Chris McCrory

A group of Mormon protesters waved signs across the street from the Mesa Arizona Temple in support of former bishop Sam Young on the day of his disciplinary hearing in Texas to decide if he should be excommunicated.

One man held a sign that read: "Sexual shaming our children. Stop it now."

About 20 people protested in the heat Sunday afternoon on Main Street in Pioneer Park across from the temple, which is temporarily closed for renovation.

Young faces excommunication from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for his involvement with the group Protect LDS Children, which he founded.

Sunday night, Young said no decision had been reached during his hearing, according to the Associated Press. The former bishop did not say if another hearing date had been scheduled.

The Mesa protesters joined others across the country rallying for the controversial figure who has battled Mormon church leaders.

Young's Protect LDS Children organization advocates for the church to end sexually-explicit questions during interviews of children conducted by church officials through their teenage years.

In late July through mid-August, Young went on a 23-day hunger strike protesting the church's interview practices. Young, on the group's website, says he started the campaign after his own child was interviewed.

"In the summer of 2017, I found out that my daughter was regularly subjected to sexually explicit questions from age 12 to 17," he wrote. "This happened behind closed doors, all alone with the bishop of my congregation. I wish I could go back in time and protect my innocent 12 year old child. Of course I can’t. What I can do is to stand up and speak out for the protection of today’s children."

Young believes the interviews cause psychological trauma and could lead to suicide.

What happens in the church interviews?

As part of the church's youth programs, children undergo interviews by senior religious leaders about their chastity – any sexual behavior before marriage is a sin according to church doctrine – and are asked to repent for any sexual thoughts or behavior, according to protesters.

Protesters said the interviews take place twice a year and can place a burden or shame on children.

Colleen Payne Dietz, who attends the LDS church a block away from the protest, said the sexual nature of some questions asked in the interviews make them harmful.

"The harm that this causes, when a grown man in secret is asking a child questions about their sexual behaviors and their urges, and then often asking them to repent for these urges," she said. "It throws a lot of shame on a child for natural developmental feelings or experiences or exploration."

She said the group is not trying to limit the LDS Church's abstinence-based teachings. Instead, Payne Dietz said, they are working to protect children, especially children who are victims of sexual abuse, from leading questions that imply the child is guilty and needs to confess.

"They're already feeling guilt, and they're already feeling shame because they're being exposed to sexual experiences and behaviors that they know aren't right," she said.

The Protect LDS Children website includes a link to a petition demanding an end to the practice.

"We call on the LDS Church to immediately cease the practice of subjecting children to questions about masturbation, orgasm, ejaculation, sexual positions or anything else of a sexual nature," the petition says.

The petition says the goal is not to disparage the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or its leaders, but rather raise awareness and end the interviews.

"For decades, it has been common place for Bishops and other local leaders to pose questions of a sexual nature to children. There are reports of this happening to children as young as age 8," the petition says. "These questions are being asked by an older man, all alone with the child, behind closed doors and often without the knowledge or permission of the parents."

Support for the practice remains

But not everybody believes the church should remove the questions from formal interviews.

Charles Duke attended the protest armed with papers with quotes he said he had transcribed from videos of Young. Young's statements, he said, show that the former bishop is picking a fight with LDS leadership.

"More people have been helped by this church than harmed," Duke said. "It's tragic and unfortunate there have been bishops who have gone their own way and done things according to their own desires, but I say protest those bishops. The church doesn't condone those bishops or their actions."

He believes the church's policy is a safeguard against abuse. Clergy members including LDS bishops are obligated to report abuse under mandatory reporting laws. However, there are certain exceptions for clergy members.

Official church policy instructs clergy to never ignore a report of abuse during an interview, Duke said. He cited statistics showing that some child sexual-abuse victims are assaulted by family members as a reason not to have a parent present during interviews.

"It's exponentially more likely that they could get help in this way, rather than requiring that the parents always be there," Duke said.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, about 30 percent of child sexual-abuse perpetrators are family members.

He acknowledged that the protesters' request for a mandatory second person in the room during interviews was a valid request, but said removing any questions about chastity from the interview process defeated the point of the interviews, which is to ensure children are obeying the law of the church.

"It's important to educate children about that they shouldn't be engaging in sex with other people," Duke said. "I think that the way the church teaches that subject is more than appropriate. It's not in an evil or malicious way whatsoever."

Church says it has updated the policy

The church released a statement in July, responding to Young's activities.

In the statement, church leaders said they have updated policy in recent months and will continue to do so.

"The church has taken important steps to improve these interactions and to strengthen the relationships between young people and their parents and leaders," according to the statement.

Young, for his part, told the Houston Chronicle ahead of his hearing that he was not afraid of the thought of excommunication.

“Protecting children is more important than my membership in the church,” he said this week. “I’m not going to shut up. That would be immoral on my part.”

READ MORE: