Sugar Land bishop excommunicated for speaking out against Mormon church

A supporter hugs Sam Young, left, during a press conference Sunday, Sept. 16, 2018, in Salt Lake City. Young, a Mormon man who led a campaign criticizing the church's practice of allowing closed-door, one-on-one interviews of youth by lay leaders was kicked out of the faith. Young read a verdict letter for the first time Sunday that had been delivered to him following an earlier disciplinary hearing with local church leaders in Houston. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) less A supporter hugs Sam Young, left, during a press conference Sunday, Sept. 16, 2018, in Salt Lake City. Young, a Mormon man who led a campaign criticizing the church's practice of allowing closed-door, ... more Photo: Rick Bowmer, Associated Press Photo: Rick Bowmer, Associated Press Image 1 of / 17 Caption Close Sugar Land bishop excommunicated for speaking out against Mormon church 1 / 17 Back to Gallery

Amanda Idell says when she was 15 she was raped by a stranger. Then she went to her bishop at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“My bishop asked me, ‘Did you enjoy it? Did you orgasm?’ I considered this a man of God and that maybe I did something wrong to bring it upon myself,” recalled Idell, 33, who then lived in Nevada and now lives in San Antonio, adding that she reported the allegation to Las Vegas police.

The shame she felt led her to attempt suicide. Monday marks the 18th anniversary of that attempt. In memory, she recently tattooed two spears over the scar where she had slit her wrist, a darkened spear representing her past and a clear spear pointing out, toward her future.

Idell’s Facebook profile features a photo of her smiling with the words “I stand with Sam,” referring to Sam Young of Sugar Land, a former bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the owner of Liberty Office Products. She stands with him because he has exposed stories such as her own.

His website, Protect LDS Children, shares hundreds of stories of people like herself who are still struggling with the sexually explicit questions that can arise during private meetings between Mormon youth and their bishops. He has vocally called for an end of private meetings, asking for a second adult to be present.

His activism led church leaders to take disciplinary action. On Sunday afternoon, Young stood in the heart of Salt Lake City, a letter from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in hand. Inside was his fate with the church.

He opened the envelope and read the verdict aloud. He had been excommunicated.

“The decision of the council is that you be excommunicated for conduct contrary to the laws and order of the church,” Young read to a crowd as the entire event was streamed online. “This means that you are no longer a member of the church and do not enjoy any privileges of membership.”

When asked for the church’s reaction, spokesperson Eric Hawkins reissued the statement he released two weeks ago, when Young was headed to his excommunication hearing.

“Because of the personal nature of Church disciplinary matters and to respect the privacy of those involved,” Hawkins wrote, “the Church does not provide information about the proceedings.”

Young’s stake center in Sugar Land could not be reached for comment.

Natasha Helfer Parker, a Mormon therapist who works with people struggling with their faith, said the church’s decision was a blow to the hundreds of survivors who had shared their stories.

“I’ve had several survivors reach out to me very distressed,” she said. “Because in a sense, it’s a rejection of them as well.”

Mormon leadership in March released new rules intended to address sexual abuse after months of protests. The updated policies allowed, but did not require, another adult to be in the room for meetings between church youth and local lay leaders.

Young said changes were not enough.

Janelle Brinton agreed. A former Mormon living in Houston, Brinton is troubled by the church’s stance because she has a niece and two nephews still in the Mormon church. Making the presence of a second adult optional was inadequate, she said, because social pressures prevented a parent from asking to sit in.

“The only reason to be present while the bishop is interviewing is if you don’t trust him, and that doesn’t fly in the Mormon culture,” she said. “That’s seen as undermining or distrusting the authority of the divine mantle of the bishop.”

On Sunday, in front of a crowd gathered at Temple Square, Young read aloud the explanation that accompanied his excommunication. “The issue is not that you have concerns or even that you disagree with the church’s guidelines,” he read. “Rather, it is your persistent, aggressive effort to persuade others of your point of view.”

Kent Belliston, who lived in Houston for several years and was present at Young’s Salt Lake City news conference, said afterward that he was not surprised by the church’s decision.

“Sam Young challenged the Mormon church to the point where they basically had two choices: change or excommunicate him,” he said.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the past has chosen excommunicating high-profile activists rather than changing its policies. In 2014, Kate Kelly of Arizona was excommunicated for founding a Mormon women’s group (all members of the Mormon priesthood — and all of the bishops conducting worthiness interviews — are men). Three years ago, John Dehlin of Utah was excommunicated for publicly supporting same-sex marriage and the ordination of women.

After excommunication, former members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have 30 days to appeal the decision. Young said he intended to do so.

He also doubled down on his exhortations for reform, warning the church that teenagers were making audio recordings during one-on-one meetings with bishops. He predicted the practice will spread. “Many people are fed up. Teenagers have cellphones,” he said. “Churches will not be able to prevent teenagers from recording.”

“Bishops, be warned!” he said. “People are now watching! Children are now recording! Your livelihoods and reputations are at risk. My excommunication is a clear demonstration that the church is not serious about child safety. And they certainly don’t give a damn about your safety, either, bishops.”

While Young was being excommunicated, his daughter, Amy Breeden, was at church. “It’s so raw,” she said Sunday evening, after learning the news. “We’ve spent countless hours discussing his intentions, his goals, the costs he’s paying emotionally, socially, financially, physically. … His intentions about this are so pure. He wants to protect children — and when children are safe and protected, the church is safe and protected. To see this misunderstanding, and the church doing something that is so hurtful, it’s devastating.”

She had yet to break the news to her own children, something also on Young’s mind. “How do you explain to a child that the church is good, but they excommunicated your granddad?” he asked.

Meanwhile, Jacqueline Vance, a member of the Mormon church in Houston, said the decision had strengthened her resolve to help others who have been harmed by worthiness interviews.

Since middle school, she said, interview questions about her chastity had caused extreme feelings of shame that she still struggles with at age 31. She believed that sexual urges were Satan’s influence; unable to repress them, she began thinking there was something seriously wrong with her. “All the confusion and the shame drove me to self-harm,” she said. “I still have plenty of scars from that.”

When she first met Young, Vance said, she broke down in ugly tears and cried on his shoulder. “He was trying to prevent what happened to me from happening to other people,” she said. “He’s a hero. He’s our hero.”

rebecca.schuetz@chron.com

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