#266 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4,6,7,8,9

I am in the process of writing my story about the sexual issues and shaming that happened within the church. It’s really hard to do. I’ve been in therapy for years, and it still sucks. I still feel lost with it. There are so many facets to it. Like old neighbor men asking about my…

#264 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8,9

I didn’t know what masturbation was at 11 when I went in for my “are you ready for the priesthood?” interview with the bishop. Little did I know when I walked into that office with my best Sunday clothes and celebratory new set of scriptures that this would be the beginning of years of group…

#263 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,7,8,9

I’m one of the lucky ones who had only good men as bishops throughout my life and yet I still did not escape unscathed. I discovered masturbation by about age 4 or 5. My parents caught me and I then got the entire penis-vagina sex talk with a heaping side of the impending fires of…

#261 James H. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8

I could say so much but I’ll keep it simple. I was indoctrinated into Mormonism as a child, I believed it because it was the only perception of reality offers to me. The LDS church taught me to hate myself when I was about 13 years old. I was lucky to get good kind bishops,…

#257 Name Hidden. CS: 1,3,4,6,7

When I was 17, I fell in love for the first time. This boy looked at me in a way that no one else ever had before. It was like his eyes bored straight into my soul and saw me, the me that I didn’t even see yet. It was like our souls met. And…

#255 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7

I struggled with bishops interviews all growing up. The questions always made me feel uncomfortable, I hated being alone in a room with an adult male that I didn’t know well or trust. I felt so much confusion for not completely understanding what they were asking me. Like others, I had no idea what masturbation…

#252 Name Withheld. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8

I was molested by my older brothers for several years. One night my mother sat me down and asked me about it because my parents had caught one of my brothers trying to sneak into my room the night before. I had enough foresight to bar the door knowing he would come in. I felt…

#250 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8

I learned to masturbate as an infant. It was no big deal to me. I only did it while alone. I had sexual ideas and daydreams when I was a child. I started to think these thoughts were bad. My bro brought porn mags into our room. He did not hide them well. I started…

#249 Name Withheld. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8

This happened more than 20 years ago. I was 11. My dad left us when we were young. My mom was an alcoholic and a prostitute. My family life was hell. I don’t know the whole story but my mom took the missionary lessons when I was young and got baptized. She went through cycles…