When I was 15 I went to youth conference that was a pioneer trek, it was awesome. While we were camping a boy in my group asked me to crawl in his sleeping bag with him, I said no.
The next Sunday I was called into the bishop’s office and told he heard a rumor that I had sex. I was scared and completely caught off guard so I just agreed to it because I was a child, scared and didn’t know what to say and figured no matter what I said that I wouldn’t be believed. The bishop never asked any details, I want to make that clear. He told me to repent, that I was immature and to skip the sacrament which I did.
A few weeks later a stake youth leader came to our ward. I was sick, I was getting over a virus. My parents said I only had to go to sacrament meeting and then hang out in the foyer which I did. The stake leader assumed I didn’t go to class because of this so called sexual incident. He harassed me. I was hanging out in the foyer trying to take a nap. He wouldn’t leave me alone. He kept touching me and asking about the incident. I told him I was sick I asked him him to leave me alone. He would not. He thought I was hiding in the foyer because of what I had done.
I ran away from him. I hid in the ladies bathroom but he was waiting outside, so I went through the baptismal font and ran out the door. He still followed me so I locked myself in my parents car.
For years after, even though I was inactive I still came to see my parents in the Christmas choir and this man would still put his hands on me. I didn’t want to embarrass my parents, so I would just pull away from him. My dad was in the stake presidency and he would tell me this guy was just touchy feely. Not okay, my body my rules, end of story.
I finally told my parents when this guy moved away what really happened. I didn’t want to embarrass my dad because he worked closely with this man. I’m 36 now, yes nothing truly terrible happened to me but I’ve never been able to put this behind me. I always felt my human rights were being violated, that if he was a teacher at my school that I would have had his job. Religion doesn’t make it ok.
Thank you Sam Young!!!
