4.6 • 5.2K Ratings
🗓️ 5 October 2018
⏱️ 106 minutes
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Join us as we begin a new series on instances where the LDS Church protects alleged abusers instead of advocating for their victims.
Trigger warning: This interview discusses sexual assault. Please practice self care, and use discretion regarding who else listens in.
In Part 1 of this interview, Jared shares how he was allegedly sexually abused as a young boy by his uncle and how these experiences formed the basis for his most vivid memories. Jared also talks about the guilt and shame he carried from those experiences throughout his youth and through his LDS mission. As Jared progresses through life, he feels he has forgiven his uncle and was ready to move on, until his uncle was called as a bishop and given stewardship over a ward, including children. Feeling pressure to say something, Jared finally told his wife Juli of the abuse he suffered decades earlier.
In Part 2 of this interview, Jared and Juli discuss multiple meetings and interactions with LDS Church leaders including multiple stake presidents and bishops, and a private meeting with Elder Steven O. Laing of the Seventy (recorded by Jared and Juli and presented as Part 3 of this interview) to warn them of his uncle’s alleged history of abuse. During this meeting, both Jared and Juli were still true believing members, but now regard the inaction taken by their priesthood leaders and instead focusing on their personal faith as a major tipping point for their testimonies. As of today, Jared’s uncle remains bishop in a northern Utah ward.
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1:22.0 | So now you're at the point where you've come out to your wife, she's been supportive Julie |
1:34.0 | and Jared now you're trying to think about how to talk about your uncle who's a bishop to |
1:41.0 | LDS Church leaders. So what did you do? Well we knew we had to do something. We knew that |
1:49.0 | it wasn't right that he was in a position to be a bishop and to have the ability to have children. |
1:58.0 | You know we didn't know if he had abused other people, we didn't know, we didn't know anything about |
2:03.0 | anything but we knew that we had to tell somebody. And so in December of 2017 we met with our |
2:10.0 | bishop that doubled as a tidying settlement meeting as well. |
2:14.0 | Less than a year ago which means you sat on this at least a year after cracking a Julie. |
2:19.0 | It was a year in a couple months and it wasn't something you rushed into. |
2:23.0 | No during that time I mean we got home he told me I'm scouring the internet kind of he's he's ahead of me. |
2:29.0 | So I'm scouring the internet of course it's taking care of you know in the 80s someone just |
2:34.0 | brushed it under the table but you know I go to the handbooks I go to the podcast how is it dealt with |
2:41.0 | that kind of thing. Well of course God would intervene because bishops names go up to the 12 you know |
2:48.0 | is what we're told. Yeah the first person to see a proof of this one. |
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