The LDS Church maintains that the “plaintiffs’ allegations are just that—allegations,” according to David Jordan, its lawyer. While many of the perpetrators named in the suits are dead, “I can tell you that the surviving family members of the alleged abusers with whom we have been able to speak do not believe the allegations,” Jordan claimed. “I also want to emphasize that the Church would have had absolutely no motive to send a child back into an abusive environment if a report of improper conduct had been made by any of the plaintiffs.” The Church has not answered the allegations other than to challenge the jurisdiction of Navajo court, and has asked a federal judge to prevent the cases from going forward in tribal court.

The LDS Church teaches that Native Americans are descendants of the Lamanites, a group of people who, according to the Book of Mormon, left Israel in 600 B.C. and settled in the Americas. In the Book of Mormon, the Lamanites are predominately a wicked people, cursed by God with a “skin of blackness” as punishment for turning against him. Although the Lamanites briefly “walk in truth and uprightness,” they destroyed their generally more righteous rivals, known as the Nephites, after Jesus Christ visited the Americas. The rehabilitation of the Lamanites is a sign of the second coming of Christ.

The LDS Church believed it was responsible for guiding Native Americans toward a more righteous path, which meant there were stiff requirements to participate in the program. Rather than focus on improving conditions on the reservation, the LDS Church asked that Native American children abandon their surroundings and assimilate to the way its white members lived. Some Church leaders interpreted the Book of Mormon literally and expected that Native American children’s skin would turn lighter as they grew closer to God. Although the program was started with good intentions, its heavy demands and allegedly lax oversight may have left some of the participants vulnerable—including, plaintiffs say, to sexual abuse.

These lawsuits fit into a larger pattern of sexual-abuse allegations against religious institutions. Like the victims of abuse in the Roman Catholic Church, for example—whose perpetrators were largely Church officials and clergy who claimed sexual-abuse victims all over the world—Native American victims claim Mormon leaders can and should have done more to prevent the abuse. Roughly 50,000 children participated in the Mormon Indian Student Placement Program, according to Matthew Garrett, a professor at Bakersfield College.

Beyond damages, the alleged Native American victims are seeking a written apology, help for other participants of the program who were abused, and changes to the LDS Church’s sex-abuse policy. The alleged victims claim the Church still does more to protect its leaders than its children: The Church instructs those who learn about sexual abuse to call a Mormon help line instead of immediately alerting the police or other outside authorities. Eric Hawkins, a Church spokesperson, said the help line exists because “reporting requirements vary from state to state, and the purpose of the conversation is to help ensure that it does occur in the right way—the way that cares for the victim and stops the abuse.” For example, in some cases “there may be questions about providing a safe place for the victim to live following reporting,” Hawkins said.