This post will present evidence supporting paragraph (1.a.iv.v.) from the outline.
Attendance
Louis requested to come to Women’s Council #1 but was not allowed.
iv. The rules set by the council were fickle and unpredictable.
v. The women knew Louis was out of the country and gave
him less than 48 hours notice to meet their requirements.
Louis did not know what was witnessed against him, he was only able to discern generalities based on the questions he was asked to respond to. NEITHER Louis nor his wife were INVITED TO ATTEND the women’s council where two of their marital arguments were evaluated and judged.
Witnesses were to refrain from hearsay and keep their comments to incidents they personally witnessed. However, the major complaints of Council #1 could not have been observed by witnesses, as they both took place in a private bedroom.
*First Event in Israel:
Louie’s wife reported a dispute in the couple’s private bedroom.
Another couple witnessed crabby words spoken between Louis and his wife throughout the trip.
*Second Event in UK:
An apparent dispute took place in the couple's private bedroom.
Some of those traveling with Louis and his wife received a Whatsapp message and observed tension between the couple.
*If other events were of concern, Louis was not made aware.
Friday, January 12, 2024, 9:37 am, to Louis from Organizer #1: First Notice of Upcoming Women’s Council.
Dear Louis,
With heavy hearts and after prayer and fasting we have determined that there is a need for a Women’s Council to consider your eligibility to retain your Priesthood Certificate . . . To determine your continued eligibility, the council will discuss your public actions As witnessed by at least two or more people, first in Israel in January 2023 and then in the UK in November 2023. The counsel from the Lord, as recorded in Teaching and Commandments 157:57 and 175:32, will be our guide for the Proceedings.
The council will be discussing several grave concerns that have been brought to
our attention connected with your behavior towards your wife, in both Israel, and the UK.
. . . Please respect the following guidelines when/if you respond with your answers to the questions that we, as a Council, have asked in this letter.
Refrain from hearsay and he said/she said statements.
Respond as briefly and succinctly as possible.
We are willing to take your answers under review so long as you stick to facts and do not slander either your wife or the women of the Council.
We are not asking for the complete retelling of the incidents (since several of us on the council were there), but for any important additions and perspectives, you feel need to be added.
Please keep your comments to incidents that you have personally witnessed (feelings and beliefs are allowed)
Final Thoughts
As mentioned above, we are using the Lord’s counsel recorded in T&C 157:57 as our guide. As you may or may not know, it does not have a provision for the accused to speak at or during a Women’s Council. The Lord left that up to the Women to decide whether to allow that or not. Because we decided against inviting you to speak during the upcoming meeting/proceedings, this letter is our attempt to hear your side/version of the events that were witnessed by multiple people in this movement . . .
Lastly, please note that [wife] was not invited to be on the Council, nor is she a witness. In fact, she was not asked to participate at all and did not submit a written or verbal statement. All the reports of the events described in this report come from multiple witnesses who were there and saw/heard things firsthand —none of which are [wife]. This was done to avoid multiple “he said/she said” scenarios where no other witnesses were present.
We ask that you reply by email on or before Saturday night, Jan 13th, at midnight US time, which is 7 am UK time on Sunday the 14th . We are aware that this is not much time to reply, and we appreciate any effort you make . . . [Less than 48 hours notice]
Organizers Expand Original Complaints & Change Deadlines
1st Change
Wednesday, January 17, 2024 at 9:16 am GMT+3 to Louis from Organizer #2
Louis, We met on Sunday as a Women's Council. We did not come to a decision. We called a recess and will meet again next Sunday, January 22 [Sunday is Jan 21, 2024]. This gives you an additional few days to respond. We hope you respond because the women of this council want to hear your account of things before making a decision. We did not receive your last email until 11:49 am our time last Sunday. This was after the recess had been called.
During the council, the women voted on the best way to consider your testimony. The consensus was to extend a third invitation to you to please submit your response in writing. All of the other testimonies we have considered thus far have been in written form. Thus, allowing you to respond in writing is both fair and appropriate . . . [wife] is being offered the same opportunity to submit a written document before we reconvene next Sunday, which will be read to the council if she chooses to submit one.
As we explicitly asked in our letter to you dated Thursday, Jan 11, please conform to the guidelines listed there when writing your response, being mindful to answer the specific questions that are found in that letter, along with any feelings about those events that you would like to share. In addition to those questions listed in the letter of January 12, please answer one more . . .
Lastly, because we are offering you (for a third time) the opportunity to answer these charges in your own words, we have set the deadline for us to receive your written/audio response as Thursday, January 18th at 12 Noon. [Less than 24 hours notice]
2nd Change
The council addressed two specific events that happened in Israel and the UK, but the new questions were not about what happened in Israel and the UK. There is also a new deadline.
Thursday, January 18, 2024 at 1:51 am GMT+3 to Louis from Organizer #1:
Lou, We have two additional questions we are inviting you to answer . . . Also, we have extended the deadline to receive any response from you to this Friday at 6 pm, US time . . . [Less than 48 hours notice]
Louis and his wife were not present at Council #1, but witnesses were invited to attend the majority of the time.
May 14, 2024, 2:16 p.m. Angela O’Rullian [council member] in comments below blog post:
Some of the procedures changed during the duration of the council without involving consensus of the members . . . Also, the majority of the procedural decisions during and after the council were made by the organizers and not by unanimous or consensus decisions of the whole group.
Furthermore, there was very little discovery process and much of the witness written testimonies contained many personal opinions and persuasive language. The witnesses were then asked to be in attendance, staying the majority of the time and offering their own persuasive arguments toward what the outcome should be . . .
Note: Louis was traveling in Türkiye at the time. Many days he didn’t know where he was going to sleep and struggled to find his next night’s lodging, sometimes in dangerous territories, but all where he did not speak the language. He had an inconsistent internet connection, no computer, and communication was limited.
Wednesday, January 17, 10:56 PM Louis forwarded Jennifer the January 17, 2024 email from Organizer #2 along with this note:
Haven’t even read this yet.
Almost didn’t have a place to sleep last night as my internet went completely out.
To Be Continued . . .
*If you have an objection to what I have written. Please submit your evidence along with your first and last name.*
[emphasis added throughout]
