#1086 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7. Other: Other forms of abuse in my home were ignored.
I had the usual worthiness interviews starting at age twelve. Until I was fifteen, they were always on script. I never had anything to say…
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View all1. Inappropriate shame and guilt10. Suicide of a loved one or friend2. Childhood self-loathing3. Adulthood self-loathing4. Grooming5. Sexual abuse6. Impaired sexual relations after marriage7. Years of recovery from childhood shaming8. Suicide Ideation9. Attempted SuicideConsequence StoriesHigh Impact StoryNews CoverageSuccess StoriesUncategorized
#1085 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4,5
I was in high school, maybe 15 or 16. I had snuck out one night to see my boyfriend. He pressured and threatened me into…
#1084 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,7. Other: This leads to very abnormal interactions with people later in life. A mind filled with harmful doctrine that haunts me daily.
Utah has one of the highest youth suicide rates in the country. It is getting worse. When I was raised in the Mormon church, every…
#1083 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,8 Other: Self harm
I was sexually abused twice as a child by a family member. First, at around 7 years old, and then again at 9 years old.…
#1082 Name Withheld CS: 1,2,3,7,8
I was 5 years old when I discovered masturbation. I guess I could blame it on my babysitter using shampoo in my bubble bath which…
#1081 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7
I was born into the LDS church. I attended faithfully with my family. Went to nursery, primary, and young women’s every Sunday except for the…
#1080 Name Hidden CS: 1,2,3,7,8
Written 11 November 2017 So much anger, So much shame, Looking for someone Someone to blame. I thought for years. I thought it was me.…
#1079 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7
“Do you masturbate?” It was the first time I had heard the word, and it sounded like something bad, so I quickly said no. I…
#1078 Sandra M. CS: Other: Found this article on CBC -a CDN story
Court finds Mormon church blocked southern Alberta police investigation into sex abuse of young girls in 1980s Warning: This story contains disturbing details that may…
#1077 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,8,9
As a child I was taught that it was wrong to touch yourself – but that your husband could touch you after you got married.…
#1076 Name Hidden. CS: 1. Other: I still feel guilty some times after having sex with my husband of 6 years.
I was 17 and had been in a relationship for over a year with a non-member (who was also extremely active in his faith). Over…
#1075 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4,5,7,8. Other: Thoughts of self harm
I grew up in an LDS family in rural Idaho. I was baptized when I was eight as is the LDS standard. I would say…
#1074 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,5,7,8,9. Other: Substance Abuse, stuck in abusive relationship cycle for years, diagnosed PTSD
I first learned about the LDS church the school year after I was raped at 14 years old. It was a case of coercion, I…
#1073 Name Withheld. CS: 1,2,3,4
I grew up faithfully active in the church and believed all the doctrine I was taught, including the proper steps for repentance. When I was…
1072 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8
I am a former Mormon man in my late 40’s. This is my story about Mormon leadership interview abuse. I was taking a bath when…
#1071 Ross M. CS: 1,2,3,7,8,9
There were many wonderful things about growing up among the devout. Family is valued highly and I enjoyed the privileges of a very stable home…
#1070 Name Hidden. CS: 1. Other: Introducing a child to a filthy practice
When my husband was 13 years old he was asked by his bishop in a worthiness interview, “Do you masturbate?” He answered in the negative.…
#1069 Melissa W. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,9,10
I was first groomed and raped at age 9 yrs old by my sister’s Sunday School teacher. My family were devout Mormons, and my parents…
#1068 Megan W. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8. Other: PTSD Fugue State, Dissociation
I was 16 and had to go in for a temple interview. I carried an immense amount of guilt surrounding abuse I suffered at the…
#1067 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4
My bishop made me write an apology letter to the guy who sexually assaulted me as part of my church discipline for having been sexually…
#1066 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
I was raised LDS and left the church at age 23, and resigned officially at age 33 (when I learned this was an option for…
#1065 Hannah. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8
When I was around sixteen years old, I got a boyfriend. One night, he invited me to go to a missionary farewell and we ended…
#1064 Name Hidden. CS: Other: violence and murder
Talea’s story begins on 17 November 2002 and ends on 18 March 2008. The little girl from Wuppertal, Germany died at the age of five.…
#1063 Aimee L. CS: 1,2,4,5,7,8,9
Hello, My name is Aimee. I was raised in the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, but after experiencing the molestation of a…
#1062 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7
I was 18 when my bishop called me in for an interview to discuss my prospective missionary service. I really didn’t want to serve a…
#1061 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4,5
I’ve had a few incidents of bishops shaming me or somehow making me feel responsible for my first divorce or for being abused by my…
#1060 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4,6,7,8
My story is pretty much exactly what to expect at minimum for a regular bishops interview to receive a temple recommend. I always lied about…
#1059 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
I am a female, and was around 14 when this happened. My home ward had (still has) a HUGE problem with gossiping and I was…
#1058 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2
Ever since I could remember, I’ve been in the Mormon church. Throughout that time, I can honestly say that I never really believed. I couldn’t…
#1057 Name Hidden. CS: 4
When I was about 13 or 14 years old, I went in for an interview with our very charismatic bishop that everyone in the ward…
#1056 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7. Other: Other forms of abuse in my home were ignored.
I had the usual worthiness interviews starting at age twelve. Until I was fifteen, they were always on script. I never had anything to say…
#1055 Name Hidden. CS: 2,3,6,7
I started to be sexually abused around age six by my brother. Then when I was 12, I was gang raped by 5 grown men. …
#1054 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7
When I was age 11-15, I had different experiences with different bishops. I have never had the courage to say anything, and I also have…
#1053 Name Hidden. CS: 4
When I was 12, I was interviewed by not the bishop but someone else in the bishopric. Alone in a room with the door closed,…
#1052 Name Withheld. CS: 1,4
I am woman in my late 20s who has grown up in a very devout and large LDS family in Northern Europe.Even thought there are…
#1051 Name Withheld. CS: 1,2,3,7
I was raised from birth in the LDS Church. Having been told I was so lucky to have been born into such a wonderful organization…
#1050 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,8
For over 7 years I was had meetings with my bishop/stake president/mission president at least monthly to talk about my masturbation “addiction”. Most of them…
#1049 Name Withheld. CS: 1
I had joined the church later in my life as a young single mom. My son had the opportunity to go to a temple trip…
#1048 Name Hidden. CS: 5
I found out that one of our members (The former bishop )in our ward ended up raping a 16 year old girl. I had concern…
#1047 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4
These grown white men need to stop asking masturbation questions to kids they barely know!! Crazy racist cult! I grew up Mormon and am happy…
#1046 Name Hidden. CS: 1
I was a young adult when I joined the church.. fast forward and I made a friendship with an older man in the church who…
#1045 Talia K. CS: 1,2,3,7. Other: self harm
I was raised in the church and my mother was sexually and physically abused by my biological father. Whenever she tried to leave him, the…
#1044 Name Danielle J. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7
I grew up in the LDS church with parents, siblings, friends, and many other family members. I was taught from a young age that men…
#1043 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8
My first memory of worthiness interviews was being terrified at 7 when masturbation was explained to me in graphic detail but my parents insisted that…
#1042 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4,5,8
March 10, 2019 Dear President Nelson, I’ve heard that it doesn’t matter if I write you or not because my letter will get kicked back…
#1041 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,7
Roughly 12-14 years ago a sibling of mine came forward with a terrible story. He gathered the family together and informed us that when he…
#1040 Name Withheld. CS: 1,2,3,7
I grew up in the church and remember never properly being taught about sexuality until my teenage years. Even then it were very vague attempts.…
#1039 Name Hidden. CS: 8
My husband and I were recently married and wanting to be sealed. He was excommunicated and coming back to the church and I had just…
#1038 Name Hidden. CS: 3. Other: Deep betrayal when I came to understand that the church never was what I thought it was.
Hi Sam. Thanks for being a force for good. My story is not one of childhood. I was on my mission. But what it shows…
#1037 Name Hidden. CS: 4
I never had a bishop ask me explicit questions until I was 17. My next door neighbor who I babysat for became my new bishop.…
#1036 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,5
Posting this mostly for validation and because part of me wants to scream FUCK YOU to the men who interview anyone about their chastity and…
#1035 Name Hidden. CS: 1,6
I would like to preface this with I am still an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I do not…
#1034 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,9
I was born into a dogmatically LDS home, where my father and mother lived to remain worthy according to the rituals and ideals of the…
#1033 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8
I was about 15. I was sitting with the Stake President for a recommend to do baptisms for the dead. HE asked me if I…
#1032 Caleb J. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8
Growing up I wholeheartedly believed the Mormon Church on everything. When I was in 8th grade I masturbated for the first time, I didn’t even…
#1031 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3
When I was 17, I was forced to meet with my bishop because I was pregnant and not married. I cannot remember everything about the…
#1030 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,8
My story is about mental health. The experiences I had as a young woman with depression and anxiety in the church were traumatizing and heartbreaking.…
#1029 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4,7,8,9
I was born into the church, and grew up with most of my family being mormon. When I was 12, I was asked to do…
#1028 Hollie P. CS: 1,2,4
My daughters father molested her. CPS confirmed it, and the state of Utah refused to prosecute him because return missionaries don’t do that kind of…
#1027 Name Withheld. CS: 1,2,3,6
I was sexually assaulted and raped in a church bathroom by a friend. I told my bishop right away in his office. He recorded it,…
#1026 Hannah. CS: 1,2,3,7,8,9
I’ve been mormon all my life. I was a strong extremely Molly Mormon in a very Mormon family. Until I went and broke the rules…
#1025 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,4
My story happened when I was 20 years old. I had not really attended church meetings from the time I turned 18 and moved away…
#1024 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7
When I was twelve I began meeting with my bishop to seek forgiveness for masturbating. The guilt and shame I felt daily was crippling and…
#1023 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3. Other: Worse Behaviors ,Still not over it
When I was 12 years old, I had sexual feelings from touching my vagina. I told my LDS Bishop about these feelings and he threatened…
#1022 Katherine B. CS: 1,3
I grew up in Kirkland Washington and moved to Utah when I was 10 years old. I was not a member of the church. I…
#1021 Name Withheld. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8,9. Other: Victim blaming
I have a few stories so I’ll keep them brief. A bit of background, I’m a 21 year old woman from a multi generational Mormon…
#1020 Name Hidden. CS: Other: Extreme discomfort with all male leaders and a fear to come out to my family about this issue.
I am a biromantic asexual female. As I started realizing I had feelings for other girls, I became progressively more guilty about having urges to…
#1019 Name Hidden. CS: 4
Thank you for your work. Your work helps us to be safe, even though I couldn’t convince my teenagers that it is good to…
#1018 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8. Other: Ideas of self-mutilation
I first stated masturbation at a young age. It was a secret I kept. I felt awkward about it when other boys talked about it…
#1017 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4
When I was 15, I was called in for my tithing meeting by the 1st counselor of my ward. I was asked if I had…
#1016 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,5,7,8
Approximately 11 years ago I was busy with work and school as well as dealing mentally with the loss of my mom to suicide a…
#1015 Name Hidden. CS: Other: Schock
This happened in Marseille, France approximately in 1969. I was being interviewed by my Branch President for a Patriarchal Blessing. I was 18/19 years old…
#1014 Jennifer L. CS: 1,2,4,5,7
I am sharing my story in hopes that it helps others to know they are not alone in their feelings, in their experiences and in…
#1013 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,6
I am 100 percent positive that my story is not even close to being the worst one out there. I felt so ashamed by my…
#1012 Tori L. CS: 1,2,3,5,6,7,8. Other: Severe alcoholism
This story belongs to my mother. In 1970, in Salem, Utah, C.G. was a naive and innocent 11 year old, happy and willing to babysit…
#1011 Ashlyn K. CS: 1,2,3,4
I am no longer a member, but was an active and faithful member for the first 21 years of my life. I was accustomed to…
1010 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,7,8.
Even though I was a fatherless Mormon Boy, my Mormon childhood was great all the way up until the dreadful day my testes started to…
1009 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3. Other: Destroyed Marriage
I’m writing to say this petition doesn’t go far enough. As good faithful members, my wife and I have always been instructed throughout our lives…
1008 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7,8
Masturbation. Just before turning 12, I was called in for an interview with the Bishop prior to becoming a deacon. One of his questions was…
1007 Lisa P.F. CS: 1,4,6. Other: my voice doesnt matter; the rules dont apply to mormon men they can do what they want
First of all Thank You! I never considered this happened to anyone else. I was raised in the church with my own father as a…
1006 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,7. Other: Distrust in authority figures
I was raised in the Mormon church, until I decided to leave it behind at around age 19. I was fairly lucky in that my…
1005 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,7,8. Other: Years of depression and feelings of un-worthyness
Hello Mormon friends, I am a 83 yer old man who was unfortunately raised as a Roman Catholic. I relate to virtually all the stories…
1004 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4
The most important fact to know about my story: I am deaf, so my interviews are different from other stories, and in a disturbing way.…
#1003 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7,8,9,10
I knew I was gay as early as I was 8. All I knew is that what I felt was wrong and evil. That was…
#1002 Sarah V. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8
I was baptized at 8, like all the other kids who were raised in the church did. When I was 9 I was raped by…
#1001 Name Hidden. CS: 6. Other: Continued masturbation
I am not sure if this qualifies ,but… I was 16 when my bishop asked me in an interview whether or not I masturbated. In…
#1000 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4,5
I tend to be verbose, so excuse me if this is long. I was first asked if I masturbated when I was 14, I believe.…
#999 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7. Other: Confusion as to the “why” of what I was asked. In other words: What was it about ME that would make my Bishop ask me such a vile question.
I had just turned 12 years old. My sister was the Laurel President and absolutely loved the Young Women’s program in our LDS faith. I…
#998 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8,9. Other: ecclesiastical coercion to do harm to my congregation
I am one of the many men who was repeatedly sexually shamed in interviews. This line of specific and graphic sexual questioning took place since…
#997 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4,8
For my baptismal interview, I was asked if I kept the law of chastity with myself. I was confused, nervous, embarrassed. I slowly nodded. He…
#996 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8,9
I had been molested by one of my brothers friends for several years between 11 & 14. This boy would sneak into my bedroom at…
#995 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4
I started having a sexual relationship with my first serious boyfriend at the age of 16. He was also a member of the church. We…
#994 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,7
i was constantly asked as from 14-18 if I was masturbating by my ward leader; my bishop referred to it as, self abuse. I had…
#993 Name Hidden. CS: 1,7
My story may seem insignificant to some, but for me it had a huge impact on my personal self worth while growing up. I was…
#992 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
My uncle started molesting me when I was 6 years old. At my 8 year baptismal interview I “confessed” what my uncle was doing. My…
#991 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4
My bishop freely admitted to forcing confessions out of youth regarding pornography use. He said this to a room full of women, as he was…
#990 Paula M. CS: 1,6,7
When I was 14 I was interviewed for a temple recommend to go with our ward to do baptisms for the dead. It went well…
#989 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7. Other: Desires at times to cut off my unit. “If thy left hand offends thee, cut it off.”
Like most children do, at the age of 11 or 12 I began feeling sexual urges within myself. I’ve come to learn that these urges…
#988 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7
When I was 16, I went to what was supposed to be a slumber party at a friend’s house, with parental permission. There, I was…
#987 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4
At 12 I was a completely naive young girl. The Bishop started out by asking me if I was sexually pure. Then ask questions about…
#986 Jeffrey. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
I started masturbating when I was 9 years old, a few years later I was house sitting for a neighbor and watched pornography alone on…
#985 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8,9
I remember being called in for an interview with the bishop when I was about fourteen. He said it was an interview to lead the…
#984 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,9
I grew up in a strict LDS family in Las Vegas. The inappropriate interviews began at age 12 when I started young women’s. Age 12,…
#983 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3
I just thought it was normal, being asked about sex – though I was incredibly naive. I was 15 or 16 and called in to…
#982 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8
I was 16 when I had pre-marital sex with my then high school girlfriend. In hindsight, we were kids with raging hormones and we both…
#981 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4,7
When I was 8, I was interviewed for baptism. I was alone in the room. It was the first time I’d ever even heard of…
#980 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7
I didn’t even know what masturbation was until I had an interview with my bishop at age 12. From that interview I was told that…
#979 Name Hidden. CS: 1,6
As a boy in high school, I had a friend who was a girl. We had a great relationship just as friends. One day she…
#978 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4,8
I only ever knew about pornography and masturbation from the church deacons quorum meetings. Our teachers lectured us young (12) on how we shouldn’t lust…
#977 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7,8
From the time I was a very young girl, I was being sexually abused by multiple members of my family. As is common for children…
#976 Lance W. CS: 1
I was about 13 when the bishop started asking about masturbation in those worthiness interviews. I’ll never forget the first time. He asked if I…
#975 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4,6
As a young woman I was frequently pulled into the Bishops office at random for “worthiness interviews”, even without my parents knowing these interviews were…
#974 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7,8
Growing up, sexually explicit questions became the norm from an early age. I remember vividly at the age of 11, during my initial Aaronic priesthood…
#973 Name Hidden. CS: 1. Other: Not direct sexual abuse, but definitely inappropriate.
My sister became pregnant when she was 16 (this was in 1983 in Rock Springs, WY). Her bishop, after finding out, came to our home…
#972 Name Hidden. CS:
Growing up I had issues with masturbation after witnessing sexual abuse in my home. When I felt so guilty and told my mom, she told…
#971 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10. Other: Shame on Me
1976 was when I turned 12 years old. That year my bishop had a priesthood interview with me so I could become a deacon. My…
#970 Name Hidden. CS: 4
When I was 13, I started liking a young man in my ward about the same age. Around 15 we had started coupling off, but…
#969 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7
I remember as a youth being constantly reminded of the dangers of pornography and sexual promiscuity. These concepts were always taught to me in vague…
#968 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4
When I was 17, 2009, a few weeks from Graduation & a couple months shy of turning 18, I made the choice to be sexual…
#967 Name Withheld. CS: 1,4,8. Other: Embarrassed about sex
When I was 16 I went to a mission prep fireside where they stressed the importance of clearing all sins with your bishop so Satan…
#966 Erin C. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9
How does one obtain perfection? I clung to the pamphlet “For the Strength of Youth”. I lived and died to follow the rules laid out…
#965 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10. Other: Eating disorder, domestic abuse, difficulty in career and financial loss
My first memory of my father abusing me was when I was 3 years old. He molested me in the bathtub. I knew it wasn’t…
#964 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
* 1960’s-1970’s- (3 to 18 yrs. Old) I was trafficked as a child – sexually abused and tortured by members of Polygamist groups, as well…
#963 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4,6
I don’t think that I had any bishops that had ill intentions. It never occurred to me that anything that happened could have even been…
#962 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4
I was raised in the church and thought nothing of being called into a room alone with a man. I only realized when I was…
#961 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7
My wife and I were very TBM several years ago when the bishop, a marriage and family therapist of 20+ years asked him before his…
#960 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8
I grew up in a small farming community in Oregon. Fifteen years ago there were (and still are) many LDS members in my home town.…
#959 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9
I was raised in the church. I was seventh generation Mormon – something often boasted about in our family. We were the picture perfect LDS…
#958 Carla S. CS: 1,2,4
When I was around 12 years old my much older sister’s husband molested me and his 9 yr old son. We didn’t tell anyone. A…
#957 Chrissy B. CS: 1,2,3
I had an experience with a boy when I was 12. He was a few years older than me at the time. A family member…
#956 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7
I’d been dating a young man in my ward for over a year. We were young, and often found ourselves alone, which over the course…
#955 Phoenix I. CS: 1,2,3,4,8,9
A lot of other people’s stories are a lot more impactful then mine. Truth be told I was one of the lucky ones. My parents…
#954 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,5
I have two stories to share regarding inappropriate and perhaps illegal or at the very least unethical actions directed by men in church leadership positions.…
#953 Carrie B. CS: 1,2,3,8,9,10
Adeline This is my second child, born so quickly, with a head so round, that folks would ask if I had a c-section. I’d take…
#952 Name Hidden. CS: 4
I sat across the desk sideways from a friendly man, my Bishop. He was giving me the standard worthiness interview before going on a Temple…
#951 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7
Our son, 30 years old, called to tell us what happened when he was a teacher. Said a girl called asked him to meet at…
#950 Name Hidden. CS: 1
I was 18 or 19, at college with my boyfriend. We had been dating a while and I stayed over at his place late one…
#949 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,5,7,8,9
It is difficult to express the damage that is done to children who are, in all other aspects of their lives, protected by laws that…
#948 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8,9. Other: Severe depression, intimate partner abuse, hospitalization, medication
My family moved frequently as I was growing up, so my twelfth birthday was spent in a new ward. My family wasn’t in this ward…
#947 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7
I was 11 when I discovered masturbation while changing into my pajamas one night. I continued to do it almost every night before I went…
#946 Sara T. CS: 1,3,6
As a young woman, I struggled with boys. I was backwards and shy, and lacked confidence in myself, especially when it came to boys. I…
#945 Ronicka G. CS: 1,3,7,8,10
20 Years. That’s how long it took for me to unravel the mess created by my Young Women’s President. I won’t go into a lot…
#944 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,5,6,7
I was born and raised in the Mormon Church along with my older sister and older brother. The brainwashing began for me at a very…
#943 Carl C. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,9
First, I want to thank Sam Young for doing what I could not: stand up in front of LDS leadership and put the focus on…
#942 Name Hidden. CS: Other: Humorous story and larger perspective
Though I did not encounter such terrible experiences as are here described, I did have one that was a bit humorous. During my first priesthood…
#941 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,6
In interviews leading up to my mission, I confessed (in general terms) to “heavy petting.” The bishop and stake president were fairly low-key about things,…
#940 Michelle M. CS: 1,3,6
My story doesn’t have to do with interviews as a youth, but I still feel so compelled to share it. Please understand that I am…
#939 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7,8
As a child I had a problem with pornography and masturbation. It started when I was 10 and I hid it until I was 16…
#938 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8
I grew up in a strong LDS family. My parents never talked to me much about sex and I took every teaching from the church…
#937 Andrew. CS: 4,5
I can’t sit here silently any longer. My silence to the issue of sexual assault and molestation would just condone this behavior. My story is…
#936 Name Hidden. CS: 1,7,9. Other: Accused
At the beginning of high school, I hung out with childhood friends that were misguided. I honestly was trying to bring them back to the…
#935 Krysta N. CS: 1,3,8,9. Other: Victim Blaming
I was an active, worthy, temple recommend carrying young adult woman of 19. I met a returned missionary at a dance club, gave him my…
#934 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,7. Other: Eating disorders
On the outside and even in everyday interactions, I’m just a regular person. While I’ve fallen in and out of activity, I’ve never spoken out…
#933 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
I served as a full time missionary for the church. After my mission I soon afterward married an incredibly faithful and loving fellow stake member.…
#932 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7. Other: A marriage in my youth to try and right the wrong
I don’t know if this one counts. Maybe it’s not a big deal, but it changed my life. I was 17 years old, oh gosh…
#931 Name Withheld. CS: 1
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…
#930 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4,5
I was a recently baptized teenage convert, unfamiliar with the ways of the church. Invited to a Thursday youth activity night at my ward building,…
#929 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9
My story starts outside of bishops interviews. When I was in preschool on a play date, I was raped by two boys a few years…
#928 Carl C. CS: 1,2,3,8,9,10
This is a story about one of my children whose life was impacted in a huge way due to explicit sexual worthiness questions by clergy.…
#927 Name Hidden. CS: 1,5,7
Last Sunday I could not raise my hand to sustain any callings. I have two reasons that I could not raise my hand. One reason…
#926 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8,9
Starting at a very young age, I dealt with many family issues and depression which soon led me at a young age to seek love…
#925 Diana W. CS: 1
I went through years of interviews. They were completely inappropriate. The last time i sat through an interview was when i was attending BYU and…
#924 Name Hidden. CS: 1
All my life I had been taught about remaining non-sexually active until after marriage, and only then, I was only allowed to have intercourse with…
#923 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4
When I first went to get my bishop interview for the Temple Recommend, I was asked the usual questions such as, “Do you believe in…
#922 Name Withheld. CS: 1,4,7
I had never even heard of masturbation before my bishop asked me if I was doing it. I said I didn’t know what that was.…
#921 Norienne C. CS: 1,2,4,6,7. Other: Affected sexual development
I was eleven years old. I had been called in for a pre-YW/Primary graduation interview. Towards the end of the interview, the bishopric member asked…
#920 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9
It wasn’t until recently that I realized I was a “victim” of these interviews. Up until I learned about your movement I went along with…
#919 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6
My first recollection of being asked morality questions was for my 8th birthday baptismal interview-I didn’t even know what masturbation was and when the bishop…
#918 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7,8,9,10
During interviews with the bishop, I was shamed into believing that I had to share sexually explicit details of intimate relationships that I had with…
#917 Name hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
I was taught for years in church that I was responsible for the thoughts in a man’s head. That if a guy was turned on,…
#916 Jennifer W. CS: 1. Other: This happened to my friend, so I’m not sure what other long-lasting effects occurred
When I was about 14 (about 35 years ago), all the girls had to go in for their “interview” with the bishop or first counselor.…
#915 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7
I grew up in the LDS church. My sister still practices and is active in the church. My parents are semi-active. I left the church…
#914 Name Hidden. CS: 1,6. Other: Confusion and shame that I had done something wrong.
Both my husband and I were virgins when we married in an LDS temple. A few days after the wedding, I developed a urinary tract…
#913 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8
Growing up, my mother and I were the only ethnic people in the ward. I generally blended in since my skin is fair but that…
#912 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8
My brother has suffered for 20+ years because of the extreme shaming coinciding with sexually explicit questioning. It was only about a year ago that…
#911 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,6,7,8
As a young boy going through puberty, I didn’t know what was going on with my body. I was changing. I remember when I was…
#910 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,5. Other: Feeling I am a pervert.
I don’t think it only occurs for children in Church private interviews to receive inappropriate questions during private closed door bishop and other Church worthiness…
#909 Sam S. CS: 1,8
I had great bishops growing up. I always felt like they were sincere in trying to help me be a better person, and to this…
#908 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2
Mine is not a horrible story with graphic details. It is simply a story of what these questions do to a very normal young man.…
#907 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
I grew up in a “happy” devout Mormon family; and yet I felt completely isolated and alone my entire childhood. My sister and step-dad had…
#906 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6
As a 14 year old, I was in a relationship with a high school junior. This boy convinced me to enter a slightly sexual relationship…
#905 Name Hidden. CS: 5. Other: Protecting predators
This is a bit of a different story. A few months after I became primary president, I found out of two additional active men in…
#904 Kade J. CS: 1,2
Constant shame and guilt, the feeling before and after every meeting with the bishop. Awkwardly entering the room sitting down alone. Three feet away from…
#903 William M. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,7,8. Other: Gay Bashing
Hello! My name is William and I am celebrating my 28th birthday today… Even though I am so grateful to have another year of life,…
#902 Name Withheld. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8
Where to start? So many instances though 4 stick out in my mind the most. I think my experiences were more of the run-of-the-mill variety…
#901 Name Hidden. CS: 1
I grew up in an LDS home in Utah. Church every Sunday, parents fulfilling church callings, 2 brothers and 2 sisters. At 12 years old…
#900 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4,6
I grew up in a very active LDS home. My father was my bishop twice when I was young. I loved all my bishops. However,…
#899 Bobi J. CS: 1,3,4,6,8
Writing a list is easier for me than delving into the heart breaking emotions. Here it is: Sexually assaulted in high school. Perpetrator goes on…
#898 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6
Long history of masturbation . Convert to church at 15. Parents not members . Aged 18 confessed to bishop of my problem. He said I…
#897 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
When I was a little girl, I was sexually abused by my older brothers and an older cousin. I was 3 when the abuse started.…
#896 Greg M. CS: 1,2,4,7
I grew up in the church. From a young age, I was taught the church’s “law of chastity” from church materials such as the pamphlet…
#895 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,9. Other: Unworthy bishop, Parental abuse, Danger in the church
I’m honestly not sure where to start with this. How do you fit your story into just words? I hope I can express how I…
#894 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3. Other: My experiences with trying to report pedophilia to my Bishop.
I had no idea that these were the questions being asked of CHILDREN. If I were still in the cult, I hate to say it,…
#893 Don N. CS: 1,2,3,4,5
It’s 1973, I’m 15 years old, it’s mutual night, we’re playing basketball in the cultural hall. I’m thirsty so I walk out into the foyer…
#892 David F. CS: 1,3,7
When I was 18, I entered my Mormon bishop’s office to confess that I had fornicated with my girlfriend. It had just happened couple days…
#891 Name Hidden CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8
I was 14 when I first figured out how to masturbate. Before this, I was under the impression that it was not something women were…
#890 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,6,7. Other: This is one of the main events that led me to leave the LDS church.
I went to a bishop’s interview when I was 16 years old so that I could go do baptisms for the dead. The week prior,…
#889 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8
As a young child I was sexually abused by two male family members several times. They were 8 to 10 years older than me. I…
#888 Name Withheld. CS: 1
I got my first boyfriend when I was 19 years old. I was a virgin and never even kissed anyone. I was strong in the…
#887 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
When I was a child about 9 or 10, I briefly viewed pornography out of curiosity before I knew it was a sin. When I…
#886 Name Hidden. CS: 1
I dated a LDS member in high school. At age 16 he asked me to talk to his bishop. I was young and agreed. He…
#885 Reagan B. CS: 1,2,4,6,7. Other: Premature obsession with sexual terminology
When I was twelve I started having yearly bishop interviews where he would ask me questions about keeping the commandments and if I was following…
#884 Brian F. CS: 1,2,3,7,8,9
“You know the church frowns on homosexuality.” My bishopric interview at 14 years old (1984) and why it shouldn’t have happened. Life was okay at…
#883 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3
When I was 12 I was a very devout LDS kid. I wanted to be “worthy” and tried my best to follow every rule and…
#882 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7,8
I was sexually abused by a family member from the age of 6 to almost 15. When it all came to light, I was asked…
#881 Name Hidden. CS: 1,6,7
I had a terrible sex education growing up. It was practically a banned topic at my house. We even had a TV guardian that would…
#880 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7. Other: Victim shaming
I had a boyfriend in high school and we were both very active LDS. We’d been dating for about 6 months when he told me…
#879 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
I didn’t realize until I was at college that masturbation and strong sexual desire is a normal attribute of nearly every healthy person. My high…
#878 Nicole H. CS: 1,4
I was a good girl at 14, when Bishop _______ took me into his office and shut the door. Most of the girls my age…
#877 Name Hidden. CS: Other: It makes me sick to know that I am lucky. I just as easily could have been shamed and taken advantage of by a bishop.
It really pains me that there is sexual abuse in the Church, and leadership struggles to apologize, and counteract it in lasting, meaningful ways. It’s…
#876 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,7
I was 13 years old when I went to a young men’s camp for the first time. In Brazil, these camps were usually made away…
#875 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,8
I was raised LDS and was used to bishop interviews. My first bishop was pretty respectful, the farthest he would go was, “do you obey…
#874 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7
I wasn’t born into a “mormon” household. I was born into a “wordly” household, as I was often told as a 9 year old little…
#873 Name Hidden. CS: 1
Bishop asked me about touching myself inappropriately when I was 12. I didn’t realize this meant masturbating until later and that it was bad. I…
#872 Jenna B. CS: 1,3,7,8,9. Other: Afraid of going to the bishop
It was October of 2007, and I had just turned 8. I was told I had to meet the bishop, to see if I was…
#871 E. M. CS: 1,2,3,4
I served as Young Women’s president for almost 10 years between three wards. On several occasions, the Bishop of the ward I was serving in…
#870 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2
This story is not my own but my wife’s. I share it in hopes that others can learn that they’re not unique when it comes…
#869 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4,5,7,8
My father, Stan ______, held one on one “priesthood” interviews with his children when I was growing up. He set this up to feel much…
#868 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7
My children will not be interviewed by bishops because of what I faced as a teenager. When counseling about my “sins,” my bishop, a man…
#867 Name Hidden. CS: 4
I had two interviews happen to me that I did not question but did not feel right about at all. When I was 14 and…
#866 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10. Other: Years of late night harassing phone calls on my family’s home phone. I always suspected it was one of the male abusers from my families ward. If anyone but me picked up the phone, they would hang up. If I picked up the phone the voice on the other side would say sexually explicit things also talking of incest, and made it clear they were masturbating on the phone.
I was raised in a family with half a dozen siblings. Very close, very conservative. My parents were very “morally driven” and extremely uncomfortable with…
#865 Joseph P. CS: 1,2,7. Other: belief that I was somehow bad or wrong for going through the natural process of becoming an adult.
As a teenager, I was repeatedly interrogated by my bishop about masturbation. I lied and felt horrible about it. I thought there was something wrong…
#864 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7
When I was 14 I went to my bishop to confess to looking at pornography and masturbation. I remember the shame more than anything. My…
#863 Randal C. CS: 1,2,3,4,7. Other: Unworthy
At the age of 9, I was introduced to a powerful man, by the Rev/ Billy Graham. This powerful, loving man was my Lord, Jesus…
#862 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,9. Other: Belief that it was my fault when I was raped, so I never reported it
Prior to my first interview with the Bishop, I had no idea about sexual things. “Doing it” was something adults did. I was 11. But…
#861 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7
I was 14 or 15 at the time and I remember my friends suddenly not attending church anymore. It all seemed to happen around the…
#860 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8
I was always shamed by The Church like everyone else growing up. I’ve tried writing my story now twice and every time I feel too…
#859 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8
The devaluing of My worth. I was a girl around 3 to 5 or so. A tomboy. I loved doing rough and tumble things with…
#858 Renee M. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7
At the age of 18 I finally told my mom and my bishop that my step father had sexually abused me, the good bishop did…
#856 Jeffrey J. CS: 1,7
I am a convert to the church. I joined when I was 13 years old along with my family. I grew up in a broken…
#855 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,7
This is NOT my story, but it IS the story of what can happen and what DID happen because of the policies of The Church…
#854 Name Hidden. CS: 1,7,8,9. Other: Drugs and alcohol abuse
My adult daughter came to us 2 years ago to let us know that our Bishop in Bedford New Hampshire head sexually molested her at…
#853 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,10. Other: Unable to marry or have sexual relations at all
I have had too much shame to share my story with even my closest friends. I have been faithfully active for 40 years. In the…
#852 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8
Quite apart from the standard questions on masturbation and sexual purity that always made me feel uncomfortable, I had one incident that was the most…
#851 Jasmine N. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8
When I was 8 I was shown pornography by my older brother but I kept it hidden. As years went by I felt dirty and…
#850 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3
I am a woman in my 30s. In college, first in AZ then at BYU, I had urges to masturbate several times a week. It…
#849 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4,6
It was my sophomore year of high school and one night when my boyfriend and I were making out he put his hand down the…
#848 Melody P. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,10. Other: Normalizing me to physical control and sexual questions by adult men meant that my child was subjected to these things as well, to both our detriment. 🙁
Dear Sam: Thank you for fighting to protect LDS children. They need all the protectors they can get. It has taken me all week to…
#847 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7. Other: PTSD
Growing up in the church, I first learned of masturbation from a bishopric member asking if I did it. I was young and being interviewed…
#846 Michelle S. CS: 3,4,5,6,7,8,10. Other: Dissociative Identy Disorder
My story is too long so I’m writing a book. To offer some insight I can tell you that my father was taking religious classes…
#845 Mindy B. CS: 1,3
I am one of the lucky ones that didn’t experience inappropriate questions from my bishop when i was under 18. I’m not so lucky, however,…
#844 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7. Other: My children suffered these things. While I am not concerned about my name being known, I am concerned for my boys and their privacy.
My boys went to our bishop in Henderson, NV in 1999 and told him that their older stepbrother (my husband’s son) was raping them, sexually…
#843 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3
I had a mission president, ____ ______, in Tampa Florida who took pride in being direct, and often times blunt. During my second interview with…
#842 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4,7
When I was 12 years old, I had a meeting with my Bishop. He asked me about the law of chastity. I told him that…
#841 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,8,9
Growing up, I was always the “perfect” Mormon girl; Molly if you will. I never swore, never broke commandments, and certainly never thought the church…
#840 Stephanie B. CS: 1,3,6
ONE of many disturbing things that happened to my son by himself behind closed doors with our bishop (besides the fact that he was even…
#839 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7. Other: Left the church because of my experiences
When I was about 13, a new bishop was called to my ward. From my very first encounter with him, he made me dread going…
#838 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7,8
I was born and raised in the church and had both fantastic Bishops and then Bishops and other leaders that made my skin crawl. I…
#837 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4,5,7,8
My mother went to the bishop when we were young and my fathers abuse escalated. She was threatened with excommunication for attacking the priesthood and…
#836 Name Hidden. CS: 1,6,7
My father was my Church authority all during high school and I had to do these interviews with him. It was excruciatingly humiliating and, in…
#835 Ashley M. CS: 1,2,3,4,7
In the year 1991, when I was 16, in Portland, OR…..I was date raped. I said NO. Several times. It was not consensual. At the…
#834 Kandis G. CS: 1,2,4,7
When I was about 11 or 12, I had just started in the Young Women’s program. I was ahead a year in school so I…
#833 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,9
My church upbringing taught me that sex was something to feel guilt and shame for. Starting around age 12 My Bishops regularly asked sexually explicit…
#832 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4,7
My bishop was not a pleasant man. At 12 years old, my parents drove me to his home for my first temple recommend interview. My…
#831 Name Withheld. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8. Other: Sexual abuse from boyfriend
When I was fifteen years old I had a boyfriend who was manipulative, coercive, and abusive. I was confused because he told me he loved…
#830 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,5,8
I am a mother. When my children were young, two of them were sexually and ritually abused by a family member. The children came forward…
#829 Christie E. CS: 4
Growing up as a youth, I was never asked inappropriate questions. During my first few weeks st BYU I was interviewed by my bishop. It…
#828 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
When I was 8 years old, the Sunday School teacher told the class that the bishop was the best friend we had. We could take…
#827 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7
My father sexually abused me when I was 9 years old. It was not complete penetration, but unwanted touching and fondling and he made me…
#826 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,7,8
I had several good bishops growing up in the LDS Church. However, they didn’t realize I was a victim of child abuse. I was sexually…
#825 Tamara N. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
Growing up, I believed ANY and ALL questions asked by members of the bishopric helped them decide my level of worthiness and understand the nature…
#824 Anna. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7. Other: Severe religious PTSD and public shaming
My story has layers of complexity, but I’ll do my best to share it. I’ll start out with the simple facts of being asked about…
#823 Name Hidden. CS: 5
The identify of the people involved in the following account have been omitted to protect the privacy of those involved. Those wishing to verify this…
#822 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,8
I felt impressed to tell my own story although I was a couple years older than a legal minor. I grew up in the Church.…
#821 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8. Other: Fear of relationships with the opposite sex.
The worthiness interviews containing questions of a sexual nature drove me to avoid relationships with the opposite sex out of fear of sinning for my…
#820 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,6,7
I started masturbating when I was maybe 13 years old after reading about it in a book about puberty and learning about it at school.…
#819 Name Hidden. CS: 1
When I lived in the Apple Valley area of California, I decided to go to my bishop after speaking with my dad about my sexual…
#818 Jessica F. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7
When I turned eight years old, my parents took me to the bishop’s office to have my baptism interview. Before I went into the room,…
#817 Crystal H. CS: 1,4
My 12 year old daughter went into the bishops office for her 12-year-old interview. I joined her. After the friendly and brief interview we asked…
#816 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
My Mormon story: growing up in Utah you had to be Mormon to be able to play with your friends. So i had been baptized…
#815 Name Julie S. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8. Other: Depression, anxiety, PTSD
My heart just breaks. I was subjected to these interviews as a youth. I had endured many years of sexual abuse as a child beginning…
#814 Name Hidden. CS: 4
When I was 14 or 15 I was asked if I had, had an organism after answering a question about chastity. I didn’t even know…
#813 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,5,7
When I turned 14, I was like any normal child. We had moved to a new town, and I was finding my footing. I went…
#812 Name Hidden. CS: 1
40 years ago or more, I was interviewed on several occasions by my stake president. He was a big tall man and a man of…
#811 Name Hidden. CS: Other: Anger that I let my power as a mother be taken from me so easily, without a fight. Anger that the Bishop thought he could keep me out of the interview.
Hello, I am not sure if this story is being shared in the appropriate place. But I wanted my thoughts to go with Sam to…
#810 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7. Other: Physical neglect from parents who could not recover mentally from their own abuse.
Something that I realized I needed to share was the generational effect of abuse victims. My father was raised in incestuous Mormon family. His father,…
#809 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8. Other: Self abuse
My childhood was very painful. This was not necessary the fault of the Mormon church, but rather my biological father was/is pedophile and abused me…
#808 Name Hidden. CS: 4
As a young man nearing the age of 12, I was interviewed by my bishop and asked if I masturbated. I didn’t know what that…
#807 Amy C. CS: 1,2,3,4,7
I was born and raised in the LDS church in Las Vegas, NV. I began worthiness interviews with my bishop at the age of 12…
#806 Chelsea T. CS: 1,2,3,4,8
I didn’t find out that masturbation was a sin until my bishop had a fireside for the youth. After that I felt extreme guilt because…
#805 Madison H. CS: 1,3,4,6,7,8
As a child I would have these one on one interviews with bishops behind closed doors. The sexual questions began when I was a teenager.…
#804 Name Withheld. CS: 1,3,4
I have shared one story here so far but I have more, my own and second hand. It is terrible that such a policy is…
#803 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8. Other: I’m now filled with a fury all of the time.
Hello, Sam, If I were in your ward, if I were your friend, I’d stand beside you and witness that you are quite certainly the…
#802 Istrea G. CS: 1,3,4,7,9. Other: Unable to have a normal relationship with a man until I was 45 years old.
My name is Istrea Ann Guest. I was born a 6th Generation Mormon on my Mother’s side of the family. James Campbell Livingston is my…
Success #19 Gary D.
This is a great website. I’m glad I’ve found it. I’m currently serving as a bishop. I hope LDS bishops will use the new guidelines…
Success #18 Joann T.
Following our many discussions about the risks of one-on-one interviews, my daughter has decided that her three children will never be alone with the bishop…
#801 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6
My bishop at the time was a family member… I was 11 at the time… it was a Sunday afternoon we were at home we…
#800 Faith B. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8
When I was 14 I felt the need to repent for being raped by my 18 year old friend. During the interview, I was asked…
#799 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,4,7
I grew up in an LDS home where my parents taught me to honor and respect priesthood leaders. As a teenager, I never dated and…
#798 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,4,6
When I was 13, my bishop asked me if I masturbated. I didn’t know what that was at the time, since sex was a prohibited…
#797 Name Withheld. CS: 1,2,4,7,8
When I was 14 years old the youth of our ward took a trip to the temple to perform baptisms for the dead. My dad…
#796 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3
When I was 15, I was raped by a 22 yr old man at a house party. I became pregnant from that encounter. I had…
#795 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7,8
The amount of shame and unbearable guilt I felt as an innocent teenager caused permanent damage due to this line of sexual questioning and incorrect…
#794 Tracy T. CS: 1,3
I have memories of my childhood bishop interviews that make me uncomfortable, but the one that stands out to me the most was when I…
#793 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7
I was asked if I masturbated before I knew what is was and before the thought had occurred to me. I was 13. It sounded…
#792 Elizabeth J. CS: 1,4
As a Beehive I had to attend a worthiness interview with the bishop. It was probably an interview prior to a temple trip to perform…
#791 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6
I was born into and raised in another church. I was baptized as an infant, received my first communion, went through catechism, and was confirmed…
#790 Jennifer M. CS: 1,2,3,7,8,9. Other: I lived my life thinking I was almost as bad as a murderer.
When I was 16 I had been dating someone for awhile. It was standard to have a bishop’s interview to get a dance card and…
#789 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7,8
It wasn’t until I was 40 that I realized the damage Mormon bishop interviews had played a part in my life. By all accounts I…
#788 Amber A. CS: 1. Other: Became physically sick from a Bishop’s interview and suffered nose bleeds.
I am an active member of the Church, who served a mission and is sealed in the temple. I have faithfully served my whole life…
#787 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4,5
To cut a long and painful story short, my bishop who was a dear friend of my father would ask me directly “Do you masturbate?”…
#786 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4,7
Aside from the invasive interview questions. I was asked such questions out of the interview senario (casual talk questions). I remember I was about 13…
#785 Allred. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8. Other: In addition to my own story here, my sisters have endured similar abuse by church leadership – including being sexually assaulted by the bishop in President Monson’s ward where my family lived for almost 20 years. Too many of the men in my family have been taught that this is normal and acceptable behavior, and have perpetuated abuse, and guilt/blame toward us women in the family. I could go on with countless horror stories within my own family, but suffice it to say – the trauma has affected us since our family began, and still causes us struggles as a family today.
I was 15 years old when my biological father raped and sodomized me over 130 times for a period which lasted nine long months. I…
#784 Jerold G. CS: 1,2,3,7,8
I remember having so much anxiety about meeting with the bishop that I would throw up before I met with the bishop. In my mission…
#783 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,5
When I was around 11, I had a soccer coach, I was a strong athlete with hopes of going on to play in college. I…
#782 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4. Other: Encouraged not to report rape, impaired decision of parents, caused shame and trauma for selfish reasons.
I know you are going through a tough time right now Sam, so I wanted to tell you how you have helped my little family…
#781 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9
I was asked multiple times if I masturbated and then he explained how bad it is and the addictive nature of it. I denied it…
#780 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,8
I started masturbating when I was 12. I didn’t know what it was until I found the definition in a health book. It explained that…
#779 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9
Summary of the following story: I was groomed by my church leaders all growing up to be deceived by a pervert (another Bishop) and I…
#778 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4,7
When I was 13-14 I came in for my annual interview with one of the counselors in my bishopric. The counselor was probably in his…
#777 Sarah H. CS: 1,4
I have three stories with the same bishop. My first experience was the baptismal interview for my daughter in 2017. I informed him that I…
#776 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,4,8
I have one story. I am currently an active temple recommend holding member of the church. I served a mission in California. Before my mission,…
#775 Ryan. CS: 1,2,3,7,8,9
I was born and raised in your standard LDS home. To give some background, I’d been through the standard public education sex-ed class and had…
#774 E.M. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7
I was the most innocent teenager growing up in the mission field in an orthodox family. I was best friends with the Bishop’s daughter who…
#773 Leah S. CS: 1,4
When I was 12 I had a “worthiness interview” from my local Bishop to enter the temple. He asked me explicit questions about my chastity.…
#772 Andy A. CS: 1,3,8
My story may not apply here, as it happened as an adult. As my fiancé and I prepared for our temple marriage we struggled to…
#771 Name Withheld. CS: 1,4,6
As a 15 year old young woman, I had a boyfriend that was sexually and emotionally abusive. It took me a long time to get…
#770 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7,8. Other: Repeated self harm as part of guilt
My youth leader took a different route. One day in Deacon’s quorum he asked all of us “Do you know what jacking off is?” He…
#769 Name Hidden. CS: 1
I was a naive 19 year old attending Ricks College in Rexburg Idaho and feeling guilty after a makeout session with my boyfriend which involved…
#768 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,8
When I was freshly out of high school I was sexually assaulted. I hadn’t been active in the church in sometime but thought maybe a…
#767 Tate. CS: 1,3. Other: Loss of trust
While my story is not nearly as horrible as others on here I’ll tell mine to help add to this book. I was 18 and…
#766 Taylor R. CS: 1,3,4,6
I was a sophomore attending BYU. I believe my Bishop was a good man with good intentions. He was merely following the inappropriate interview guidelines…
#765 Katy K. CS: 1,2,3,4,7
I grew up in the church. I vividly remember sitting through a Young Women’s lesson one Sunday when I was 15 or 16. The lesson…
#764 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,8
I finally had the courage to confess my “sins.” I sat in the bishops office shaking, explaining that I had a messed up. He asked…
#763 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,8
At BYU-Hawai’i, while a student, I came out as gay to my bishop. His response was to ask me detailed questions about what I liked…
#762 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7,8
I have my own story of shame and acceptance of abuse instigated by inappropriate questions and shaming from a bishop when I was a teen…
#761 Name Hidden. Other: Scheidung, Depressionen…
lieber bro Sam, … wir, meine Frau, ich und unsere zwei kleine Kinder waren erst ein paar Jahren Mitglieder der Kirche LDS, auch mit Tempel…
#760 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,4,6,8
I was 21 when this happened, so I wasn’t a child except in the sense that my extremely conservative parents kept me purposely “innocent” without…
#759 Mike T. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9
For my entire life, I was taught that obedience to counsel was of utmost importance. This teaching alone is dangerous. If the counsel reeks of…
#758 Diane B. CS: 1,2,3,5,6,7. Other: PTSD
Was born and raised in the Mormon Church in Provo Utah. I have been questioned inappropriately by Bishops since age 8. When I was 12…
#757 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7
I accidentally discovered masturbation right after I turned 12, and I engaged in the act just one time. Shortly thereafter, the bishop told the parents…
#756 Name Hidden. CS: 6,7,8
Too much to share… decades of shame due to a couple of choices I made. The very thought of Bishop interviews give me anxiety. I…
#755 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4,7,8
I was raised LDS and when I was 14 I felt I needed to talk to the bishop about my first sexual experience because I…
#754 Name Hidden. CS: 5
When I was 3 years old and finishing my last year in nursery before going to Sunbeams I can vividly remember a Sunday at church…
#753 Name Hidden. CS: 4
My story isn’t as destructive as some, but still disturbing as I think about my young age and where the conversation was allowed to go…
#752 Laura WB. CS: 1,6. Other: Threatened marriage postponement
I was raised in the church, and while I didn’t always know if I believed it was the ONLY true church I did my best…
#751 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7
I was a teen in the 70’s, the days of bi-annual Bishop interviews. I was asked about masturbation every time. I hated those interviews, it…
#750 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8,9,10
Growing up I had a bishop who was just trying to do his best. I get it, we all want to please the Lord. However…
#749 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4,7. Other: Drug use
I was going to start this story at 16, but in truth it starts at 12. President Hinckley had come out with questions that he…
#748 Terese J. CS: 4
My first Bishops interview I remember being so nervous! He asked me ALL the questions, but when he asked me if I masturbated I was…
#747 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,7,8. Other: It in a way normalized the sexual abuse going on in my life already. It sort of set this ideal for men in my mind as being sexual deviants in a strange sort of way.
I can’t remember exactly how old I was I want to say, 12 or 13… I know is was quite Young. I was called into…
#746 Thomas I. CS: 1,2
I have never been formally diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, but I have so many Aspie traits that I identify as one. I have been blessed…
#745 Collette L. CS: 1,2,3,4,6
Story #1 I was taken to a member of our stake presidency when I was 15 because my parents learned my boyfriend and I had…
#744 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,7,8
I used to live with legal guardian parents Michael and Judy and their two kids, and I only stayed with them because they lived in…
#743 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,6,8
When I was sixteen, I had a boyfriend. He was handsome, funny, and smart. He was a gentleman, always opening doors and carrying things for…
#742 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7. Other: Severe Clinical Depression
As the only member in my family, I’ve fought hard to carve a path for myself in this church. As a 15 year old new…
#741 Arlene C. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8
I debated for many months whether or not to share my story. It is not as bad as many of the early stories that I…
#740 Name Withheld. CS: 3,8
This story is not about me but about a close friend. This friend suffered from anorexia for their entire life, after many years of fighting…
#739 Mandy L. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8. Other: Inability to form secure romantic relationships
I was something of a perfectionist as a child with a strong desire to please God and my family. My youthful guilt dwelled on typical…
#738 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7
Incentivize me to lie. Teach me to hate myself. When in my teens, I was asked if and how often I would masturbate. As a…
#737 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7,8
When I 14 years old my mom caught me looking at pornography. Because of this my parents made me meet with our Bishop. I did…
#736 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4
During an interview with a bishop (approximately 14 years old), I was asked if I “practiced self abuse”. I had no idea what that even…
#735 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,5,6,7,8,9
I’ve been wanting to share with you my experience with the baptismal interview I had at the age of 10. I was currently being sexually…
#734 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6
When I was a teenager, my bishop asked me if I was involved in masturbation. I had no idea what that meant. He explained it…
#733 Name Withheld. CS: 1,2,3,4,6
I was made to feel I was the ONLY ONE of all the deacons, teachers & priests who had ever masturbated. My bishop scheduled interviews…
#732 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,6,7,10
When I was 16, I had sex with my boy friend, my bishop at the time told me that no worthy return missionary would ever…
#731 Kristine D.K. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10. Other: PTSD, anxiety, persistent nightmares
Around my eighth birthday I was excited to be baptized. The plan was my father would baptize me. Both he and my grandfather would be…
#730 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,6
I joined the church as a 21-year-old woman who had been sexually active prior to joining. After my baptism I struggled with masturbation. I went…
#729 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4,6,7
When I was 13 or 14 years old, I was asked by my bishop if I had ever masturbated. I felt a terrible sense of…
#728 Sarah R. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10
I am a convert. I was born and raised into a catholic family on both sides. I was introduced to the church at 15 and…
#727 Tara T. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10. Other: Eating disorder for 15 years, postpartum anxiety and depression
My story is difficult for many to believe, but I have spent many years healing and finding evidence to validate to myself that it is…
#726 Name Withheld. CS: 1,2,5,7
I was abused by my stepdad during my teen years. Im not sure of the callings at the time but he had been Elders QP,…
#725 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4
I was 15. I had just moved across the country and had been struggling to adjust. I turned to the gospel with faith for support…
#724 Carrie CS: 1,3
When I was 23 I was a recent BYU grad, still living in BYU housing (thus in a BYU ward), and in graduate school (not…
#723 Jennifer H. CS: 1,6
I remember sitting in my bishops office at the age of 16. I had lost my virginity to my high school sweetheart. We decided to…
#722 Marianne F. CS: 1,2,3,7,8. Other: anxiety
I admitted to premarital sex as a teenage girl. I did this willingly because I was told it was the right thing to do and…
#721 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
When I was 15 I had an almost 18 year-old boyfriend. He tried to force things on me and sometimes had the upper hand He…
#720 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,4
I was 14 when I moved into a new ward. I was as innocent as they come. My bishop called me in for an annual…
#719 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,5
During one of my worthiness interviews while I was a teenager, my bishop informed my that my best friend and I were too close, and…
#718 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4
My daughter at age 12 was being interviewed alone in the bishops office and asked if she masturbates and asked if she kisses girls. (An…
#717 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8,9
I grew up in the same ward as a lot of my Facebook friends. We all had the same Bishops and ward leaders and I…
#716 Name Withheld. CS: 1,2,3,5,6,7
The following is my personal story of childhood abuse and how church leadership concealed and diminished its significance. It is long. I come from a…
#715 Name Hidden. CS: 5. Other: Frustration towards church leaders in how they handle cases of childhood sexual abuse.
My stepfather sexually abused my sisters and I when we were younger. I hid the fact, until 5 years later. I wanted to heal from…
#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…
#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…
#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…
#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…
#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.…
#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…
#708 Name Withheld. CS: 5
My brother, recently served as a bishop, never fully disclosed the extent of how he showed himself to me completely nude and erect in his…
#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…
#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…
#705 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4,7,8
I had just turned 12 and was incredibly excited to finally get the chance to go to the temple with all of my friends. They…
#704 Kim. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8
From a young age I have felt a disconnect from church. I moved to a new ward when I was 6. Due to marriages connecting…
#703 Kim L. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8. Other: Self Harming, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Anxiety, Future Sexual Harassment, Future Physical Abuse
I was abused by the boys in my neighborhood when I was 4-6 years old. I didn’t understand it at the time. But I was…
#702 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10
Long story short; When I was 11, I was molested. At 15 I was raped. I told the bishop and he told me I was…
#701 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7. Other: Embarrassment, pain and distorted view of sexuality.
When I joined the church as a teenager, a week later the Bishop met with me and conducted a worthiness interview that asked a long…
#700 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,6,7,8
I had previously dated the son of the bishop of our neighboring ward. We were sexually active, I had a lot of guilt and tried…
#699 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,4,5,7
My first two and a half years after I when to collage about four people saw the inside of my apartment. I could barely tolerate…
#698 Joseph R. CS: 1,2,3,6
I don’t pretend that my story is as bad as many others however it may be more common. The worst part about my story is…
#697 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7
When I was a young teenager, I had a bishop ask me if I masturbated. I wasn’t even sure what that meant. I don’t completely…
#696 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,6
Technically, this meeting with my bishop did not happen when I was a child, but it still happened when I was young. When I went…
#695 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7
I hated being interviewed by my Branch President. If I had it to do over again, I would never be a teenage girl alone with…
#694 Arthur N. CS: 1,2,3,7
I grew up in the LDS Church, was baptized at 8, ordained a deacon at 12, teacher at 14, priest at 16, elder at 18,…
#693 James K. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
I lived in Dallas, Texas in the early 1980s… I am almost 50 now. Like most normal boys, I was excited to find some “dirty…
#692 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4,6,7
I am so thankful that you are doing this. I hope the LDS Church takes action to stop these interviews. I grew up in Montana…
#691 Shannon. CS: 1,4,5,7,8,9
When I was 15, I went to confession with my LDS bishop in his office at the church. 😞 I told the Bishop I needed…
#690 Malissa R. CS: 1,2,3,5,6,7,8,9
I was 11 years old when I was sent to live with mormon relatives. Because of my age I had to go through the missionary…
#689 Jodi H-E. CS: 1,2,3,4,5. Other: I will never be able to quantify the damage
Another personal story for you and Sam Young as he Hunger Strikes to Protect LDS Children. This one is the hardest for me because I…
#688 Name Withheld. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8,9
I have not thought about the Mormon Church this much in over 20 years. I still suffer from adult self- loathing- and I didn’t know…
#687 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,5,7,8
When I was 11, my uncle (who was then in the bishopric) propositioned me for sex (I refused and got away, but didn’t tell anyone…
#686 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,6,7,8
This is something I posted to reddit a few years ago. I already had guilt and shame, the bishop made it worse. As a child,…
#685 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7,8
As a kid, like most kids, I masturbated. Even typing this story after years of therapy I just had to justify why I masturbated. Anyways,…
#684 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,6,8
I joined the church at 19 (and left at 30). When I was 18, so before I joined the church; I was sexually assaulted (anal…
#683 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,5,7,8
When I was a member of the church at 12 years old, I was accused of masturbation by my parents and the bishop. I was…
#682 Christian D. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
I discovered self-love at age 11. It was sorta an accident, but I really enjoyed it. I knew it must be wrong because my mother…
#681 Name Hidden. CS: 1
Was in an interview by a Stake Pres in Riverton Utah to obtain my recommend for Temple attendance back in 1992. My spouse was not…
#680 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7,8. Other: Domestic abuse relations later in life
My daughter went in to repent to the bishop. She had a sexual relationship with a man when she was 14 and he was 18.…
#679 Name Hidden. CS: 1. Other: Attempting to understand what the Bishop meant, causing some exploration and increased curiosity.
I was receiving my first birthday interview as a Young Man, so I must have been 13 years old. The Bishop had numerous children himself…
#678 Name Hidden. CS: 1,7,9,10. Other: Witness to numerous atrocities encouraged by LDS Bishops against other human beings. And very often these human beings were women.
LDS Church Bishops – the starting position for ALL other “higher” leadership positions in the LDS Church such as Stake President, etc. – are appointed…
#677 Samantha G. CS: 1,4,6,8,9,10
Sam, First of all, I just want to tell you how moved I am by what you are doing. I can’t remember when I first…
#676 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3
Prompted to ask my , now adult children, if any of them experienced inappropriate questions or behavior in their Bishop interviews years ago?…. This is…
#675 Wade R. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
During my developmental years as a teen I often struggled with depression. I was weighed down with guilt and tore myself apart with self-loathing. I…
#674 Name Withheld. CS: 1,3
When I went to speak to my bishop to start the repentance process I was shocked at the information he wanted to know. He wanted…
#673 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7,8,9
I always dreaded the interviews. Even when my dad was the bishop. That probably made it worse honestly. I knew it was abnormal for kids…
#672 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,7
First of all I am no longer a member, having resigned 2 months after being released as a YSA Bishop in the Pacific Northwest. In…
#671 Name Hidden. CS: 2,3,5,7,8,9
When I was 12 years old I was sexually abused by my dad. He was serving in a bishopric at the time. And he had…
#670 Name Hidden. 1. Other: Unable to go to a gynecologist
Thankfully, I don’t remember having any one-on-one interviews where I was asked explicit questions, but because of some of the shaming from the church, it…
#669 Jodi H-E. CS: 1,3,7. Other: This is just one of the experiences that I had and I will share more as I feel like I can.
Bishop T. of East Layton, Utah is one of the bishops who shamed me. He was more instrumental in my exit from the church then…
#668 Name Hidden. CS: 1,10
In 2009 my best friend took his life. He was an AP on his mission, always made an effort to be his best, and still…
#667 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8,9
My beautiful daughter was tormented by the questions asked by her bishop in the worthiness interviews. I did not know anything about this until you…
#666 Rena Lesué CS: 1,2,3,4,5
On a Platter Originally printed in Gris-Gris, issue 6, (Jan. 2016), and again in The Exponent II, Part 1 (10 April 2018) and Part 2…
#665 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2
I was about 14 when I first started to confront my sexual feelings. Every time I masturbated a feeling of intense guilt and shame would…
#664 Pamela M. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8,9. Other: Secondary violation from questioning due to external sexual abuse from another priestood holder and ex family member
I’m telling this story in hopes that it will help many not go through what I have. My motive is not to shame anyone my…
#663 Name Withheld. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
When I was seventeen, the stake executive secretary knocked on the door of my Sunday School class during the second hour. He said the Stake…
#662 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,4,5,7,8
My mom had remarried,I was 15. I was trying to make friends in our new ward. I was sexually active. My mom set up an…
#661 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8
A very close friend told me that after she’d read just a few of these stories, it threw her into weeks of depression. After nearly…
#660 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4. Other: Unnecessary exposure of content
Shortly after turning 12, I was interviewed by my bishop for a temple recommend. The questions at first were of no harm or were not…
#659 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7,8,9
I have three major incidents in my life within the church that I feel strongly compelled to share. I want my story to be heard…
#658 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7
I have two stories. When I was preparing to serve a mission, I was asked insanely invasive questions by a well-meaning priesthood leader. I lied…
#657 Richard B. CS: 1,2,3,6,7. Other: Disproportionate fear of sexual diseases.
First, I must declare that I have OCD so fear of diseases and contamination has a psychological dimension, not just a religious one. I can’t…
#656 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,5,6,7
At 7/8 years old I was introduced to the sexual side of myself. I won’t tell that story, but as a young child, I only…
#655 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2
I recieved yearly worthiness interviews to go to the temple. Around 13 when puberty hit I discovered masturbation. Ultimately because of the church’s strong emphasis…
#654 Name Hidden. CS: N/A
I’ve been the therapist for hundreds of people who have expressed feelings of shame, guilt, embarrassment, and self-loathing after having had interviews with their LDS…
#653 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,9,10
When my brother Keith was in high school he had an interview with our local bishop, who was a cruel, condescending and judgmental person. Keith…
#652 Name Withheld. CS: 3,7,8
In college, my boyfriend and I started experimenting sexually and I never felt guilty about it, but I knew that I should probably go talk…
#651 Christi J. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7. Other: Complex PTSD, Inexplicable Nightmares, Lack of Trust
Approximately 50 years ago, I was molested and raped as a young girl in a small Mormon farming community in SE Idaho. It has taken…
#650 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,6
My mission president’s monthly interviews with sister missionaries in my mission were emotionally abusive and left me spiritually debilitated and suspicious of all priesthood leadership…
#649 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7
I grew up in Utah and went to a pediatrician named Glen C. Griffen who had authored numerous books about maturation and sexual development published…
#648 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8,9,10. Other: Mental Illness
It has taken a lot of thought and courage for me to even begin to share my experience. I have only ever shared the consequences…
#647 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8,9
I was raped by a stake president’s son when I was 14 (in 1994). The bishop did not let my mother come into the interview…
#646 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7
My three sisters and I were abused by my mom’s Mormon best friends sons for many years. When the abuse was discovered, our mother shamed…
#645 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
I was born/ raised in the church, and growing up I took my religion very seriously. I was attending a Young Single Adult Ward, and…
#644 CS: Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8
Self loathing is a good basis here. Starting adult life with the mindset that hating yourself is healthy and righteous messed me up. I’ve since…
#643 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7
As a youth, there were very few times that I got free of the shame, guilt, and self loathing that accompanied worthiness interviews. Before my…
#642 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10
Hi Sam! I saw your Facebook feed months ago, and it intrigued me. As I was reading about your cause, my heart was so saddened,…
#641 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3. Other: No advancement in church
My son is an excellent, intelligent young man. Completely virtuous in every way. He wanted to serve a mission. The Bishop kept drilling him about…
#640 Bart P. CS: 1,2,3,4,7
I discovered masturbation at age 5. I did not know it was a “sin” until my mother had caught me. Ever after she would try…
#639 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8. Other: Attempted Self Mutilation
From when I was twelve onward, I was asked by my bishop in semi annual interviews sexual questions. He asked me, from when I was…
#638 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,6,8
I first joined the church at 19, at this time I was suffering from depression and anxiety and even though I hadn’t had all of…
#637 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4
When I was 14 I gave another boy in my ward oral sex. I wasn’t planning on confessing and was just going to move on…
#636 Name Hidden. CS: 5. Other: Inappropriate attitudes surrounding sexual assult
This is a second hand story. Years ago, there was an older teenage boy, 17-19 that was having a sexual relationship with a 13 year…
#635 Name Withheld. CS: Other: No consequences. But both my daughter and I remember the incident to this very day. (27 years later)
My daughter, who was 14 years old at the time, went to the bishop so she could get her temple recommend. She was going to…
#634 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8,9
My daughter has been participating in intensive treatment and therapy for PTSD following years of childhood trauma, resulting from living in the battlefield that was…
#633 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8,9
When I was in 5th or 6th grade, I had accidentally stumbled upon porn on the internet. I didn’t know what it was. I knew…
#632 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,8
When I was 19 years old, my boyfriend (at the time) and I ended up having intercourse. My boyfriend was overcome with guilt and called…
#631 Katie L. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8. obsessive-compulsive disorder, PTSD
A deeply inappropriate worthiness interview when I was 12 or 13 years old traumatized me when a bishop went through the “For the Strength of…
#630 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3. Other: Victim Blaming
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…
#629 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8. Other: Anxiety, Depression, Panic Attacks, Loss of faith
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…
#628 Christine W. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10
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…
#627 Georgia S. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10
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…
#626 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3
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…
#625 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2
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…
#624 Name Withheld. CS: 1,4,8,9
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…
#623 Name Withheld. CS 1,2,3,4,7,8
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…
#622 Katharine M. CS: 1,3,4,5,7,8,9
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…
#621 Jessalynn S. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8,9
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…
#620 Name Hidden. CS 1,2,3,6
I’ve slept on this, and woken up just livid about it, because I’ve had to relive it through discussions with people who won’t listen to…
#619 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4,5
Me and my girlfriend at the time, started to experiment with each other and use to touch each others private parts. This went on for…
#618 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,10
There’s nothing quite like trying to be the best child of God you can be – praying fervently, loving scripture study, always lending a hand…
#617 Name Hidden CS: 1,3
When I was 18 and a student at BYU, I was dating an older man that was in my ward. I was not sexually knowledgeable…
#616 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7
I was 13 years old when a boy told me that his bishop had told him to “not associate with someone like me” . My…
#615 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,8,9
I was 14 and in an interview with the bishop, a trusted neighbor from up the street, when I first felt violated. I watched his…
#614 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6
I was 10 the first time my parents made me go confess masturbation to the bishop. Ten years old! They told me that sexual sin…
#613 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8,9
First off, thank you…thank you! Years of shame, guilt, self loathing and gender confusion because of what I endured. When it first began….I was called…
#612 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7
I was a 15-year-old cheerleader when I was called into the bishop’s office for making out with my boyfriend. The bishop, a 50-something real estate…
#611 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,8
When I was in preschool, several kids and I used to play a game called “show me your bare bumb”. It was a secret game…
#610 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7,8,9
I was sixteen and excited to date. I dated a boy who wanted to get physically close, but I said no. He raped me repeatedly…
#609 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
I am so scared to tell my story because of the backlash I could receive from family members who may read this so I have…
#608 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,4,7
My family and I joined the church when I was 12. I had to have an interview with the bishop for a temple recommend to…
#607 Name Hidden. CS: 1,6,7
I remember meeting with my bishop at 14. He had me describe the sexual acts I’d shared with my boyfriend. I didn’t even have the…
#606 Name Hidden. CS: 1,6. Other: Spouse lost testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and marriage was destroyed
I was an active divorced LDS member, in love with a man who had converted, been baptised and had his temple recommend in hand when…
#605 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
For years I was asked sexually explicit questions by grown men who held positions of power and authority over me. I was raised that way.…
#604 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,6
Wow, where do I start? In 1985 when I was 22, I was raped and assaulted with a knife and almost killed in my apartment,…
#603 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8. Other: Self-mutilation ideation. The shame and guilt were so overwhelmingly, I wanted my genitalia removed so that I would never masturbate again.
Dread, shame and guilt at every annual worthiness interview from my teenage years beginning in the early 1980s into adulthood for masturbation. The interview didn’t…
#602 Name Withheld. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,9
I had just turned 16 years old. Raised in the church I was very sheltered and my mother never talked to me about sex. There…
#601 Name Withheld. CS: 1,2,7,8
When I was around 12 years old I was introduced to masturbation by a friend. At first I didn’t know it was wrong in the…
#600 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9
I have been a member for just over 23 years. I have never shared this story with anyone besides my counselor. I have always feared…
#599 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8. Other: C-PTSD, Manic Depression, Anorexia
From them telling us our bodies, the very thing that gives us life…is a sin. From telling us we are responsible for other people abusing…
#598 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
I masturbated and was loving it before I knew what it was. It’s the way God created me, after all. I found out what it…
#597 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,5,6,7,8,9. Other: The double ache was as hard as I tried to protect.
As a young child: Setting, Salt Lake City, close to I have NO happy memories of my mother. My first memory of her is being…
#596 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4. Other: Considered extreme self harm
I am sharing my husband’s story that he only recently dared share with me after 29 years of marriage. He finally decided to share it…
#595 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,7,8
My story is not one of overt sexual abuse by my priesthood leaders, but I feel it represents the sometimes subtle but deep shaming and…
#594 Aubrey T. CS: 1,2,4,7
It all started in the summer of 2009.. Worthiness interviews for baptisms for the dead. This was the first time he called me in, I…
#593 Heidi P/B CS: 1,2,3,6,7
When I was younger, I was LDS and my main goal in life was to be married in the temple. Around the age of 14,…
#592 Eve O. CS: 1,2,3,7,8,9. Other: Closeted transgender female forced into the Aronic priesthood.
I was born transgender. I had male parts so that was put on my birth certificate. But I was really female though. In the 2nd…
#591 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,5,7,8
Here is my story: When I was 4 years old, my parents and I traveled from Arizona to Idaho to see family that summer (1983).…
#590 Leah W. CS: 1,2,3,5,6,7,8,9. Other: It became very difficult to accept God the Father, even after becoming a Born Again Christian years later. I would use the term GOD but not Heavenly Father because Father was not so heavenly.
The enclosed is one of the chapters in a book I’ve been working on. Until this year (twenty years after leaving) I had remained silent.…
#589 Devan H. CS: Other: Publicly attacked by the LDS church for reporting their sexual abuse against women and children locally
I reported crimes local LDS clergy committed. These reports included some women in the LDS church in my city who talked to me about abuse…
#588 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,4,7,8,9
One experience I had with being asked completely inappropriate questions in a worthiness interview was just after I had started attending singles ward. I had…
#587 Klair B. CS: 1
I first want to thank everyone for their efforts to protect our most precious blessings. I have had concerns for the almost 30 years I…
#586 Marcie S. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
My husband Jon was very well liked by his bishop. He was often called on to give speeches during church. From the outside it appeared…
#585 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
Sam, there was a discussion on the RFM board the other day about whether sexual abuse always leaves you broken. I felt compelled to finally…
#584 America N. CS: 1,3,4,6
I remember vividly when I was asked by my bishop if I was masturbating. I was a 12 year old girl and he a man…
#583 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4. Other: self-mutilation ideation
I experienced incredible shame over masturbation. Barely a teenager, the scripture in Matthew 5:29-30 became constant in my mind: 29 And if thy right eye…
#582 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10
I grew up as a member of the church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints in the UK. I remember the Bishop’s interviews very intrusive…
#581 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,8
I never was asked explicit sexual questions in bishop’s interviews, but I feel such pain and anguish with every story shared here, and with the…
#580 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7
I received heavy doses of shaming at the hands of leaders. I was made to feel ashamed of my body, and my natural urges. I…
#579 Bryan A. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8
When I was a young man, I couldn’t stop masturbating. It was just too hard, and I was too weak. Guilt destroyed me. I sinning…
#578 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8,9
When I was 15 and in my sophomore year of high school, I had a nonmormon best friend who happened to be a boy (which…
#577 Name Hidden. CS: 1,7,8,9
I’d been molested by a neighborhood boy when I was young. Got Baptized LDS. Moved out of state. Forward years later. I’m 15 and have…
#576 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8
When I was 12 I had my first temple worthiness interview. The bishop asked me if I followed the law of chastity. He said, do…
#575 Name Hidden. CS: 4. Other: Embarrassment, discomfort, absolute fear
Was asked only once if I masturbate after being asked if I follow the Law of Chasity. I fell into complete silence and the man…
#574 Hanford S. CS: 1. Other: Distressed about Kimball’s pre-occupation with Sexual Practices. He was Pres. of the so-called “12 Apostles” then. 1-of-2 “General Authorities, who dealt with “Homosexuality.”
The late Mormon Pres. Spencer W. Kimball asked me explicit sexual questions, in clearing my return to BYU. (’69) I was falsely accused of “Homosexual…
Success #17 Name Hidden
Today my 12-year-old son had his bishopric interview to receive the Aaronic Priesthood. The bishopric actually REQUIRED that my wife or myself be present at…
#573 Name Hidden. 1,2,3,8. Other: Loss of self confidence and self worth, especially with the opposite sex. Difficulty having a normal life. Difficulty having a normal dating life.
I was born into the church. Growing up, I always considered myself a normal kid but felt that the only thing in my life that…
#572 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8,9
I can’t remember certain aspects of my early childhood. This is important, because my biological father allegedly molested or abused my sister and I. We…
#571 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,8
I didn’t have it as bad as many others have recounted as horrors during interviews. However, I had developed clinical depression at the time when…
#570 Isaiah B. CS: 1,2,3,4,8,9
I was raised a Mormon. My mother was born in Utah. I had very strict grandmother and I felt pressured to speak about my masturbation…
#569 Terrel C. CS: 1,2,4,7
When I was 14 or 15 years old my mother caught me with pornography. It happens. Because of my LDS upbringing I was terrified and…
#568 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8. Other: Anxiety, depression, ptsd symptoms
I felt like my mind and my body were never my own. I was property of the church. My mind, body, identity, worthiness, and authority…
#567 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8
I feel hurt and betrayed. I gave my heart and soul to this church and the lack of boundaries and policies and teachings around immorality/chastity/modesty/worthiness…
#566 Name Withheld. CS: 1,2,3,4,7
Growing up in the LDS church I was always compared to my older sister, she was the perfect mormon girl and I was just me,…
#565 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4,7,8
From the time I was 12 to 15, when I moved to another town, I had rumors spread about me by other girls in my…
#564 Tara T. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10. Other: Ritualistic Abuse and Mind Control
I am a Therapist-Survivor of ritualistic abuse and mind control, that involved at least two of my bishops as perpetrators, and two of my stake…
#563 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7
I was 12 years old when I started masturbating. I felt like the scum of the earth. I don’t know how to describe how much…
#562 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,7. Other: PTSD, acute anxiety
I was 15, in the early 2000’s in Riverton, Utah. I had been the Mia Maids president and extremely active in the LDS Church since…
#560 Name Withheld CS: 1,2,3,4,7
I was browsing my Facebook and to my dismay I saw a post from my daughter. We had never discussed this Protect LDS children issue,…
#559 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10
Please reach out to any teen mothers that have had to deal with the church, I’m positive there are more victims of other members. They…
National Children’s Day
Sunday June 10th is National Children’s Day. The day’s purpose is to honor the children in our lives. Protect LDS Children (PLDSC) plans to honor our children by…
#558 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10. Other: Ritualistic abuse and mind control
I will share with you, reader, a story of a girl. This girl experienced a lifetime of sorrows from as young as three, maybe even…
#557 Joe. CS: 1,2,3,4,8.9
I first learned about masturbation when I turned eleven, from my bishop, who happened to be my dad. He had a private talk with me…
#556 Joanna C. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
My name is Joanna C. and I am ready to go fully public about the lifetime of abuses through the mainstream Mormon Church and the…
#555 Name Hidden. CS: Other: Fear of looking unworthy
When I was 17 years old I was sitting in Young Women class. I got pulled out of the class without my moms knowledge to…
#554 Robbie S. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8
I had a great childhood with really supportive, loving parents and kind church leaders. I also struggled silently with the shame and guilt that came…
#552 Crystal L. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8,9
I grew up in an abusive household where I was regularly subject to physical, emotional and mental abuse. One day when I was 12, I…
#551 Name Hidden. CS: 1,7,8,9
When I was 15, one of my brothers friends forced me to touch them and do things that I never would have dreamed to do.…
#550 Name Hidden. CS: 2,7,8,9
I was sexually abused every week by my teenage brother from the age of 4 until 8. The week after my baptism I finally got…
#549 Emily. CS: 1,2,4,7
When learning about this campaign and the way that so many people have been treated, I can’t help but think how lucky I am. I…
#548 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,6,7,8. Other: Spouse had an affair with one of our bishops and it led to our divorce.
Nearly twenty years ago, a bishop that had been an explorer adviser in a ward I grew up in, had told my parents that I…
#547 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4. Other: Permanently left the Church, and I am not raising my kids Mormon. I would never subject my kids to this kind of guilt and shame.
Dear leaders of the LDS Church, I am from Sandy Utah and I was raised Mormon (12th Ward of the Granite Stake). Starting at age…
#546 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,8,9
When I was applying to BYUH, I had the Stake President ask me if I obeyed the law of chasity. I replied yes. Then he…
#545 Vicki M. CS: Other: Called stupid in Sunday School 3rd grade class
It took years and half way through my PHD program to realize I am smart! Enjoy my LTE to today’s Trib front page article. 179…
#544 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7. Other: What you tell in the Bishops Office doesn’t stay in The Bishop’s Office. Bishops and Other Church Leaders do not Respect your right to Privacy, and they DO ABSOLUTELY Tell MANY other people of their own Choosing, NOT YOURS.
I was born in 1950’s, growing up in Salt Lake Valley. In 1964 at the age of 13, the Bishop came to our Deacon’s Quorum…
#543 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7,8
When I was about 16 years old, I remember my bishop called our class of 20+ people to get there temple recommends. We had to…
#542 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8. Other: Distrust of authority figures, especially men.
I had a rough childhood. I was molested at age 5 by a stranger and grew up in an emotionally and physically abusive home. As…
#541 Name Hidden. CS: 5
My name is _____ ______. I am contacting you on behalf of Xxxxx, and her parents Yyyyy and Zzzzz. Xxxxx was sexually abused by her…
Success #16 Matt
Today I shared Letter 3 with my Bishop – who is a really good guy. He quickly responded with this reply..!! Hi Matt, I appreciate…
Success #15 Tamara B.
After the March for Children, I sent an email to my stake president expressing my concern regarding the 1st Presidency’s revised policy on 1:1 interviews…
Success #14 Name Hidden.
Tonight, for the first time in 19 months I stepped foot in a bishop’s office. I had talked before hand with my son about what…
Success #13 Name Hidden.
The night before the big news of the change of policy was released, my husband and I sent the following letter to our bishop: Hello…
Success #12 Name Hidden.
Sam. There a few families down here in Tucson that really appreciate your work. We are all active and temple recommend holding families. We support…
Success #11 Torri K.
My 15 year old daughter was struggling with my divorce and some other issues. She had spoken to me about becoming sexually active and as…
Success #10 Tony P.
The fact that I am able to even submit a success story, is in and of itself, a success story in my opinion. My name…
Success #9 Name Hidden.
Last week I was called to a position that requires interviews. I expressed my concern to the stk pres. about how interviews were conducted. I…
Success #8 Name Hidden.
As branch president I have adopted a policy that all youth interviews will be done with another adult. I have included parents and youth leaders…
Success #7 Staci G.
In May of 2017 my daughter was due for a baptismal interview. I told the bishop in passing that I needed to be present for…
#540 Name Hidden. CS: 5
Growing up there was an elderly man in the ward who would always seek me out at church and grab my arm, and tell me…
#539 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4
Before I start, I want to make it clear that I am still a faithful member of the LDS church. I love and believe it…
#538 Name Withheld. CS: 1,2
My first girlfriend and I started dating during high school. We quickly grew very passionate of one another and began sexually experimenting. My parents didn’t…
#537 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3
I masturbated as a child, like many children do, and didn’t learn the word for it until I was a beehive and given the “For…
#536 Kimber C. CS: 1,3
When I was 19, I began college at BYU-I. I had reconnected with my high school sweetheart and we wanted to get married. The year…
#535 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4
I’ve got two. Both of them bad. The first one happened when I was a brand new deacon in the church. I was 12 years…
#534 Cassie B. CS: 1,2,4,6
I was being interviewed for my upcoming temple marriage by my bishop at BYU-I in 2011. My fiancé and I had gotten physical on numerous…
#533 Name Withheld CS: 1,2,4
To preface my experiences-I am an active male member of the church and am currently in my thirties. I have a strong testimony concerning the…
#532 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8
When I was 12 or 13 we had a youth caroling activity where the young men and young women rode on a trailer on hay…
#531 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,9,10
I’ll start from my earliest memories. I do not share this to brag. I do not share this to cause pain or hurt (although I’m…
#530 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9
I thought for a long time that I was alone in feeling that the interviews were damaging and shaming. This is the story of how…
#529 Name Withheld. CS: 1,2,4,6,8
When I went to college I met a guy and began to date him. He told me that he looked at pornography and I didn’t…
#528 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7,8,9
When I was in high school, I was raped by someone I trusted. At the time, I couldn’t comprehend what happened to me. I felt…
#527 Name Withheld CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8
When I was about 13-14 there was a lot of abuse in my home mainly from my parents to me. Now I know more information…
#526 Name Withheld CS: 1,2,4
I knew early on in high school I didn’t want to be a part of the LDS faith, but I continued to go for my…
#525 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7
I had grown up in the church from about age 9 but had not been baptized yet. My mother was not LDS but I lived…
#524 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7
I was first asked by my bishop if I engaged in masturbation when I was 11-years-old, in a worthiness interview prior to be ordained a…
#523 Carrie de A. CS: 1,3
In 1987 I was a single 19 year old BYU student. I can fairly confidently add that I was an intelligent, savvy, and questioning young…
#522 David F. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8,10
A forum to tell my story? Really? I have been discounted and labeled a sinner by Mormon leadership and doctrine for so many years it’s…
#521 Lori E. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
I went to a church university in the mid 1980s. I was super young and naive. I was also raped by my Family Home Evening…
#520 L B. CS: 1,3,7
Because I had not been allowed to date before 16, when I finally did go on a date with a boy I had had a…
#519 Danny M. CS: 1,2,4,6,10
Shame, shame and more shame on the LDS brethren. I have seen a great friend’s son commit suicide. The LDS church played a role. Shame…
#518 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8
I love the church so much. I really really do. And it is because I love the church so much that I am supporting this…
#517 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7. Other: A event of child molestation not being reported
I need to think about this so I hope I can get back to this.
#516 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8. Other: Not the victim in the typical sense — Trigger — victims, please avoid this.
Trigger warning — I’m being honest and open where I never have before. If you have suffered from abuse, I caution reading this. Feel free…
#515 Name Hidden. CS: 4
I grew up in an inactive family. We attended church when my parents were trying to ‘get their lives together.’ When I turned 12, I…
#514 Sue Krupa Gray. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,7
Brethren, I am writing to you today with hopes that my story will not fall on deaf ears. My name is Sue Krupa-Gray and I…
#513 Jennifer N. CS: 1,2,3,5,7,8
Long story short I was adopted and converted to the church. At age 4, I was already being sexually abused and raped. No one believed…
#512 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4,6,7
Having to discuss masturbation and even asked questions about anal sex as a teenager. Asked my 9 year old convert daughter if she had homosexual…
#511 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4,6
When I was 13, my family was not active in the church. Our bishop did, however, reach out to my parents encouraging an interview since…
#510 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,7,8
I am an active member of the church. When I served my mission, a man broke into me and my companions apartment. He held a…
#509 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10. Other: Foundational damage to my testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel and the LDS Church.
I was sexually abused by family members (aunts and cousins) and babysitters from my earliest memory (as a toddler). One such abusive event actually resulted…
#508 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8
I first discovered masturbation around 6 years old. I had no idea there was anything wrong with it and I simply called it “getting butterflies”.…
#507 Name Withheld. CS: 5
As a teenager, one Bishop always had me sit on his lap after the door was closed. I didn’t question it because I was naive…
#506 Matthew B. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8. Other: Depression and impairment in social and professional environments.
I masturbated only once (yes, ONCE) as a young man growing up in the Church. I was 14 years old. I didn’t really understand what…
#505 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4. Other: Poor trust, lack of confidence
I thought I just couldn’t remember things clearly. I questioned myself. I thought I had heard the questions wrong. But I didn’t Sixteen and alone…
#504 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7
When I was twelve years old a male leader came to our Sunday School class. One by one, he took each child out of class…
#503 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7. Other: Distrust of Leaders
I didn’t know what masturbation was until I was a teenager, but found out that I had been doing it since I was six on…
#502 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,5,7,8
To tell my story I have to include some back story. When I was a child, probably 4th grade I was sexually assaulted. This is…
#501 Jenny F. CS: 1,2,7
When I was 16 years old, I met with my bishop to confess some sexual sins I had committed with my boyfriend. I felt horrible…
#500 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7. Other: fear of damnation
It was my first temple trip as a new Beehive. Back then before the Albuquerque temple was built, the nearest temple to my small town…
#499 Trevor C. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
Protect LDS Children: My Story, Trevor Cobb, March 25, 2018 Around 1992-1993, when I was a deacon in Olney, Maryland, my mom caught me looking…
#498 Name Hidden. 1,2,3,4,6,7,8. Other: Fear/High anxiety of Leadership interviews, and Church attendance, job interviews, Therapy, Psychiatry appointments, and Doctor’s appointments alone.
The earliest I have a memory of abuse was at the age of 6. At age 7, I remember preparing for…
#497 Name Hidden. CS: n/a
This makes me so grateful for my Bishop after reading these stories. I’ve always sat in on my son’s interviews with the bishop because my…
#496 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8
My story has roots going back stemming from before I was born but I don’t think it is my place to tell them right now.…
#495 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
Many years ago during a family trip to San Francisco where we walked across the Golden Gate Bridge, 11-year-old me stopped and peered down into…
#494 Brittany D. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8.
To begin, I will say that I was three when a man first took away my sexual agency. My father, a pedophile, showed me porn…
#493 Amanda M. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
When I was 14 I reported my rape to my bishop. Except since I was 14 I didn’t know it was rape. I wasn’t even…
#492 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8. Other: impaired sexuality even still 15 years later/unable to feel confident and free of shame for my body and it’s normal healthy functions; I based my entire adult and sex life on how others *might* view me, instead of what I want and need for myself in that private & personal part of my life–which is NO ONE ELSE’S BUSINESS!!
I was born into the LDS church, raised and lived my whole life in the heart of LDS country, Utah County. There’s no escaping the…
#491 Name Hidden. CS: 1,6
When I went to my bishop for the sealing recommend as required for a temple marriage the bishop gave me unsolicited sexual advice which included…
#490 Name Hidden. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9. Other: Loss of will to live and dying of a terminal illness.
Upon my son’s cancer diagnosis at age 15 he said he did not want to live. He said he was a bad person. He then…
#489 Val C. CS: 1,2,3,6,7
Hi my name is Val. I am 61 years old, been married for 39 years and the father of 5 sons. I am a victim…
#488 Lori D. CS: 1,2,3,7
I was sixteen when I was called into the Bishop’s office – I didn’t know why. You see, I grew up in a “non-mormon” home…
#487 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9. Other: Eating Disorders
As a child I experienced repeated sexual abuse. I knew that I didn’t like what was happening to me, but I didn’t know exactly what…
#486 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8
Hello, I am a 35 year old man. Gender, Sex, and Sexuality are important. They are as much a part of us as our arms…
#485 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9. Other: Gaslighting; feeling like I’m crazy because I’m told my abuse was a sin and not abuse
I was sexually abused as a child and as a teen. At my baptism interview, I remember feeling shame for the abuse, and this continued…
#484 Laurie S. CS: 1,2,3,6,7
I was sexually assaulted by a brother when I was 9 years old. I froze, didn’t know what was happening and was threatened that if…
#483 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
I was sexually assaulted as a youth. The church teachings of no sexual relations before marriage caused me years of guilt and shame. At the…
#482 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8. Other: Confusion. unrelenting, unresolvable, baffling, confusion.
I grew up in the 70’s. My dad is mentally ill –probably a mix of Asperger’s (back when there was that), Bipolar, OCD, and PTSD.…
#481 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
My first experience of sexual abuse was from a member of my bishopric when I was ten. He practiced ritualistic abuse using scriptures, twisted covenants,…
#480 Name Withheld. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,7,8
I know this petition is aimed at ending one-on-one interviews with children, but these interviews can be damaging to adults as well. I’d like to…
#479 Name Hidden. CS: 1,5,6,7,8,9,10
I was 12. I lived in an all American Ward (My Dad was stationed in Germany in the US ARMY), they just built the Frankfurt…
#478 Vilate V. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,10
When I was a sophomore in high school I joined the Mormon church. I had been a member for 6 months when I joined a…
#477 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7. Other: Victim blaming
At age 13, I was sexually abused by a school teacher (LDS). When I finally worked up the courage to talk to my Bishop, he…
#476 Name Withheld. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
I will tell my story anonymously as it the internal and external impact Church teaching around sexuality and expectations of worthiness evaluations by Church leaders…
#475 Name Hidden. CS: 4. Other: Long lasting distrust of male authority figures
When I was 12 years old (F) I went to see my bishop for my first temple recommend interview. I was so excited! The bishop…
#474 Caroline C. CS: 1
When I was at BYU, I was called into the bishop’s office. My bishop was a 60 something Orem raised seminary teacher. He had decades…
#473 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4,7
When I was 15 we had a sleepover at our Mia Maids leaders home. We were in the basement with her two teenage sons. I…
#472 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5
It took me reading so many stories to gather the courage to tell my own. While the suffering felt by all is incalculable, my story…
#471 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8
I am not comfortable telling everything, but I will say I was asked the following questions in an interview when I was 15 or 16…
#470 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2. Other: Feeling incredibly far from the church and seeing the threat priesthood power is
I went to my bishop to ask for support as i filed a rape case against my rapist from 10 years prior. My bishop said…
#469 Renate S. CS: 1,2,3,5,7,8,9,10
I was thirteen or so when I was asked by a member of the bishopric if I touched myself. Of course, I lied. I barely…
#468 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,5,6,7,8,9. Other: Violation of privacy. Release of confidential information causing embarrassment, shame, and loss of a relationship. Edangerment of a child by tellin an abusive parent that child had told them of the abuse.
My story is four stories, and you may split them if you wish, or you may tell them together. So we will begin: The story…
#467 Name Hidden CS: 1,2,3,6,8
I confessed to masturbation to several priesthood leaders as I struggled with it from age 12-19. One bishop around age 14 told me I was…
#466 Christina M. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
I never thought my story would be important but now that I see others standing up to protect children from these harmful interviews, I feel…
#465 Briana W. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
I still struggle putting this down on print and still have the shame that the church issued to me with my abuse. When I was…
#464 Name Hidden. CS: 1,5
When I was 16 we went to visit my grandpa who was living in Rexburg at the time and my older brother who was attending…
#463 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7
I was sexually abused by my step-brother when I was an eight year old girl. It continued for two years. My family was broken and…
#462 Tonya N. CS: 1,2
My story is about how the Bishop of the church got information that I had had premarital sex. I was about 15 years old. It…
#461 Sandra W. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
How do I even begin to try and explain the damage being abused as a child has caused me. I was 6, we had been…
#460 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,4,7,8
My story starts outside of church. From the age of seven, I experienced sexual assault and harassment from multiple sources. Other children, adults I knew,…
#459 Tiffani N. CS: 1,4
When I was a cute newlywed I was asked probing questions by a young bishop (whose sweet wife was pregnant with their 9th child) about…
#458 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3.6.7
I went on my own accord to visit the bishop with my then boyfriend, whom I loved very much. We had been sexually active, but…
#457 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7
When I was 16 years old I moved to a new ward in Herriman, Utah. The first day at church right when we walked in…
#456 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7
When I was 7 years old I had my first worthiness interview a few weeks before I turned 8 and would be baptized. The bishop…
#455 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8
It wasn’t the interviews so much as a combination of the interviews with the fire-and-brimstone chastity lessons. Masturbation was described as an incredibly selfish and…
#454 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4,8
My 15 year old son has been crippled with guilt and shame about masturbation. He has talked to our LDS bishop about it and feels…
#453 Name Hidden. CS: 1,6,7
***Warning you may find the post below controversial, however please understand that “it doesn’t impact you until it impacts you, or someone you know personally.”***…
#452 Shawn McCraney. CS: 1,2,3,6
I was shamed continuously because i was honest with them – then i learned to lie.
#451 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
My father was both a Bishop and a Stake President for almost my entire childhood. Both of my parents were very well known and respected…
#450 George P. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8
I felt uncomfortable just being in the presence of Bishop _____. Knowing what he was going to ask me made my heart race with dread.…
#449 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,9
I have been blessed with having experienced two car accidents. The first one was the start of me leaving the church and the second was…
#448 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7
As a child I suffered years and years of sexual abuse. It started when I was barely older than a toddler and so, I didn’t…
#447 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,9,10
As a young child, I overheard whispered conversations between my mom and her younger sisters at family reunions. As soon as I or my grandparents…
#446 Brian A. CS: 1,2,3,7,8
After reading many of the stories here, I find myself fortunate, and I realize that it could have been so much worse. But the shame…
#445 Name Hidden. CS: 4
While my story may not be as traumatizing as others shared in this movement, I feel that it is still worth sharing. During an interview…
#444 Brooke B. CS: 1,2,3,7
When I was in High School I fooled around with a guy in my ward. Stuff had happened a bunch of times and I knew…
#443 Leslie M. CS: 3,7
Sexual abuse needs to be reported not only about what’s going on behind closed doors in the bishops office but also abuse that’s reported “to”…
#442 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6
When I was 17 years old, I went to my bishop to repent for having sex with my boyfriend. My bishop asked for explicit details…
#441 Colleen Payne D. CS: 1,4
I was raped my first semester at BYU. My on-campus bishop was the one person I told of my experience, in desperate hopes to obtain…
#440 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7
I’m deeply saddened reading these stories. Although mine isn’t on the severity scale as some of those on here, I think the church needs to…
#439 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,5,6,7,8,9
There is so much. I can not write it all. I was beaten for masturbating. I was snuck up on if my bedroom door was…
#438 Name Withheld. CS: Other: Some distress and also mistrust of leaders
I do not have a terrible story to report. However, I have twice as an adult been asked inappropriate sexual questions that left me feeling…
#437 Name Hidden. CS: 1
When I was a member of the church, I was 28 years old, single and was a recent convert. For the members, I was old.…
#436 Allen M. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8,9
I was asked specifically at 13 if I masturbate (had never heard the term before), and if I watched pornography (had heard the word, but…
#435 Sadie W. CS: 1,2,3,7,8,9
My story begins at 2 or 3 years old when I was molested multiple times by/with the permission of a woman in her home during…
#434 Name Withheld CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
My name is Julie. At the time of this writing I am 34 years old. I was born and raised in Utah within the Mormon…
#433 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,7,8
***Sam, thank you for your hard work, selfless service, dedication to protect our children. I don’t know if this counts but I believe my bishop…
#432 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,5,6,7,8,9. Other: General inability to function constructively in interpersonal relationships
Dear Mr. Young, March 22, 2018 I only recently discovered your work yesterday—your website, and stories of LDS children abused by ecclesiastical interviews. I glanced…
#431 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,8,9
I am a very active member of the LDS church. I served as a young women’s leader. During the time I served, a couple of…
#430 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4. Other: Spiritual Abuse
I converted to the church at the impressionable age of 16. My parents did not go to the church and they had no knowledge of…
#429 Ashley S. CS: 1,2,7. Other: Trust issues with authorities
When I was 9 years old, I was molested by a boy who lived in my neighborhood. I told my parents right after it happened.…
#428 Erin W. CS: 1,2,3,5,7,8
My father physically/sexually abused, neglected, and abandoned his children, with no remorse. When this was brought to the attention of multiple bishops and stake presidents,…
#427 Alissa P. CS: 1,2,5,8
I was molested by my stepdad in 1988 when I was 8 years old, told my family to get help with no avail. The abuse…
#426 Name Hidden. CS: 1,7
I was a very dedicated member of the church as a youth. I didn’t do anything that would lead to me talking to the Bishop…
#425 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,6,7
I haven’t really discussed this with anyone before. However, I have been following your movement and it has sparked memories of being ask questions about…
#424 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
I went to my bishop as a teenager for help navigating trauma from childhood physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. He connected me to some resources…
#423 J Adams. CS: 1,2,4,5,6,7,8
Beginning when I was 9 years old, I had an older brother that repeatedly tried to coerce me into playing sexual games with my 7…
#422 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9. Other: Self-harm
This is very difficult so I’ll make it short. I was damaged quite badly by the shame I felt for so called sins and transgressions.…
#421 Kylie S. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,8
I was fortunate to have the leaders that I did, they always treated me with respect. However, I did suffer from self-loathing and unnecessary shame…
#420 Michael S. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7, Other: Disbelief in the “church”
I was a young adult during the time in which the internet and online porn were becoming popular. It seemed that every Sunday or General…
#419 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3
When I was 16 I told my mia-maid leader that I had sex and had smoked marijuana. I expected her to keep it private but…
#418 Sadie J. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
I was molested at a very young age by a family friend. Then, I was molested again by another family friend from the time I…
#417 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7
I’ll never understand why my parents thought it was a good idea or allowed me to stay overnight with a 60 year old (approx.), single…
#416 Adam B. CS: 1,2,3,7, Other: Actual pain in my body went thinking about sexual shame.
Growing up I was taught in church that masturbation was the most vile and nasty thing and no one did it except really bad people,…
#415 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,6
When I was 19 (10 years ago) I talked to my Bishop week after week repenting for pre marital sex. He asked for details, positions,…
#414 Name Hidden. CS: Other: Forty years of suffering legit diagnosed-PTSD
When you are an #LDS girl alone in a room with a #Mormon Priesthood leader man who gets an erection then makes his advance by…
#413 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,7,8
My first bishop interview about masturbation happened when I was 14 in 1984. I did not know what that was at the time. I had…
#412 Name Hidden. CS: 1,8
I am currently a member of the LDS church. Growing up I had many great leaders in the church that taught me a lot of…
#410 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,5,6,7,8
I was sexualized when I was 14 by an adult female, “Helen”. She was in her mid-20s. At the same time I was also given…
#409 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4
I was a teenager in the LDS church in the late 70s and 80s. My parents never had “the talk” with me or told me…
Success #7 Staci G.
In May of 2017, my daughter was due for a baptismal interview. I told the bishop in passing that I needed to be present for…
#408 Name Withheld. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
My mother was inactive LDS growing up. My dad was of another faith. I didn’t go to church often, but would at times go play…
#407 Michael D. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
I’ve written about a hundred pages worth of material trying to figure out what I want to say and get it down to something less…
#406 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3
When I was 16, I was sure I was in love with my boyfriend. Evenings were spent cuddling watching tv. As often happens the line…
#405 Name Hidden. CS: 1,6,7
My mother taught me that it was wrong to touch my private parts. I was afraid to sin and was very careful not to ever…
#404 Michelle. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
As a young 13 year old girl, this was a very uncomfortable, if not traumatizing situation for me speaking to an older man about my…
#403 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
There was a time a little girl was happy, at least she tried to pretend she was, because she did not know what was going…
#402 Name Hidden. CS: 2,3,5,6,7
I was sexually abused by an uncle when I was three. He made me touch his penis. We were in the same ward growing up…
#401 Preslie P. CS: 1
When I was about 21 I was repenting for premarital sex to go on a mission. _______, who I guess is a leader in the…
Success #6 Missy
I don’t know if this is a success story, but I’ll share it anyways. I sent an the email outlined on this protect lds children…
#400 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6
I grew up being exposed to sexual activities and situations from my neighborhood peers, starting at a very young age. I always felt shame around…
#399 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2
I joined the church when I was 18. I had an interview with my Bishop and he asked me if I engaged in Bestiality. I…
#398 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3
At age 12, I was so excited to be ordained a deacon. The Bishop brought me into his office. I don’t remember anything from that…
#397 R. Mark. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7
Growing up in the church I was frequently asked about masturbation. The cumulative doctrine during my formative years was very clear that this was a…
#396 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,7,8,9. Other: Marrying abusive men
I was in Junior High, and struggling. I already didn’t believe in the church. Which put me at odds with my Dad. My sibling had…
#395 Alice D. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9
I was a hyper-sexual child who didn’t know the word masturbating until five or six years after I’d started having regular orgasms. I started cutting…
#394 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,7
I was sexually abused as a primary sunbeam (age 4-5) by my primary teachers during sunday school lessons (a husband and wife). There was at…
#393 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8
My stake president wanted to meet with me in advance of going to the temple for baptisms for the dead. I’d known him my entire…
Success #5 Cylinda A.
In 2012, I was serving in the Stake Young Women’s presidency and my oldest turned 12. Between my calling and my oldest child, the lives,…
Success #4 Doug
Hello Sam, After your efforts brought this issue to my attention I too recognized how important it is to protect children and felt that I…
#392 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,9
As I have started to read the stories others have shared, I decided I should share mine. I grew up in a divorced household, primarily…
Success #3 T.D.
Dear Sam/Bishop Young, I wanted to write to you to thank you for the information you are sharing. I know this has been so troublesome…
#391 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4
I was about 14 years old, I was forced to go to church by my mom. I decided to try and be more active and…
#390 Name Hidden CS: 1
In the spring of 2012, the Stake President of the Winnipeg Canada Stake told us in the annual stake priesthood mtg. that “masturbation leads to…
Success #2 Sally D.
We have 3 teenage boys and a 6 year old daughter. We will be “dropping in” during these interviews from now on. The whole “grooming…
Success #1 Name Hidden
While myself and my children are out of the church, I was significantly affected by the teachings of shame regarding masturbation and felt the effects…
#389 Joel B. CS: 1,2,3,6
I really don’t have a great sense of exactly how to communicate just how damaging these one on one bishop interviews involving sexual topics by…
#388 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5
I want to spend a little time sharing my story. I do not want to give too many details but give readers a pretty good…
#387 Name Hidden 1,2,3,4,7,8
I recognize my mother’s voice in another story here, so I think it’s time to share mine. When I was a child, I had a…
#386 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4
When I was 15 I slept with my boyfriend. It wasn’t until later that I realized I had done so because I didn’t feel like…
#385 Name Withheld CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,10
I don’t think my story is anywhere near as hurtful and disturbing as others who have come forward. I offer my respect, love, and support…
Former Mormon bishop asks church leaders to stop interviewing kids about sex behind closed doors
Former Mormon bishop asks church leaders to stop interviewing kids about sex behind closed doors ST. GEORGE — A petition to stop the practice of…
Dear Bishop: Don’t Ask My Kids About Sex
Dear Bishop: Don’t Ask My Kids About Sex There is a movement taking place against the inappropriate practice we keep traditionally in place within Mormonism…
Report: Mormon Masturbation Interviews Damage Children
Report: Mormon Masturbation Interviews Damage Children Protect the children: The aggressive interrogation of children about masturbation and sex by Mormon church officials constitutes child abuse.…
#384 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
When I was in my late teens, I was called into the Bishop’s office, out of the blue, and interrogated for over one and half…
#383 David. CS: 1,2,3,4,6
Those who read my story may well conclude that I have no business posting alongside those who have been subject to the horrors of sexual…
#382 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,10
My father was in church leadership as were all the males in my family dating back to Joseph Smith himself and are direct descendants of…
#381 Jo T. CS: 1,2,3,5,8
It was summer and we had a large garden in Nothern California we shared with neighbors and ward members. My dad was a postman and…
#380 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4,5,7
I honestly can’t say that I know exactly where it all began. The trouble is that the fond memories intertwine with the inappropriate and drawing…
#379 Name Hidden. CS: 4
This is not a story about a mandated bishops interview. But it does show the nature of the naive Mormon mindset that just because someone…
#378 Name Hidden. CS: 1,6,7
My ex-wife used to masturbate when she was a young woman until our marriage (she was 25). She is a true believer and claims that…
#377 Name Hidden. CS: 5 Other: Current Mormon Bishop who is an abuser.
I am a 41 year old life long male member of the LDS church. I was sexually abused as a young child by my Uncle…
#376 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4
We had postponed my daughter’s baptism for months so that her older brother could return from a sales job and baptize her. Days before the…
#375 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7,8,9
If you were with me in Utah right now, I would walk you out past my old neighborhood thru a farmer’s field about a quarter…
#374 Name Hidden. CS: 1. Other: Defending physical abuse by a priesthood holding father.
My sister and I, at different times in our respective childhoods mustered up the courage to tell the bishop about our dad, who physically, emotional…
#373 Charmaine Ferreira. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8. Other: Sexual abuse by Young Men’s President at age 15 onwards
This is my story for all the men and women who’s hearts and souls are broken because of men at church. This My story for…
#372 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7
I left TSCC in my early 20s almost 45 years ago. My parents were “pioneers” of Mormonism in a small Australian city, hence branch presidents…
#371 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4,7. Other: Loss of innocence.
When I was a very naive 12 year old, I attended my first bishops interview. I was scared & really had no idea what to…
#370 Pattie C. CS: 1,7,10
This is not my story. This is my sister’s story. But she is not here to tell it. My younger sister LeeAnn became a “special…
#369 Susan B. CS: 4
Even though it was long ago, I remember being interviewed by the bishop as I prepared to be baptized at the age of eight. It…
#368 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
I was ~middle school age when my Mormon leaders started bringing this stuff up and asking me about the same stuff. Wish I’d known back…
#367 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8,9
I’m a pretty sexual person. I don’t know if it’s a consequence of my youth or whether it’s just how I am and I was…
#366 Name Hidden. CS: 4
My story I hope will bring light to how systemic the issue is. The story is my father’s who is now 70. When my father…
#365 Name Hidden CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8
When I was in high school I was sexually assaulted by a classmate. When this happened I was totally naive to anything sexual in nature,…
#364 Mike S. CS: 1,2,6,7
I haven’t read even one of these stories. I won’t. I can’t let myself read child abuse. I’m 58, BIC, active nearly my entire life.…
#363 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,7,10
I remember a dimly lit room where I was interviewed quickly for baptism at 8 years old. My parents were ‘inactive’ and the first I…
#362 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,4,6,8
I was a new missionary at the MTC. The MTC President groomed the sister missionaries by constantly praising and complementing us as if he had…
#361 Sandy C. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7. Other: Feared God that he was always judging me because he spoke through the church leaders!!
I was a very good child always trying to please God and took everything to heart that church leaders said! The guilt and shame of…
#360 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,8,9
I’ve faced mental illness for as long as I can remember. Depression, social anxiety/phobia disorder, auditory hallucinations, etc. And on top of everything, I’m a…
#359 Name Hidden. CS: 4,5
We lost a generation of young men in my ward in NY in the 80s due to grooming and molestation by a bishop facilitated by…
#358 Steve H. CS: 1,2,3,6,7. Other: Loss of trust in the priesthood, the Spirits, and the Church.
When I was very young, my parents discovered I had been sexually abused by a female babysitter in our LDS ward. When they reported this to their bishop,…
#357 Rachel. CS: 1,2,3,6,7
I am so thankful that people are finally speaking out about this problem. And it is a problem, a big one. I became inactive in…
#356 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7. Other: Fear/anxiety in interactions with bosses or authority figures
My bishop touched me inappropriately during a private, closed-door, one-one-one interview in his office at a church stake center in Provo, Utah while I was…
#355 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7. Other: Basically, I’ve become a pathological liar since I was trained in it as a small kid.
Although it isn’t quick or easy to deal with, I’ll make this story brief as if it were. So, read it in two minutes and…
#354 Madison S. CS: 1,2,3,4,8
My story is not as bad as many others’ because I was lucky enough to have friends who told me what happened to them when…
#353 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8,9,10
I grew up in a Mormon household. We were considered religious by my family friends outside of Utah, but moving back when I was 12…
#352 Rochelle J. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8
I had to confess to my older white male bishop that I had watched porn at age 13 without anyone else present. I left church…
#351 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8
As a young boy, I only ever wanted to do what’s right, be honest, and grow in the church. Around the age of 12, I…
#350 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7
I was a popular young woman, honor student and athlete in my high school with supportive and loving parents. In the summer before I turned…
#349 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2
My story isn’t exactly my story, although I am definitely a part of it. I am an ’empty nester’ now, but eleven years ago I…
#348 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3
As a youth, I went to my bishop to confess what I was taught to be “inappropriate” behavior with my girlfriend. When I told my…
#347 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7,8. Other: Thoughts of self-castration
I was not abused during or because of these interviews, but the affects of these interviews haunt me to this day. Ever since my first…
#346 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2
As a teenager, I had a healthy interest in sexuality and had sexual feelings. I masturbated, which I now recognize was normal behavior for a…
#345 Name Hidden. 1,4
My story isn’t earth shattering but it was embarrassing and so very awkward. It was in the early 90’s as I was interviewing to turn…
#344 Name Hidden. CS: 1,7,8
In my teen years, my bishop interviewed me regarding masturbation and watching pornography. He would ask very detailed questions regarding how frequently I masturbated, how…
#343 Lauren C. CS: 1,2,3,6,8 Other: self harm
You always heard about the boys that masturbate, and that always seemed more acceptable. Like it was something expected because men weren’t strong enough to…
#342 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7. Other: Reported abuse disregarded.
It’s hard to know where to begin, but I’ll try to be succinct. I’m a survivor of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of my…
#341 Name Hidden. CS: 1,6,7
After reading the stories that are on here the problems in my life now make sense. The constant feeling of shame that has been with…
#340 Name Withheld CS: 2,3,7
First off I am a female, addicted to porn for around 10 years. It all started when I was 11 I got an email that…
#339 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8,9
I wish I was brave enough to post my name, but my family is still unaware of my faith transition. I feel like a coward.…
#338 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7,8
I was born in the church and presented as a very devout, chaste and faithful girl my whole life. It wasn’t an act. For the…
#337 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7
I grew up in a small town in Southern Utah. When I say small I mean about a 100 people small, give or take a…
#336 Derek G. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8
When I turned 12 I had a really cool bishop. During interviews he would basically say “I don’t want to know what you did just…
#335 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3
I met my husband when I was 18. He is four years older than me and was a return missionary when we met at work.…
#334 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,4
From the Bishop’s Perspective I had been serving as a Bishop for a few years when a 17 year old girl came to my office…
#333 Name Hidden. CS: 1,6,7
When I was 18, I had my first sexual encounter with a boy. I was so scared to confess because I didn’t want my parents…
#332 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7,8,9
I don’t know if my story is typical, at least the later parts of it, but the beginning part I believe, is almost common in…
#331 Jodi B. CS: 1,2,3,6,7
I was lucky enough that my father was my Bishop during my formative teenage years so the damage and shame I received as a youth…
#330 Kik G. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8
On many more than one occasion, I was subjected to inappropriate interviewing that effected me even into my adulthood. From around the age of 12…
#329 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7,8,9
I should start with a little bit of history before going into detail about what happened to me between my years as a young child…
#328 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4,6
As a child, I wish I had known about the grooming processes that sexual predators use. The way they gain a child’s trust, maybe even…
#327 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7
When I was a 12 year old I went to my father full of shame and confessed I had masturbated. His reaction led me down…
#326 Ashley B. CS: 1,3,8
I became pregnant as a teen. The father is LDS and made great efforts to not be involved. He sent church members to my home…
#325 Craig S. CS: Other: Bishop falls in love
This is an odd story but it took me a while to connect the dots as to why I felt so passionate about signing the…
#324 Name Hidden. CS: 1. Other: Sexual Harassment
The following isn’t an experience about a Bishop interview, but an Honor Code Office interview on the BYU-I campus. This is an LDS owned private…
#323 Sally T. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7. Other: mis-information, or perhaps a blatant lie used to coerce???
I went through those highly emotional and impactive teen years, in the 70s. This was when our LGBTQ brothers and sisters were still in the…
#322 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,6,7,8
My nazi-TBM parents never gave me the birds and the bees talk. I was raised in an information vacuum that only included the church and…
#321 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4,7,8,9
Innocence Taken I grew up going to the Sugar Land wards of the Houston Texas South Stake. I was going in for my first temple…
#320 Cheryl N. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,7
You may use my name, I resigned from the Church a couple years ago and I am not afraid of the Church discipline or threats…
#319 Lisa O. CS: 1,2,4,6,7
Lisa O. Idaho, USA My story takes place in the 1980s, in a town of about 30,000 people in Los Angeles County, California. One Sunday…
#318 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,7
I had recently moved out of state to attend college when I was caught up in a sexual situation with a man in my dorm…
#317 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,5,7
It was the late 80’s and I was about 4 years old. My mom was driving with only me in the car and I recognized…
#316 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,6
Whenever I was in a romantic relationship in high school and college, I dreaded worthiness interviews. I hated being asked by the bishop if I…
#315 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,5,6,7,9,10
My story began growing up not only being molested by an older neighbor, but also in a house full of siblings who had all learned…
#314 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,4,6
My sister was asked by her bishop if she masturbated before she was old enough to know what the word meant. Her husband (who is…
#313 Name Hidden. CS: Other: I feel like my issues are not directly related to the sexual aspect of worthiness interviews, so I didn’t check anything in this list.
I remember the first time I was asked if I masturbated. When I was about 15 years old, I was very depressed. My bishop was…
#312 Benjamin. CS: 1,4
When I was a teen, I attended EFY (Especially For Youth) church camps, which are commonly attended by Mormon kids hosted on church-owned university campuses.…
#311 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,6,7
When I was 16, I started dating a boy in my ward. I fell hard and fast, and really believed I was in love with…
#310 Melissa G. CS: 1,4,7,8,9. Other: Shame after a rape
I was raped when I was 17 by the Stake President’s 22 year old RM son. I was terrified to say anything to anyone because…
#309 Tosh K. CS: Other: I’m a gay man that was spiritually compelled to tell my leaders that I had sinned.
On my own volition and guilty feelings, I was compelled to tell my ecclesiastical leaders that I was gay and had been having relations at…
#308 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
Local church leaders conduct worthiness interviews with their members, even the children. Every child in a Mormon congregation will have at least one interview with…
#307 Chris M. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
“’You asked me once,’ said O’Brien, ‘what was in Room 101. I told you that you knew the answer already. Everyone knows it. The thing…
#306 Name Hidden. CS: 1
As an older teen I had sex with my boyfriend, J. I went to my bishop and confessed. The bishop asked for J’s name and…
#305 Michael K. CS: 1,2,4,6,7
During one of my earliest worthiness interviews as an adolescent, the interviewer asked if I masturbated. I needed a definition because I hadn’t experienced it…
#304 Name Hidden. CS: 1
Shortly before my daughter‘s 13th birthday, she came downstairs and found me in the kitchen making dinner. She had a horrified look on her face…
#303 Drew B. CS: 1,8
My branch president said, “You can’t think gay thoughts, they will lead to going to hell.” I was 7 years old when two older boys…
#302 Ryan J. CS: 1,2,3,4,5. Other: Learning how to lie well when I never imagined developing such a casual relationship with lying.
I support the stories shared here, and am now willing to publicly share my own. After just turning 12, I was scheduled for my first…
#301 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,8
Like most teenagers, I masturbated. During a worthiness interview, I was asked if I had masturbated. I was honest and admitted that I had. I…
#300 Carol. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7
I did not realize until I started typing how difficult this might be to share. I am flooded with so many emotions. I grew up…
#299 Name Withheld. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9
I was a 14 year old child. I was raped. Had just had a lesson on “virtue”, the week before. I was so traumatized. I…
#298 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,8
My childhood bishop was a good man. I write this story not to blame him but to blame the system that would put an untrained…
#297 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7
I have many stories of shame from the Mormon Church. But one that sticks out, and pertains to this issue is this: I grew up…
#296 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,4
Long stories made short are the best when you’re still healing from the traumatic consequences you incurred. My first real boyfriend at the age of…
#295 Name Withheld. CS: 1,2,6,8
When I was 4-8 years old I was molested by a neighbor kid. I remember being sick to my stomach, afraid to fall asleep at…
#294 Name Hidden. CS: 4
20-ish years ago, in the seventh grade, I had a history teacher. He was single, in his late 30s, and he was very interested in…
#293 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,6. Other: Attempted self-mutilation
I was lucky, like some others here were, that my bishops were never lascivious men asking too-personal questions. The self-hate and attempted self harm I…
#292 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8
When I was 7 or 8 years old I was molested by an older neighborhood boy as well as a babysitter. As I grew up…
#291 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8,9. Other: Self-harm
As far as I can remember, I was attracted to other boys – at least since age 6 – but I had no idea it…
#290 Name Hidden. CS: 1,5,6,7
I grew up in Australia, where members from the USA, and especially Utah were highly regarded, honored, and looked up to in my childhood Ward.…
#289 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4
When I was 12, I went in for my first Bishop interview. When it got to the part about chastity he asked me if I…
#288 Name Hidden CS: 1,7
After being raped at 15. I felt like I was in the deepest darkest hell you can imagine. I talked to my bishop who said…
#287 Name Withheld. CS: 1,2,4,7,8
When I was 13, I was a very devoted little Mormon girl. I prayed every day, read my scriptures, dressed modestly, and got good grades.…
#286 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7,8
My story isn’t much different than the hundreds if not thousands that have already been told, with one big exception. I am a 60 year…
#285 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8. Other: Feeling guilty after being raped as an Adult
As a teenager my parents found out that I was having relations with my boyfriend and forced me to see the bishop to confess my…
#284 Jens A. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,7,8
“When I was 7 and my little brother was 4 we were molested by an “upstanding” male church member who was recommended to babysit us…
#283 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4
I grew up in an inactive household. I was still baptized at eight. Never having been to church before or after that until the age…
#282 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7
My experience with “confessing” to my bishop at an interview came in teens. I was 16 years old. I wasn’t a child, but it affected…
#281 Name Hidden. CS: 1
I was extremely suicidal my freshman year. I left my house at 6am for seminary and got off the bus at 4pm followed by sports…
#280 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9. Other: lost friends
My worthiness interview story only scratches the surface of how the Mormon Church destroyed my life. The details of exactly how my life was destroyed…
#279 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8. Other: Self harm/cutting
When I was 15, I was living in California and in a relationship with a non-LDS boy. One day, he forced himself on me. He…
#278 Carrie B. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
I grew up in an abusive home. I was raped for the first time when I was 7. I spent decades trying to convince my…
#277 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,8
Of my own experience, I wish to say that it is not remotely as appalling as many of the personal stories bravely posted on the…
#276 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3
The first time I ever masturbated was on my Mission at age 21. I knew I had to confess to my mission president, but I…
#275 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4
This story is about my daughter and it only happened a couple of years ago. My 18 year old daughter decided she wanted to follow…
#274 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,8
My experience with interviews has been all over the map. It ranges from mildly intrusive to absolutely inappropriate. At one point the proceedings of a…
#273 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8
I was born into and grew up in a very strict Mormon family. My mom had this view of the world that the less you…
#272 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7
I started attending the LDS church when I was eleven years old right after my parent’s divorced. Growing up in the church I was given…
#271 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7
My story isn’t necessarily traumatic (I’ve read FAR worse on here), though it can vouch for the negative effects that private worthiness interviews and shame…
#270 Amanda W. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8
I was in my teens when I started masturbating. My bishop at the time was very much interested in emphasizing how sinful masturbation was. He…
#269 Lauren S. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7. Other: Silenced about sexual abuse. Blamed for my own sexual abuse.
I was 11 when a cousin 4 years older than me began sexually abusing me. It went on every summer for 3 years, worsening each…
#268 Duncan S. CS: 1,2,7,8. Other: Perpetuated addiction.
I’ve always been interested in love. My whole life has been spent loving love, and naturally that love, as a child, was placed in God.…
#267 Name Withheld CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8
When I was a child, I considered suicide as an alternative route to admitting to a bishop a “sexual sin” I had committed a few…
#266 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4,6,7,8,9
I am in the process of writing my story about the sexual issues and shaming that happened within the church. It’s really hard to do.…
#265 Jeanne A. CS: 1,2,3,4,6
I was a 17 year old good girl. Dating at Ricks college with a football player with 16 roaming hands. After months of dating and…
#264 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8,9
I didn’t know what masturbation was at 11 when I went in for my “are you ready for the priesthood?” interview with the bishop. Little…
#263 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7,8,9
I’m one of the lucky ones who had only good men as bishops throughout my life and yet I still did not escape unscathed. I…
#262 Name Hidden. CS: 1
I had a boyfriend as a teenager that I “fooled around” with. I was told that in order to repent I would need to confess…
#261 James H. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8
I could say so much but I’ll keep it simple. I was indoctrinated into Mormonism as a child, I believed it because it was the…
#260 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2. Other: Regular questions about masturbation led me to habitual lying.
I asked my children’s bishop not to ask them any questions related to sexuality. He refused my request, claiming that he had a responsibility as…
#259 Ron B. CS: 1,2
My son when he was 13 went in to see his bishop for the yearly interview. This was in the Kaysville Height Bench ward. He…
#258 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3
When I was about 16 I had to delay my ordination to Priest because I confessed to porn and masturbation. Because of the delay, I…
#257 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,4,6,7
When I was 17, I fell in love for the first time. This boy looked at me in a way that no one else ever…
#256 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7
I was born in what many would view the ideal Mormon family. My parents believed in doing all that the church taught and I was…
#255 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7
I struggled with bishops interviews all growing up. The questions always made me feel uncomfortable, I hated being alone in a room with an adult…
#254 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,8,9
My parents are amazing people. They are always there for me (turning 30 this year) and have never judged or meant to harm me or…
#253 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4
When my son was almost 12, I went to speak with the bishop about the upcoming interview for my son. I asked what he would…
#252 Name Withheld. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
I was molested by my older brothers for several years. One night my mother sat me down and asked me about it because my parents…
#251 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4
When I was 8, just after I was baptized, I would look up pictures on the internet. I started finding “dirty” ones and found myself…
#250 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
I learned to masturbate as an infant. It was no big deal to me. I only did it while alone. I had sexual ideas and…
#249 Name Withheld. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
This happened more than 20 years ago. I was 11. My dad left us when we were young. My mom was an alcoholic and a…
#248 Maddie K. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8,9
I was 12 years old when I found out what masturbation was. I did not find out from the internet (not a thing at that…
#247 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7,8
I didn’t even know what masturbation was until my bishop asked me. I lied because I was embarrassed and thought it was something I was…
#246 Natalie B. CS: 1,6
I was told to confess to my bishop that my boyfriend touched my breast. I sat uncomfortably in front of my bishop who is also…
#245 Name Hidden. CS: 1,6
As a student at one of the Church’s universities I confessed masturbation to my bishop. I had slipped up a bit over the summer break.…
#244 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8. Other: Lost opportunities due to shame filled “best dating years.”
When I turned twelve years old, it was time for my Aaronic Priesthood interview. Everyone seemed to be talking about it like it was a…
#243 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8
Like others here, I feel a little nervous to tell my story. Interviews starting when I entered Young Women’s. All I heard until I was…
#242 Jeremy C. CS: 1,2,3,5,6,7
Growing up in Utah I was regularly asked about whether I touched myself (even how I did it, and where) by my bishop and the…
#241 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8
My (now adult) son suffered public shaming as a teenager because he was honest in his interviews with the bishop when asked if he masturbated.…
#240 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3
I wasn’t a child when this happened, but I was still an impressionable, self-conscious young woman of 20. Starting a new semester at BYU, I…
#239 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7
I am only sharing this anonymously because there are other innocent parties involved from whom I have not received permission to share this story publicly.…
#238 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7
When thinking about my baptism, I remember a few things about that day, but there is one huge thing I think about that day. Guilt.…
#237 Carter S. CS: 1,5,8,9,10
Attempted suicide multiple times as if you lust its as if you’ve already done it. and if a man lays with another man you are…
#236 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7,8. Other: Extreme anxiety
My story is nothing special. I didn’t look at pornography in my teens, but I woke up from a wet dream when I was 13…
#235 Heather S. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8. Other: Belief that sex of any kind is vile and evil.
Story #2. I was in 8th grade (13) when I had my first ecclesiastical interview. My uncle & his family had come from Seattle to…
#234 Carrie. CS: 1,2,3,7,8,9
The story that has impacted my life the most is my husband’s story. He and I met when he was 28 (I was 25) and…
#233 Austin B. CS: 1,3,6,7,8
I looked at pornography in high school. My dad got a confession out of me by lying to me and saying that he would drive…
#232 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7,8
My bishop asked me if I engaged in masturbation when I was about 12-13. He told me I can’t have the spirit with me if…
#231 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2
When I turned 12 I had my first interview with the bishop so I could become a deacon. He asked if I masturbated. I had…
#230 Heather S. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8. Other: Belief that sex is evil & next only to murder and that if sexual touch felt good in any way, that meant I was evil.
Trigger Warning: child sex abuse. This is about church teachings being used by my abuser. I grew up in a small Mormon town and was…
#229 Sara F. CS: 1,2,3,7,8,9
When I was 17 I slipped with my older boyfriend. I told my parents what had happened and they told me it was bad enough…
#228 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,4,7. Other: Sexual self indentity..
I hesitate to relate this history, to talk explicitly about matters of a sexual nature, but am compelled to do so because church leaders did…
#227 Alan H. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
One of my first interviews that I can remember happened when I was 12. I felt fine about meeting the bishop. He asked me if…
#226 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7
I was fifteen lost my virginity to my boyfriend. I felt terrible about attempted baptism for the dead when others work so hard for a…
#225 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7
When I was in high school, I had a serious boyfriend. After about a year of dating, we mutually decided to have sex. Many months…
#224 Robin D. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8
This practice destroyed my self-esteem, caused me to experience nearly relentless anxiety from age 8 on and led me to take desperate actions to “fix”…
#223 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,7,8
I want to start by saying I am an active member of the church. I debated about sharing this, because all of the people involved…
#222 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,4,8
At twenty, I was depressed and hadn’t taken the sacrament since moving out of my dad and stepmom’s house 2 years earlier. I was sexually…
#221 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7,8
I grew up very active in the church and quite believing. I tried to do everything right. To the outside I was a model member,…
#220 Name Withheld. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7
My story I remember being really nervous at bishops interviews as a youth because the prevailing belief was that bishops could ask ANY question they…
#219 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,5,6,7,8,9
Ugh, this is hard. I’m not really used to telling my story. But if I can help one child… I was born into an extremely…
#218 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8
I hesitated to write my story because I wasn’t sexually abused. I decided to write it though, because my experience around these interviews has been…
#217 D. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
The mission and stories of this website have validated my pain and my experience. This validation has brought about so much healing in my heart.…
#216 Lindsay S. CS: 1,3,6,8
I was a young woman in college when a young, LDS man forcibly groped me, kissed me and exposed himself to me. Afterwards I didn’t…
#215 Curtis C. CS: 1,2,7,8
Bishop and church GA’s shaming over masturbation caused me such self loathing over my inability to remain “pure” that I suffered from deep depression and…
#214 Name Withheld. CS: 1,2,4,7,8
I was born in Salt Lake City, raised LDS. I’m 34 now. I have been atheist for almost a decade. Around 14 I experimented with…
#213 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4,7
My boyfriend and I had sex at the age of 17 for the first time after being together for almost a year. Before that I…
#211 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4,8
My bishop was hardcore on the masturbation interviews. They started at 10 because he wanted to be sure that he could “identify worthiness issues” before…
#210 Landon H. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10
Sam, July 2nd of 2017 was the first day I had been sober in over a decade. Between drugs and alcohol I had a heavy…
#209 Melissa B. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8,9
I was eight years old when I was sexually abused, I didn’t even understand what had happened really, I just knew it felt wrong and…
#208 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8
Growing up LDS, sex and sexual topics were a taboo topic that we never talked about in our home. When I began to experience sexual…
#207 Marissa S. CS: 1,2,3,6,7
By all accounts, my childhood was pretty perfect. I grew up in the church, had awesome friends, leaders, and experiences. My dad was my bishop…
#206 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4,6,7
I had a Bishop that I went to after being sexually assaulted, as a child. My parents thought that this interview would help me, as…
#205 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7
As a young man I felt incredibly guilty about masturbation. I felt like I was the only one with this “sin” and that it made…
#204 Michelle. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9,10. Other: Self harm
My story starts with me realizing early in my elementary years, that I liked boys and girls. I was also sexually abused by an older…
#203 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7. Other: Extreme fear of Hell and punishment for normal developmental processes; anxiety disorder (OCD)
Some LDS readers might turn a blind eye to stories that don’t fit their worldview of ‘ultimate authority’ and blind trust in leaders. The gospel…
#202 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8
Growing up a girl in the church I was never told that masturbation was wrong; I guess they thought only boys did it. So I…
#201 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,7,8,9
This is a difficult story to tell. I am sharing it now in the hope that it’ll help put pressure on the church to change…
#200 Name hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9. Other: Unable to trust myself – always needing someone in authority to tell me what I needed to do
My story is complicated. I was sexually abused by family members when I was 5-7, but I didn’t know that’s what it was and didn’t…
#199 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3
I suffered domestic violence since the first year of my marriage til the very last day of my marriage. 8 years of terror, fear and…
#198 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8
Due to the detailed questions, interrogations and guilt shaming I received as a youth in the church, I know have psychological issues with intimacy. I…
#197 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7,8,9
I still have not yet recovered from the damage these interviews caused me when I was younger. It damaged my confidence, shamed me from such…
#196 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7
My experience going through the Young Men’s program in the LDS Church in California was probably about as good as it could be. I feel…
#195 Name Hidden. CS: 1
When I was 15 I was physically forced into having sex with a 20 year old friend of my brothers who had been flirting with…
#194 Rhonda J. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
I rarely had an interview by a bishop or by my own dad that was a bishop that didn’t have some extent of very uncomfortable…
#193 Marissa. CS: 1,2,8,9
Growing up LDS, you are taught that sexual sins are one of the worst sins a person can commit, right below murder. When I realized…
#192 Name Withheld CS: 1,2,3,4,7
While I was at college I felt extreme guilt for masturbation. Because of the LDS culture, I was raised to believe I had to confess…
#191 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4,7
My story is about the pain of ignorance- how we can hurt and be hurt by our false beliefs. It is about how I was…
#190 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,5,6,7,8,9
While my story is a bit different, I feel compelled to tell it to you in hopes that maybe it will show light on another…
#189 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9
I began dating my husband when I was sixteen and he seventeen. I lost my virginity after we had been dating about a year. I…
#188 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4,5,7,8,9
Bishop’s interviews made me feel like my sexuality belonged to everybody but me. I lost my right to secrecy, and that has had dire consequences.…
#187 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,8
I was 14 when I was raped by a young man in my ward. I kept it to myself, shamed and fearful of telling anyone,…
#186 Alissa P. CS: Cover up sexual abuse
Told of sexual abuse in my home multiple times from 8 to 16. I was never taken out of the home. Case was sent to…
#185 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4,6,7,8
I didn’t realize what masturbation was until I was 13 and went to church. It began at the stake center, when I attended the audio…
#184 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4,6. Other: Fear of sex, gynecological exams, etc
I remember having to decide whether to confess to masturbation at my baptismal interview a few months shy of my eighth birthday. I decided to…
#183 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
When I was 16, I was dating my first real boyfriend. We would make out often and each time got more intense. When we began…
#182 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6. Other: Desire to self-mutilate
I began masturabting when I was six years old and somehow already knew that I was “filthy” and “unloved by God”. I didn’t know it…
#181 Name Withheld. CS: Punished as a rape victim
I’ll keep this short because I’m happy to have put the LDS church in my past. When I was 16 years old I was raped…
#180 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4,8
When I was about 15 years old, the Bishop of my Ward questioned me about generic immoral activity. When I said “no” to being engaged…
#179 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3
I attended the Provo MTC in July of 2007. I had a past that others in my life were unaware of and I was under…
#178 Name Withheld. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8. Other: Seemingly irreversible damage to sexual identity
Growing up, I was not talked to about my sexuality in what I would consider a healthy way. I don’t fully blame my parents, because…
#177 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,6
When I was seventeen years old, and dating my boyfriend, later to be my husband, I knew that I wanted to be married in the…
#176 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7
As a teen, I remember being asked if I masturbated in bishop interviews and these questions continued through the mission, my years at BYU, and…
#175 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4
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…
#174 Tanner T. CS: 1,2,4,8,9
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.…
#173 Mandi B. CS: 1,2,3,8
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…
#172 Tyler R. CS: 1,2,4,7
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…
#171 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,6,7,8
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…
#170 Name hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8
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…
#169 Brian B. CS: Suicide of my Son.
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.…
#168 Name Withheld CS: 1,2,4
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…
#167 Name Withheld. CS: 1,2,4
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,”…
#166 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3
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…
#165 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,7
When I was 17 I went to a “party” at a college-aged guy’s house. He was the friend of a friend of mine, a friend…
#164 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4,8,9
I am writing on behalf of someone close to me who told me that he gets asked specific, vile questions regarding sexual behavior by the…
#163 Name Withheld. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8
When I was 12, I had a bishop in the Centerville Utah ward named _____. He interviewed me on several occasions. He asked me personal…
#162 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4. Other: Thoughts of self-mutilation
I struggled with pornography and particularly masturbation from the age of 11, when I hit what I considered to be ‘early’ puberty. I’ve always had…
#161 Jared S. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8,9
So I was always kind of a weird child(at least, in my mind) I can remember sneaking into our family’s computer room in the middle…
#160 Wade W. CS: 1,3,8. Other: Major Depressive Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder
I converted to the LDS Church in Utah when I was 16. I had known since about age 5 that I was attracted to other…
#159 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,8,9
My story is short and not nearly as bad as others. I’ve suppressed these memories for a long time now. I don’t remember much detail.…
#158 Tyler W. CS: 1,2,7,8
I would’ve been 14 when I first found out that viewing pornography and masturbating were “sins.” I told my bishop and he encouraged me to…
#157 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,8,9
While in high school I struggled with sexuality. I kind of liked girls and occasionally acted on it. I went to my bishop for support…
#156 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,8,9
The bishop I had from age 12 to mission departure was seemingly obsessed with the sexual purity of the youth in our ward. My biannual…
#155 Name Hidden. CS: 1,6
When I was 12, our bishop was the type that liked to focus on sins and really make sure someone is pure. I was innocent…
#154 Matthew M. CS: 1,2,3,7,8
I joined the church when I was 12 years old, I had never masturbated or looked at pornography. I was certainly old enough to partake…
#153 Name Hidden. CS: Other: Not sure what category(ies) this falls into.
My story is not as stark or traumatic as the ones I have read here, but the whole concept of an adult male asking a…
#151 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,8
I have a son that recently turned eighteen years old. I have a photo of the two of us that was taken ten years ago…
#150 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,7,8
The first time I was asked about masturbation, specifically, by a bishop, I was 12 years old. It was before my first temple trip, in…
#149 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7
My bishop started asking about masturbation at age 14. The interview I remember most vividly was my 14th birthday interview to advance in the priesthood.…
#148 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8
I started masturbating at age 13 or so. When I was first masturbating, I don’t think I even knew what I was really doing, let…
#147 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,6
I don’t recall inappropriate bishop’s interviews as a youth. I guess I am lucky in that sense. The interviews I did have as an adult…
#146 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
Feeling emotional today! Since I was young and went through trauma I had the ability to forget a lot of things, well not forget, but…
#145 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9,10. Other: Loss of confidence in spiritual leadership.
I will never forget when a young inexperienced bishop’s counselor took it upon himself to come into our Deacons Quorum and “warn” us against the…
#144 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7. Other: Suffered a crisis of faith. Bitterness toward LDS faith. Years of inactivity. Difficulty trusting LDS leaders. Damage to emotional and spiritual well being. Difficulty trusting men.
At different times in my life I have confided in several bishops about various spiritual and emotional concerns. Throughout my youth, and young adulthood, I…
#143 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7
I grew up around the USA in Mormon communities from the west coast, to the south, and then eventually landed in SLC for a bit.…
#142 Julene CS: Other: Shared grief with those who have suffered as a result of this policy.
Years ago, out of the blue, I got a clear impression that the present practice of clerical interviews on sexual matters, especially of young people,…
#141 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,7
As a teenager I was immersed in the gospel. I loved it. I loved the Book of Mormon. I spent much time memorizing passages from…
#140 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7
I don’t remember the first time that sexual questions were asked by my bishop, but I remember that just before my 12th birthday I was…
#139 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,6,7
When I was fifteen and sixteen, I became involved with a man who was ten years my senior. He was sexually abusive and would be…
#138 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
My story starts in a place I imagine many stories start. In the bath tub. It was around five years old that I first discovered…
#137 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,6,7
When I turned 16, I had my bishops interview for a temple recommend. I was asked if I had sexual intercourse and when I said…
#136 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4
I was inactive from the time I graduated High School until I was around 20. At that time, I decided to come back to church…
#135 Rachael CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8,9. Other: Shamed, rather than helped, after a rape
I was sexually abused at age 4 and again at age 7 by members of the Church. I learned early that extreme compliance was the…
#134 Kip K. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
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…
#133 Heidi H. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
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…
#132 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8
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…
#131 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8
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…
#130 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3. Other: Breaking mandatory reporting laws
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…
#129 L.R. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8,9
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…
#128 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3
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…
#127 Name Hidden. CS: 4,6
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…
#124 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7
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…
#122 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3
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…
#121 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4,6
When I was 19, I was working in a coffee shop. One of the regular customers, who was a non-member, but professed to be religiously…
#119 Name Hidden. CS: 1,8. Other: Introduction of inappropriate ideas / suggestions about sexuality
I lived in Kansas for couple of years as a military dependent. I was in a ‘part member family’. I was about 14 years old…
#118 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,10. Other: Normalizing trust in socially accepted authority, sexism (trusting that men know better), extreme inappropriate guilt for normal and healthy sexual and mental behavior.
For those of you who haven’t lived in Utah, let me preface this story by introducing you to some facts of reality of living there.…
#117 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7,8
I remember being asked in every interview if I was keeping the law of chastity. I had always answered ‘yes’ until I was 18. Me…
#116 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9
I have a lot of stories, but I would like to share the two most important ones. Shortly after turning 16, I had my first…
#115 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7
Beginning at the age of 12, I had annual interviews with my Mormon bishop. These were always one-on-one. The first time I was asked if…
#114 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,6,7,9
I was born and raised a Utah Mormon girl. I couldn’t have asked for better parents, or a better upbringing. I was always the easy…
#112 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
I grew up in the LDS Church, though I was not very active. I would meet often with the Bishop and have personal interviews with…
#111 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6. Other: Strain on parental relationships
I remember when I was about to turn twelve. My friend’s dad was the bishop at the time. We grew up in downtown Salt Lake…
#110 Name Hidden. CS: 1,6,7
I pretty much lied about my masturbation habits. I felt pretty crappy about myself all growing up because not only was I “sexually impure”, but…
#109 Name Hidden. CS: Other: Stress and anxiety over children being subject to this practice
I wasn’t affected (that I know of) by being asked these questions as a youth or as an adult. But my heart was touched by…
#108 Name Hidden. CS: 1
This story is as an adult, but my last bishop asked wildly inappropriate questions to me during an interview. I felt sexually harassed, despite knowing…
#107 Name Hidden. CS: 1,8,9
After having to switch to a different bishop, (the Bishopric was changed in the middle of my mission interviewing process), I showed up to a…
#106 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3
I suffered needlessly for many years through a cycle of shame and guilt for what was normal behavior, but I was made to believe I…
#105 Travis G. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7. Other: false and insufficient sexual education
I was born and raised in an LDS home where both parents served LDS Missions. I learned at a very early age that my parents…
#104 Jacob F. CS: 1,2
My childhood bishop asked me if I masturbated. I said no and he stared at me for a good 15-20 seconds in silence. It was…
#103 Name Hidden. CS: 1
I learned of this practice when my son who is now 39 was asked a question about masturbation during his 16th birthday interview. This was…
#102 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7
I was a high school student wanting to go to BYU. As part of the admissions process I had to obtain an ecclesiastic endorsement from…
#101 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8. Other: Eating Disorder
When I was a young child, I explored my body and quite by accident found something that felt good. I didn’t really think anything of…
#100 Scott D. CS: 1,2,3,4
As I was preparing to serve a mission, it was very important to me to be honest in my interviews with my bishop. I did…
#99 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7
Until my worthiness interview prior to becoming a priest at age 16, my father had never so much as mentioned the word “masturbation” to me.…
#97 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,4,6,7,8
When I was 18 I had my first boyfriend. We went what I thought at the time was ‘too far’ one night and I felt…
#96 Bryce B. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8,9, Other: impaired sexual relations (I have never been married), hating myself for being gay
Growing up a gay Mormon child is really difficult. The first person I came out to was my bishop, a man from our neighborhood whose…
#95 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,8,9
My story didn’t start in the Latter-Day Saint church though it did end that way. It started soon after my 9th birthday. As a newly…
#93 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7
I was asked as a young man by my bishop if I had a problem with masturbation. I really didn’t know what it meant and…
#92 Name Hidden. CS: 4. Other: Introducing masturbation to my child.
My son turned 12 and was getting his priesthood interview. He is on the high functioning autism spectrum and was quite nervous about the interview.…
#91 Name Hidden. 1,2,5,7. Other: Intense guilt caused by constantly policing my thoughts for things I’d have to admit to the bishop – like being attracted to other women.
My brother, M, was sexually molested as a child by somebody in our ward. We found out that my brother had been molested when his…
#90 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4
When I was young, I was abused by a stepfather. Later, as an adult, I came forward with my story and he was disfellowshipped for…
#89 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7. Other: Impaired sexual relations outside of marriage
When I was 14, a counselor once asked me if I knew what masturbation was in a region dance interview. I said yes and he…
#88 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7
I had to bring up instances of when I had masturbated during my teenage and pre-mission years to bishops and a stake president. The emotional…
#87 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,7,8. Other: Impaired intimacy (sexuality, dating, friendships)
I discovered masturbation at age 11 before I had even heard of it. My parents had given me “the talk” and I knew that a…
#86 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,4. Other: Renewed shame and memories of past sexual molestation. She felt like she was molested again.
This is a story of two of my daughters who were interviewed by the same Bishop. One daughter was asked if she masturbated and what…
#85 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4
My 11, almost 12 year old grandson, came across a picture of a naked woman on the internet. Having been taught that pornography was a…
#84 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4
My story is probably typical of many Mormons who came of age in the 80s. In the early to mid 80s, I was asked about…
#83 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8,9
At the age of 17, I was raped by an acquaintance of mine. I told my bishop, hoping to get some sort of help. Instead,…
#82 Quinn P. CS: 1,2,4,7
My first “worthiness” interview happened when I was 12 years old. Worthiness was assessed by answering questions from the Bishop, an older man who, we…
#81 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3
Not sure if it matters because t happened when I was an adult. After I had finally told my parents that I had been raped…
#80 Name Hidden. CS: 5
I wish I could share the details but the victims don’t want to go public. A man I loved and trusted as much as my…
#79 Jimmy W. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
Three stories in one… When I was young, I anticipated the day I would drive a car. I would sit in the car in the…
#78 Logan H. CS: 1,2,3,4. Other: Sexual abuse as an adult
I was taught and groomed to believe that men were standing between me and god. That they were acting as gods representative. I do not…
#77 W.H. CS: 1,2,3,6,7
Looking back now, I can see that I have always been very interested in sex. Even as a young kid of six or seven years…
#76 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
My first experience with church leaders asking me about pornography or masturbation happened when I was about 12. I had always been curious about sexuality…
#75 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7
I turned 12 and was given a copy of the “For the Strength of the Youth” pamphlet as I entered the Young Women’s program. Shortly…
#73 Name Hidden CS: 1,4
In a private interview with my bishop as a child, he asked me if I obeyed the law of chastity. I was young and didn’t…
#72 Amy P. CS: 1,2,3,5,6,7,8,9
I was inspired by former Bishop Sam Young’s campaign to end teen interviews with bishops for the plethora of reasons he has outlined. I have…
#70 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,7. Other: Lasting fear and anxiety about sex, damage to relationships and friendships
I grew up in a traditional Mormon family. As a teenage boy, I could always tell I was a very sexual person. I had an…
#69 John B. CS: 6,7. Other: Questions about bestiality while preparing for my mission
I was raised LDS and was a believing devout member as I prepared for my mission in my senior year of high school. I left…
#68 Name Hidden CS: 1,2,4,6
When I was 6, my brother and I played “doctor”. I had no idea at the time there was anything wrong with the game, we…
#66 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,4,5,6,7,8
When I was in my mid-30’s, my father admitted to me that he molested me when I was a very young child. He said that…
#65 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8
As a girl, I never heard any messages directed to the young women about masturbation, which made me feel like I must be especially bad…
#64 Dan M. CS: 1,3
Hi. I didn’t grow up LDS, but I did have a “problem” with masturbation. I had done it before I became a member (around 25…
#63 Melissa E. CS: 1,3
I don’t have the horror stories that some people have, but I have a few incidents to relate. First, when I was about thirteen, Elizabeth…
#62 Name Hidden. CS: Other: No permanent damage.
I am the mother of two grown and married daughters with their own children. We have all signed the petition Sam started because we felt…
#61 Lisa B. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9
The first interview I remember was my pre-baptism interview when I was 8. The bishop took me into his office, having my parents wait outside.…
#60 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7
I turned twelve in 1973, while living in Cache Valley, Utah. I spent the two years I was a Deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood in…
#59 Brian M. CS: 1,3
I was a good kid. Didn’t smoke, didn’t drink, over 4.0 GPA, seminary president (out of Utah, had to wake up at 4:30 every morning.)…
#58 Name Hidden. CS: 7
I just recently learned of this interview. My son sustained a broken back that took nearly a year to heal. He often missed church. You…
#57 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4. Other: Lying in order to coerce me into allowing my children to be interviewed alone with the bishop without me present.
When my son turned 8 the bishop interviewed me to make sure I was worthy to baptize and confirm him. He also wanted to interview…
#56 Melissa D. CS: 1,2,3
When I was about 12 years old I went to my first combined region wide fireside which was something I was very excited to be…
#55 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7
Just like many other young women in the church, I was specifically taught from a young age that my worth was dependent on my purity.…
#54 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,8. Other: Obligation to be straight married despite being gay
I’m gay. I thought if I was the perfect Mormon boy, God would cure me of my gayness because obviously this is sinful. When I…
#53 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8. Other: Sexual abuse by the bishop
Trigger Warning * Sexual assault involving a bishop* **If you are a survivor of molest, be very cautious about being triggered reading my story!!!** *…
#52 Ryan W. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7
Bishop’s interviews are so damaging to young people. And adults. The damage I suffered because of these interviews and the teaching that masturbation is a…
#51 Carianne W. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7
I am a girl and I remember as early as 4 or 5 years old casually feeling slight sexual feelings that were immediately followed by…
#50 Katie J. CS: 1,2,3
I was not asked inappropriate questions by bishops/counselors, but I still suffered incredible guilt and self-loathing because of the general process of worthiness interviews. I…
#49 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,5,6,7. Other: Intentional Self Harm
I first experienced orgasm as an 8 year old girl, at the hands of a teacher. I didn’t understand the sensation I had felt nor…
#48 Name Hidden. CS: 1,7. Other: Prolonged medical issues
So in light of the current trend, here is one of my stories. This is not necessarily a story of abuse per se, but of…
#47 Name Hidden. CS: 1
When I was in high school, we had a bishop who was also one of our high school teachers in my small home town. When…
#46 Dave S. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,10
I’ve lived with decades of shame, guilt and anxiety due to dozens of private worthiness meetings with LDS leaders when I was as young as…
#45 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3
I always had to report to my bishop growing up if/how often I masturbated or looked at porn. It was always degrading, and left me…
#44 Name Hidden. CS: 1,7. Other: Nightmares, shame, rejection
This is the story of my two children. One MIA night, my son, 17 and my daughter 14, were called into the bishop’s office separately.…
#43 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,8
I began masturbating around 10 years old. The guilt started around that time. As my 12th birthday got closer and I started thinking about my…
#42 Name Hidden. CS: Other: Very strained marriage. My children & I have left the church.
When my oldest son was approaching his 12th birthday, he came to me and told me he didn’t want to be interviewed by the bishop…
#41 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,8
My duration at the Provo MTC was from September through November of 2008. Each and every day there were lessons, videos, talks, activities, and speakers…
#40 Name Hidden. CS: 1
I have a few but the one that was directed towards me was when it was my birthday interview. The bishop asked basic questions like…
#39 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8 Other: Ideation about self-mutilation
On average, from age 5 to 28, I considered suicide and/or self-mutilation roughly once a week, in part because I was subjected to these interviews.…
#38b Name Hidden CS: 1,2,4,7,8
What a terrible policy that needs to be changed- These specific questions have caused me so much unneeded stress and anxiety because what kind of…
#38a Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7 Other: Depression
As a teen and as a young woman in college I was asked by the Bishop about whether or not I masturbated. The discussion with…
#37 Name Hidden. CS: 1
When I was in Young Women’s, I was being interviewed to get my temple recommend and I felt that I wasn’t worthy because I had…
#36 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7. Other: Fear of the Second Coming occurring before I could confess and being cast down to hell
I confessed to the bishop that I had been masturbating when I was 15 years old. His response was that he “didn’t know girls could…
#35 Name Hidden CS: 1,2,3,8
I was never sexually abused by a bishop. I was however sexually abused by various people including family members from the age of 5 until…
#34 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,6,8
When I was a sophomore in college I went to watch a movie with a foreign exchange student who lived in our appointment complex. I…
#33 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,6
I could write a whole story about my experience, but I’ll just tell you what happened in the Bishop’s office. I was 18, living away…
#32 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,
Where do I even begin? My family is 5th generation Mormon. My lineage is through James Godson Bleak – of the Martin Handcart Co. My…
#31 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6
I was interviewed by a member of the bishopric prior to going to the temple to perform baptisms for the dead. He asked me, as…
#30 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,7
I went to my bishop to “repent” after having sex with my boyfriend at the age of 17. I had to describe the entire experience…
#29 Jason L. CS: 1,2,3,7, Other: Thoughts of self genital mutilation
I was asked by my bishop at age 12 about masturbation. Every priesthood advancement and youth calling interview following I was asked about masturbation.
#28 Name Hidden. CS: 4
When my 12 year old came home from a baptism for the dead interview she asked me what anal sex was. I asked her where…
#27 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4,6,7
The first time I was asked was when I turned 12. I didn’t know what it was and, as a late bloomer, the idea had…
#26 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9
As a middle child of 5, my parents never took it upon themselves to actually teach us about sex and inappropriate behavior. They just always…
#25 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
Every bishop that I can remember has asked me about masturbation, behind closed doors. When I was a teenager, I was told in a fireside…
#24 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,4
The first time I remember hearing the word masturbation and learning what it meant was in a priesthood worthiness interview when I was 12-14 years…
#23 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6
When I was high school age, I had been involved in some sexual actions with a person of the opposite sex. Because of this, I…
#22 Don B. CS: 1,2,7
Shortly after my Mormon family moved to La Grande, Oregon in 1971, my father told me that I had a meeting with the bishop. I…
#21 Rachael E. CS: 1,2,3,6,7
I figured out how to have an orgasm when I was 8, after I was baptized. I told my mom about what I discovered and…
#20 Name Hidden. CS: 1,4
I was 15 and had never kissed a boy. In tithing settlement my bishop asked me if I had had sexual relationships with anyone. I…
#19 Name Hidden. CS: 2,3
I was 12 years old the first time I was asked about masturbation during a Bishops interview. I think I was surprised to be asked…
#18 Name Hidden. CS: 1
I was 7 the first time I was asked if I “abide by the law of chastity.” Not knowing what that meant, I asked for…
#17 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7,8
I was 15 and had a 18 year old boyfriend. I lost my virginity. My parents went to my bishop and asked him to talk…
#16 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,8,9
I was 14 when I started dating a never-mo boy I was sweet on, and I suffered shaming for that. How could I betray God…
#15 Britt L. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
When I was being interviewed to enter young women’s at the age of 12, I was brought into a room with the lights turned off…
#14 Caroline R. CS: 1,2,4
When I was fifteen years old, I began dealing with what the Mormon church calls “same sex attraction”. I began to question whether or not…
#13 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7. Other: Inability to date and marry during “normal” LDS timeframe; judgementalism of others, etc
I grew up in the 1970s and ‘80s. I loved the church and never thought I would leave, but now I’m a middle-aged apostate who…
#12 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7
When I was 17 I confessed to French kissing. The bishop told me how disappointed he was in me. How everyone looks up to me…
#11 Max C. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9
At 5 years of age, I was caught playing doctor with the neighbor girl. It was pretty innocent, up to that point I had no…
#10 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8. Other: Mental illness-scrupulosity, including delusions regarding sexuality
I was harmed by the church’s teachings regarding sexuality, including invasive interviews on sexual topics. I was a very well-behaved child. I didn’t do anything…
#9 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,5,6,7,8,9 Other: Patriarchal Abuse
I was sexually abused, starting at age 6. The day before my interview for baptism, my abuser told me that if I told the bishop,…
#8 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,6. Other: Continued Parental Embarrassment
I went in to see the bishop for my 14th birthday priesthood interview. He asked me if I was morally clean. I told him no. …
#7 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7
From the age of 4 to 12, my older brother sexually abused me. When I was 15, and my brother was on a mission (so…
#6 Donna H. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8
I was about 16. I had a blind date with someone who proclaimed to be a returned missionary. He was returned missionary but he was…
#5 Sam Y. CS: Anger
Ten years after the fact, I discovered that my daughter was asked, “Do you masturbate?” That wholly inappropriate question was posed to her by the…
#4 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 Other: Complete Worthlessness
From the age of 3 to 8, I was sexually molested. Due to that, as a young pre-teen and teen, I was especially sensitive to…
#3 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7
I was a twelve-year-old girl when a bishop I hardly knew asked me if I masturbated. No one had taught me what the word meant,…
#2 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,5,6,7,8,9
My interview at 12 where I was asked if I had morality problems, and when I asked what that meant was asked, do you touch…
#1 Name Hidden. CS: 1
When I was 17, I was applying to BYU. For my application, I needed to have an interview with the bishop and the stake president.…