Church Policy and Protections: What the Record Actually Shows

Does the Church Protect Abusers? · Part 1 of 5

Part of the series Does the Church Protect Abusers?

The claim that the Church “protects pedophiles” must be tested against what the Church has actually written, built, and required of its leaders. Policy is not a press release; it is the operating manual every bishop and stake president is bound by. Here is that record.

The written policy

The General Handbook, section 38.6.2, states: “The Church’s position is that abuse cannot be tolerated in any form.” Those who abuse “violate the laws of God and man.” The Handbook directs that members who become aware of abuse “report it to civil authorities and counsel with the bishop,” and that “Church leaders should take reports of abuse seriously and never disregard them.” (Source 1)

Section 38.6.2.7 states the Church “is committed to complying with the law in reporting abuse,” and the Handbook instructs that calling the help line “is essential for bishops and stake presidents to fulfill their responsibilities to report abuse” — because “laws differ by location, and most Church leaders are not legal experts.” (Source 1)

Critically: “Whether or not someone is convicted of abuse, offenders are subject to Church discipline and could lose their membership in the Church.” (Source 2, citing Matthew 18:6; Mark 9:42; Luke 17:2.) The ecclesiastical standard is lower than the criminal one. A man can be acquitted in court and still lose his membership. Abuse is listed among the sins that require a membership council — the outcome is not left to local discretion on whether to convene one. (Source 3)

The 2018 First Presidency guidance — signed by Presidents Russell M. Nelson, Dallin H. Oaks, and Henry B. Eyring — added two directives critics rarely acknowledge: leaders should never disregard a report of abuse, and leaders should never counsel members not to report criminal activity to law enforcement. (Sources 4, 5)

The annotation system: tracking abusers since 1995

Since 1995, the Church has placed a confidential annotation on the membership record of members who have abused children. The record follows the member to any congregation anywhere in the world, alerting the receiving bishop not to place that person in any calling involving children. The Church’s Newsroom has stated that, as far as is known, it was the first religious institution to create such a tracking mechanism. For child sexual abuse, incest, and predatory activities, the annotation is permanent. (Sources 6, 7, 8)

The mechanics matter: when a member with an annotation moves into a ward, the bishop receives an automatic notification and a Confidential Member Information Report with specific restrictions. The system is proactive, not passive.

For contrast: when abuse-survivor advocates pressured the Southern Baptist Convention to build a comparable member-tracking system, the denomination declined, citing the impossibility of tracking millions of members — and instead kept an internal list at headquarters that local congregations were not told about, a decision that later became a national scandal. (Source 9) The Latter-day Saint annotation system is precisely the mechanism critics say the Church lacks the will to build. It has existed for thirty years.

Structural protections added 2018–2019

  • Two-adult rule: at least two responsible adults must be present when adults teach children or youth, and at all Church-sponsored youth activities. (Source 10)
  • Interview policy: children, youth, and women may invite a parent or another adult into any interview with a bishop or his counselors. (Source 10)
  • Mandatory training: all adults working with children or youth must complete Children and Youth Protection Training within one month of being called and repeat it every three years, with completion logged and local leaders automatically notified of non-completion. (Sources 11, 12)
  • Building design: classroom doors with windows are standard in meetinghouse construction.

Leadership statements

President Gordon B. Hinckley, General Conference, April 2002: any man who abuses “is unworthy to hold the priesthood,” and abusers were commanded by name to repent. (Source 13) In earlier conference addresses he called sexual abuse of children “reprehensible and worthy of the most severe condemnation.” Elder Dallin H. Oaks devoted an entire General Conference address to the subject: “Protect the Children” (Source 14). The Church’s 2022 public statement declared abuse “cannot be tolerated. It cannot be excused.” (Source 15)

What we concede

A policy that a local leader can violate without immediate detection has an enforcement gap. The cases examined elsewhere in this series show local leaders who failed to follow this policy — sometimes with devastating results. The 2018–2019 reforms are themselves evidence that the Church recognized enforcement had to be systematized rather than left to individual judgment. What the record will not support is the claim that the policy was ever anything other than the categorical condemnation quoted above. An indictment of individual compliance is not an indictment of institutional design — and the institutional design here is stronger than that of nearly any peer denomination.

Next in the series: The Abuse Help Line

Sources and Verification

Direct sources retrieved and relied on in this article. Readers are encouraged to verify every claim.

  1. General Handbook, ch. 38, “Church Policies and Guidelines,” sections 38.6.2, 38.6.2.1, and 38.6.2.7 — the written policy that abuse cannot be tolerated, the duty to report and never disregard reports, and the commitment to comply with reporting law. Link
  2. Counseling Resources, “Abuse (Offender’s Needs),” churchofjesuschrist.org — offenders are subject to Church discipline and could lose membership whether or not convicted (citing Matthew 18:6; Mark 9:42; Luke 17:2). Link
  3. Deseret News, “New church handbook is online and available to all. Here are some of the changes,” Feb. 18, 2020 — the online General Handbook and its treatment of abuse and membership councils. Link
  4. Deseret News, “Updated LDS policy allows another adult to sit in on leaders’ interviews with children and women,” Mar. 27, 2018 (reporting the First Presidency’s Mar. 26, 2018 guidance) — leaders should never disregard a report of abuse or counsel members not to report to law enforcement. Link
  5. BYU Daily Universe, “LDS Church announces policy updates regarding abuse,” Mar. 27, 2018 — corroborates the never-disregard and never-counsel-against-reporting directives. Link
  6. Church Newsroom, “Child Abuse” (official statement) — confidential annotation on membership records since 1995, following members between congregations; the Church as, so far as known, the first religious institution to create such a mechanism. Link
  7. General Handbook, ch. 32, “Repentance and Membership Councils,” section 32.14.5 (Annotation of Membership Records) — when and how annotations are placed to protect members. Link
  8. churchofjesuschrist.org Help Center, “Annotation of Membership Records” — bishops are notified when an annotated member moves in and receive a Confidential Member Information Report listing restrictions. Link
  9. Jennifer Roach, “Shedding Light on the Complexities: Understanding Abuse Within the LDS Church,” FAIR Conference, Aug. 2023 — comparison with the Southern Baptist Convention’s declined member-tracking system and internal headquarters list. Link
  10. First Presidency letter, Mar. 26, 2018 (as reported by KSL, “First Presidency changes LDS handbook policies on sexual abuse, bishops’ interviews”) — the two-adult rule and the interview-companion policy. Link
  11. ProtectingChildren.ChurchofJesusChrist.org (Children and Youth Protection Training) — the required training curriculum for adults working with children and youth. Link
  12. KSL, “Abuse prevention training now required for Latter-day Saint leaders of children and youth,” Aug. 16, 2019 — the training is mandatory within one month of a calling and repeated every three years. Link
  13. Gordon B. Hinckley, “Personal Worthiness to Exercise the Priesthood,” Ensign, May 2002 — any man who abuses is unworthy to hold the priesthood; abusers called to repent. Link
  14. Dallin H. Oaks, “Protect the Children,” Ensign, Nov. 2012 — a full General Conference address devoted to protecting children. Link
  15. Church Newsroom, “Church Provides Further Details about the Arizona Abuse Case,” Aug. 17, 2022 — abuse “cannot be tolerated. It cannot be excused.” Link