I lost interest in the church when I was a freshman in high school and began hanging out with the wrong crowd. I ended up drinking and smoking marijuana with a boyfriend I began dating my sophomore year. I lost my virginity to him when I was 17 and shortly after I had my heart…
I was asked by my bishop, since age twelve, if I masturbated, looked at porn, or broke the law of chastity in any other manner. At twelve, I didn’t even know what masturbation was and I became very uncomfortable when the bishop explained the definition. I lied to my bishop every yearly interview. These interviews…
My son went in for his interview with the bishop in order to obtain the office of a teacher. He was asked if he kept the law of chastiy, he answered yes. The bishop then looked at him and said “This means masturbation too.” My son said without shame, “ Oh, I’ve done that. I…
In short, i was 9-11 years old and my parents found out me and my friends had found pornography. They took me to meet with the bishop, a close family friend. He wanted to know all about it. He asked where I found it. I told him it was in some bushes along the highway.…
I was a new Convert and I had just turned 18. In my home ward all of the Moms had it planned out which boys from the Ward their Daughter’s were going to marry. It was my first introduction to the meat market. My first Sunday my Mom stood up and introduced me in relief…
I’m a Mormon male who grew up in a small Mormon town in Idaho. The first time I confessed was when I was 13. After a Deacon’s Quorum lesson about “self-abuse”, I spent a lot of time considering the things they had talked about and I really internalized the teachings that masturbation was very awful.…
I did lose a 14 year old son to suicide in 2014, this petition is correct about the risk of suicide attached to these interviews. In my most painful moments searching for what sparked my Samuel’s end of life decision, the issues presented in this petition quickly rose high on the list to investigate. Not…
Fighting all embarrassment and fear of repercussions, I want to bravely share my experience preparing for a church mission and meeting with the bishop as a 17-year-old boy. Like all young boys in the church, I was asked by my local bishop about masturbation. This local bishop, mind you, had no license, no professional training,…
I was Mormon for the first 16 years of my life, and quit due to a few different things. I was also a “jack Mormon,” which means I was often late to church (it was 3 hours long!), didn’t read the scriptures (books), and didn’t pray regularly. When I was 15 or so, I was…
Last year when Trump was elected, a friend of mine started a website, I’m Not Just A Statistic. I shared a story of nearly being raped (but a dear friend sensed something was wrong and came into the room) that had recently come back to my memory. I try not to think about it, but…