Mormon Church Hides Abuse of Wade Christofferson, Enabling More Abuse - Edward Nachel | Ep. 2117

Mormon Stories Podcast

Dr. John Dehlin

Religion & Spirituality

4.5 • 5.7K Ratings

🗓️ 25 February 2026

⏱️ 91 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In today's episode, Edward Nachel shares his firsthand account of serving on the High Council that excommunicated Wade Christofferson –and the guilt, questions, and reckoning that followed. Edward served in the same ward as Wade and knew him for over twenty-years.

We begin with the recent arrest of Wade Christofferson and the allegations that have surfaced, including sexually coded letters and reported searches found on his phone. These are allegations until proven guilty in a court of law. But Edward’s story focuses on something broader: how church disciplinary systems operate, how secrecy functions, and what happens when there are no advocates for victims inside the room.

Edward describes being selected for the Disciplinary Council, drawing lots to see who represented the abuser and who represented the church, being sworn to secrecy, the absence of witnesses and the victims, how the final decision was made by the Stake Presidency, and how ward members were never warned.

At the time, Edward believed he was “on the church’s side.” Years later, he sees the system differently.

This episode is not about attacking faith. It’s about transparency, accountability, and protecting children. Edward openly asks: What could I have done? Why didn’t I do more? And what must change to ensure this never happens again?

If you or someone you know has been affected by abuse in a religious setting, you are not alone.

___________________

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, everyone and welcome to another edition of Mormon Stories podcast. I'm your host, John Dillon. It's February 24th, 2026. And today is kind of a unique Mormon Stories episode because I think my interviewee sort of pressed me more for an interview than I pressed him. Although, having said that I'm, this is a very important
0:23.4	interview and it's very important to me. It's just a topic I've been very conflicted about. Today,
0:29.9	we're going to be talking about Wade Christofferson. He is the brother of Dee Todd Christofferson,
0:37.4	current member of the Mormon Church's first presidency
0:40.2	and apostle of the LDS Church.
0:43.3	Wade Christopherson is also the brother of a dear friend of mine, Tom Christofferson.
0:47.6	The Christopherson brothers, in some sense, at least three of them, I think it's three out of
0:51.8	five, are very well known, currently in Mormonism.
0:56.1	But I'll read about Wade because that's the focus for today's episode.
1:00.0	For those who don't know, Wade, Christofferson, age 72 of Dublin, Ohio, which is where Lee and Cody Young were excommunicated.
1:10.1	It's also where Fannie Alger fled to after she fled, Curtland, Ohio, after her affair with Joseph Smith.
1:17.7	That's just a side note.
1:18.8	Anyway, Wade Christopherson, age 72, according to the internet, is the brother of D. Todd Christopherson,
1:25.7	who in 2025 served as second counselor in the first presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Lettery Saints.
1:32.9	Wade was arrested on November 20th, 2025 in Utah.
1:37.1	Utah law enforcement booked him into the Salt Lake County Jail based on a federal criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the
1:46.6	District of Utah. Why was he arrested? He was charged with federal child exploitation and
1:53.4	sexual abuse offenses involving minors. According to charging documents and press releases,
2:00.0	he's accused of attempting to sexually exploit a minor and of coercion and enticement.
2:06.3	Authorities say he allegedly sexually abused a child in Dublin, Ohio, touching the child 15 to 20 times when the child was between about 7 and 8 years old.
2:17.1	He also allegedly engaged in sexually explicit
2:20.3	face-time communications with the minor in Utah and sent sexually coded letters to the child's home
	...

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