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 the church, at least among those of my peers who, like me, and my oldest son, with whom I have discussed this issue, had the desire to be completely honest…
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 was from other people in leadership positions or during lessons and not one-on-one interviews at an early age. I never had negative experiences with a Bishop, but that changed my…
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 to about age 19, I tried to correct what I was told were my immoral actions. First was masturbation. At the age of 12, I clued my current bishop at…
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 through to adulthood. I was the first born child of an active addict. Her addiction was severe, and as a result she used throughout her pregnancy and when I was…
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 a path of intense self-loathing that lasted well into adulthood. Because what he didn’t say was “Literally everyone, especially kids your age, masturbates sometimes.” What he did do was make…
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 to harass me into giving up my child. I was advised to talk to a Bishop that told me i was unworthy of being a parent. The harassment and abuse…
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 closet. A time when much that we now understand about our sexuality was misunderstood and frankly the LGBTQ community was demonized. (I regret that my opinions and likely comments as…
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 anymore. ” A current active bishop raped my 12-year-old daughter. In the middle of a night at 3:30 am she came to me hysterical and told me what happened. I…
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 room. I performed oral sex on him and there were heavy petting and all of that stuff. After it happened I immediately was overcome with guilt. I made an appointment…
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 that we were near the bishop’s house, as he babysat us quite frequently. I asked, excitedly, if we were going there and she said no and asked what we do…