Former LDS bishop Sam Young, other advocates announce first national march against child sex abuse will take place in Salt Lake City

SALT LAKE CITY (UT)
Salt Lake Tribune

July 28, 2019

By Alison Berg ·

A coalition of advocates against child sex abuse in churches gathered Sunday to announce the nation’s “first march” — planned for this fall in Salt Lake City — dedicated to ending such abuse.

Sam Young — a former bishop in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who was excommunicated after his push to end one-on-one interviews with lay leaders in which children sometimes are asked sexually explicit questions — joined forces with the Zero Abuse Project, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, and Boise’s James, Vernon & Weeks law firm to announce the march and a series of mountain climbs to protest child sex abuse.

“Child abuse is the most prevalent health problem children face. Yet we’re not talking about it, not addressing it,” said Young, who founded Protect Every Child and planned the march. “I encourage everybody that is concerned about child sex abuse, anybody that wants to eliminate what’s happening to children, to come to the march.”

The march is set for Oct. 5, starting at Salt Lake City Hall and ending at the Utah Capitol.

Until Aug. 3, a news release stated, coalition members also will ascend Wasatch Front mountains to “emphasize the point that society should be shouting from the mountaintops the importance of protecting children from sexual predators in their religious communities.”

Young said the climbs are symbolic of the Latter-day Saint hymn “High on the Mountain Top,” which encourages members to stand proud in their faith.

“It’s very symbolic,” Young said in an interview. “This is the message: Protect our children from abuse. That is a message so important we want to shout it from the mountaintops.”

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