PUNISHMENT INCLUDES LDS CHURCH DISCIPLINE
Byline:
Clay Carpenter 9/15/96
Whether Dr. LaVar Withers received adequate punishment
through the legal system for 30 years of abuse is a matter that may long be
debated.
But that isn't the only kind of punishment he's receiving.
For at least a year, Withers has been under censure of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints. Before he agreed Monday to a plea bargain
convicting him of misdemeanor battery over a 30-year period, the church placed
him on probation, according to a church source who spoke on condition of
anonymity. The source added that Withers also does not hold a temple recommend.
Withers' case is one example of how in heavily LDS eastern Idaho, justice meted
out by the church and the legal system intermingle. There have been cases in
which criminal defendants have mentioned to police that they are being
disciplined by the church. The church sometimes encourages offenders to admit
their crimes to police, and a criminal conviction can warrant church discipline.
It is unclear exactly when the church discipline of Withers took place, or
whether the discipline was decided by a disciplinary council or Withers' bishop.
But the church has acknowledged taking some type of action against Withers as
early as September 1995. Withers could not be reached for comment.
The official church line has continued to be only that Withers was
``disciplined.'' Church rules forbid officials from revealing decisions made by
disciplinary councils, which are: no action, formal probation, disfellowshipment
and excommunication. A church member's bishop can also place him on probation.
Probation acts as a strong warning against further violation of church
standards. Disfellowshipment means a church member is no longer in good standing
and may not, among other things, take the sacrament (communion), give a talk or
offer a public prayer. Someone who is excommunicated is no longer a member of
the church. All of the disciplines are reversible, and someone denied a temple
recommend can earn one later.
A temple recommend is given when church leaders deem a person worthy of entering
the temples, which are closed to all but the most active Mormons. It is given
after members are interviewed by their bishops and stake presidents. The temple
recommend is renewed or denied yearly, or can be withdrawn as part of a
disciplinary council's action.
Following the court plea bargain, the church issued the following statement
about Withers: ``This is a matter between Idaho civil authorities and Dr.
Withers. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has long expressed its
abhorrence for any form of abuse, whether the victims be children or adults.
When such incidents occur, it is right and proper that the perpetrator be
subject to the course of the law. This is an essential step not only in the
rehabilitation of the victims but in the repentance process of the abuser. The
church expresses its hope that this court decision will be the beginning of a
healing process for all concerned.''
Farrell Young, president of the Rexburg East Stake, in which Withers' Sixth Ward
is located, defended the church's policy of confidentiality.
``That is a private matter between him and his church,'' he said.
The church also protects the confidentiality of victims in such matters, he
noted.
The church also doesn't reveal how disciplinary councils _ until recently called
``church courts'' _ do their work. In cases involving crimes like those Withers
was accused of, church action is usually decided by a disciplinary council.
Lavina Fielding Anderson, an excommunicated Mormon and member of the Mormon
Alliance, an organization that fights spiritual and ecclesiastical abuse in the
church, provided an account of how disciplinary councils operate.
A disciplinary council, she said, is usually comprised of the three-member stake
presidency and the 12-member stake high council, both of which are made up
entirely of men. The accused is allowed to call witnesses on his or her behalf.
The panel listens to testimony of the accused and his witnesses and asks
questions.
Then the stake president and his two counselors privately pray and discuss the
matter and the stake president, acting as judge, makes a decision. The decision
is then put before the high council. If a council member disagrees with the
stake president's decision, the stake president further discusses the matter to
try to resolve the difference of opinion, but his decision cannot be vetoed by
the council.
``All the cases I know about are of total agreement,'' Anderson said.
Church leaders declined to comment on the accuracy of Anderson's account of
disciplinary councils.
The church's General Handbook of Instructions _ provided only to church
officials, not members _ permits the stake president to inform members of the
ward or stake that a member was disciplined ``for conduct contrary to the laws
and order of the church'' in cases involving ``a transgressor whose predatory
tendencies seriously threaten other church members.''
The source who informed the Post Register of Withers' discipline said, however,
that the stake president did not announce it to church members.
The source would not comment on whether the church would take further
disciplinary action in light of Withers' conviction. Withers was sentenced
Monday to 30 days in jail, two years supervised probation, 10 hours a week of
community service for two years, and fined $15,500, in lieu of a suspended
four-month jail term. The church handbook says ``predatory conduct'' and
behavior that damages the church's repuation are grounds for excommunication.
Elizabeth Stephenson, who testified in the sentencing hearing that Withers
molested her and her 5-year-old daughter, said she is sure that the disciplinary
actions the church took at the time were appropriate, given the information
church officials had.
``I guess it isn't necessarily my right to judge what the (church) courts
decided, because what is decided in court is private information,'' she said.
But now, the evidence is different.
``In my opinion, it would be proper to reconvene a (church) court and review all
of the information that has come out since the plea bargain ... There's quite a
lot of new evidence out. For instance, the rape charged by Deanna Richardson,''
she said.
The handbook apparently requires that a disciplinary council revisit Withers'
church status, anyway, said Anderson. She points out a passage that reads: ``A
disciplinary council must be held for a member who committed a serious
transgression that continues a pattern of serious transgressions, especially if
prior transgressions have resulted in Church discipline.''
In Withers' case, the legal system brought to light allegations that may help
the church in deciding how to discipline Withers. That's not uncommon.
``My experience is that they would wait on church court until the (criminal)
court action is finished,'' said Idaho Falls police Sgt. Steve Roos.
But the interaction between the church and police department is generally pretty
limited, he said.
``I can tell you that what they do has no bearing on what we do except once in a
while they will encourage people to come forward and come to us and say, `I need
to turn myself in,'' he said. ``They do their thing, and we do ours.''
