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Once upon a time, my mission companion/college roommate was engaged to a young woman we both had known in the mission field. She was an RN who took 18 months from her job to work as a welfare services missionary for the church.

Not long into the engagement, she told my friend that she had become addicted to prescription painkillers, so they both agreed they would postpone the wedding so that she could get help.

Enter a doctor from her hospital, who also happened to be her stake president. This man fed her addiction, getting her hooked on more powerful drugs, and then started giving her drugs in exchange for sex. He would sedate his wife and then go and see this friend of ours. Needless to say the engagement was eventually broken off, as she was a complete mess.

At one point, the stake president took our friend with him to a church leadership retreat, leaving his wife at home. By the time he was through with her, she was in terrible shape and barely functioning.

In recent years, she seemed to be doing better. She had a steady job at a hospital and was to all accounts clean. She called my friend last week to see if he wanted to have lunch with her this Friday.

This morning, we got an email from one of her mission companions telling us that she had been found in her apartment last Wednesday, dead of an apparent overdose.

No, I don't blame the church for this pointless and sad death. She made some rather poor decisions (as addicts are wont to do). But I really do hope there is a special place in hell for a priesthood leader who would abuse his authority in such a way to nearly destroy a human life.

Thanks for letting me rant. I'm just heartbroken and angry today about this whole thing.

Runtu wrote:No, I don't blame the church for this pointless and sad death. She made some rather poor decisions (as addicts are wont to do). But I really do hope there is a special place in hell for a priesthood leader who would abuse his authority in such a way to nearly destroy a human life.

Don't worry, there is. Sorry about your friend.

Runtu wrote:At one point, the stake president took our friend with him to a church leadership retreat, leaving his wife at home. By the time he was through with her, she was in terrible shape and barely functioning.

How did he manage to do that without other Church leaders not recognising it wasn't his wife? Or did she stay somewhere else?

Ray A wrote:

Runtu wrote:At one point, the stake president took our friend with him to a church leadership retreat, leaving his wife at home. By the time he was through with her, she was in terrible shape and barely functioning.

How did he manage to do that without other Church leaders not recognising it wasn't his wife? Or did she stay somewhere else?

Apparently it was a stake presidents' retreat, and maybe he thought neighboring SPs wouldn't know his wife. The reason I know this happened is that our mission president was the GA in charge of the retreat. I would assume there was some disciplinary action involved, but I have no idea what it was. We heard the story from her and our mission president confirmed it.

Runtu wrote: We heard the story from her and our mission president confirmed it.

Then if your MP knew about it, and the transgressing SP hasn't been called to answer for this by other leaders, that would be an indictment on the Church.

Not to be a dick or anything, but it's not like she's some helpless little lamb. She knew exactly what she was doing. She enjoyed the high. She enjoyed having sex with a married man. She f***ed her own life up. Call it a "disease" or call it "bad choices", but at the end of the day it was the life she chose to live. Maybe she was happy most of the time? I don't know... I know a lot of clean and sober types, like "Gookie Cookie" Schryver and "I'm a closeted homophobe" Englund who don't appear to be that happy, either.

Ray A wrote:

Runtu wrote: We heard the story from her and our mission president confirmed it.

Then if your MP knew about it, and the transgressing SP hasn't been called to answer for this by other leaders, that would be an indictment on the Church.

As I said, I have no idea if he's been called to answer for it or not. That wasn't shared with me.

Runtu wrote:
As I said, I have no idea if he's been called to answer for it or not. That wasn't shared with me.

I'd be following it up, John, like a demon possessed (no doubt my LDS friends will appreciate that description).

antishock8 wrote:Not to be a dick or anything, but it's not like she's some helpless little lamb. She knew exactly what she was doing. She enjoyed the high. She enjoyed having sex with a married man. She f***ed her own life up. Call it a "disease" or call it "bad choices", but at the end of the day it was the life she chose to live.

Suddenly, I have a vague impression that antishock8 may not be entirely the type of guy I would prefer to bond with. Something to do with the life I choose to live, I suppose.

antishock8 wrote:Not to be a dick or anything, but it's not like she's some helpless little lamb. She knew exactly what she was doing. She enjoyed the high. She enjoyed having sex with a married man. She f***ed her own life up. Call it a "disease" or call it "bad choices", but at the end of the day it was the life she chose to live. Maybe she was happy most of the time? I don't know... I know a lot of clean and sober types, like "Gookie Cookie" Schryver and "I'm a closeted homophobe" Englund who don't appear to be that happy, either.

I said as much. She made her own choices. Having an asshole for a stake president didn't help, though.