These are personal accounts of the negative consequences that inappropriate interviews have had on people.
All my life I had been taught about remaining non-sexually active until after marriage, and only then, I was only allowed to have intercourse with my wife. I saw this as reasonable, and even as a 20 year old man (back then) I was willing to “follow the Lord’s teachings”. When I was 21 years…
When I first went to get my bishop interview for the Temple Recommend, I was asked the usual questions such as, “Do you believe in the Church and it’s teachings?”, and other questions of similar points, but suddenly, my Bishop had asked me a very uncomfortable question. He had asked me “Do you watch pornography,…
I had never even heard of masturbation before my bishop asked me if I was doing it. I said I didn’t know what that was. He then explained to me what it was. I was 12. It was honestly kind of traumatizing. At the very least it’s one of my worst childhood memories, and it…
I was eleven years old. I had been called in for a pre-YW/Primary graduation interview. Towards the end of the interview, the bishopric member asked me if I obeyed the law of chastity. When I responded in the affirmative, he asked if I knew what it meant. I responded in an age-appropriate way, something along…
It wasn’t until recently that I realized I was a “victim” of these interviews. Up until I learned about your movement I went along with them because I didn’t know these types of interviews were out of the ordinary. I thought they were normal. I realized that the interviews played a part in my teenage…
My first recollection of being asked morality questions was for my 8th birthday baptismal interview-I didn’t even know what masturbation was and when the bishop probed me with more questions to be sure I wasn’t lying about my answer I became withdrawn, flushed and embarrassed with the more explicit way in which he asked me-…
During interviews with the bishop, I was shamed into believing that I had to share sexually explicit details of intimate relationships that I had with boys. I was made to believe that I would never be able to go on a mission, let alone ever go to the temple. Years later, I still struggle with…
I was taught for years in church that I was responsible for the thoughts in a man’s head. That if a guy was turned on, it had to be caused by something that I did- whether it was my choice of clothes, something I said, or whatever. I was also told that men lose control…
When I was about 14 (about 35 years ago), all the girls had to go in for their “interview” with the bishop or first counselor. I recall an older girl telling some of us beforehand that we should say as little as possible, and answer “nothing,” “yes,” and “ok,” so it would be short and…
I grew up in the LDS church. My sister still practices and is active in the church. My parents are semi-active. I left the church as an adult after realizing that I did not agree with the practices of the LDS church. I was subject to intensively intimidating interviews such as this and realized how…