Ray A wrote:harmony wrote: This website is just a summary of the letter. Does anyone know where the entire letter can be viewed?
I did a brief Internet search but came up with nothing. I have (had?) an original photocopy of Lee's handwritten letter which was photomechanically made by the Tanners, but I'm not sure if I threw it out. I could do some searching and if I still have it I could scan and upload it, but I'm not sure of the legality of this. It may be copyrighted.
Lee's problems with the leaders started around 1985, when he began emphasising the role of the Lamanites. Some of the GAs felt he was becoming "filled with pride". If you read Lee's early Conference addresses it's not hard to understand why (I read and re-read all of them, and they are somewhat egocentric). He was initially banned from speaking in General Conferences, and this exacerbated his eventual apostasy. He was also curtailed in assignments, and he plead with the Brethren for a number of years for his speaking and assignment responsibilities to be reinstated, to no avail. Eventually he decided he was an "outcast" among the GAs. This feeling of alienation could have led him to engage in sexual abuse.
I believe the Brethren may have been aware of this from private complaints made, but at the time there was no hard evidence against him. This may have been a factor in his excommunication for apostasy, which was the official reason given. I think they wanted to get Lee off their hands asap.
The Brethren have as little credibility as Lee does as per their version of events. Being "filled with pride" could very well be a euphamism for "does not meekly submit to authority." And we all know what the first order of heaven is.