I just heard of this guy Tim Ballard.

My TBM DW went to a women's conference and he was a keynote speaker. Apparently he had all the ladies in a swoon over his manly exploits in rescuing sex slaves in 3rd world countries.

It seems he was a just another happily employed melchizedek priesthood holder in the CIA when God called him (by means of a voice in the temple of course) to save children from sex slavery. He sacrificed all to save the children and has rescued several of them. It sounds like a very noble work, and he has appeared in the cover of LDS living, the Glenn Beck show, and other articles for his heroic deeds.

So why do I smell a rat? Is it his "calling" by God? Is it the way he raises money from wealthy donors and seems to spend it on what amount to glory trips that are well-publicized? Is it that I am jealous that my wife finds him the world's most holy human? Is it because I can't stand Glenn Beck? Is it this creepy and phony picture that could have come right off of a TSCC video:

https://ourrescue.org/images/home-splash.jpg

Does anyone know if he has done any real good through his organization or if it is another way to bilk wealthy donors into feel-good projects that have a low return on their investment?

This article came up as I searched:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anne-gallagher/chasing-the-slave-traders_b_7913104.html

It seems that not everyone is enamored with his methods. The conclusion of the article:

"...the task of eliminating human trafficking is not amendable to such an approach. It requires hard work; a tolerance for incremental, sometimes almost imperceptible success; and an unwavering commitment to justice and the rule of law. Bollard's operations say much about the man: they are arrogant, unethical and illegal."

This could be mere sour grapes from Huffpost, but I'm telling you this whole thing feels a little suspicious...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/16/2015 02:52PM by generationofvipers.

Although many will vehemently disagree with the following:

- not all sex workers are sex slaves
- not all sex workers are coerced into their profession
- not all sex workers are underage
- not all sex workers find their profession disagreeable or disgusting
- not all sex workers are addle-brained drug-addicts

So riddle me this batman: How is sex-slave-champion Tim Ballard sorting through the above criteria, and only "saving" those who are in actual need of "saving"?

On this one, I agree with the principal points of the HuffPost article...

...and I ALSO agree with schlock, in the post above (his points are spot on).

From the various facts given in the HuffPost article, this whole thing smells of out-and-out fraud (which is the most probable), down to (with the most benign analysis) outright stupidity and ignorance.

This is just another (very welcome!!!) income stream for crooked government officials and "police" (etc.) in poorer countries...AND for the people behind the scenes in Tim Ballard's organization---just another way to convert non-taxed income into personal assets for the principals involved.

There is a HUGE problem with sex slaves and sex slave trading on the planet now (because transportation and communication between countries and continents is SO EASY!!!), but this organization is not about the REAL problem which exists...

...it is (evidently) about a p.r. story which will generate income and a platform [p.r. presence] for yet MORE income (and, perhaps, political influence, or increased political influence, in at least a few important places, like North America)...

Smells like a rat?

Actually it smells more like a shipload of rotting fish to ME.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/16/2015 03:18PM by tevai.

If this guy is combining religion/speaking tours to polish his ego and bank account, he is a fraud. If he is helping children, there are concrete, less grandiose ways to help them.

Paul Dunn, Glen Beck, Mormon MLMs... Your wife needs to examine the topic instead of believing everything this guy says. He can easily hide/launder contributions.

Yeah the smell of rat is strong.... lets all keep an eye on

this creep. He's way into self agrandizment and ghawd knows

what else.

The wonderful and humble people I've heard of are not like

this guy.... they are so into their causes that they don't

have the time or the desire to stand in front of an audience

and pat himself on the back. He just sounds really really

creepy to me.

Yup. Reeeealllly creepy.

;o)

I found him in a Mormon kitsch video. I thought, "God these people look awful, sound stupid, etc. etc."

Tell me this shit ain't stupid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90OThOa59cI

I looked up his name, and he was the author of a book that my co-worker was touting and trying to get me to read. A book about Abraham Lincoln reading the BOM then deciding that he wanted to free the slaves. Oh brother.

This guys seems uber slimy.

An ironic coincidence by another Tim Ballard. "Young Girls are My Weakness": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucmSNjkusX8

Wait, this guy wrote the Abe-Lincoln-Freed-the-slaves-because-of-the-Book-of-Mormon book?!

Probably the stupidest thesis I have ever heard.

It's like Einstein came up with relativity because someone dropped off JW literature on his doorstep the month before.

What a douche.

generationofvipers Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Wait, this guy wrote the
> Abe-Lincoln-Freed-the-slaves-because-of-the-Book-o
> f-Mormon book?!
>
> Probably the stupidest thesis I have ever heard.

Well, how does that compare with Joseph Smith ultimately being personally responsible for the Apollo 11 manned Lunar landing ? There is not a book about that notion (yet), that I am aware of, but it really is an existing MORmON concept / idea / thesis.

William Law Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Tell me this shit ain't stupid:
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90OThOa59cI


The signs and tokens of Masonic Ritual as incorporated into the MORmON temple ceremony are definitely anti Christian as in anti Catholic as in anti Christian. That does not make them Satanic as the Catholic church/ Christianity has so successfully suggested to so many.

The Masonic Order is often labeled as Satanic in nature by Christians. It is not Satanic. In fact the Masonic Order is actually a pretty benevolent group which encourages it members to inspect ideas, to try to come to fundamentally sound conclusions, to do better every day, AND it allows them the TIME and the latitude to develop personally, INSTEAD of just ramming its dictates and doctrines down the throats of people which turns people into subjects instead of allowing them to be *fellows* in the journey through life.

Its the other (religious) orders (Christianity) that goes around doing stuff like burning libraries and forcing people to comply or be killed, and demanding instant spiritual conversions.
The throat slashing in the Masonic Ritual is not an advocation of killing people who can not conform, It is a vivid reminder of what "THE" (catholic) church is going to do to dissenters and to those discovered outside of officially accepted church (Christian) doctrine............ EXACTLY THE SAME AS HOW THE LABAN SITUATION WAS HANDLED IN THE BOOK OF MORmON...... as well as a reminder that Christ NEVER had His own throat cut which calls into question the supposed miracle of THE resurrection.

"these are the signs and tokens" presented to the initiate, then they are left to draw their own conclusions, NOT coerced into something at the threat of losing of their life, at least not until Joe Smith was done messing up the deal.

The Masonic Order was an attempt to live an intellectually authentic life with in the stifling ideological confines of Christianity / the second coming of the Roman empire known as Catholicism which would kill a person if they did not conform.

Masonic ideals are what gave freedom of religion to America, NOT Christianity. IF CHristianity was in charged then there would be no freedom and NO choice in the matter beyond conform or die.

If a person wants to find Satan, then the best place to look is where he came from, which is from inside "THE" church.
IN MORmONISM, Satan is even originally found in the MORmON pre mortal existence heaven.

It IS the apex of stupidity/ irony that MORmONISM has anti Christian symbolism incorporated into its highest form of supposed Christian worship in its Hell house MORmON temples, and that Masonic symbolism, so contrary to its original intended purpose of enlightenment, is used to intimidate people into conforming and complying to THE ideals of THE (MORmON) church.

The idiot MORmON apologists can spend forever talking and MORmON style "explaniating" but the Masonic ritual and Judaic temple ritual and Christianity never do come together except at odds.
The more that MORmON apologists delve into the issue, then the more it will ONLY make things MORE MESSY and MORE UGLY for Joe Smith's shoddy rip off of EVIL (Satanic) Christianity, the fraud of MORmONISM.

Keep it up, MORmONS !!!!!

I wonder if he's like the preacher in the short-live series "8 Minutes:"
http://www.buzzfeed.com/arianelange/8-minutes-identities-resources#.pbgQAxzyy
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/style-blog/wp/2015/05/05/ae-pulls-heavily-criticized-show-8-minutes-which-claimed-to-help-sex-workers-leave-the-trade/

I agree with schlock that there a many sex workers that are not the stereotype often portrayed in crime shows, BUT....

Sex trafficking is much, much more common than most realize. It takes place in neighborhoods, strip clubs, cities with a lot of road traffic (think Grand Junction) and border towns. Massage parlors are probably the worst- Not too long ago an anon poster bragged about his happy ending in a massage parlor, but what he didn't realize (or even consider) was that the "employee" was very likely lured into the country under the pretenses of a good job, then forced into sex work. It's modern day indentured servitude. The internet and the darknet made sex (and just regular human) trafficking a booming business. Because of the taboos placed on the victims, they're often overlooked and blamed for being in a life they didn't choose. These victims might have criminal records that bar them from gaining decent employment or if they happen to be transgender, they may have no other choice but to work in the sex industry to simply survive.

I have no problem with legalized prostitution or other sex work and have friends once in the trade, BUT, and it's a big but, they were very damaged by what they went through and it's a difficult life to escape. They've been beaten, raped, held down and forced to take hard drugs, and/or turned out at young ages.

So while strip clubs, happy endings, and escorts sound like harmless fun, consider the possibility of what you may be encouraging and paying for; It's never a bad idea to take a critical look at the ugly world of these services.

https://www.polarisproject.org/take-action/365-days
http://www.traffickingresourcecenter.org/sex-trafficking-venuesindustries/hostessstrip-club-based
http://www.humantrafficking.org/combat_trafficking
http://amyshouseforgirls.org/faqs/
http://www.pcar.org/sites/default/files/resource-pdfs/human_trafficking_at_massage_parlors_brochure_final.pdf



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/16/2015 08:14PM by Itzpapalotl.

That picture of him with the kid looks like porn. What a disingenuous bastard to show himself pretending to be Jesus in his own promo materials. Another low-class Mo money maker.

He might have started his crusade for the "right" reasons, but a voice in the temple is almost always NOT the reason to do things. That is how people convince themselves to join doTERRA and they will make a million, or to join Julie Rowe and sell all their 401K out.

Whatever he thinks of his reasons, he now seems to be attention-seeking and peddling himself as a hero.

Sorry, not impressed.

People trying to scam others out of money, cars, phones, services etc etc to help victims of human trafficking are popping up all over Utah. Look into Rockstarr Ministries and Founder Laurin Crosson, another scam.

I actually know Laurin Crossin IRL and have heard some sketchy things about Rockstarr Ministries. IDK what to think, because I don't live in Provo at this time. Would you mind elaborating what you think is going on?

Why isn't anything being done regarding Laurie Crosson. She's a con artist and mentally ill. She preys on the generosity of other with a fake story. She has NEVER EVER been trafficked.

Laurie Crosson is her real name. Its a shame that this woman is scamming people with her lies. She has never ever been in a sex slave situation. She's mentally ill. She did not lose her kids to trafficing. The fathers took them because of her own actions. She's a scam artist. BEWARE

What's he doing about 18 and 19 year old men being exploited to sell bogus religions?

Good grief! What a hypocrite!

Shallow and largely ineffectual humanitarian gestures are VERY Mormon.

What he's doing is the equivalent of busting street corner drug dealers and thinking he's actually solving the world's drug problems.