Comments about ‘Ex-member of LDS choir pleads guilty in porn case’

do not release him any where, put him in jail and keep him there,if he is home he will keep doing the same thing, he needs to be locked away and throw away the key, guys like this never change. it is a black mark for our church. they try to hide in the church, but i am so glad he got cought.

Don't judge or condemn without knowing all the facts. I don't condone porn of any kind. However, how many people view it, or have it on their computer, and never get caught? Allow Mr. Matthews to do community service and receive the psychosexual counseling that he needs to avoid this problem in the future. He can pay restitution for the counseing of the boys involved, but can't do that if he is not able to work. There are other solutions than being warehoused in prison, such as an ankle monitor that tracks where he is. Let Church Court and the Lord take care of the required justice, and the rest of us can have mercy.

Since when does the Lord's judgment supersede the law of the land? Also, when are we, the general public, to decided what proper restitution or penalties should be for law breakers? He took pictures of naked boys and who knows what else. Are you defending him over those innocent boys who trusted him. He pleaded guilty so proper judgment on earth is justified along with church disciplinary action.

Remember my friend, porn is not illegal but child porn is. There is a HUGE difference. It's time you go back and learn your LDS (Im assuming you are) doctrine. Start with the basics the Articles of Faith.

I wonder if S would be saying the same thing if this was a Catholic Priest. I applaud the Deseret News for putting up this article and picture, I just wonder if it made the front page? If it did Great! if not, well....its a start..

S, are you serious? Church Court does not take the place of meaningful, criminal punishment. I refuse to risk any other boys so we can give this PEDOPHILE "mercy". Ridiculous. It says in the article that he transmitted the pictures over the internet. Now these boys have their faces in the minds of pedophiles everywhere, and we can't possibly know how many people are now in posession of those photographs. There is no restitution for that. He needs to be punished according to the law, and hopefully that means he's put in jail for a long time. Behavior like this only escalates.

When I looked at his picture, I could see the sadness in his eyes. I feel sorry for him, his family and for those he exploited.

What does being a former member of the choir or obvious member of the LDS church have to do with this story? Why don't we list the religious member ship of EVERYONE when reporting crimes? It isn't just "Mormons" who are involved in wrong-doing.

Wow, I guess the Mormons don't have a lock on being good. When did any Mormon say" Why does it matter that the Priests are Catholic? What does that have to do with it?" But when it's a Mormon, it's a conspiracy. But you're right, it shouldn't matter. I'm sure you have no problem when someone is pointed out as a Mormon when it is a positive news story.
S: Should we not punish drunk drivers because some drive drunk and don't get caught? It seems to me that you are just protecting who you see as your own.

I heard from a family member that lives near this guy. Apparently he is also a former member of Sam's Club AND a current member (in good standing) of Costco. How come that information wasn't in the original news story?

(I've always been leery of those Costco people.)

When a member of a prominent organization such as MoTab is involved in scandal you cannot expect the news to ignore that fact. Why is Michael Vick receiving so much attention for dog fighting? If he were not a quarterback in the NFL no one would ever hear about it. While it is unfortunate I would expect nothing less.

I can't help but agree with marketlady...problem is, the majority of criminals don't have a religion.

I am a retired senior special agent who investigated child pornography cases for the US Customs Service. S is right that a church court is appropriate, but only after the criminal court has done its work. While it is important to remember that he is also a son of God, we must remember that the repentance process requires appropriate acknowledgement of wrong doing and restitution to the extent possible. Part of the restitution in this case is accepting the civil consequences of the wrongful act. That would be prison time if he is convicted. As far as therapy goes, there is little evidence to support a beliefe that therapy works to cure pedophiles of their sexual desire for children. I have seen the heartbreak for families of pedophiles and for their victims. I wish the best for them. By the way, I am LDS.

I am assuming that all of the comments so far are from LDS people. Shame on us for being so judgemental. We are to judge righteously and leave the rest to The Lord. What this man did was disgusting and horrific, and he is facing justice. Yet I dare say that if this man can find it within himself to change, and EVERYONE can change and repent (look that up in LDS doctrine), he will be better off at judgement day than any of us who presume to think we are so much better than him. Would I ever trust this man with my children? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Would I trust him to work on my car? Possibly, if he were a good mechanic. Mercy does not mean that he will get off free and clear, and civil justice will be met and should be hard, but I do not advocate sentencing someone to purgatory before God Himself does so. As for the victims in this case, they have been deeply scarred. Because they are young we do not know anything else about them. They have a long road ahead of them to repair what this man did to them, yet I do not think it is impossible. Why don't we spend a little less energy condemning others when teir fate is not in our hands, and spend a little more energy helping the victims? Through the mercy of Jesus these boys can be healed. I do not think there is any true Latter-Day Saint who would disagree with that.

Clearly, the headline did not fully represent his misconduct. He was nude with boys! Pedophiles like him have a sexual addiction every bit as serious and hard to change as homosexual attraction. It can be impervious to reform. He needs to be closely monitored the rest of his life and not allowed to be alone with children, for his own sake as well as theirs. To make him stop indulging his sexual attraction to children is like asking an average man to be celibate the rest of his life, despite the constant efforts of single women to interest him in themselves. Normal heterosexual relations with a wife does not fulfill those kinds of sexual addictions. It is going to be difficult, and the normal repentance process is not going to put it behind him. It will take constant vigilance and support, so he is not put in a position of temptation. You do him no kindness to think he can easily be "cured" of this.

Christ said "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone..". Later he said "...Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more". Looks like we have a long way to go if we are to be like Christ.

Idaho Falls, that is an ignorant and ridiculous thing to say. Shame on you.

I used to be outraged when "Mormon" was used in describing someone who had been arrested or caught in a immoral act. However, it is kind of a left-handed compliment. The church holds it members to high standards and the world expects that of us. So when one of us fails - it's open season.
Regardless of church discipline - he should be given the maximum legal sentence. Hard as that seems, statistics have shown again and again - reabilitation if almost impossible.

Church court and human court have two very different purposes, and each is appropriate in this case. Human court is needed to keep this man from re-offending, and to help the victims (at least, that's the way it's supposed to work, we all know that the imperfect system, created by imperfect humans and not perfect God, may not succeed). Church court will address this man's own eternal salvation. Long-term (eternal) is important, yes, but not at the exclusion of here and now.

Article of Faith #12:

"We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law."

Church court does not replace or supercede state court. It takes spiritual matters under consideration. This man must never again be in a positition where he is surrounded by children -- particularly boys. Church court gives him an opportunity to repent of this awful sin. State (or legal) court is also part of that process. It is impossible to fully restore what has been taken from these boys, and who knows how many others, but he can do his best if he is truly sorry.

Child porn is punishable via the law, adult porn
isn't.... unfortunately. How pornography ever came to be labeled 'free speech' leaves many to wonder.. it's all filth and any porn destroys the 'spirit' of a person and leaves lives destroyed in the process. Perhaps, when the players involved are 'adult', some adults may feel that watching crude and lewd images is harmless. Time to clean-up the filth infecting many homes! God cannot look on sin with the least degree of allowance - nor should we. Child porn usually begins with 'adult' porn and this story brings to the forefront how depraved some people have become.