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 the church during my early teens, but due to a VERY inappropriate interview conducted by the bishop behind closed doors, I was driven to never return. Even after telling the…
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 a teenager. He got a pass on his behavior and went on to ruin the lives of others. To this day he has not been held fully accountable. My bishop…
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 don’t ever think about it again. But know that for me, it is my life, a daily hell placed there by the church and people who decide to do wrong…
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 they confessed to sexual “sins” and abuse. Growing up it was an open secret that if you told your bishop you did anything sexual, he would interrogate you with questions…
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 changed everything. My relationship with my bishops before we moved to Utah were very respectful and considerate of social boundaries. However, when I was 8 and before I was baptized,…
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 early crying in shame. Went home loathing myself only to find my mother who mocked me and shamed me because obviously I did something wrong since I left the bishop…
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 had my first experience with pornography. I was naive and innocent, and was curious about some webpage my friends had found. I felt miserable, knowing that what I had seen…
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 16, I attended a fireside about chastity in which masturbation was the focus. Since approximately the age of 14 I had engaged in some mild masturbation, completely normal and moderate…
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 was a single mom and still had a twelve year old son at home with me; a smart, sweet boy who tickled me with his ‘man of the house’ attitude…
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 experience with masturbation, these interviews caused me to hate myself. I was told how weak and sinful I was because of masturbation. I was yelled at and punish by my…