"It's time for us, as Mormons, and friends of Mormons, to stand up for our children which is why we’re calling on the LDS Church to end the practice of private one-on-one interviews with children and male leaders.”
HOUSTON (PRWEB) March 08, 2018
Today, a petition to end the inappropriate and damaging ‘Bishop’s Interviews’, a decades-long practice by the LDS Church, has surpassed 16,000 signatures. The petition will be delivered to the LDS Church Office in Salt Lake City on March 30, as part of the March for the Children rally organized by the Protect-the-Children Initiative.
The March for the Children rally will be held in Salt Lake City to underscore the pressing need for the LDS Church to halt this practice. Participants will march 5 blocks to the LDS Church Office Building, where the group will present two items to church officials: The over 16,000 signatories on the Petition to Protect The Children–Stop Sexually Explicit Interviews of Mormon Youth, and Sacred Stories of Sacred Children: A record of childhoods destroyed behind closed doors.
The petition has gathered nationwide support, as survivors and families come forward to share their stories of how these interviews negatively impacted their self-esteem, self-worth, and emotional well being. The mounting support for ending this practice -- in which Church elders conduct one-on-one meetings with children, without their parents present, and which often involve discussions and questions of a sexual nature -- was highlighted at a recent press conference organized in Houston by the Protect-the-Children Initiative which is a grassroots organization founded by Sam Young, a Houston business owner, father of six daughters, and active LDS Church member.
“The movement continues to grow as people come forward to shed light on the harm this practice does to our children,” said Young. “Over 16,000 people are calling on the church to recognize that this is a harmful practice, and for it’s immediate end. As the father of six daughters and a lifelong member of the LDS Church I believe it’s wholly inappropriate for children to have to sit behind closed doors with a male Church leader, and without their parents present, and be asked questions regarding their sexual history or desires. It's time for us, as Mormons, and friends of Mormons, to stand up for our children which is why we’re calling on the LDS Church to end the practice of private one-on-one interviews with children and male leaders.”
You can read and hear the firsthand accounts of many of these individuals by clicking here
You can sign the petition by clicking here