#714 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7

Mine is a story of abuse. Not from a bishop but from a mormon dad who rose in the levels of mormon leadership because he did things like eloquently pray. He was, also,to put it bluntly a suck-up and as we all know this is a feature that helps you get far in mormonism (or…

#713 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4,7,9

I was 12 years old and recently found out that something I had been doing for years was called masturbation. My bishop happened to be my uncle, and I had my “biannual interview” when he asked if I had had sex, or if I masturbated. Immediately I felt ashamed of what I had done, and…

#712 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,5,7

I was roughly six or seven when I was molested by an older cousin during a family vacation. (Everyone was Mormon, and all the men mentioned below are Melchizedek priesthood holders.) I remember freezing, thinking that if I just held still, it would all be over. I had zero idea what was happening, and thanks…

#711 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,6,7,8. Other: Limited capability to feel love. Deep rooted belief I am not worthy of love. Unable to believe Christ could forgive me. Works, no grace.

My story happened not because of a Bishop with inappropriate intentions, but because the several men I dealt with were trying their best with very little guidance and only very confused cultural teachings to work with. My parents did NOT speak with us about sex. I learned from a medical textbook my mom gave me…

#710 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7

My 17 year old daughter has been sexually active for a bit. Her mom and I knew about it and mostly talked about safe sex. Daughter felt she needed to repent, went to the bishop—who is a really decent guy—and he pulled out a sheet of paper and said “I’ve been instructed to ask you…

#709 Name Withheld. CS: 1,3. Other: exacerbated OCD

I have obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). It started when I was a teenager, originally manifesting behaviorally as excessive confessing of sins to my bishop. I was a textbook case of a subtype of OCD sometimes called “scrupulosity”. My story provides a good example of a bishop not having the training necessary to deal with certain situations.…

#707 Natalie. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8

When I was 18 years old I confessed to my bishop that my boyfriend and I had been having sex. It was terrifying to be a teenage girl, fresh out of high school, alone with a man I hardly knew, talking about sex. My own parents never even talked to me about sex After confessing,…

#706 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,7,8,9

When I was 15, I became involved with a girl in my class. I already felt shame from this, as the church instructs kids to wait until age 16 to date. I became really close with this girl and we would kiss often. It was a very innocent relationship. However, when I went in for…