My first girlfriend and I started dating during high school. We quickly grew very passionate of one another and began sexually experimenting. My parents didn’t afford me a lot of privacy growing up, and they quickly became aware of some very intimate details of our relationship. My parents then shared these details with both my…
I masturbated as a child, like many children do, and didn’t learn the word for it until I was a beehive and given the “For the Strength of Youth” pamphlet. Realizing that I’d been doing something bad for as long as I could remember gave me a complex for years and years that bred shame…
When I was 19, I began college at BYU-I. I had reconnected with my high school sweetheart and we wanted to get married. The year before, I had been in a serious relationship with a different man and we had had sex. I didn’t have any issues or regrets from it but knew it would…
I’ve got two. Both of them bad. The first one happened when I was a brand new deacon in the church. I was 12 years old. I went into my very first meeting with the bishop. He asked the general questions such as, are you keeping the word of wisdom and are you paying tithing.…
I was being interviewed for my upcoming temple marriage by my bishop at BYU-I in 2011. My fiancé and I had gotten physical on numerous occasions (never had sex but close) and when I ended up confessing to him the only question I remember was “did you climax?”. I was so shocked and hurt by…
To preface my experiences-I am an active male member of the church and am currently in my thirties. I have a strong testimony concerning the gospel and it’s doctrine. I developed a strong testimony of Joseph Smith and the restoration in my youth which then helped me develop an unshakable testimony in my Lord and…
When I was 12 or 13 we had a youth caroling activity where the young men and young women rode on a trailer on hay bells with blankets to keep us warm and we would go around our stakes boundaries and sing Christmas carols to the neighbors. One of the young men who was a…
I’ll start from my earliest memories. I do not share this to brag. I do not share this to cause pain or hurt (although I’m sure it will do both). I share this to show the other side. To show that the LDS church does cover up these types of things. I feel my bishops…
I thought for a long time that I was alone in feeling that the interviews were damaging and shaming. This is the story of how my experience with Bishop interviews led to me leaving the LDS church and cutting all ties with my blood family. A bit of context. I am a female. Being raised…
When I went to college I met a guy and began to date him. He told me that he looked at pornography and I didn’t really know what to do about that. I went to the bishop and he encourage me to date him as he told me he was a “good catch” and everything…