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 the area where the school I needed to go. My parents were not well off, they couldn’t move a few hours down, so the Mormon community was more than happy…
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 member I had already experienced sex and reigning in all my previous experience was hard. I was not accustomed to accountability, least of all to men I didn’t have a…
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 read that broke my heart. I was asked inappropriate questions by my bishops. At the age of 17, I experienced a date rape, although that term wasn’t coined yet to…
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 experiences, amounting to no more than childhood disagreements and misunderstandings. One focus of my guilt, which went beyond the norm, was my theft of a pack of gum. My sister…
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 young kid, I didn’t have the right understanding or language to answer accurately. I learned to hate a part of myself. I felt like I was living a double life…
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 not feel comfortable doing this but at the time felt that it was what I had to do really, because my parents told me I had to. My meeting with…
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 abused by a close family member. The Bishop worthiness interview is something I’ll never forget. When he asked me if I was having sex with family members, I froze. I…
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 to me in detail. At my next interview, he asked me about masturbation again. I still did not understand. So he proceeded to describe it again. I was very uncomfortable…
I was made to feel I was the ONLY ONE of all the deacons, teachers & priests who had ever masturbated. My bishop scheduled interviews without my parents’ knowledge, and I had to go to his house, alone, to talk to him. I was shamed. I thought I was the worst person alive, and probably…
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 there on Sunday for confirmation. Since I was born in April, it felt good to be joining the ranks of my older classmates. I don’t remember exactly which day the…