*Note: I discuss addressing hard topics with priesthood leaders specifically, in greater depth in my upcoming book, Healing In Christ's Light From Patterns of Sexual Betrayal. Cedar Fort plans to release in January of 2024. The Sacred Work of Freeing CaptivesDear priesthood keyholders, many of us are held captive. Some are held captive by their own destructive patterns and compulsions. Others are held captive by the effects of their loved one’s destructive patterns which can also cause great harm. Either way, the result is that we become prisoners. And YES, we can learn to break free from sin and from the consequences of another’s sins with the Savior. Also, the journey will be so much better if we can have the support of our priesthood keyholders. As the Savior said, “That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth;” (Isaiah 49:9 & 1 Nephi 21:9) This plea from my virtual “garden tower” (see Helaman 7) to priesthood keyholders is written with a great deal of compassion and understanding that everyone is doing the best that they know how. Lay clergy is a service of high order that can often be thankless, exhausting and sometimes deals with extreme circumstances that even trained professionals grapple with. Additionally, the priesthood keyholders that I have been privileged to meet with have no shortage of greatness of heart. (see Alma 61) While I can’t fully understand what it is like to be a priesthood keyholder, I was once a Relief Society President who had strong misunderstandings about some crucial things. It was a hard mental, emotional and spiritual shift to consider other things. It required humility. I am tenderly asking for a humble approach as you consider the following, even if we agree to disagree. Please note that this is not a plea regarding my current circumstances, as it’s heartbreakingly too late. I do write this in hopes of helping other families and maybe even my own family in the future. Families Are a Big Deal
The concept of eternal families can be meltworthy because the possibility of being together in our family units after this life can provide hope, joy, and emotional relief when we experience the death of a loved one. That is, the concept of eternal families can be meltworthy but can become complicated and even unappealing when it’s applied to a situation where one family member is engaging in destructive patterns like abuse, addiction, adultery and/ or abandonment. The Atonement and Destructive PatternsI mingle with the brokenhearted often, meaning that I participate in various recovery meetings with primarily other wives of sex addicts. There is a theme among many of us that often, mercy is not balanced with justice in regards to loved ones participating in destructive behaviors. While the scales of mercy and justice can be tipped either way instead of being balanced, a majority of the issues seem to deal with exceeding permissiveness. With the best of intentions one might mistakenly subscribe to the belief that offering mercy without accountability and/ or consequences is the best way to help people come unto Christ. I, too, have followed this line of thinking and believed myself to be acting in Christ-like ways when I offered immediate mercy without accountability. Might I suggest doctrine regarding the critical nature of accountability? The World Was Established w/ Accountability & ConsequencesSo often the logic is that mercy will save a sinner because they will want to change their behavior after tasting the amazing goodness of grace. This can definitely happen and has been my own experience at times. Also though, when destructive patterns have been established and often hid in dishonesty, a wake up call through accountability is sometimes a more effective way to offer someone the opportunity to lean into grace. When Adam & Eve were introduced into the Garden of Eden, they were given beautiful blessings like delicious fruit from many different trees. They were also told that if they partook of the fruit of one tree, the tree of knowledge of good and evil, that there would be a consequence. After they partook of the forbidden fruit, I imagine a tender Heavenly Father who followed through on the consequence to drive them out of the Garden of Eden which eventually led to their death. Parents of adult children struggling with addiction who have given their all, and who find evidence of relapse might relate to Heavenly Father’s experience. Some courageous parents bring their precious child to the local bus stop or shelter, hoping that this rocky bottom will become a springboard for better choices. And why do they do this? One reason is that caretakers come to the realization that their loved one has a Savior: and it’s not them. Second, consequences offer hope of someone waking up to make better choices, plus other blessings. For instance, Adam & Eve were able to have children and we are the grateful benefactors of this consequence. Some who receive consequences due to their choices do choose repentance and recovery while some do not, but no matter what they choose, we cannot make that choice for them. Regarding the power of the priesthood and destructive behaviors, the prophet Joseph Smith said the following, “...when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man.” (D&C 121: 37) Please note that in the case of destructive patterns, many if not all of the concerning behaviors that Joseph listed are often present. To recap, these include covering sins, gratifying pride, vain ambition, and/ or the exercise of control, dominion or compulsion. (Added) Brethren, I am genuinely curious as to why someone who is displaying the things that Joseph warned about is often encouraged to exercise the priesthood before repentance has occurred? The consequence that Joseph teaches is, “Amen to the priesthood or authority of that man.” With a tender heart and genuine curiosity I am wondering, is this encouragement not mockery to God? (For those who have a thoughtful response this, please comment on this post. I am willing/ wanting to learn and am willing to consider other possibilities.) Christ Expects Us To Change Destructive Behaviors w/ HimConsider Christ with the woman taken in adultery. The Savior was exceedingly gentle and kind with her. Also, after refusing to condemn her, He did offer the expectation to, “go, and sin no more.” (John 8:11) We all make mistakes of varying types. Everyone sins, and there is a strong difference between mistakes that happen vs. destructive patterns that cry out for interruption and relief. When the commandment to “go, and sin no more,” is consistently broken, more needs to happen. The person who is offending needs correction and perhaps more importantly, those who are victimized by their behavior are hoping that correction will help to protect them as well. To quote a portion of a recent Instagram post: Not offering correction to destructive patterns can also embolden the person who is behaving destructively, and the unintentional consequence can be that those in close association with them can suffer. While it is not the intent of priesthood keyholders to perpetuate abuse, it can be the devastating reality. Fighting For Individuals & Eternal Families w/ Accountability & ConsequencesIn a way, offering accountability and consequences can be a way to fight for souls and families because it gives the person an opportunity to shake off chains that are harming them and their loved ones. When destructive patterns are established, we must be careful to not offer patterns of mercy without justice as we can unwittingly participate in the destruction of individuals AND eternal families. We can love them to death, which can include spiritual death. The Savior is clear about one responsibility of priesthood keyholders in this regard when He says, “if ye know that a man is unworthy to eat and drink of my flesh and blood ye shall forbid him.” (3rd Nephi 18:29) Of note is that the Savior’s bar is that, “if ye know,” and not, “if they confess.” Confession does not always occur in such situations in part because dishonesty is the lifeblood of destructive behavior patterns. I hope that it's not too harsh to say that the unintentional consequence of washing one's hands of consequences in severe circumstances seems to be the mockery of God. Fighting for eternal families cannot always be a path of mercy and grace without justice. If we want a family to truly succeed now and for eternity, then destructive patterns perpetuated by one person require interruption. This is an opportunity for them to choose something better for themselves and ultimately for their family. Unintentional Gender BiasesIt’s common for defensive stances to occur around the subject of gender biases. Even still, I am going to persist in addressing this subject. To offer an example of gender biases, I share the following without disclosing names or how I am aware of these events. I can assure readers that these events are very real. On one Sunday a few years ago, a wife discovered that her husband had relapsed in his addiction to pornography and masturbation. The pattern of addiction had continued for more than 3 decades. Their family had suffered terribly due to the relapse which accompanied lies, manipulation and emotional abuse. Realizing that he was caught, the husband went to confess to the bishop who offered a verbal warning to do better. The husband was allowed to participate in the sacrament and no follow up visits with the bishop were scheduled. Notably, on the very same day of her father’s confession, their teenage daughter also went to confess pornography use and masturbation to the same bishop as her father had. The daughter had not been caught, but had recognized that she wanted to change and went to confess without being coerced. She was met with love and compassion plus the consequence to not partake of the sacrament for a time and follow up appointments with the bishop. Surprisingly, a very similar scenario repeated itself with the same father/ daughter duo a couple of years later. The circumstances of their confession was the same in that the father had been caught and the daughter willingly confessed because she wanted to change. They even confessed on the same day. The only significant difference was they were in a different ward with a different bishop. However, the family’s new bishop handled both the father and daughter’s situations in nearly identical ways as the previous bishop. Gender biases might also occur with priesthood keyholders when a wife is accused of being responsible for her husband’s sex addiction because she didn’t offer him “enough” sex. Sometimes when a wife says that she is being emotionally abused, her claims are minimized and not taken seriously. Another example is when there is a strong focus on a wife forgiving before emotional, sexual or physical safety has been established. (And yes, forgiveness is a commandment, but requiring forgiveness before safety is established is kind of like asking a soldier to forgive the person who is actively shooting at him. Safety usually needs to happen before forgiveness can be processed.) How Can One Tell If Someone Is Truly Repentant?How can one tell if the person in their presence really wants to change when we can’t see the actual state of their heart? There is no sure way to tell because we are not God, however, something that I have learned from my time working 12 steps for wives of sex addicts is that there are markers for someone who really wants to recover. The markers are humility, honesty & accountability, which are all fruits of the spirit. A few questions to consider when applying these markers are: Humility: -Are they self-degrading themselves? This is not humility. -Is there an awareness of how their actions and behaviors have affected others? -Are they willing to change? -Are they defensive? -Are they willing to connect with God and others? Honesty: -Have patterns of dishonesty been present? -Have they disclosed little by little over time to their spouse or priesthood leaders? This usually means that there is more to disclose. -Is rigorous honesty present? Accountability: -Was the person caught in their behavior or did they willingly confess? -Are they blaming their behavior on anyone else? -Are they willing to truthfully answer questions and admit to their mistakes? -Is there pushback about boundaries or consequences that occurred because of their behavior? -Are they willing to do the hard work to recover and make restitution, including the possibility of attending therapy, group therapy, 12 step groups, etc? While this is a topic for another day, please also consider how the spouse and other family members have been affected. We need your help as much or more than the offending person. Conclusion Dear priesthood keyholders, please consider the possibility that mercy balanced with justice is absolutely crucial. Accountability can offer the offending party the opportunity to correct problems and to choose an eternal path. The engagement in this process is courageous and we partner with God to battle for souls when we lovingly enforce the line in the sand that God already set by way of commandments. When we lovingly offer accountability for destructive behaviors it might be exactly what someone needs to get back to the Iron Rod and hopefully the Tree of Life.
Loving accountability for destructive behaviors can possibly be instrumental for victims to find safety and to heal. Victims are generally grateful when the needs of the entire family are considered. We need help as we battle for our loved ones. If anyone happens to read this at the general church leadership level, please consider training for priesthood keyholders regarding balancing mercy with accountability, gender bias, and ways to help those who have been victimized. We desperately need help in these areas. I cannot understate the potential eternal impact of a righteous priesthood holder in our lives and for our families. I love and appreciate you dearly.
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Jeni BrockbankHi! I am a daughter of God who is healing in Christ's Light from the effects of a loved one's abuse, addiction, patterns of sexual betrayal and abandonment. I am a mother of 6, an author, a podcaster, and a friend to many. I adore healing in community and hope that you find this a safe place to heal. Archives
September 2023
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