I find that some of the most tender scenes in the scriptures are when Jesus is with children. For Latter-day Saints, perhaps the scene in the Book of Mormon when Christ visits the people after his resurrection comes to mind.

‘Blessed are ye because of your faith. And now behold, my joy is full. And when he had said these words, he wept, and the multitude bare record of it, and he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them. And when he had done this he wept again; And he spake unto the multitude, and said unto them: Behold your little ones. And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them.’ (3 Nephi 17:20-24)

Any parent would desire such a blessing for their children.

Of course, any parent knows little children aren’t always perfect little angels. They are hard work. Some can be cheeky. They learn how to get they want from the time they learn to cry. But they are also naturally inquisitive, forthright and, despite what I’ve just said, have no guile. They are pure and innocent because Christ makes them so – ‘… little children are alive in Christ, even from the foundation of the world’, (Moroni 8:12) Maybe that’s the ultimate reason why King Benjamin teaches us that we need to become like children. (See Mosiah 3:19)

In the gospel of Matthew, Christ also tells us that we need to become as little children. Indeed, the statement comes as a response to the disciples asking who would receive the greatest heavenly reward.

‘At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But 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 18:1-6)

I find the dichotomy in this passage interesting. On the one hand, if we receive a little child in the name of Jesus Christ, it is as if we are receiving Him. On the other, to offend such a child is to commit a crime so heinous that death would be preferable – and not just any death, but death in such a way so that the perpetrator’s remains will be forever hidden in the depths of the sea.

Now, I’m not here advocating the death penalty for paedophiles. I don’t know whether Jesus was using typical Jewish hyperbole when speaking to His disciples here. But He clearly considers the deliberate abuse of children amongst the most serious of sins possible. It would seems that many normal people in the world agree based on my own unscientific observations. Child abusers are notoriously treated horrifically by other prisoners when sent to prison. You can lie, steal, injure others – even murder – but abusing children is something so, so vile – even the most hardened criminals will rise in ‘righteous vengeance’.

Enter Wade S Christofferson.

If the name sounds familiar to LDS readers, that’s because he is one of the brothers of President D Todd Christofferson, 2nd counsellor in the First Presidency.

On 20th November this year, the story broke that Wade had been arrested for suspected child sexual abuse. He has since been charged. Horrific as this is, child abuse happens everywhere in the world, and families of any religion or no religion aren’t immune. Just because an active Mormon committed the crimes it doesn’t mean the Mormon church is bad. I’m a Mormon and many of the best people I know are members of the church.

News about the arrest didn’t hit mainstream LDS media (including mainstream media in Utah) until 25th November, so by now you might have heard about it. What you likely won’t have heard however are the following allegations:

• Wade was excommunicated from the Church in the 1990’s for the same thing
• When he was later rebaptised, an annotation had been added to his records saying that he shouldn’t be permitted to work with children, but that annotation had been removed by the Church by 2006
• Since 2006, he has served in at least 3 Bishoprics, giving him unrestricted access to children
• Since 2019, at least 5 church leaders knew about allegations against him, but chose not to report it to police. These included Bishops, Stake Presidents and a General Authority 70. Wade continued to serve in a Stake calling during this time.

If you would like the full details, please visit Floodlit.

When I served on a Stake High Council in the 1990’s, a member of the High Council was a police officer and I remember him quoting research by the police that paedophiles could not be rehabilitated. In other words, once an offender, forever a danger to children. Everything I’ve seen, heard and read since then confirms this.

No matter how serious a crime or sin, I believe in Jesus’ atonement. I believe in His power of grace and mercy. I know I need it desperately and would never withhold it from anyone else. I hope Wade fully repents and is able to come unto Christ. 

But I believe he can do that without being granted unrestricted access to children. I believe he can even do it without being re-accepted into the Church. The First Presidency had to approve his rebaptism and someone in authority in Church offices had to approve the removal of the annotation on his record. Because those two things happened, he may have abused more children.

If this were a rare event it would be one thing. But unfortunately, it isn’t. The LDS Church routinely hides child sexual abuse from police and others in order to keep stories out of the news. Institutionally, the Church prefers abusers continue with access to more victims than to have the reputation of the Church tarnished by bad news stories.

In local wards and stakes, it depends on your Bishop or Stake President as to how seriously such a crime will be taken and what action is undertaken. But the Church abuse ‘Helpline’ goes straight to lawyers who ask questions such as whether the abuse happened on church property (establishing primarily Church liability rather than child welfare), and have repeatedly told leaders not to report it.

If you don’t believe me, I encourage you to listen to two podcast series: Heaven’s Helpline, and Architecture of Abuse. Heaven’s Helpline is by a former BBC investigative journalist who had no axe to grind against the Church. He simply discovered things that caused him to dig further. His podcast shows this is a world-wide issue with the Church and is institutionally-based. Less professionally-produced, but insightful is the 21st Century Saints YouTube channel. These two wonderful women spearheaded a successful UK campaign to introduce police background checks for church members with callings that would give access to children. A summary of that experience can be found here.

Being involved in such campaigns brings risks. Sam Young in the USA was excommunicated for his campaign to reduce child abuse in the Church (although the Church implemented some of his recommendations due to the pressure it brought to bear). Stop and think about that. Someone was excommunicated for advocating better protection for children, while perpetrators are protected.

But I believe God will honour Sam and others for what they have done. After all, those who receive little children, receive Christ Himself.

If you’ve turned a blind eye to news like that of Wade Christofferson in the past, if you’ve closed your ears to it because it’s too painful to hear, if you’ve just trusted whatever you’ve been told about child welfare in Church statements and not looked at the facts, please stop. Please pay attention now. You and I will only be fit for the Kingdom of Heaven if we become like little children. I believe that means empathising with them when they are harmed. And we can’t truly empathise and stay silent.

We must do better. Jesus Christ Himself surely requires it.

© Copyright 2025 Jeffrey Collyer