Puerto Rico Mission President ex?????d for sexual misconduct...

[_Shulem]

Juicy tidbit:

Church leaders cover this stuff up. This happened in 2014, we were there. The missionaries were told to say nothing. Island church leaders told us what happened. Four years later, the only reason the rest of the world knows about it is because one of the sister missionaries sued. Church leaders in eastern Idaho run the most effective coverup operation I’ve seen. That’s not to say all are sexual deviants, the vast majority aren’t but they will participate in suppressing the truth and target the truth seekers. Good parenting dictates a parent should accompany minor children when interviewed by priesthood leaders.

Mission president ‘deceived and victimized’ young female missionaries, says LDS Church

We have a home in Puerto Rico. This is only part of the story. In 2014, the mission president announced President Eyring had designated Puerto Rico a walking mission. Ordered them to park their cars and diverted the fuel budget to his account at the airport where he kept an airplane and private jet. It’s claimed that he took sister missionaries on jet rides. Elder Craig Zwick of the 1st Counsel of 70 took over the mission. He released all the mission leaders telling them they cared more about leadership positions than doing missionary work. The missionaries were instructed to keep it quiet. They kept their mouths shut but numerous local leaders told me what happened. You only had to be around Smartt a few minutes to tell he had no business being a mission president. I related this story to a local area authority in Grant in the summer of 2014. He was in denial. Of course, he also doesn’t think Jefferson County is corrupt. It must have been the lawsuit and ensuing media coverage that triggered the excommunication—a lot late in my opinion. But in these latter days it’s mostly about the coverup. All is well in Zion.

[_Shulem]

Because of the lawsuit. Missionaries were told to keep quiet. One of the victims got off the reservation and sued.

The missionaries were told to keep it quiet. One of the zone leaders did tell me a sister missionary said she’d never trust a priesthood holder again.

I was wrong. A sister missionary didn’t sue. A friend of a friend told a reporter 4 years later who received confirmation from the church’s public relations department.

[_consiglieri]

I think I will see what a FOIA request to the Puerto Rico Police Department Custodian of Records might turn up.

Letter going out in the mail today.

[_Madison54]

I think I will see what a FOIA request to the Puerto Rico Police Department Custodian of Records might turn up.

Letter going out in the mail today.

Oh yeah. Consig is on it

So many are asking a whole lot of questions about this case. What did he do that he could have been criminally charged with, but that the sisters were talked into remaining silent on? I've read it involved 15 sisters, but I don't know how accurate that is. And, that it involved him transferring sisters to remote, isolated areas where he could visit them alone (and apparently was attempting to practice polygamy or at least wanted to start living it and was looking for wives).

I read today on a missionary blog (by a senior couple) that the reason he brought his own private plane over was because he'd gotten so fed up with the lousy airline services there. I wonder if he flew to different islands using his own plane?

I can't wait to see what you can dig up! There has to be more to this.

[_Dr Exiled]

This keeps getting better and better. Of course the church would want to cover this one up. Kudos to Peggy Fletcher-Stack for bringing this to light. If any lurkers have information on this or other cases, please contact the authorities if relevant and Ms. Fletcher-Stack, Consiglieri, or Mormonleaks. The truth about these bozos needs to come out.

[_Madison54]

I just did a search for "President Smartt" Puerto Rico Mission and a bunch of missionay blogs came up (with other stuff too...). Some of the sister missionaries sound almost smitten with him (talking about his good looks and that he's a millionaire and how that's kind of intimidating). I found that to be interesting. All of the blogs that write about him going home state it was a shock and sudden and because of his wife's MS.

Here's a post over on Wheat and Tares (a comment) that I agree with:

But the story about Puerto Rico mission president taking liberties with the sister missionaries and getting excommunicated raises questions that deserve discussion.

The sisters are adults . If they consented then they should be held accountable.and sent home or disciplined. They don’t have much wiggle room as missionaries.. If they did not consent then that is rape or some variation and not reporting it to the police is aiding and abetting a criminal act. The grey area between the two should prompt action in both directions not neither.

The church excommunicated this bastard making it more difficult for him to victimize naïve LDS girls .But it does nothing to protect the other women outside the church. In my limited experience guys don’t go from total innocence to sexual activity serious enough to be excommunicated suddenly that late in life. That man has been perv-ing for years and police should start with his family and the youth/former youth in his ward and neighborhood. If they shake that tree I would be surprised if some rotten fruit didn’t fall on their heads.

[_Madison54]

Here's a post (and thread) started in 2015 about Smartt (he's not named until the bottom of the thread in some very recent posts). This guy knew Smartt and states he was ex'd for "multiple instances of adultery".

This is a thread on the RFM Forum (I hate their format), but just follow down and read the posts written by
"mannaz" because he gives more information about Smartt. Here's his first post:

Date: September 25, 2015 09:17AM

Recent Mission President excommunicated

I have first-hand knowledge of a recent Mission President who excommunicated relatively soon after returning home. I've waited a while to share this here. Multiple instances of adultery going back through his prior calling as a stake president and before. As to how I know, I'll just say I was in a HP calling at the time. As to who it is, I'll leave it to others to 'out' the guy (board rules you know). For trolls and such, perhaps I was in the court of love...

Anyone else have similar examples of the powers of decrement in action? If someone here thinks/knows they served under him do chime in.

He was a real asshole as SP. Really came down on people and enforced his own stricter ideas doctrine and what it meant to keep the commandments. The irony of it all is palpable.

MP callings come from the GA's and ultimately done by the 15. Selected from the pool of names for higher callings submitted by SP's and above who supposedly know them well and are vetted through the same CIA like vetting process that GA's are subject too.

I was also in HP level calling when he was SP. When he was called to be a MP was when all my doubts about my or others having any powers of decernment were confirmed.

https://www.exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,1678837

[_consiglieri]

A mission president in 2013-14 has multiple sexual liaisons with sister missionaries under his stewardship.

Salt Lake finds out and swoops in to save the day.

The mission president is replaced for a couple of months with an interim General Authority.

How many missionaries must know about what is going on? The sisters themselves, obviously. And how many more?

And yet the LDS Church manages to hush this whole thing up so effectively that pretty much nobody on the outside ever hears a word about it.

That takes some doing. That takes a machine. That takes experience.

All it takes is one person contacting the media for the whole house of cards to fall down.

And that is what happened over four years later.

And likely because of the Joseph Bishop scandal.

I think we may be seeing the #MormonMeToo Moment.

[Guest]

Well, Consig, the sister missionaries that were taking advantage of whatever it was the Mission President was offering at the time are probably married, most likely TBM, most likely have families, and unless they want some serious scrutiny inti their own behavior they're going to keep their traps shut.

I know if I were a former missionary in that mission and I found out the sister missionaries were partying with the MP I'd either be pissed at the whole thing or it would devastate my testimonkey, especially with the cover up lies that followed.

I would love it if the SLT blew this Fast Times at Ridgemont High mission scandal wide open.

- Doc

[_I have a question]

A mission president in 2013-14 has multiple sexual liaisons with sister missionaries under his stewardship.

Salt Lake finds out and swoops in to save the day.

The mission president is replaced for a couple of months with an interim General Authority.

How many missionaries must know about what is going on? The sisters themselves, obviously. And how many more?

And yet the LDS Church manages to hush this whole thing up so effectively that pretty much nobody on the outside ever hears a word about it.

That takes some doing. That takes a machine. That takes experience.

All it takes is one person contacting the media for the whole house of cards to fall down.

And that is what happened over four years later.

And likely because of the Joseph Bishop scandal.

I think we may be seeing the #MormonMeToo Moment.

Threatened with their church record dossier?