|
The following true story reveals the "fruit" fo what happens when you teach generations of young Mormons that the purpose of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is to "be a success in life" (i.e. The Gospel of Gain).
That is NOT the purpose of the Gospel! But, this true story reveals the "fruit" fo such teaching, in a very affluent Young Adult Ward, in Washington State.
The following is a true account, so help me God, and I give this true testimony and witness in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen, of the Bellevue 8th Ward sex-scandal and cover-up that occurred during the years 1987 to 1989.
I met Larry in 1987, he had just been divorced. He was humble (the first and last time in his life I think).
I was a returned missionary in 1987. I lived in Tacoma, 50 miles south of Bellevue, Washington, but I heard of a Fireside in Bellevue that I wanted to go to. At the Fireside I met a man named "Larry". He was a former BYU grad, and had recently been divorced.
Larry was 6'5", and had blondish hair. He was a BYU grad, and an Enginner with Boeing in Seattle. His wife of 5 years had just divorced him. His wife had been a Miss Utah (forget the year...late 70s).
Larry and I became roommates in Bellevue, and we were friends and associates for about 2 and 1/2 years. He liked intellectual conversations, and I am an intellectual and enjoy such conversations. During this time I was becoming very skeptical of the LDS Church, although I had served a mission. I was at this time studying other religions. Although I still considered myself a Mormon, I was becoming more than more disillusioned with Mormons in general; Mormon bishops, Mormon leaders, Mormon women, etc. I found in Larry somebody I could talk to without being shunned, as most Mormons were shunning me by this time, mosly because I was poor but going to an affluent Young Adult Ward where poverty was seen like the sign of the Black Plague.
I was becoming disillusioned in 1987 because in 1981, I had warned Church leaders and Church Security about Mark Hofmann, who was "discovering" many old documents and selling them to the Church. I knew Hofmann was working with anti-Mormons. I wrote to Church leaders. In response, I was told to "seek professional help". I was told I was "delusional" and Mark Hofmann was a faithful Member of the Church. Five years later, in Feburary 1986, Hofmann confessed for hundreds of counts of forgery, and two counts of murder (he used bombs) to try to cover up his forgeries. He was an active Mormon, a closet Atheist, worked with anti-Mormons, and tried to REWRITE Mormon history via his forgeries.
I was right all along, and it took the deaths of two innocent people to prove it.
But, I discovered the people who called me a "nut" and who villified me could not care less if I was proven right or not.
I received no apologies from Church Offices, the many who dismissed me as a "nut" and told me Hofmann was a faithful Member of the Church, while I was "crazy" or "trying to make money from the Church" (although I never asked for any). Not one apology. I was beginning to seriously DOUBT that "The Brethren" were inspired of God at all.
But, I was desperately trying to stay in the Church, and redeem my testimony of the Church and Church leaders. I desperately wanted to believe they were Prophets, Seers, Revelators. But doubt was overcoming me, slowly but surely.
During this time I rented a room from Larry, who was a well-paid Engineer at Boeing.
Larry confided in me, he told me about his life in the Church, and at BYU. He spent 6 years at BYU. After I knew him for a month or so, Larry began long discussion with me. Some of these discussions lated 8 hours of more. He told me about his growing up in the Church. He told me about his experiences at BYU....WHICH SHOCKED ME beyond belief.
Larry made BYU appear to be a HUGE FREE BROTHEL (whore-house). I could sense he was not lying, but I assumed that he was referring to 3% of Mormon women, who had no morals, and not to the 97% who were moral. He would just laugh at me and shake his head!
Unlke me, Larry was born and raised in the Church. According to Larry, Mormon girls were just like all women, that they weren't any more moral than prostitutes; give them what they want, or pretend they will get what they want, and they will give you all the sex you want...PERIOD!!!
I disagreed with him fervently, and said that perhaps 3% of Mormon women were that way, but he should not judge all Mormon women by the 3% who were like that. I was to discover in the coming years that I WAS WRONG AND LARRY WAS RIGHT!!!! More like 3% of Mormon women were moral, and the 97% were IMmoral, at least when it came to Alpha Males like Larry was.
Larry sexually seduced scores of young active Mormon girls in and around the Seattle area over the next two and 1/2 years. For over 18 months during this time, he had a 17 year old live-in girlfriend, that he treated like CRAP, called her "THE BITCH". Yet, the young girl made gorgeous meals for him every night, washed his clothes, gave him sex every night, and put up with his abuse for 18 months. He finally moved leaving her behind (no pun intended).
All during the time he had this girlfriend, he was "dating" active Mormon girls, from ages 18 to 29 (he was 36-37 at this time). He had many marriage proposals from these girls, two of them were 18, a few around 20 or 21, and several returned missionary sisters (YES!). They all loved him dearly, and chased him. He referred to these women as "whores" and "fat-asses" etc. He used them for sex, but he considered himself FAR...FAR superior to all of them.
Finally, he met a girl named KARAN at the Belleuve 8th Ward (a Single's Ward). She looked like a fashion model. He fell in LOVE!!! He respected her, and did nothing at all sexual with her. After all...he was going to take her to the Temple!!! All during this time, of course, he had anywhere from 4 to 6 girlsfriends at any one time.
Larry would invite a girl home then have her sit on his lap, then he would massage her shoulders, then her breasts, then he crotch, then unzip her crotch and "finger" the girl to climax. How many girls called the police on him? ZERO!!! The VAST great majority of these active Mormon girls (including returned missionaries) interpreted what Larry did to them as LOVE! I KID YOU ___NOT___!
Larry gave them an orgasm, and they thought this meant he LOVED them and wanted to marry them. It didn't. He considered them "whores" and compared them to pieces of toilet paper; to be used once as needed, then disgarded. During the last 6 months I knew him, he was trying to become a CHAPERONE for Youth dances! Why? He was growing tired of all the sex he was getting from 18 and 19 year old Mormon girls. HE WANTED THE 13 and 14 MORMON GIRLS TOO!!! He used to tell me sometimes, "You know Darrick, if a girl had HAIR DOWN THERE that means they are old enough for sex!"
All during this time, Mormon girls from ages 18 to 35 would invite him to Sunday dinners, and he would come home from 3 to 5 pieces of paper in his pocket every Sunday, shoved into his pocket by Mormon girls he would meet at the Young Adult Ward. I saw the papers with their numbers. I saw the letters he received from them, BEGGING him to call them. I answered the phone when he was not there, from young Mormon girls DESPERATE for him to call them back. This went on for YEARS.
I came back many a night only to see a girl come out of his room, or go into it. All this time, my attitude was, "IT IS NONE OF MY BUSINESS!!!" I never spread TRUE rumors about this girls, or him, at Church. My philosophy was that what other people did WAS NONE OF MY BUSINESS!!!
During this time I tried to date, but attractive girls would not date me. I remember calling one and asking her out. After a short period of silence, she said, "BUT....I"M """BETTER""" THAN YOU!!!" and hung up the phone.
Finally, I began to date fat girls. I wasn't attracted to them, but, I thought, "Well, if this is who God wants me to date, then I'll try to fall in love with one of them!!!" Of course, I couldn't fall in love with any of them, but I tried very hard to do so. I figured if I grew to love a fat woman as a person, then this love would grow into sexual attractive. NEVER DID! At any rate, I kept trying, because the other girls would not talk to me usually, much less date me. At first the fat girls seemed very happy I was dating them, but then they would say, "The other girls in the Ward say you're a LOSER! I'm not sure if I can see you again!" I discovered that the attractive girls in the Ward were telling the fat ones, "Oh, don't go out with DARRICK! Ugggg! He's a LOSER! Have you seen his car?" Some of the fat girls dumped me. But a few of them wanted to marry me, regardless of what the other girls said, but, ultimately, I could not go through with marrying one of them, because from Day One until the last day I knew them, they repulsed me physically. I tried to become attracted to them, but it never worked.
Why did the attractive women in the Ward treat me so bad? What did I DO to this women? Nothing! I had a junky car, and junky clothes, and low-wage jobs. That was it. Larry had a nice car and nice clothes, and a very good job. He was a WINNER that women chased. I was a LOSER than these women HATED! I mean that. I showed them utter respect, and, in return, I was absolutely despised.
Why? Because I had mistreated them? No. Larry did. Because I had abused them? No. Larry did. Because I had grossly disrespted them? No. Larry did. Yet, after all this, they still LOVED Larry, and they still utterly despised me. Larry was a WINNER. I was a LOSER. That's all that mattered to these women!
Finally, there was a very nice girl, thin, who planned to go on a mission. Larry seduced her, and then dumped her. To her credit, she cancelled her mission plans. I saw her at Church the next Sunday. She looked like she'd been through a concentration camp. Larry had ABSOLUTELY emotionally destroyed her!. By then, I could see that Larry was DESTROYING women! He was destroying their souls. By then, I'd had ENOUGH!!! I went to the bishop of the Bellevue 8th Ward and told him what Larry was doing. He looked at me with a self-righteous smirk on his face, and said, "Larry? Larry? I see him EVERY SUNDAY! I hardly ever see YOU at all! And LOOK AT WHAT YOU'RE WARING! You look like a BUM OFF THE STREET!"
He went on to tell me that Larry was NOT seducing girls, that I was just jealous of him, and making up things (lying), and that girls chased Larry because he was LIVING THE GOSPEL, and girls rejected me because I was "NOT LIVING THE GOSPEL". Finally, he told me to stop lying and get a new suit!
His name was Bishop Kuntzler (yes...really!). He was one of the Vice Presidents of Boeing at that time. They had many.
Anyway, I went to the Ward for 3 more weeks, but I then completely inactive and went back to my parents to live. About 5 months later, I get a call from "Bishop Johnson" of the Bellevue 8th Ward. At first I was defensive, but this is what he told me.
He told me that he had been bishop of the 8th Ward for 2 months, having replaced Kuntzler. He told me the first Sunday he was Bishop about 5 girls came to see him, saying, "Bishop, there's a guy in the Ward named Larry. He did this and that to my friend. I just don't want him to do this to more girls."
He told me that he tried to get Larry into his office several times by saying, "Can you come see me after Sacrament?" and Larry would say, "Sure!" then never show up. Finally, Johnson literally corralled him into his office as Larry was passing in the hall, and confronted him, and Larry laughed and said, "Ha ha ha...these girls ARE ALL LIARS!!!!"
Johnson told Larry, "You are NOT welcome in this Ward again while I am bishop of it!" Larry left that Young Adult Ward, and promptly went to another one (Lake Washington Single's Ward) about 4 miles away.
Johnson had gotten my number from an old Ward directory, because a few of the girls had told him that "Darrick Evenson" was Larry's roommate. Johnson wanted to me to confirm what the girls were saying was true.
I told Johnson that Larry would normally bring young girls home after a Young Adult Dance, seduce them, then drive them back to their cars, all the time he would tell his 17 year old girlfriend to wait upstairs or him, in bed, and remain silent so as not to "spook" the girl he had on the coach downstairs. SHE OBEYED COMPLETELY...for over 18 months!!! Then, on Sunday mornings, he would get out of bed with his young girlfriend, take a shower, put on his best Sunday suit, then go to Church; there to get numerous offerings for Sunday dinners, and phone numbers shoved into his pockets; all from young attractive active female single Members of the Ward, including at least two returned missionaries that I know of.
Anyway, Johnson decided he would have a 'Meeting" that included me, himself, his first counsellor in the Bellevue 8th Ward bishopric, and the bishops of the Wards that Larry was attending or had attended. Four of us showed up, and I recounted what I knew. Suddenly, Johnson told me, "I phoned Bishop Kunzler about this, and he told me YOU NEVER TOLD HER WHAT LARRY WAS DOING!" I said, "Not only did I tell him, I shoved notes under his door for 3 Sundays after that, saying; "PLEASE DO SOMETHING ABOUT LARRY!" Kuntzler simply gave me looks like he wanted to kill me!"
The men in the room stood up and said, "ARE YOU CALLING BISHOP KUNTZLER A LIAR? HE'S PROBABLY IS GOING TO BE OUR NEXT STAKE PRESIDENT!!!!"
Many Members of the Church believe the HIGHER your Church office, and the HIGHER your accomplishments in life, the CLOSER you are to God! Kuntzler was a former bishop, a VP of Boeing, a wealthy man. I was a pizza-delivery guy who was semi-active. CASE CLOSED.
Of course, Kunzler LIED THROUGH HIS TEETH. I told him about Larry, but he refused to believe me.
Anyway, to make a long story short, Bishop Johnson went and held a special session with the Relief Society in the Bellevue 8th Ward, warning them about Larry. I went to the Bellevue 8th Ward that day. After Relief Society was over I was walking past, in the hall, and one girl said to another (whom I had seen making Larry breakfast once), "Susie, didn't YOU go out with Larry once or twice?" and Susie said, "Oh, NO! He asked me out but I refused to go out with him!" I knew of course THIS WAS A LIE, but I didn't say anything. I just walked on.
I began to feel sick, so I went to the Men's room, and I threw-up.
Now, Bishop Johnson had plans to hold a few Church Courts with a few of the girls that had been sexually involved with Larry, but one of these girls was the daughter of a member of the High Council, a very wealthy Old Utah Pioneer family. Calls to Salt Lake City were made, and suddenly ALL the Church Courts were cancelled, and Bishop Johnson was RELEASED from his calling! He was FIRED!!!
The man who tried to bring Larry to a Church Court had made the "mistake" of wanting to hold a Church Court on the daughter of one of the most wealthiest and powerful men in the Church in the Pacific Northwest. That was NOT going to happen! Bishop Johnson was fired.
On the other hand, Bishop Kuntzler, the man who called me a LIAR twice, the man who covered-up Larry's womanizing, was soon called as 2nd Counsellor in the Bellevue Stake Presidency, and on the "fast-tract" to become Bellevue Stake President.
Larry was NEVER called to a Church Court. None of the active Mormon girls and women who were sexually involved with Larry, to one degree or another, were ever called to a Church Court. I tried going to the Bellevue 8th Ward several times after this, but the women, and most of them men, treated me like a Jew at a Nazi rally!
Why? Two reasons:
1. I had violated the "unwritten/unspoken rule" that one does NOT TALK ABOUT SEX in Church, and especially NOT with the Bishop! Sex was a private matter left private. You HAVE SEX....but you don't talk about it, especially with not priesthood-leaders! And you do NOT talk about OTHER people having sex, and NOT with the bishop!!! Others could call me a "LOSER" behind my back, THAT was ok, but me talking about men and women in the Ward having sex....WOW! I had broken ALL the UNspoken rules!!! In their eyes, I had committed the UNFORGIVEAGLE SIN!!!
2. The women all loved Larry, and all thought that Larry loved "them" but not the other girls he was involved with. They believed I somehow "messed up" their future with Larry.
Yes, Dear Reader, just about ALL these women whom Larry had seduced, thrown away, he used, he called "LIARS", he referred to as "toilet paper"....they still LOVE HIM DEARLY. Each one thought "they" were "special" and the other girls were just "flings". All "forgave" Larry of his "mistakes" and tried to contact him again.
After all....they were in love!
A wise man once said:
"By their fruits...ye shall know them."
|
