During my interviews to be baptized, I was shamed for having been raped. Sorry to tell you, Bishop, it wasn’t my fault and there was nothing I could do to avert that predator’s attentions. But you wouldn’t know that, you aren’t a girl/woman. Shame on you for standing in judgement of the victim, not the…
When I was 8 years old and receiving my worthiness interview for baptism, I remember feeling uncomfortable. I didn’t know my bishop well beyond singing songs to him in sacrament meeting and making candy posters for him in primary. I was taught that he was safe, good, loved me, and had my best interests at…
I remember hitting myself at night when I came home from church in my early teens as I just couldn’t stay away from masturbation. I stopped for a year while living with my father. I then felt so guilty after a babysitting porn book relapse, that I told my father, who immediately had me into…
My husband is a retired police officer. There have been many times when he was investigating child abuse cases where bishops and other church leaders would not cooperate with the investigations. They stated this was a matter being handled within the church. They would not give any information. They were protecting the perpetrator, and the…
After high school, I moved out from my lovely LDS home in Texas to pursue an education at BYU in Provo, Utah at 18 years old. I grew up in a great LDS home, with faithful parents who taught me and instilled in me principles that I still believed in. I was taught that Bishops…
I went in for an interview to be allowed to go to the temple to be baptized for the dead when I was 12 years old. I was a shy and immature 12 year old. The stake president at the time was the interviewer and I had never had a conversation with him before. I…
I write this as more an appeal to all church leaders. I see a gross injustice done to teenagers and adults as bishops and stake president ask questions regarding masturbation. I wonder what it would be like to turn the tables ask a Bishop how he feels about this. I’m tired of the cover ups…
I began masturbating without knowing what it was. When I realized I felt afraid and guilty, feeling I’d done the worst thing save murder. A few months later, at age 13, I told my bishop. He asked me to describe how I had been doing it, how often, and for how long. He also told…
I. I was born into an LDS family. Throughout my childhood and youth, my father served in major positions of leadership, respect and trust, including bishop, stake high councilman, branch president and Gospel Doctrine teacher. Throughout my childhood and youth, my mother served in major positions of leadership, respect and trust, including Relief Society president,…
The other day, I found myself reading through the journal entries I’d written both before and after I was formally disfellowshipped from the Church. I was disfellowshipped when I was 14 years old. Like many Mormon girls my age growing up on the Wasatch front, the LDS church was my whole life. My family went…