Holy Ghost on vacation...again...

[_why me]

Well 'why me' being God he doesn't have to ask these questions. He already knows if someone is inclined to be a pedophile. The real question should be why 'God' called a man who was inclined to abuse children to a calling where he would work with children. I think it boils down to two simple choices (a) God knew and did it anyway or (b) he wasn't called by revelation.

Why does god allow for any bad thing to happen at all? Maybe he should allow only good things to happen to people. And how do we know that this man was a pedophile when he was called to that position? Are people born to be pedophiles? When does one become a pedophile inclined person? It must start somewhere.

Also, about the holy ghost. I have known people who have ignored the promptings of the holy ghost because they didn't believe that it came from the holy ghost. It does happen. And when it does there is always a my gosh feeling afterwards.

We also don't know the facts to this case. It will all come out in a couple of weeks. All accusations need to be verified or we all will live in fear of accusations regardless if they are false.

[_Drifting]

http://www.kptv.com/story/16113641/vancouver-sunday-school-teacher-accused-of-sexually-abusing-girl

He allegedly had SEX with the girl DURING sunday school??

How the HELL did that happen????

Does it say that it happpened during Sunday School? I didn't think it really specified, did it?

I agree...I have no idea how that would happen. The whole thing is horrible.

Perhaps the Holy Ghost was visiting another Ward that day, or perhaps every adult ignored his promptings that something bad was happening and that they should go investigate.

[_Yoda]

I notice that you have stuck to general plattitudes, and that you chose not to address any of my solutions. What did you think about my line of questioning?

I did address it. All child molestors have their first victim. No backgroud check will help. No potential child molestor will admit that he or she may be one. So, it wouldn't work. Now what can be done is a background check on individuals called to such positions where they deal with children. No problem there. And most likely it will be done in the future because the problem has become so widespread.

First you say that no background check will help. Then you say that the Church should be performing background checks when callings involve working with children. That is the exact same thing that I am saying! I think we are talking past each other. Also, I gave credence to the idea that every child molestor has a first victim. Obviously, it won't work in all cases. However, we can at least prevent those who have had a first victim from having a second on our watch.

[_Drifting]

Child grooming refers to actions deliberately undertaken with the aim of befriending and establishing an emotional connection with a child, in order to lower the child's inhibitions in preparation for sexual activity with the child, or exploitation.

Question:
Are Mormon children conditioned through Church activity to accept the attention and contact of adults who aren't their parents and does this place them at a higher risk than children from Non-Mormon families?

[_Yoda]

Child grooming refers to actions deliberately undertaken with the aim of befriending and establishing an emotional connection with a child, in order to lower the child's inhibitions in preparation for sexual activity with the child, or exploitation.

Question:
Are Mormon children conditioned through Church activity to accept the attention and contact of adults who aren't their parents and does this place them at a higher risk than children from Non-Mormon families?

In answer to your question, I don't think so. Children are naturally trusting. It is up to parents to educate their children on "stranger danger", and also what is appropriate touching and what is not. Churches and schools all have activities where children are encouraged to trust the adults in charge. I think that it is up to us, as parents, to be more involved and on guard regarding these situations. A child molestor is going to be much less apt to target a child whose parents are consistently involved with the activity they might be over. He/she is going to target the loner...the child whose parents are never around, and show lack of involvement.

[_emilysmith]

Whether the promptings of the Holy Ghost were ignored or not, the flaw in revelation from the Holy Ghost is obvious. The reasonable explanation is, of course, that this revelatory power is purely fictional.

Whatever various explanations you can provide for how this tragedy occurred, the fact is that the power of the Holy Ghost did not work to prevent a child from getting raped. This is far from the only example in church history. The church has definitely moved in the right direction by immediately contacting law enforcement, but it has not always been so. There was a Stake President in my ward who raped at least one young woman with no repercussions. Imagine how many times the Holy Ghost failed in order for that to happen. Then imagine how the Holy Ghost failed when everyone decided to handle it "in house."

I completely disagree with the idea that sexual abuse is more common now than it ever was. The Catholic Church has been abusing people for thousands of years. The number of boys molested is dwarfed by the number of nuns that have been abused. You couldn't even begin to dig up all of the tiny bodies they left in ground throughout their history.

Awareness has just become more widespread about abuse. Definitions, too, have changed. In many societies, it was perfectly normal for a grown man to have a sexual relationship with young boys. It was only until recently that it was even possible for a man to be convicted of raping his wife. In many countries, today, rape carries very different definitions. I just read an article about a girl in Afghanistan who is facing jail time for not agreeing to marry her rapist, who impregnated her. In many places, any kind of rape is considered the woman's fault, no matter what.

I believe it "takes a village" to raise a child. This means you have to trust other people with your child's safety. Places of authority within a religious organization (or any organization) are coveted the most by people you want the least. This is why you should always be cautious of the people who are making an effort to insert themselves in places of authority.

The best thing you can do to protect your kids is to instill confidence in them at every turn. Abusers have a knack for spotting the victim mentality. Inevitably, the children who are least able to defend themselves and recover from such experiences are the ones who are targeted by predators.

[_Buffalo]

As despicable as this man is, let's as this though-provoking question - if Jesus Christ cares so much about children, then why did He not send the Holy Ghost to intervene in the calling of this sexual predator? Is Christ Himself not complicit in this terrible, terrible act? After all, look what he said!

Is it possible that maybe, just maybe, there is no continuing revelation beyond the lost keys to the car?

H.

Well, lets take it a step further. During WWII many children were needlessly killed. Where was Christ then? Where was the holy ghost? Was Christ not complicit in all this? What about Buddha? Where was Buddha?

Unfortunately, people have free agency to be evil. We live in an evil world. Now it would be wonderful if all evil would disappear but...this will not happen at this time. What we can do is to try to change the world by putting in a different value system---one in which the human being becomes the subject and altruism replaced greed.

Thank you for demonstrating that there is no god.

[_why me]

First you say that no background check will help. Then you say that the Church should be performing background checks when callings involve working with children. That is the exact same thing that I am saying! I think we are talking past each other. Also, I gave credence to the idea that every child molestor has a first victim. Obviously, it won't work in all cases. However, we can at least prevent those who have had a first victim from having a second on our watch.

The background check would help in identifying known pedophiles. But it will not help in identifying those who are pedophiles but haven't been caught. And that was my point. Pedophiles are born everyday through their life experience with sexuality.

[_why me]

Thank you for demonstrating that there is no god.

I demonstrated that there is free agency. It is up to us not to allow the sexualization of children for profit. But if our own moral standards are in such decay, should we blame god or the social environment around us which we have helped create?

[_why me]

Whether the promptings of the Holy Ghost were ignored or not, the flaw in revelation from the Holy Ghost is obvious. The reasonable explanation is, of course, that this revelatory power is purely fictional.
.

Actually, here is the explanation: we have free agency to exercise good or evil. I wouldn't blame the holy ghost for something which you helped to create: child sexualization through marketing.

Have you been silent? Have you spoken up? If you have been silent or if you have not spoken out, then you are partly to blame. Not the holy ghost.

And if the promptings were ignored, whose fault is that? Not the holy ghost that is for sure.