Sixteen years ago this summer, I was still a Mormon, and working in Smithers, a small town of 5,000 people in northern British Columbia. One day, I went into the small Smithers library (for the first time) and started looking around.
After some minutes, I came across a rack of paperback books. As I rotated the rack, looking at the titles, one caught my eye: The Mormon Murders, by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White. I removed the book from the rack, turned it over, and started to read the summary on the back cover:
"On October 15, 1985, two pipe bombs shook the calm of Salt Lake City, Utah, killing two people. The only link - both victims belonged to the Mormon Church. The next day, a third bomb was detonated in the parked car of church-going family man, Mark Hoffman. Incredibly, he survived. It wasn't until authorities questioned the strangely evasive Hoffman that another, more shocking link between the victims emerged...
It was the appearance of an alleged historic document that challenged the very bedrock of Mormon teaching, questioned the legitimacy of its founder, and threatened to disillusion millions of its faithful - unless the Mormon hierarchy buried the evidence.
Drawing on exclusive interviews, The Mormon Murders reconstructs a secret conspiracy of God, greed, and murder that would expose one of the most ingenious con men in the annals of crime - and shake the very foundation of a multibillion-dollar empire to its core."
I had been an 'active' member when news of the 'Salamander Letter' spread through the church, which publicly released its contents in April 1985, two months before I finished my mission.
Seven years later, I remembered the 'Salamander Letter'. "Wasn't Mark Hoffman somehow involved in that document?", I thought. Intrigued, I signed out The Mormon Murders and began to read as I walked back to the motel.
The book revealed to me - a naïve Mormon if there ever was one - 'faith-disrupting' facts like Joseph Smith's fascination with folk magic and his use of amulets and 'seer' stones. The Mormon Murders also mentioned how Smith defrauded people in his Kirtland Bank scheme and other aspects of Mormon history that the LDS Church had not disclosed to me during my formative, mission and young adult years.
The Mormon Murders also provided me with a critical 'piece' of a 'puzzle' that had eluded me for months. The book mentioned one David Sorenson, a successful Mormon businessman from Salt Lake City, who was a mission president in Nova Scotia, Canada in 1985 during the Hoffman scandal.
According to the book, Sorenson was contacted by a Seventy (his name escapes me at the moment - it's in the book) and asked to buy (for a large sum of money) the much-feared McLellin Papers, which Mark Hoffman told senior church leaders he'd found. The plan, which Hinckley - who was effectively acting as church president at the time because of Ezra T. Benson's mental deterioration - was aware of, involved Sorenson discreetly obtaining the McLellin Papers and 'donating' them to the church.
Why the secrecy? Because according to Naifeh and White, Hinckley and other senior GAs wanted to be able to say, if asked, that the church had not bought the McLellin Papers, implying that they were not in the church's possession when in fact they would be.
Why were the McLellin Papers reportedly feared by Hinckley and other GA's? Because in Mormon circles it was rumored that they contained damning facts about Joseph Smith and early church history that if rank-and-file members discovered, would result in an exodus of people from the multi-billion-dollar church, including tithe-payers. Not only official church 'history' had to be protected, but LDS financial interests as well.
************
In the summer of 1991, I attended a picnic held by the members of the ward that I attended irregularly. There I met a very socially awkward young man (18 years old) who had a high-pitched voice and strong (bad) body odor. Initially, I negatively judged him in my mind. However, I found out later that he - his name was Frank - also had cerebral palsy and experienced spasm attacks frequently.
Some weeks after the picnic, I happened to be in the chapel hallway after Sunday meetings when Frank went into a spasm. Two of us helped him down to the floor, removed his glasses, loosened his tie, and made sure that he didn't hit the walls as he thrashed around. I was surprised at the power of his spasms, which eventually subsided. I sat down on the floor next to Frank and began to speak with him. I don't know why, but as I did so I felt strongly that I needed to become his friend. He was nearly 10 years my junior and not the type of person with whom I'd naturally want to strike up a friendship.
For Canadian Thanksgiving that year, I asked my Mormon mother and stepfather if it would be OK if Frank joined us for dinner since he had no family locally. They agreed. After dinner, Frank was speaking with my older sister in the livingroom while I washed dishes in the kitchen. I heard him tell Lynn about a 'special' relationship with a 25-year old Mormon missionary - Elder James Victor - from Orange County, CA that he had when he was 12.
Frank said that he spent a lot of time with Elder Victor on splits and slept over in the missionaries' apartment. He also told Lynn that he sat in Victor's lap in church, which set off an 'alarm' inside me.
I subsequently learned from Frank that his family was very messed-up. His mother, who joined the LDS Church and participated infrequently, was addicted to drugs. Frank's stepfather hated and brutalized him, whipping him with strands of thick wire, crushing him between the washing machine and dryer, and committing others acts of severe abuse.
Over the course of several visits with Frank between late 1991 and 1993, the truth emerged about his relationship with Elder Victor. I took notes in order to prepare a report for the police in the community where Victor and his companion, and Frank and his family had lived.
Like Joseph Smith, Elder James Victor preyed on vulnerable people. For example, after Victor found out that Frank came from an abusive home, he promised Frank not only a bike, but that he would return after his mission and take Frank back to California with him, where he would be safe.
However, as Frank spent more and more time with Elder Victor, the missionary's dark side emerged. One day, on a whim Victor burned Frank on his leg with a heated knife, causing a scar. He also choked Frank, and laughed after doing so. He was a sadistic bully who had been sent on a mission by Mormon men who believed and claimed to have 'keys of divine inspiration' and 'the priesthood power of God.'
During an evening when Frank slept over in the missionaries' apartment, in the dark, and with Victor's companion supposedly sleeping, Victor laid down beside Frank and started to caress his hair, whispering to Frank about their 'special' relationship. Then he moved his hand into Frank's PJ bottoms and started to stroke his penis until it became erect. He masturbated Frank, then put his fat body on top of the boy so that Frank couldn't breathe. At the point of suffocation, Victor finally removed himself. The next day, he, his companion and Frank attended church, where Victor took the Sacrament.
Victor also told Frank that he had sexually molested his cousin before starting his mission, and another Elder/missionary told Frank that Victor had come on to him.
Much to his credit, 12-year old Frank told a church member in the local ward - Judy - about what Elder Victor did. She insisted that the mission president be informed, which Frank did with Judy's help and support. The mission president's tone implied incredulity, according to what Frank described to me. "Had Frank spoken to any church member other than Judy about what happened?", asked the mission president. "No", Frank replied. "Good.", the mission president responded. "Make sure that you don't."
Shortly after Frank informed the mission president about what Elder Victor had done, the missionary was transferred out of the community where Frank lived. However, the mission president allowed Victor to finish his mission. In typical Mormon patriarchal fashion, he never contacted the police about the assault and sexual crimes allegedly committed by one of the missionaries under his priesthood 'command.'
Learning that James Victor was still in the mission field, Frank told his bishop about what happened and what he'd told the mission president. He was instructed to forgive Victor and forget the entire matter.
************
Who was the mission president? Successful Mormon businessman and close 'friend' of LDS General Authorities, David Sorenson.
For months after learning about what James Victor had done to Frank, I was unable in my Mormonism-'programmed' mind to figure out why Sorenson had been made a General Authority. Because of him crimes committed by an Elder under him in the mission 'chain of command' had not been investigated by police, and justice had not been served. A handicapped boy had suffered at the hands (literally) of a church officer - a missionary - and nothing had been done, or was being done, by the LDS Church to set things right.
Why hadn't Sorenson felt the 'prompting' of 'the Holy Ghost', which 'testifies of truth', according to LDS doctrine, upon hearing what Frank told him? Moreover, why hadn't Hinckley and other Mormon 'prophets' felt that something was amiss when Sorenson's name was put forward to become a Seventy?
I was repeatedly taught by the church during my formative years that the men in Salt Lake City who led the LDS Church had 'the power of discernment', yet Mark Hoffman had duped them into buying his forgeries, and crimes against my friend had gone unanswered because of a man who was moving way up in the priesthood ranks. Why had 'prophets, seers and revelators' of the 'one, true church' allowed a man who failed to 'heed the Spirit' and didn't do his duty upon being informed of an alleged crime become a Seventy? For months, the answers had escaped me - until I read a paperback from the Smithers library.
The more I read The Mormon Murders, the more the 'scales of darkness' fell from my 'eyes'. I saw for the first time in my 28 years the truth about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints: the organization wasn't directed by God; it was led by men who had secret agendas and were quite willing to reward a wealthy member with a prominent church position because he was willing to do them a huge favor in a 'sensitive' matter. Moreover, they used their church power and authority to ensure that the organization's propaganda about Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, early church history and other aspects of Mormonism was taught to naïve people like I had been. If truth was not 'faith-promoting' and 'useful', they cared nothing for it. Such was their sense of morality and 'spiritual enlightenment.'
************
Epilogue: With Frank's approval, I submitted a report to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police about Elder James Victor in October 1993, the same month/year I ended my membership in the cultic LDS Church. The RCMP subsequently conducted an investigation and found enough evidence to lay charges against Victor. Unfortunately, his whereabouts have been unknown for the past 15 years. The RCMP contacted church headquarters, but received virtually no help. The file/case remains open.
Any slither of 'loving concern for the individual' is just so totally absent from this and many similar examples of real Mormon life.
Their addiction to the corporate culture, its core Myth (read fabricated lie in this case), and personal ambition is just so rampant. That and their complete ineptness to handle anything of this complexity. So much for how well the 'power of the priesthood' equips people for church leadership responsibility.
Gives a whole new meaning to Christ's claimed expression "Suffer the little children to come unto me".
You deserve a lot of credit for reporting the abuse, too few sit by and do nothing while countless other children are hurt. Thanks for sharing your story.
The Mormon Murders had a huge impact on me as well. It made me realize that the GAs lie and try to keep the membership from knowing the truth about a lot of things. When I realized that they were doing it now, it made me wonder what else they might be lying about. It also made me able to consider that Joseph Smith might have been lying too. The book was very fair and by no means an "anti" book. I consider it a must read for postmos.
The church helps themselves, and not who really needs it. I get so angry when I think about it. I went to my bishop many times growing up and I have told him of the abuse in my home. But my parents were TBM and my bishop didn't want to help a 16 year old teenager, not even when I told him my dad was sexually abusing me. And at one point there was a 2nd councelor who was stealing tithing $, but he's now in the stake presidency. Yeah, so many problems, if the church was true these men wouldn't be put in charge. The y want to keep everything secret and pretend there is no problems in their church.
Thank you for sharing your story and Frank's. Do you have any contact with Frank these days??
I've maintained contact with Frank for the past 15 years. He's extraordinarily resilient. You would think that he'd feel bitter or have a desire for vengeance against James Victor and his stepfather, given what he suffered, but in a decade and a half, I've never detected anything such 'darkness' in him. His 'soul', as it were, is like a bright diamond.
Because of Frank's innate sensitivity and the severe abuse he suffered during his formative years, his psyche 'cracked' some years ago and he temporarily lost his mind, ending up in a mental facility for half a year. Curiously, before he was institutionalized, in his state of temporary insanity he dumped his Mormon scriptures and church books in his bathtub and poured bleach on them. Some part of his psyche was trying to remove the stain caused by wounding Mormonism and the abusive LDS Church.
Leaving the church unlocked a lot of creativity in Frank. As an ex-Mormon, he formed a dance group that has assisted mobility-challenged people to express themselves through dance. Frank's work has been ground-breaking; he's trained disabled people to use the working parts of their bodies as well as their electric wheelchair or scooter, and has choreographed performances involving with dancers with full physical mobility.
When I think of the suffering that Frank endured - and I do not know the full extent of it - and that he went on to create a great life for himself, I'm reminded of the quote by another of my heroes, British statesman and WWII leader Winston Churchill: "If you are going through hell, keep going.”
cdnexmo, your posts was informative and well put together, I am happy to hear that Frank has made the best of his life, It is amazing how some can experience the most horrendous of this life and bounce back and contribute to others. It is great to know that Frank did this.
It is puzzling how the active members hear the news or read about history events and continue to be supportive of the organization, I understand that the active members are convinced of their testimony and are faithful, I think I am always surprised as to how an active member can whitewash the damning history and go on as if nothing has ever occurred, simply amazing!!!
Sixteen years ago this summer, I was still a Mormon, and working in Smithers, a small town of 5,000 people in northern British Columbia. One day, I went into the small Smithers library (for the first time) and started looking around.
After some minutes, I came across a rack of paperback books. As I rotated the rack, looking at the titles, one caught my eye: The Mormon Murders, by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White. I removed the book from the rack, turned it over, and started to read the summary on the back cover:
"On October 15, 1985, two pipe bombs shook the calm of Salt Lake City, Utah, killing two people. The only link - both victims belonged to the Mormon Church. The next day, a third bomb was detonated in the parked car of church-going family man, Mark Hoffman. Incredibly, he survived. It wasn't until authorities questioned the strangely evasive Hoffman that another, more shocking link between the victims emerged...
It was the appearance of an alleged historic document that challenged the very bedrock of Mormon teaching, questioned the legitimacy of its founder, and threatened to disillusion millions of its faithful - unless the Mormon hierarchy buried the evidence.
Drawing on exclusive interviews, The Mormon Murders reconstructs a secret conspiracy of God, greed, and murder that would expose one of the most ingenious con men in the annals of crime - and shake the very foundation of a multibillion-dollar empire to its core."
I had been an 'active' member when news of the 'Salamander Letter' spread through the church, which publicly released its contents in April 1985, two months before I finished my mission.
Seven years later, I remembered the 'Salamander Letter'. "Wasn't Mark Hoffman somehow involved in that document?", I thought. Intrigued, I signed out The Mormon Murders and began to read as I walked back to the motel.
The book revealed to me - a naïve Mormon if there ever was one - 'faith-disrupting' facts like Joseph Smith's fascination with folk magic and his use of amulets and 'seer' stones. The Mormon Murders also mentioned how Smith defrauded people in his Kirtland Bank scheme and other aspects of Mormon history that the LDS Church had not disclosed to me during my formative, mission and young adult years.
The Mormon Murders also provided me with a critical 'piece' of a 'puzzle' that had eluded me for months. The book mentioned one David Sorenson, a successful Mormon businessman from Salt Lake City, who was a mission president in Nova Scotia, Canada in 1985 during the Hoffman scandal.
According to the book, Sorenson was contacted by a Seventy (his name escapes me at the moment - it's in the book) and asked to buy (for a large sum of money) the much-feared McLellin Papers, which Mark Hoffman told senior church leaders he'd found. The plan, which Hinckley - who was effectively acting as church president at the time because of Ezra T. Benson's mental deterioration - was aware of, involved Sorenson discreetly obtaining the McLellin Papers and 'donating' them to the church.
Why the secrecy? Because according to Naifeh and White, Hinckley and other senior GAs wanted to be able to say, if asked, that the church had not bought the McLellin Papers, implying that they were not in the church's possession when in fact they would be.
Why were the McLellin Papers reportedly feared by Hinckley and other GA's? Because in Mormon circles it was rumored that they contained damning facts about Joseph Smith and early church history that if rank-and-file members discovered, would result in an exodus of people from the multi-billion-dollar church, including tithe-payers. Not only official church 'history' had to be protected, but LDS financial interests as well.
************
In the summer of 1991, I attended a picnic held by the members of the ward that I attended irregularly. There I met a very socially awkward young man (18 years old) who had a high-pitched voice and strong (bad) body odor. Initially, I negatively judged him in my mind. However, I found out later that he - his name was Frank - also had cerebral palsy and experienced spasm attacks frequently.
Some weeks after the picnic, I happened to be in the chapel hallway after Sunday meetings when Frank went into a spasm. Two of us helped him down to the floor, removed his glasses, loosened his tie, and made sure that he didn't hit the walls as he thrashed around. I was surprised at the power of his spasms, which eventually subsided. I sat down on the floor next to Frank and began to speak with him. I don't know why, but as I did so I felt strongly that I needed to become his friend. He was nearly 10 years my junior and not the type of person with whom I'd naturally want to strike up a friendship.
For Canadian Thanksgiving that year, I asked my Mormon mother and stepfather if it would be OK if Frank joined us for dinner since he had no family locally. They agreed. After dinner, Frank was speaking with my older sister in the livingroom while I washed dishes in the kitchen. I heard him tell Lynn about a 'special' relationship with a 25-year old Mormon missionary - Elder James Victor - from Orange County, CA that he had when he was 12.
Frank said that he spent a lot of time with Elder Victor on splits and slept over in the missionaries' apartment. He also told Lynn that he sat in Victor's lap in church, which set off an 'alarm' inside me.
I subsequently learned from Frank that his family was very messed-up. His mother, who joined the LDS Church and participated infrequently, was addicted to drugs. Frank's stepfather hated and brutalized him, whipping him with strands of thick wire, crushing him between the washing machine and dryer, and committing others acts of severe abuse.
Over the course of several visits with Frank between late 1991 and 1993, the truth emerged about his relationship with Elder Victor. I took notes in order to prepare a report for the police in the community where Victor and his companion, and Frank and his family had lived.
Like Joseph Smith, Elder James Victor preyed on vulnerable people. For example, after Victor found out that Frank came from an abusive home, he promised Frank not only a bike, but that he would return after his mission and take Frank back to California with him, where he would be safe.
However, as Frank spent more and more time with Elder Victor, the missionary's dark side emerged. One day, on a whim Victor burned Frank on his leg with a heated knife, causing a scar. He also choked Frank, and laughed after doing so.
During an evening when Frank slept over in the missionaries' apartment, in the dark, and with Victor's companion supposedly sleeping, Victor laid down beside Frank and started to caress his hair, whispering to Frank about their 'special' relationship. Then he moved his hand into Frank's PJ bottoms and started to stroke his penis until it became erect. He masturbated Frank, then put his fat body on top of the boy so that Frank couldn't breathe. At the point of suffocation, Victor finally removed himself. The next day, he, his companion and Frank attended church, where Victor took the Sacrament.
Victor also told Frank that he had sexually molested his cousin before starting his mission, and another Elder/missionary told Frank that Victor had come on to him.
Much to his credit, 12-year old Frank told a church member in the local ward - Judy - about what Elder Victor did. She insisted that the mission president be informed, which Frank did with Judy's help and support. The mission president's tone implied incredulity, according to what Frank described to me. "Had Frank spoken to any church member other than Judy about what happened?", asked the mission president. "No", Frank replied. "Good.", the mission president responded. "Make sure that you don't."
Shortly after Frank informed the mission president about what Elder Victor had done, the missionary was transferred out of the community where Frank lived. However, the mission president allowed Victor to finish his mission. In typical Mormon patriarchal fashion, he never contacted the police about the assault and sexual crimes allegedly committed by one of the missionaries under his priesthood 'command.'
Learning that James Victor was still in the mission field, Frank told his bishop about what happened and what he'd told the mission president. He was instructed to forgive Victor and forget the entire matter.
************
Who was the mission president? Successful Mormon businessman and close 'friend' of LDS General Authorities, David Sorenson.
For months after learning about what James Victor had done to my friend Frank, I was unable in my Mormonism-'programmed' mind to figure out why Sorenson had been made a General Authority. Because of him crimes committed by an Elder under him in the mission 'chain of command' had not been investigated by police, and justice had not been served. A handicapped boy had suffered at the hands (literally) of a church officer - a missionary - and nothing had been done, or was being done, by the LDS Church to set things right.
Why hadn't Sorenson felt the 'prompting' of 'the Holy Ghost', which 'testifies of truth', according to LDS doctrine, upon hearing what Frank told him? Moreover, why hadn't Hinckley and other Mormon 'prophets' felt that something was amiss when Sorenson's name was put forward to become a Seventy?
I was repeatedly taught by the church during my formative years that the men in Salt Lake City who led the LDS Church had 'the power of discernment', yet Mark Hoffman had duped them into buying his forgeries, and crimes against my friend had gone unanswered because of a man who was moving way up in the priesthood ranks. Why had 'prophets, seers and revelators' of the 'one, true church' allowed a man who failed to 'heed the Spirit' and didn't do his duty upon being informed of an alleged crime become a Seventy? For months, the answers had escaped me - until I read a paperback from the Smithers library.
The more I read The Mormon Murders, the more the 'scales of darkness' fell from my 'eyes'. I saw for the first time in my 28 years the truth about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints: the organization wasn't directed by God; it was led by men who had secret agendas and were quite willing to reward a wealthy member with a prominent church position because he was willing to do them a huge favor in a 'sensitive' matter. Moreover, they used their church power and authority to ensure that the organization's propaganda about Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, early church history and other aspects of Mormonism was taught to naïve people like I had been. If truth was not 'faith-promoting' and 'useful', they cared nothing for it. Such was their sense of morality and 'spiritual enlightenment.'
************
Epilogue: With Frank's approval, I submitted a report to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police about Elder James Victor in October 1993, the same month/year I ended my membership in the dishonest, cultic LDS Church. The RCMP subsequently conducted an investigation and found enough evidence to lay charges against James Victor. Unfortunately, his whereabouts have been unknown for the past 15 years. The RCMP contacted church headquarters, but received virtually no help. The file/case remains open.
Hi! Just wanted to say thank you for being courageous in this situation and doing the right thing! And thanks for sharing about The Mormon Murders...I've just ordered it from my library and am looking forward to reading it for myself!
It is puzzling how the active members hear the news or read about history events and continue to be supportive of the organization, I understand that the active members are convinced of their testimony and are faithful, I think I am always surprised as to how an active member can whitewash the damning history and go on as if nothing has ever occurred, simply amazing!!!
It's evidence of the power of the mind to resist truth and many people's propensity to mentally flee from, trivialize and condemn facts that do not support their beliefs. Psychological maturity requires us to respect the truth (facts) more than beliefs and belief-induced feelings.
The Mormon Murders also provided me with a critical 'piece' of a 'puzzle' that had eluded me for months. The book mentioned one David Sorenson, a successful Mormon businessman from Salt Lake City, who was a mission president in Nova Scotia, Canada in 1985 during the Hoffman scandal.
According to the book, Sorenson was contacted by a Seventy (his name escapes me at the moment - it's in the book) and asked to buy (for a large sum of money) the much-feared McLellin Papers, which Mark Hoffman told senior church leaders he'd found. The plan, which Hinckley - who was effectively acting as church president at the time because of Ezra T. Benson's mental deterioration - was aware of, involved Sorenson discreetly obtaining the McLellin Papers and 'donating' them to the church.
Why the secrecy? Because according to Naifeh and White, Hinckley and other senior GAs wanted to be able to say, if asked, that the church had not bought the McLellin Papers, implying that they were not in the church's possession when in fact they would be.
Why were the McLellin Papers reportedly feared by Hinckley and other GA's? Because in Mormon circles it was rumored that they contained damning facts about Joseph Smith and early church history that if rank-and-file members discovered, would result in an exodus of people from the multi-billion-dollar church, including tithe-payers. Not only official church 'history' had to be protected, but LDS financial interests as well.
************
The more I read The Mormon Murders, the more the 'scales of darkness' fell from my 'eyes'. I saw for the first time in my 28 years the truth about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints: the organization wasn't directed by God; it was led by men who had secret agendas and were quite willing to reward a wealthy member with a prominent church position because he was willing to do them a huge favor in a 'sensitive' matter. Moreover, they used their church power and authority to ensure that the organization's propaganda about Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, early church history and other aspects of Mormonism was taught to naïve people like I had been. If truth was not 'faith-promoting' and 'useful', they cared nothing for it. Such was their sense of morality and 'spiritual enlightenment.'
After reading The Mormon Murders I wondered much the same thing. Why do the brethren work so diligently to hide the truth? I have never been able to settle on one or even several answers. Several possibilities come to mind with varying degrees of unsavoriness.
1. They like the power and wish to maintain the status quo.
2. Behind the scenes and in the closed books large sums of money disappear into private bank accounts.
3. They have a truly altruistic nature and do not want to shatter the fraudulent yet comforting world of the delicate members in their care.
Even less likely but not to be ruled out:
1. At the top, Mormonism has basically turned into an organized crime community. People are selected and promoted based on family relations. The tithing and the business dealings provide a nice income for the select families. Who would know with the books being sealed from public view. Anyone who lets the truth get out is likely to end up having an unfortunate accident of some kind.
2. Having a large number of followers and many members placed in positions of responsibility in government and industry provides a source of power, prestige, and perhaps additional funds. The leaders of TSCC could desire to maintain this position for anything ranging from a desire to serve to a desire to exploit. Given the secrecy it is very difficult to discern.
Thanks for telling your story. This was a sad episode in Church History.
It is just amazing how, even though the whole sordid affair showed clearly that the leaders of the Church were not inspired in the least, but in fact were arrogant and deceitful, it seemed to make no difference to the main rank and file of the Church.
It certainly helped me feel much more comfortable in my decision to leave.
Still have my copy of The Mormon Murders. When I first purchased it, I kept it in a locked drawer in my office at home so as not to upset DW. When I later asked her to read it. She refused.
Ah, stories like this have got to be bad for the lurker(s) here who are members of the Stasi-like bureau the Morg operates. How's it feel guys? Someone just named a couple of names: a pedophile and someone covering for him. Nice thing about our connected world, you can't hide for long. While the Mounties might not be looking, others will.
Can't the people who swept this under the rug be charged with aiding and abetting? What about that missionary? Can't he still be charged? What about the parental abuse? Did they get charged? This makes me furious because it seems like the police have not been involved. I will read it again in case I missed it.
Edit. I just read the epilogue. I am glad you went to the police.
