Another Mormon Bishop Told NOT to Report Abuser - Christopher Jenkins | Ep. 2119
Mormon Stories Podcast
Dr. John Dehlin
4.5 • 5.7K Ratings
🗓️ 2 March 2026
⏱️ 163 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode of Mormon Stories Podcast, we speak with Christopher Jenkins, a former LDS bishop, about his personal experience with the Church’s abuse hotline. While serving as bishop in Washington, a ward member confessed abuse to him. When Christopher called the Church’s hotline for guidance, he says he was told he was not a mandatory reporter and felt pressured not to report the abuse to authorities.
Christopher walks us through both calls he made to the hotline, the legal framing of the guidance he received, and the lack of follow-up afterward. He also discusses broader issues surrounding clergy confidentiality, how reporting requirements vary by jurisdiction, and what he perceived as the Church’s focus on institutional liability rather than victim care.
We also explore how he now views mandatory reporting laws, the Church’s opposition to certain reporting requirements in Washington, and larger questions about abuse prevention, bishop training, and accountability. Christopher shares how this experience, along with navigating life as the father of LGBTQ+ children, contributed to significant shifts in his faith.
This conversation centers on leadership responsibility, ethical decision-making, and what happens when institutional guidance conflicts with personal conscience.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, everyone, and welcome to another edition of Mormon Stories podcast. |
| 0:03.1 | I'm your host, John DeLinn. |
| 0:04.0 | It's February 23rd, 2026. |
| 0:06.6 | And we have today on Mormon Stories, a man who is a Mormon bishop just two years ago |
| 0:12.3 | and an active temple worker just four months ago. |
| 0:17.0 | And he reached out to us in response to Bishop Bo Euler's soft white underbelly interview, |
| 0:24.3 | where Bo Euler told the story of his interactions reporting a child abuser to the LDS Church's |
| 0:32.2 | hotline for dealing with child abuse. |
| 0:35.5 | And in response to Bo telling his story as a bishop about reporting |
| 0:40.9 | a child abuser to the Mormon church's hotline, the Eldish Church responded with a press release |
| 0:47.6 | calling, basically calling Boa liar, and also an army of Mormon apologists on TikTok and Instagram and Facebook and YouTube all came |
| 0:58.0 | out basically smearing Bishop Bo Euler to call him a liar about what he said were his experiences |
| 1:07.7 | as a Mormon bishop reporting a child abuser to the Mormon Church's hotline. |
| 1:12.8 | And in response to that smearing of Bishop Bo Euler, Christopher Jenkins reached out |
| 1:18.9 | because he has also, relatively recently, and even as recently as a week or two ago, |
| 1:26.0 | had interactions with the Mormon Church's hotline, |
| 1:28.7 | and he felt inspired to want to come on Mormon stories to share his views. |
| 1:36.1 | Now, just a couple disclaimers, he's still currently attending church with his family, |
| 1:42.0 | and also, I think it's important to note that a major theme for today |
| 1:45.8 | will also be his faith journey and messages that the church taught him around the LGBT |
| 1:52.3 | experience, particularly parenting as his kids grow into maturity, will be important themes |
| 1:58.8 | as well. But, you know, that's the introduction. |
... |
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