Former Mormon bishop highlighted in AP investigation arrested on felony child sex abuse charges
A former bishop in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who was featured in an Associated Press investigation into how the church protects itself from allegations of sexual abuse was arrested by police in Virginia this week after being indicted on charges he sexually abused his daughter while accompanying her on a school trip when she was a child, according to court filings.
Court cites clergy-penitent privilege in dismissing child sex abuse lawsuit against Mormon church
An Arizona Superior Court judge has dismissed a high-profile child sexual abuse lawsuit against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ruling that church officials who knew that a church member was sexually abusing his daughter had no duty to report the abuse to police or social service agencies because the information was received during a spiritual confession.
Lighthouse food bank in Waterford Township receives special delivery
A special delivery from across the country arrived at a food bank in Oakland County. The key delivery was made to a Lighthouse food warehouse in Waterford Township on Thursday (Jan. 27). It comes from a church in Utah. The church realized that the food program at Lighthouse was in trouble, not only did the church send funds -- but also two dozen pallets of food.
Lawsuit accuses Mormon church of fraud in use of donations
FILE - In this April 4, 2020, file photo, is The Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City. The federal lawsuit, filed Monday, March 22, 2021, asserts that the church spent members donations that were solicited for charity on commercial purposes. The federal lawsuit, filed Monday, asserts that the church spent membersโ donations that were solicited for charity on commercial purposes. AdโThis is not a case about faith; it is a case about fraud and corporate greed,โ the lawsuit said. The practice, which is used in other faith groups, isnโt required for church members but is strongly encouraged.
Mormon leader: We didnt leave Boy Scouts, they left us
M. Russell Ballard, a senior leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and acting president of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, speaks during an interview, Friday, Nov. 15, 2019, at the Associated Press headquarters in New York. (AP Photo/Emily Leshner)A high-ranking leader with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says the church severed its century-long tie with the Boy Scouts because the organization made changes that pushed it away from the church. The reality there is we didnt really leave them; they kind of left us, says M. Russell Ballard, a member of a top governing panel of the church called the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The direction they were going was not consistent to what we feel our youth need to have...to survive in the world that lies ahead for them.Ballard, in New York City for events with young adult church members, talks about preparations for the faiths bicentennial, also spoke about the churchs support for medical marijuana and incivility in daily life.
Mormon church opposes Utah's proposed ban of 'conversion therapy' for LGBTQ minors
"Conversion therapy" is a practice that attempts to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of LGBTQ people. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) for over two decades has strongly opposed the practice of "conversion therapy." Other professional organizations that oppose "conversion therapy" are the American Medical Association, the World Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry and the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. The move came four months after Huntington Woods made it a civil infraction to perform "conversion therapy." Legislation was introduced earlier this year to ban the use of "conversion therapy" on youth throughout Michigan.