For those opposed to Bishops asking about masturbation

[jay santos]

Originally Posted by SoonerCoug

Powell was the one arrested for masturbating in front of the undercover cop. There was more than one accuser...I had forgotten that part. This is a very well known story in these parts. I can't believe you compared me to Paul Dunn.

Credit to SoonerCoug for backing up the story. He's like Penthouse Stories with footnotes.

[Indy Coug]

Originally Posted by SoonerCoug

3. I am guilty of believing [that] my friend, Roseanne Hales, testified under oath, subject to perjury, that she and her children were sexually and ritually abused by then-Bishop Stanley Dennis Powell, her former husband, Peter Campbell, and other leaders and members of the Mormon Church.

I'm sorry, but statements like item #3 leads me to believe there might have been a reason the church didn't take her seriously. She and her children were sexually ritually abused by multiple leaders of the church and by her husband? Ummm..... yeah.

As for saying this is on the internet, you didn't provide a link.

[MikeWaters]

Did the excommunication take place after the Bishop's arrest for indecency?

From an article by the Tanners:
http://www.xmission.com/~country/reason/nov96_2.htm

Significantly, according to a statement made on television, the McCallisters filed felony charges against Ronald Phelps on September 13, 1993, over two months before he was arrested at the University of Oklahoma on December 2, 1993!
On April 20, 1994, The Yucon Review reported that Phelps "pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors for outraging public decency..." Local church leaders, however, seem to have been oblivious to the importance of these charges being made against Phelps prior to his arrest. In his zeal to hush up the whole matter Stake President Gary J. Newman sent a letter to Merradyth McCallister threatening her with excommunication:

"This letter is to inform you that the Stake Presidency is considering formal disciplinary action against you, including the possibility of disfellowshipment or excommunication..." (Letter dated July 29, 1994)

On August 2, 1994, Bishop Larry A. Morgan sent a letter to Mrs. McCallister informing her that she had been excommunicated: "It was the decision of the Council that you, Merradyth McCallister, are hereby excommunicated from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for conduct contrary to the laws and order of the Church."
Jack McCallister beat church leaders to the punch and withdrew his membership. In a letter to Bishop Morgan, dated July 24, 1994, he wrote: "I refuse to bow down before this false image. I refuse to be intimidated into silent consent. I refuse to place the reputation of the church ahead of the safety of our children. I refuse to protect child sexual molesters in high places."
Mary Plourde, who also was a member of the church when Phelps was bishop, was very disturbed regarding the charges of sexual abuse and refused to be silent about the matter even though she was threatened with excommunication. On August 9, 1994, bishop Larry A. Morgan sent her a letter that contained the following: "It was the decision of the Council that you, Mary Snow Plourde, are hereby excommunicated..."
Since Jack McCallisters' son did not have an eyewitness to testify that Ronald Phelps was guilty of sexually abusing him, we can understand why Mormon Church officials in Oklahoma would have a very difficult time trying to determine who was telling the truth. The fact that Phelps was arrested for his sexual behavior and pled guilty makes us very suspicious that Scott McCallister was indeed telling the truth.
It is evident that church leaders made a very serious mistake when they decided to excommunicate church members who were unable to keep silent. These people sincerely believed they were doing their Christian duty. Before the excommunications took place an attorney, Floyd W. Taylor, warned Stake President Gary J. Newman that it would be foolish to cut people off from the church to silence them:

"This firm has been counseling with Jack and Merradyth McCallister... There is more than enough here to put reasonable minds on inquiry. It is regrettable that you and the Church council appeared to be bent on a course of silencing the allegations of parents and victims of possibly abusive conduct perpetrated by persons affiliated with your Church, instead of listening with open minds and trying to find solutions.
"I am Roman Catholic. As you know, my church has experienced multiple charges of sexual abuse by clergy against minors. My church's initial reaction was cover-up. The result was a plethora of lawsuits and astronomical liability losses. One Archdiocese is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. Please do not interpret this as a threat of litigation. I am trying to make a plea to common sense and ask that you look upon the experience of the Catholic Church and not follow the same path. The Catholic Church today has reversed its initial course and is openly acknowledging the problem and is trying to do something about it. Your Church should at least be open to the possibility that these allegations may have some substance and that investigating the allegations is a more appropriate way of handling them than trying to silence the accusers through threats of disfellowshipment and excommunication.
"If the McCallisters and others who are accusing LDS officials of unspeakable acts are right, your Church will profit from listening and taking action to protect your most valuable asset, your children.... It is not my desire to be perceived as a legal threat to the LDS Church. The McCallisters love their religion and wish the Church no harm. Since they truly believe what they have alleged; and, if what they are saying is true, the worst thing they could do to your Church would be to become part of a cover-up which would jeopardize the safety of countless Mormon youngsters and open your Church up to the kind of legal quagmire the Catholic Church faces today. We urge you to reconsider your approach to this matter." (Letter written by Floyd W. Taylor, Attorney At Law, dated March 14, 1994)

Also, how did it play out? Did the family ever rejoin the church?

Was there a lawsuit?

I do believe there is such thing as excommunication of conscience where the person excommunicated will be held blameless. This may be one of those cases.

[SoonerCoug]

Originally Posted by Indy Coug

I'm sorry, but statements like item #3 leads me to believe there might have been a reason the church didn't take her seriously.

As for saying this is on the internet, you didn't provide a link.

http://mormonalliance.org/casereport...t2/v1p2c16.htm

This story has been in the news media and on television repeatedly over the last 13 years as Congressman Istook sided with the Church Leaders against the family despite the fact that this former bishop had been arrested.

[MikeWaters]

Originally Posted by SoonerCoug

http://mormonalliance.org/casereport...t2/v1p2c16.htm

This story has been in the news media and on television repeatedly over the last 13 years as Congressman Istook sided with the Church Leaders against the family despite the fact that this former bishop had been arrested.

Maybe Istook or a family member can give Istook's side of the story.

[SoonerCoug]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

Did the excommunication take place after the Bishop's arrest for indecency?

From an article by the Tanners:
http://www.xmission.com/~country/reason/nov96_2.htm



Also, how did it play out? Did the family ever rejoin the church?

Was there a lawsuit?

I do believe there is such thing as excommunication of conscience where the person excommunicated will be held blameless. This may be one of those cases.

I never heard of a lawsuit. I'm not sure.

Jack is still a member of the Church, but he is not active. I believe he rejoined the Church.

Merradyth is not a member of the Church. They were a very sharp, well regarded family.

[RC Vikings]

Originally Posted by jay santos

Two undeniable truths:

Nobody has more or better stories about service and charity than Pres. Monson.

Nobody has more or better stories about sexual perversions related to the church and church members than SoonerCoug.

Mike did you start this thread just to get a couple more stories out of SC?

Just when you think you've heard it all he comes up with another one. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt but it is really remarkable the number of stories he has.

[Indy Coug]

Originally Posted by RC Vikings

Just when you think you've heard it all he comes up with another one. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt but it is really is remarkable the number of stories he has.

At best, Sooner's experiences are a gigantic statistical anomaly.

[SoonerCoug]

Originally Posted by Indy Coug

At best, Sooner's experiences are a gigantic statistical anomaly.

It's not like I was the victim or something.

I think pretty much everyone in Oklahoma City knows this story if they've lived here very long.

[MikeWaters]

I've never known a single Bishop or Stake President that wasn't a good respectable man.

I guess I have lived a sheltered life.