My name is Mike Frazier. I am a psychiatrist and member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The goal of this petition is to help The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be a leader and example in how it protects, aids and provides justice for its members who suffer from abuse.

Although this petition affects members of the Church most, you do NOT have to be a member of the Church to sign.

About 24 people every MINUTE are victims of physical or sexual abuse (Source: National Domestic Violence Hotline).

Unfortunately, this means that NO organization is free from abusers. This includes schools, sports, and unfortunately religious organizations.

Including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Our Story

My wife was sexually abused and sex trafficked by members of the Church from age 4 to age 23.

During this entire time, her abusers were held in high standing in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

They held callings. They were temple recommend holders. They even served a Church service mission.

They hid their second life well. And my wife didn't feel safe enough to report this abuse until years after she was free from it.

But, she did build up the courage and we reported this abuse by sending letters to our Church leaders, her abusers' Church leaders, her abusers' Mission President, and two of the 12 Apostles.

In fact, we even confronted her abusers IN FRONT OF their mission president.

The Church's response?

To have the Mission President say "I have to trust the interview process."

In other words, I have to believe THEM over YOU.

No disciplinary action was taken towards her abusers by the Church.

There was no chance for us to testify against them in a Church hearing.

We never heard anything about our complaint against her abusers, even after reaching out to so many people.

They continued their mission, temple attendance, and good Church standing as if nothing happened.

THIS IS WRONG.

It is NOT what Jesus would want happening in His Church.

Sharing Your Story

Unfortunately, we know that our story is not the only one.

We've heard from friends, family and others that their complaints of abuse have not resulted in any kind of action by the Church against their abuser.

Or, that they did not get appropriate support from the Church for help and healing.

As a psychiatrist, I understand how damaging abuse can be, and how having your claims ignored can cause further trauma.

As part of this movement, I am compiling stories to help give voice to those who have been abused and do not feel that appropriate action was taken by the Church to help protect them or others from the abuser.

I plan to turn these stories into a book.

Any profits from the book will be donated to TheHotline.org to help survivors of abuse.

If you have a story to share where you or a loved one were abused mentally, emotionally, spiritually, physically or sexually, reported your abuse to a Church leader, and were unhappy with the Church's response, please visit this page to share your story, either with your name or anonymously. Your story matters.

Why Justice Matters

Survivors of abuse need to be HEARD, SUPPORTED and offered JUSTICE.

Abusers need to be HELD ACCOUNTABLE by the Church.

The wheat needs to be separated from the tares. The bad apples need to be removed.

Otherwise, our Church is not SAFE for ourselves and our children.

Jesus taught that "whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea." Matthew 18:6.

The Book of Mormon teaches us that evil doers in the Church need to be held accountable: (Mosiah 26, in particular verse 34 and 36):

"And it came to pass that Alma went and judged those that had been taken in iniquity, according to the word of the Lord..."

"And those that would not confess their sins and repent of their iniquity, the same were not numbered among the people of the church, and their names were blotted out."

And the Doctrine and Covenants teaches us that evil doers in the Church need to be held accountable (D&C 64, in particular verses 12-14):

"And him that repenteth not of his sins, and confesseth them not, ye shall bring before the church, and do with him as the scripture saith unto you, either by commandment or by revelation..."

In other words, the scriptures tell us clearly that justice NEEDS to be served in the Church.

What Happens Now When Someone Reports Abuse

Unfortunately, there is currently NO clear process for a SURVIVOR of abuse to get HELP and JUSTICE in the Church.

Once abuse is reported, it goes into a sort of "black hole."

Something might happen, something might not. It depends heavily on how the Church leader chooses to respond.

Even if something does happen to their abuser, the survivor of abuse is rarely made aware of the outcome.

They might get support through the process of healing, and they might not.

This CAN NOT CONTINUE.

We NEED a clear process for a SURVIVOR of abuse to get HELP and be able to seek JUSTICE.

As I asked several friends in Church leadership positions, they didn't really know what to do if someone reported abuse.

And why would they? These Church leaders are not professionals in mental health, abuse treatment and prevention, or the complicated legal matters surrounding claims of abuse.

There's a Church hotline for the leaders to call, which mainly gives legal advice.

And, as The First Presidency's recent letter points out, this advice is often to stay out of court cases, to avoid "the Church from being inappropriately implicated in legal matters."

Unfortunately, there's no similar number for SURVIVORS of abuse to call to get HELP and seek JUSTICE in the Church.

What We Can Do

I don't believe in complaining about something unless I have some kind of solution in mind.

The goal of this petition is to create a clear process for survivors of abuse who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to:

1. Get helpful resources to help them heal from abuse and find safety

2. Pursue appropriate legal action if desired

3. Pursue Church justice if desired and if their abuser is a member of the Church

This will require a separate division or entity of the Church.

For now, I will refer to this as an "internal affairs" division of the Church.

A separate entity that provides support for victims of abuse and investigates and tries claims of abuse against Church members.

This entity will include professionals in law and treatment of trauma and will include women.

While there are many GREAT benefits to the lay-leadership of the Church, once a claim of abuse is made, it's better that it gets turned over to professionals.

I believe this will be a RELIEF to most leaders and a huge help to survivors of abuse.

How Abuse Allegations Could Be Handled Step-By-Step

Here is potentially how a claim of abuse would be handled once this department is created:

1. A Church member reports their abuse (past or present) to a Church leader (we'll assume it's a Bishop).

If the survivor would rather call the hotline on their own, they would be welcome to do that. The number will be easily available on the Church's website.

2. The Bishop shows love and concern and gets on the phone with the abuse hotline. This hotline would be confidential, not needing to know names or location of where the survivor lives. The Bishop and survivor work together with the hotline through the next steps.

3. The victim will speak with a professional who answers the phone, and will be assigned a case worker who will be their contact person through the process. The professional will provide helpful resources for therapy and give guidance for immediate steps to take for safety if necessary. They will also ask if the survivor wants to pursue criminal legal action.

4. If the survivor wants to pursue legal action, the case worker helps coordinate this and lets law enforcement take the lead, with Church support through the process.

5. If the survivor does NOT want to pursue legal action, the Church internal affairs department will appropriately document this to make sure the Church complies with any legal standards.

6. If the alleged abuser is a member of the Church, the victim will then be asked if they want to pursue Church disciplinary action against this member. They will be assured that it will be handled OUTSIDE the ward and stake to avoid bias and, as much as possible, embarrassment.

7. If the victim does NOT want to pursue Church disciplinary action, the victim's name and alleged abuser's name are noted, again in accordance with any legal requirements to protect the Church and the survivor.

8. If the victim DOES want to pursue Church disciplinary action, the internal affairs department performs an investigation and then holds a hearing.

9. The victim has the opportunity to testify against their abuser in the court hearing, by writing or in person. The hearing INCLUDES WOMEN as part of the decision making and support process.

10. The victim and alleged abuser are informed of the outcome of the hearing, which may include Church discipline and excommunication. If found guilty, the abuser's membership record is marked as an abuser and that person may no longer serve in positions where they have opportunities to abuse others (for example, in positions where they may be 1 on 1 with youth or interviewing people).

Prevention Of Abuse

As the list of abusers is compiled, Church leaders would cross-reference this list before calling someone into a position where they may work with youth or be in interviewing positions.

This "internal affairs" division would also be responsible for performing criminal background checks on Church members before they are called into positions with youth or positions where they would do 1 on 1 interviews.

The Church would also make criminal records viewable on the Church's website, so that members could make informed decisions on whom they might or might not trust to teach or babysit their children (to avoid a situation like Christopher Michael Jensen).

The Overall Mission

We want The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be the SAFEST place on earth for survivors of abuse.

That means that there is a clear, easy-to-use, survivor-supportive system of justice where survivors can get the help they need and dangerous people can be identified and removed from the Church.

What we envision is a Church that does MORE than what is legally required to protect its members from abuse.

And that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints leads the way and becomes an example for other organizations to follow in protecting its members from abuse, and aiding and supporting its members who suffer from abuse.

It's absolutely what Jesus would want for His Church.

If you support this idea, please sign this petition.

And let's make the Church a safer place for ourselves and our children.

Mike Frazier, MD

P.S. Please check the "share my name and email address" box when you sign the petition so you can receive updates and continue to take action on this movement.

P.P.S. If you have a story to share where you or a loved one were abused mentally, emotionally, spiritually, physically or sexually, reported your abuse to a Church leader, and were unhappy with the Church's response, please visit this page to share your story, either with your name or anonymously. Your story matters.

P.P.P.S. After you sign you'll be asked for a donation. If you choose to donate, that money does NOT go to me or the organization Stop LDS Abuse. It goes to change.org, the platform this petition was created on.