What it costs people

Readmitted

The Church’s rules allow a member whose membership was withdrawn to be baptized back in. In 1997 the Church readmitted the brother of an apostle, whom the Sun-Times reports had been excommunicated over allegations of child abuse. In 2026 he pleaded guilty to a federal crime against children.

Read this first

This page is built from the Church’s own handbook, the Church’s own statements, and reporting on a federal court case. Where something is an accusation rather than a finding, it says so. The man at the center of it has pleaded guilty to a federal charge; other accusations against him were never tried.

What the rules say

The Church’s handbook is specific about child abuse.

Exhibit A

General Handbook, chapter 32

“A membership council is required if a person abuses a child or youth.”

What it establishes: Abuse of a child requires a formal membership council.

Handbook chapter 32

Exhibit B

General Handbook, chapter 32

“First Presidency approval is required to remove formal restrictions or readmit the person into the Church.”

What it establishes: Withdrawal of membership is not necessarily permanent. A person can be readmitted, with the First Presidency’s approval.

Handbook chapter 32

The 2010 Handbook 1 (section 17.3.2) said a person whose record is annotated for having abused a child “must not be given any calling or assignment involving children or youth.” Nothing in the rules found for this page requires that a readmitted member’s new congregation be told why he was removed.

The case

1980s-90s

Wade Christofferson, a member in Crystal Lake, Illinois, is the subject of accusations that he abused children there. A watchdog group, Floodlit, says it found at least seven to 10 alleged victims; a woman made a police report in 2022. These accusations were never tried; the Sun-Times reports McHenry County authorities determined too much time had passed to prosecute.

Mid-1990s

He is excommunicated. The Sun-Times reports it followed allegations of child abuse; the Church has not said why.

1997

The Church readmits him. Its statement: he “was readmitted to the Church in 1997, following established disciplinary and confession processes.” The Sun-Times reports it is “unclear who signed off.”

Later

He moves to the Columbus, Ohio area and takes a leadership role in a congregation there. Keith Smith, a longtime Church leader in Ohio, told the Sun-Times he knew Wade Christofferson and his family but had no idea of past allegations of abuse.

Nov 2025

The FBI arrests him.

Jul 9, 2026

He pleads guilty in federal court in Columbus to coercion and enticement of a minor. The charge carries at least 10 years and up to life. The victims were under 10, according to the Justice Department. Sentencing has not been set.

Sources: Chicago Sun-Times, March 5, 2026; July 9, 2026; KSL.

The Church says it is “aware of no abuse involving his Church service” after 1997. Reports on the plea do not describe the offense as connected to a Church calling.

His brother, the apostle

Wade Christofferson’s brother is D. Todd Christofferson, an apostle and since October 2025 second counselor in the First Presidency. A Church spokesman told the Sun-Times that the apostle “first learned of” “some of his brother’s history of abuse from thirty years earlier” through family disclosure around 2020, and that he “respected the adult victims’ wishes not to involve law enforcement at that time.” The Church says he “did not know about or influence the ecclesiastical decisions regarding his brother’s membership,” and that when he learned of a recent allegation involving a minor he “immediately reported it to legal authorities” (Sun-Times, March 30, 2026).

That account comes from the Church itself, not from a court filing. President Christofferson did not speak to the reporter.

What is true on the other side

Readmission requires the First Presidency. Under today’s rules, readmitting someone whose membership was withdrawn requires First Presidency approval, and the record annotation is meant to keep abusers away from children.
The Church teaches that repentance and forgiveness are available to all. A church that believes that will sometimes readmit people who have done terrible things. That is a real theological commitment.
The apostle’s stated reason is the victims’ wishes. The Church gave that as his reason for not going to police in 2020.
Reporting duties depend on the law. The Church says that “in many places, priesthood leaders are required by law to report some illegal behaviors.”

Why this should make you question

Hold the Church to its own claim. It teaches that its leaders are guided by revelation, and its current rules reserve readmission for the First Presidency. (What the rules required in 1997 has not been confirmed for this page.) The record shows a man the Sun-Times reports was excommunicated over allegations of abusing children was brought back, moved to Ohio, took a leadership role in a congregation where a Church leader who knew him says he did not know the allegations, and later pleaded guilty to a federal crime against children.

As of the Sun-Times’ October 12 report, the Church had not said who approved his return, whether his record carried the annotation, or whether anyone in Ohio was told. Those are the questions a family in that ward would want answered.

The broader record on how the Church handles abuse reports is on the abuse page.

The point in one sentence

The Church readmitted a man the Sun-Times reports it had excommunicated over child-abuse allegations; he later pleaded guilty to a federal crime against children, and as of October 12 the Church had not said who approved his return.

Under today’s rules, readmitting someone whose membership was withdrawn requires First Presidency approval.

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