Red String · Five-Part Investigative Series

The Covenant
Inside the LDS Church’s Architecture of Silence

From a secret helpline that routes abuse reports to lawyers, to a $100 billion fund hidden from regulators for 22 years — a primary-record investigation into how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints built systems to protect itself while children were harmed.

5 Investigations Publishing March 5–9, 2026 All Claims Primary-Record Cited Court Documents · Sworn Testimony · Named Sources
01
Part I
The Infrastructure · Published March 5, 2026 LIVE
The Helpline: How the LDS Church Built a System to Silence Child Abuse
In 1995, the church established a 24-hour abuse helpline. It rings to the church’s law firm — not police. Documented in thousands of pages of sealed court records obtained by the Associated Press, this is the architecture of institutional concealment.
Published March 5, 2026 · 17 sources cited Read Investigation →
02
Part II
The Money · Unlocks March 6, 2026
Tithing and Secrets: How the LDS Church Hid $100 Billion While Paying Abuse Settlements
The church collects $7 billion annually from members. For 22 years, it used 13 shell companies to hide its $100 billion investment portfolio from federal regulators. When it pays $32 million to abuse survivors, that money comes from tithing. The SEC documents tell the story.
Publishing March 6, 2026 🔒 Unlocks Tomorrow
03
Part III
The Legislature · Unlocks March 7, 2026
The Lawmaker and the Lawyer: How the LDS Church Kills Reform in the State It Controls
The same attorney who advised an Arizona bishop not to report child rape was simultaneously a Utah state legislator. Over 130 bills in two decades sought to close the clergy reporting loophole. All failed. The AP documented who was fighting them.
Publishing March 7, 2026 🔒 Unlocks in 2 Days
04
Part IV
The Interview Room · Unlocks March 8, 2026
Behind Closed Doors: The Private Bishop Interviews and the Man They Excommunicated for Exposing Them
Lay bishops, with no professional training, conduct private one-on-one interviews with children as young as 12 — sometimes asking sexually explicit questions. Sam Young spent years fighting to end it. The church excommunicated him instead.
Publishing March 8, 2026 🔒 Unlocks in 3 Days
05
Part V
The Exit · Unlocks March 9, 2026
The Cost of Speaking: What the LDS Church Does to People Who Tell the Truth
In a ward community, your entire social world — friendships, family bonds, employment references — runs through the church. Speaking out about abuse means losing everything. NDAs are the formal mechanism. Shunning is the informal one. Both are documented.
Publishing March 9, 2026 🔒 Unlocks in 4 Days