me since I tell the truth. Only time will tell.

I am sorry that you went through all that pain. It must've been a very hard thing to endure.


Never crtitcize the leaders even if it is true.
The reason for this is that to have their misdeeds exposed limits their influence in the "kingdom" of who the mormons call "God".

I seem to recall some scriptures saying that Satan is the father of lies and that God cannot lie and will cast out those who do lie. But the church will lie at all times and in all places in order to further its goals and to protect itself from repurcussion.

It lies about its history, about its scriptures and its policies and doctrines. And people like you are expendable.

Amen to every single word JoD3:360 writes here. It is smack dab right on the truth of why all of that happened to you. I could not agree more, and am so very sorry you had to endure it all.

At least you are free at last, well almost. Some of us pay a huge price for that freedom, and late in life even, I left 4 years ago at age 56, but still it was so very worth it. I would do it all over again.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/18/2011 04:52PM by think4u.

Amazing. I wonder if the family of the 2nd child victim, the child victimized AFTER you had tried so hard to out this perp, would be interested in your story??

That is so true. In this case I would slap a lawsuit on the church so fast it would make their heads spin. Even if I couldn't win, then just to expose the fact that they put a known child molester in primary. Absolutely sick.

I'm sorry for what you've gone through.

I totally agree.

Agree totally.

There were enough people who knew about it in the stake. I was not quiet but I did not announce it either. I do not know if the second victim was in the church or a neighbor or a relative. I do not know and of course the police could not give out the name of the minor. I gave the name to the police and the officer confirmed that was one of them and the officer said he went to state prison.

I thought of backing up over him with my car since I was in my 50's then and could claim a senior moment but never had the opportunity. But who is worse, the perp or all those who enabled him?

As an adult survivor, I can tell you that now I'm more angry with the people who knew and didn't stop it than the perp himself.

Great story, and good luck with the resignation. Let us know.

PLP,

My resignation is complete. Mr. Dodge accepted my letter of immediate resignation and sent the first letter asking me to return. This proves the resignation is complete. All I am fighting now is to get my name removed from all records. The baptism, endowment, and sealings must all be removed and I will fight legally to complete that if the church wants it that way.

I am sad you had to go through that. I am angry because this is one of many similar stories I know, and unfortunantly personally experienced. People in the church calling me a liar or that I remembered wrong. I'll never get over it. People calling my friend a liar becuase the bishop would never do that. Right. She'll never get over it either. I'm angry that family members are still tbm after what they know church put us through.

I don't know why the denial. I don't why the enabling and endangering other children. I just don't know. I do know that this would not happen with this type of regularity in a true church of God.

Unfortunantly though, this is not unique to the mormon church. This happens in other churches also. People will defend their power and to hell with others. I don't believe in churches of God. I don't believe in God.

"I don't believe in churches of God. I don't believe in God."

And I bet you're happy with your life unlike everyone else says. Right?