The Church fails children yet again.

[I Have Questions]

In a depressingly familiar pattern, here is the report of yet another Mormon offender where the Church failed to deal with a known problem…

A man, who said he was once a bishop and stake president in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was arrested last month and charged Monday with several counts of sexually abusing a young child.

Ronald Charles Jones, 88, was charged with three counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, a 1st-degree felony. He also received another 1st-degree felony charge of child kidnapping, along with two misdemeanors: unlawful kissing of a child and lewdness involving a child.

Jones told investigators that he has been a bishop, a stake president, and a temple worker in the LDS church. FOX 13 News reached out to the church Monday night to confirm whether he was a bishop and/or stake president. The church has not yet responded.

A Floodlit exposé on Jones shows that Jones has previous convictions and that the Church failed to act appropriately.

In 1990, a year after the Mormon church made Jones director of its Military Relations Committee, he was charged with sex solicitation.

Jones pleaded guilty within weeks, but a 1991 news article indicates he still held that church position.

In 1995, Jones was convicted a second time of an identical charge.

We’re trying to find out whether the church knew about the convictions or took any action.

The church made Jones a Palmyra, New York Temple presidency counselor and sealer beginning in 2006.

We thank those who provided us information to help flesh out the following timeline. We also thank those who donated to help us purchase LDS church directories that helped us confirm the information below.

1966–1967: Bishop, San Antonio 2nd Ward, San Antonio, Texas
November 1967: President, Tuy Hoa Group, Central District, Vietnam
1971: Branch President, Weatherford Branch, Fort Worth Texas Stake
1977–1978: Bishop, Windcrest Ward, San Antonio East Stake, Texas
1980–1983: Bishop, Lawton Ward, Lawton, Oklahoma
1983–1984: Stake President, Lawton Oklahoma Stake, succeeding Ralph E. Siebach
1986–1987: Regional Representative, Germany Servicemen Region, Europe Area
1990: Administrative assistant, LDS Church Military Relations Committee
February 1991: Director, LDS Church Military Relations Committee (until sometime prior to late October 1991)
2005–2006: Stake Presidency Counselor, West Jordan Utah Mountain View Stake
2006–2009: Temple Presidency Member and Sealer, Palmyra Temple, under Ralph Siebach (see 1983)
September 2010–December 2012: Ward Executive Secretary, Mountain View 6th Ward, West Jordan Utah Mountain View Stake.

So you can have convictions for sexual offences but still be called to serve in the Temple, serve on the Stake Presidency etc. I wonder how many victims will come forward now this is in the public realm…

[Everybody Wang Chung]

So you can have convictions for sexual offences but still be called to serve in the Temple, serve on the Stake Presidency etc. I wonder how many victims will come forward now this is in the public realm…

He was probably just trying to follow the example Joseph Smith set for everyone.

[malkie]

I wonder how he has managed to rack up such an impressive record of hoodwinking the priesthood leaders who interviewed and/or approved him for each of these positions. In some cases this almost certainly involved general authorities, or at least non-GA Seventies. Everyone probably thought he was a shining example of priesthood righteousness.

The gift of the Holy Ghost, available to all members including, of course, the appropriate leaders, seems to have been totally non-functional. Gift of Discernment? Pfffffff! Or should I say, sheesh‽‽‽

I think that it's high time that the church and its leaders stopped making claims about discernment, and the guidance of the HG, unless they include disclaimers that either the "powers" are completely unreliable, or leaders who use such powers to detect sin may arbitrarily ignore their warnings.

[Everybody Wang Chung]

[Moksha]

The Church is simply defending its right not to inform the authorities of SA against children in order to halt the abuse.

Jesus told them to suffer the little children, and they are holding to that command to let them suffer.

[Doctor CamNC4Me]

[Dr. Sunstoned]

Since the Utah legislators are almost all LDS, it follows that they would act in ways similar to the church.