I tend to linger on what-ifs. It& #39;s a bit cathartic. Had the church done a transparent investigation (see my last what-if here:  https://ruthhutchins.com/post/psa/ ),">https://ruthhutchins.com/post/psa/... had it cleared J3, had John come clean at the beginning, I think he could have returned after doing the work w/family privately

Apologizing (properly) doesn& #39;t mean going into inappropriate detail. It doesn& #39;t mean making Johnny& #39;s name public. It doesn& #39;t mean debasing yourself either. I don& #39;t think most people would have judged John harshly. We& #39;re all human. And all the subterfuge could have been avoided.

What if John had apologized, really apologized? I think it would have been healing on so many fronts. Here& #39;s a stab at it (with the caveat I have to take educated guesses at John& #39;s thoughts).

... But the church decided to minimize and obfuscate instead. :( https://ruthhutchins.com/menlo/2020-01-25-ortberg-statement/">https://ruthhutchins.com/menlo/202...