We moved to a new ward when I was 13 and I discovered masturbation shortly after that. I didn’t discuss it with anyone, but I gleaned enough context around the topic from friends and the church’s teachings on sex that I felt guilty and felt the only way to repent was through confession to the…
There are three bishops whom had the authority to declare the validity to my self worthiness: from taking the sacrament to going through the temple and onto serve a mission. The second bishop, whom I knew since the age of 6 was my best friend’s father. I shared family dinners with him, slept over at…
At 17, I was repeatedly asked specific questions by my bishop when I went in to confess the things I had done. I was asked whether I spit or swallowed. I was asked whether or not I masturbated, how often, and what I used. I was required to visit with him weekly and sometimes twice…
When I was 17 I went to see my bishop after I felt my boyfriend and I had gone too far physically. He did ask me very specific details and also what I had done to encourage this and if I felt it was OK to exhibit that type of behavior around a son of…
I joined the Church at the age of seventeen hoping it would fix things. I was being sexually abused by a teacher at my school who preyed on my vulnerabilities and exploited my trusting nature. I was aware that what he was doing was wrong, but never fought against it and never told anyone. It…
I was ten. I stumbled across porn for the first time, and had kept it a secret from my parents as I knew they would be ashamed in me if they knew their child was bisexual. I had always considered myself to be a more mature child, and I had heard that finding and occasionally…
As a teenager I had sex once, I talked to my bishop about it and he told me the cupcake analogy and told me that I was of less value than if I had waited until marriage. I felt less than any of the other girls I grew up around. A couple years later I…
I have a child currently at BYU-I. The bishop there has asked several students how often they plan to have sex after marriage (including our child). The bishop then proceeds to explain that it isn’t as often as the student thinks because of things like pregnancy and menstrual cycles. We know of at least 3…
I am a fairly sensitive person that also deals with a guilty conscience, and as a young man in the church those interviews caused many years of psychological damage on my developing mind. The guilt and shame I dealt with almost destroyed my self-confidence and self-worth, all because I was normal, I had hormones, I…
I was told from the time I turned 12 that masturbation was a sin. I discovered masturbation by accident before that time and didn’t even know what it was. When I finally made the connection I felt a deep sense of guilt and through numerous “chastity talks” from the bishop during our youth meetings, I…