When I was in my late teens, I was called into the Bishop’s office, out of the blue, and interrogated for over one and half hours, regarding sexual acts that I knew nothing about. With each question the Bishop asked, I answered NO, as I was unaware of what he was talking about. I was…
Those who read my story may well conclude that I have no business posting alongside those who have been subject to the horrors of sexual abuse and assault. My story is perhaps altogether commonplace. I share it because I am convinced that many members of the church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints have suffered…
My father was in church leadership as were all the males in my family dating back to Joseph Smith himself and are direct descendants of him. My maternal grandfather was a stake president, the first in the stake where I now live. He had a large family and every one of his children as well…
It was summer and we had a large garden in Nothern California we shared with neighbors and ward members. My dad was a postman and money was always tight for our big family. I was not yet old enough to date – 16 years old. But I my lessons in young women’s taught me that…
I honestly can’t say that I know exactly where it all began. The trouble is that the fond memories intertwine with the inappropriate and drawing that line to decipher between the two was very difficult as a child, especially when I was too young to understand. The abuse and grooming was such an integral part…
This is not a story about a mandated bishops interview. But it does show the nature of the naive Mormon mindset that just because someone is a bishop, they are completely trusted with your child. When I was a teenager, we moved across the country. The culture was very different from the one I had…
My ex-wife used to masturbate when she was a young woman until our marriage (she was 25). She is a true believer and claims that she didn’t have any bad bishop experiences. Despite what she claims, we had some sexual issues during our marriage and she always thought that it was because she was cursed…
I am a 41 year old life long male member of the LDS church. I was sexually abused as a young child by my Uncle who was 12 years older than me. I was offered no help or counseling as a young child to help me deal with the abuse I suffered. Adults were told…
We had postponed my daughter’s baptism for months so that her older brother could return from a sales job and baptize her. Days before the scheduled baptism we got a text from our bishop that our son was not ” worthy” to baptize his sister because he had masturbated that week. Our bishop encourages youth…
If you were with me in Utah right now, I would walk you out past my old neighborhood thru a farmer’s field about a quarter of a mile to the back edge of the field where an irrigation canal passes thru and a clump of trees still grows there today. One tree that’s there which…