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 heard of what I was agreeing to was in that interview. I was told I was promising to never sin again. I had a fight with my sister that night…
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 the interviews still even though I had done nothing wrong carried into my adult years reflecting sex as gross and disgusting. I got married at age 25 (which was old…
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, he advised them to not report the abuse to law enforcement because the family was a reactivation project and these allegations would hurt his efforts in bringing them back to…
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…
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…