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 of the year lead to some inappropriate behavior (as defined by The Church). We both decided it was time to come clean. However, my father was our bishop so we…
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 never taught me about sex. Being a small embarrassed child I never wanted to have the talk, but soon enough puberty set in, and I began to start masturbating. Truth…
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. When I was 16, I had never been kissed and was asked to come over to a boy’s house. He was the son of the fist councilor and I met…
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 revenge by telling them about the 32 stitches in my backside. This is my toddler who would get so excited about hugs that she’d curl up in a ball and…
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 a park, she kissed him for about 5 seconds, than stopped. They both left. At church the next day, the bishop grabbed our son by the arm pulled him into…
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 rightly prohibit adults from inappropriately questioning a child to protect their innocence. Yet, when it happens at a church we shy away in fear of being called persecutors of the…
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 long and moved within the year, so I never endured more than one interview with this man. But I remember the extreme hatred and fear I felt after my interview…
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 to sleep, as it felt really good and helped me fall asleep more quickly. Several months later, my father called me into his room for a monthly interview; we had…
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 early age. Monthly testimony meetings and being led to believe that the bishop had a direct line of communication with the Lord molded my brain to believe that the Bishop…
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 this horrible practice. When I, like so many others, are completely saddled down by the detrimental shame and self-loathing that come from childhood trauma followed by prying worthiness interviews and…