Three years ago, I wrote a commentary for The Salt Lake Tribune pointing out how the history of polygamy in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints makes space for LDS men to use that history to sexually coerce victims.
Since I wrote that, dozens of women have shared with me their experiences of being groomed and assaulted by older men in their lives with power and authority over them. These were men they had trusted automatically, given their status as priesthood holders, as former teachers, bishops and, yes, mission presidents.
As a psychologist, I have seen LDS men justify infidelity and sexual assault by framing their desires as a prompting to live the higher law of polygamy. This is unfortunately more common than you might think.
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