I sat across the desk sideways from a friendly man, my Bishop. He was giving me the standard worthiness interview before going on a Temple trip. I was an innocent fourteen-year-old and when the question came up “are you obeying the law of chastity” I had to ask as I had done before (and continued…
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…
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…
I can’t sit here silently any longer. My silence to the issue of sexual assault and molestation would just condone this behavior. My story is different then most. It was around my 19th birthday in 1998. At the time, life seemed to really be coming together. My mother had remarried, I was in my last…
On the outside and even in everyday interactions, I’m just a regular person. While I’ve fallen in and out of activity, I’ve never spoken out against the church and I’ve only shared my story of abuse with very few close people. Internally I fight a raging battle as to where I stand with my faith…
I served as a full time missionary for the church. After my mission I soon afterward married an incredibly faithful and loving fellow stake member. I had known her before my mission. She had waited for me. We married in the temple. My life has been deeply influenced by my private closed door so-called worthiness…
I was a recently baptized teenage convert, unfamiliar with the ways of the church. Invited to a Thursday youth activity night at my ward building, I was asked to meet with a man in the building I didn’t know. I would find out the man I was meeting with served on my stake’s high council.…
My story starts outside of bishops interviews. When I was in preschool on a play date, I was raped by two boys a few years older than me while their grandfather watched. They threw me on a bunk bed, covered my face with a pillow, and removed the bottom half of my clothes. I had…
Starting at a very young age, I dealt with many family issues and depression which soon led me at a young age to seek love and approval from boys. At the age of 13, I participated in sexual activity but not actual intercourse. My father was actually the bishop at the time when my parents…