Travis' friends said that he went to his bishop after Jodi moved back to Yreka. They said he was in the repentance process. Mimi Hall testified that he told her he was not "temple worthy," which means he was on probation and would not be permitted to attend temple ceremonies. I did not hear anyone say he was disfellowshipped. When he came forward voluntarily, repentant, he would agree to give her up (she's gone--yay!) as a condition of not receiving punishment.
That bishop would contact her bishop and may have done that. Her being called in to the bishop's office in Yreka would have been of no concern to her in my theory because everyone in Yreka already knew her and knew her family. To put it nicely, she had nothing to lose. She could tell that bishop that she was the one telling Travis to confess and how happy she was that he followed her advice and OF COURSE she was repentant and believed in the Book of Mormon, the Ten Commandments, and anything else he wanted to hear.
All things being equal, women have historically received lesser punishments for the same sin (adultery for example) because they are considered less culpable for whatever reason. My bishop told me I was not considered as responsible because I didn't have the priesthood.
When Jodi moved back to Mesa, she would have been able to tell her new bishop in the singles ward, which remember was A DIFFERENT WARD from Travis, she would tell him "I already spoke in detail with my bishop in Yreka and it was a very difficult conversation--I cried and poured my heart out to him and felt much closer to the Lord after we spoke." That new bishop would consider the matter taken care of. He would see that no disciplinary action had been taken on her record. There is seldom any verbal communication or fact checking because these are spiritual matters and we can all see how JA could come off as completely sincere and believable even while lying her
off.
It has been established that JA contacted Travis' bishop AFTER his death for the purpose of milking him for information. I understand she called him in the middle of the night to see what he knew. JM asked her about this on the stand.
Finally, I have never heard any callings mentioned that Travis held. Probably, due to his travel schedule with PPL, he would not have been able to assume the normal responsibilities of a priesthood holder in Mormonism, which is that he would receive a calling such as being a teacher in a study class, lead a youth group, be a boy scout leader, a men's group leader, etc.
ALV was completely WAY off when she suggested that TA had some kind of implied spiritual leadership responsibility because he was a "priest." All the men are priests from age 12.
Some of the behaviors which others may consider deviant for a 30 year old man are quite common in men who are functioning in fundamental religions with an emphasis on repressing personal sexuality, not just sexuality with others. Sexual behavior is heavily influenced by the environment, i.e., the lack of appropriate sexual outlets. An example of this is homosexual behavior in prisons is considered episodic because the inmates return to heterosexuality when they are released from incarceration. These studies have nothing to do with whether or not the sex acts are sinful, deviant, or normal, they are just observations of sexual behaviors under different environments.
Thanks for all the questions,websleuthers. I am trying to provide accurate information for understanding the behavior of the murderer and her victim in this case.
I don't intend to discuss the Mormon religion per se, but only those elements which are important for the success of the prosecution of this vile woman.
If this is not ok with you mods, please delete and I will not post here any further about maintaining appearances in the Mormon/PPL culture as a motive for murder.
I love websleuths and enjoy reading all your smart observations and witty remarks.
uke:
