I was 15 and had never kissed a boy. In tithing settlement my bishop asked me if I had had sexual relationships with anyone. I said no. He then asked if I performed oral sex. I know I was 15. However, I didn’t even know what that was. I left feeling ashamed and gross. I…
I was 12 years old the first time I was asked about masturbation during a Bishops interview. I think I was surprised to be asked that kind of question by a priesthood leader. Being caught off guard, I told the Bishop that I didn’t but that was a lie. From that time forward in each…
I was 7 the first time I was asked if I “abide by the law of chastity.” Not knowing what that meant, I asked for a definition. In that room in front of a man I barely knew, I was given my first discussion about female anatomy and intercourse, oral sex, and more. Disgusting!
I was 15 and had a 18 year old boyfriend. I lost my virginity. My parents went to my bishop and asked him to talk to me. I was forced to go. I Confessed and he asked me, “Do you know what people called girls like you?” He called me a Slut. He told me…
I was 14 when I started dating a never-mo boy I was sweet on, and I suffered shaming for that. How could I betray God and my heavenly family for some boy that didn’t even believe in God? As the relationship progressed my mother found out about the sexual questions I was asking my more…
When I was being interviewed to enter young women’s at the age of 12, I was brought into a room with the lights turned off to speak with a member of the bishopric. He asked me the usual questions, things about tithing, reading scriptures, etc. I was so nervous that I would answer the questions…
When I was fifteen years old, I began dealing with what the Mormon church calls “same sex attraction”. I began to question whether or not I would be happy marrying a returned missionary husband, staying home and having a bunch of babies. I had talked to my Young Women’s leader about these feelings I was…
I grew up in the 1970s and ‘80s. I loved the church and never thought I would leave, but now I’m a middle-aged apostate who believes that one immense contributing factor to a loss of testimony is the church’s obsessive, abusive relationship to sexuality and shaming members. As a young woman (teen) I was interviewed…
When I was 17 I confessed to French kissing. The bishop told me how disappointed he was in me. How everyone looks up to me and I’ve let down God, him, my family, the young women. I cried and cried and then went home and cried more. A year later I’m 18 and at byu.…
At 5 years of age, I was caught playing doctor with the neighbor girl. It was pretty innocent, up to that point I had no idea boys and girls were different. But, we got caught and that’s when the shaming began. I remember that night, my mom told me that “God was ashamed of me.”…