tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post3587282237282927857..comments2023-11-02T07:25:45.884-05:00Comments on Mormanity - a blog for those interested in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: My Take on the Joseph L. Bishop Scandal, and Steps We Can Take to Better Help Victims and Reduce the Threat of Abuse in the ChurchJeff Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08776493593387402607noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post-72870205347272036552018-03-27T21:34:31.488-05:002018-03-27T21:34:31.488-05:00https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2018/03/27/i...https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2018/03/27/instructor-mormon-church-mckinney-sexually-assaulted-children-years-police-sayAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post-1818088503471978162018-03-26T16:46:14.507-05:002018-03-26T16:46:14.507-05:00It's not just Bishop: https://archives.sfweek...It's not just Bishop: https://archives.sfweekly.com/sanfrancisco/the-fairfield-wives/Content?oid=2135525&showFullText=trueAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post-51495683969038116312018-03-26T13:57:21.149-05:002018-03-26T13:57:21.149-05:00The MTC basement room, with a bed and VCR, was con...The MTC basement room, with a bed and VCR, was confirmed by a former employee who was there at that time. Her account was accurate. Regardless of her background, we are still left with Bishop's own words. His only defense is that he is completely incompetent, to the point he gave false information on two separate occasions at two different times. That doesn't work well when he appears to be doing quite well living on his own.<br /><br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post-83196382685647298192018-03-26T09:52:13.318-05:002018-03-26T09:52:13.318-05:00Jeff, thanks for the thoughtful post. I particular...Jeff, thanks for the thoughtful post. I particularly appreciated the clarifying statement you suggested when callings are issued. <br /><br />What do you make of this statement from President Eyring in the October 2017 General Conference:<br /><br />“...the Lord’s leadership of His Church requires great and steady faith from all who serve Him on earth. For instance, it takes faith to believe that the resurrected Lord is watching over the daily details of His kingdom. It takes faith to believe that He calls imperfect people into positions of trust. It takes faith to believe that He knows the people He calls perfectly, both their capacities and their potential, and so makes no mistakes in His calls.”<br /><br />I mean no disrespect to President Eyring, but I struggle with the absolutist language that he used (“no mistakes”). What you said about the way callings are issued — affirming that leaders “try to seek revelation when making callings” but acknowledging that they “don't always get things right and don't always know what needs to be known” — seems much closer to my actual lived experience.<br />Tom Hardmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10690631355587579601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post-14760337244902813882018-03-26T07:26:15.383-05:002018-03-26T07:26:15.383-05:00There are many reasons why victims might wait year...There are many reasons why victims might wait years to tell their story. They may feel threatened. They may wish to protect someone who would be hurt with a prompt report. They may feel responsible and guilty for someone else's sin and need time to understand what to do. They may not yet understand that others need to be protected by taking action against the perpetrator. They may be mentally devastated and unwilling to talk to others about it. They may fear the pain of being interviewed and grilled by skeptical police and attorneys for the perpetrator. <br /><br />But in this case, SHE DID NOT WAIT. Very soon after the devastating attack, she reported the crime. She has been telling her story for 30 years -- and like many young victims of trusted, well-connected, highly respected prominent elites in any society, the accusations from a troubled young stranger were not taken seriously. A very frank report from one of the first to hear her accusations comes from her former bishop in a single adults ward, Ron Leavitt. Though I sorrow that he did not see the need for action, I applaud him for his forthright admission, from which we can readily understand the kind of thing that the victim probably faced many times -- until she finally took matters in her own hands with a gutsy encounter and an audio recording. Here is an excerpt from the KUTV News story, "<a href="http://kutv.com/news/local/woman-who-accused-mtc-president-of-sexual-assault-has-been-telling-her-story-for-3-decades" rel="nofollow">Woman who accused MTC president of sexual assault has been telling her story for 3 decades</a>":<br /><i>When you ask the former bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints, Ron Leavitt, about the recent allegations against former MTC mission president, he says he remembers them vividly.<br /><br />“Oh heavens yes,” Leavitt said as he recalls what he was told in 1984.<br /><br />Leavitt was a single ward president from 1979 to 1985 and said during his regular post-church meetings with parishioners, a woman told him that Joseph Bishop, a former president of the Missionary Training Center, had acted inappropriately with her.<br /><br />“According to her he took (her) and I think another sister missionary down to the basement and showed them some pornography,” Leavitt explained.<br /><br />When asked if he reported the incident to the police or the leadership of the LDS Church Leavitt said he did not. “I didn't think it had much credence. I wasn't going to risk sullying the reputation of someone based on that kind of a report,” Leavitt said.</i>Jeff Lindsayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08776493593387402607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post-48104429786780228562018-03-25T22:48:46.845-05:002018-03-25T22:48:46.845-05:00A few things that came to mind when I heard this:
...A few things that came to mind when I heard this:<br /><br />1. I'm pretty sure there is no basement at the old MTC building near the administrative offices. Having said that, many building of this sort have a "tunnel" running under the hallways, etc., for utilities access, etc. Is there an entry to that tunnel system in or near the president's office? If not, what is she talking about? (Correction: I just read that Bishop "had" a room—with a bed "in the basement!" If true, it would almost have to be in those utility tunnels (kinda creepy). Without further confirmation, for me, the "jury's still out" on this one...) <br /><br />2. The lagging time is a <i>little</i> suspicious, but given the horrific nature of the alleged crime, it doesn't strain credibility that the supposed victim might have waited for some reason (fear? guilt? suppressed memory?)<br /><br />3. For me, another important issue would be to know when, how, and why lawyers got involved. Did their influence precede or follow the decision to make it public or pursue it? For example, did the presumed victim not get satisfactory action to her previous exposure, and so called in lawyers? Or are lawyers driving this? For me, this makes a difference.<br /><br />4. It sounds like Bishop is 85 or 86; Is he of sound mind? I have known elderly people who are just as prone to being led on by "suggestion"—to say things they don't mean—as children. To me, the existence of a recording does not automatically suggest guilt, any more that the time lag suggests innocence. In fact, from what I've heard (I haven't looked at places on the internet that proclaim to be transcripts), it sounds kinda fuzzy and contradictory—which is possible from either someone trying to soft-pedal the truth OR from someone who is unclear in his thinking.<br /><br />I say all these thing NOT to side with one or the other on this issue, but to suggest caution in avoiding judgement until all the facts are really known. There is way WAY too much that is unclear to me.<br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post-56091660376326203312018-03-25T21:14:32.464-05:002018-03-25T21:14:32.464-05:00The more I learn about this case the more it looks...The more I learn about this case the more it looks like a giant Rorschach Ink Blot. Everyone seems to get something different out of it, and how they perceive it depends heavily on preconceptions they bring to the matter.<br /><br />To some it is evidence of a systematic cancer in the church. To others it is an attack on the church by bad actors. Some unquestionably believe the woman, while others seek to discredit her in any way possible. Some view it as proof that the church is only interested in protecting its financial assets, while others view it as the moral failing of a single man. Some have used this as proof that there is a massive Illuminati type conspiracy where the church controls every aspect of people's lives and the government. While others have used it to grind their ax against church critics. Many have cried "Patriarchy!", or "Systematic abuse!", while others have waded into current politics.<br /><br />I think in all of this people's responses will tell more about them then about what happened.Quantumleap42https://www.blogger.com/profile/16711817313734546305noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post-52923167632104584562018-03-25T18:53:31.411-05:002018-03-25T18:53:31.411-05:00My questions are, why did she wait for so long? If...My questions are, why did she wait for so long? If she was raped why didn't she scream bloody murder at the time? Second, in the USA there is still, I hope, the presumption of innocence until proven guilty in a court of law, right? And finally, can we direct the victim to counsel with Sister Elizabeth Smart about the healing balm of the Atonement of Jesus Christ to be able to get past the hurt and feel whole again? Many, many, in fact almost all adults have been devastated by some kind of hurt that inflicts terrible emotional pain. no one gets through this life without it. She is not alone in feeling hurt, but she hasn't seemed to apply the right medicine to be healed. I feel sorry for her for that alone.Rozy Lasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06019413665136390175noreply@blogger.com