My daughter has been participating in intensive treatment and therapy for PTSD following years of childhood trauma, resulting from living in the battlefield that was our home. She witnessed abuse, and was subjected to the resulting years of the craziness of religious abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and a mom who was barely hanging on…
When I was 8 years old and receiving my worthiness interview for baptism, I remember feeling uncomfortable. I didn’t know my bishop well beyond singing songs to him in sacrament meeting and making candy posters for him in primary. I was taught that he was safe, good, loved me, and had my best interests at…
I remember hitting myself at night when I came home from church in my early teens as I just couldn’t stay away from masturbation. I stopped for a year while living with my father. I then felt so guilty after a babysitting porn book relapse, that I told my father, who immediately had me into…
My husband is a retired police officer. There have been many times when he was investigating child abuse cases where bishops and other church leaders would not cooperate with the investigations. They stated this was a matter being handled within the church. They would not give any information. They were protecting the perpetrator, and the…
I’ve slept on this, and woken up just livid about it, because I’ve had to relive it through discussions with people who won’t listen to victims. I’m livid at the deafness of the people who won’t listen because, as far as they know, their child hasn’t been affected. Yet. From the ages of 8 –…
There’s nothing quite like trying to be the best child of God you can be – praying fervently, loving scripture study, always lending a hand to fellow brothers and sisters in need – and being told behind a closed door with your bishop that masturbation will damn you and keep you separated from God. Nothing…
I was 10 the first time my parents made me go confess masturbation to the bishop. Ten years old! They told me that sexual sin was 2nd only to murder, and my feelings of self-worth went right down the toilet. I felt doomed and terrified. Luckily my first bishop was very kind and gentle-mannered, and…
I was a 15-year-old cheerleader when I was called into the bishop’s office for making out with my boyfriend. The bishop, a 50-something real estate agent, asked me to go over every point of the encounter in fine detail more than once. What I was wearing, where/how my boyfriend touched me, how it felt, if…
I am so scared to tell my story because of the backlash I could receive from family members who may read this so I have decided to share it to the public anonymously. When I was just 9 years old, my Mom caught me “exploring” myself. I can’t even call it what it is because…
I remember meeting with my bishop at 14. He had me describe the sexual acts I’d shared with my boyfriend. I didn’t even have the words for some of the things we had done, so I awkwardly tried to describe the acts. It didn’t even occur to me that an adult man should not be…