These are personal accounts of the negative consequences that inappropriate interviews have had on people.
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…
I was 12 years old when I found out what masturbation was. I did not find out from the internet (not a thing at that time). I did not get curious looking at dirty pictures or even from being told by friends what it was. I was told in graphic detail what it was by…
I didn’t even know what masturbation was until my bishop asked me. I lied because I was embarrassed and thought it was something I was supposed to know about. I looked it up online and discovered porn at an early age. I confessed to my bishop and ended up living in guilt and shame my…
I was told to confess to my bishop that my boyfriend touched my breast. I sat uncomfortably in front of my bishop who is also my neighbor as he asked fault and intrusive questions. My friend told me the bishop would be short and not ask for details but she was so wrong. I didn’t…
As a student at one of the Church’s universities I confessed masturbation to my bishop. I had slipped up a bit over the summer break. Prior to that I had done it around the age of 12 not knowing what it was, but as soon as they taught about it in Young Womens I felt…
When I turned twelve years old, it was time for my Aaronic Priesthood interview. Everyone seemed to be talking about it like it was a big deal. For me, it was the first time I can remember ever getting the complete attention from the bishop. Our bishop was newly called. He as the father one…
Like others here, I feel a little nervous to tell my story. Interviews starting when I entered Young Women’s. All I heard until I was actually kissing boys was whether I was “keeping the law of chastity”. I didn’t kiss a boy until I was 17 years old, and that boy (who became my first…
Growing up in Utah I was regularly asked about whether I touched myself (even how I did it, and where) by my bishop and the counselors. I think I was asked about it starting around 8 years old, and all through my teens and into my twenties (I’m early 30’s now). I’m sure I was…
My (now adult) son suffered public shaming as a teenager because he was honest in his interviews with the bishop when asked if he masturbated. Numerous times after being ordained a priest (age 16) and having been called in for a worthiness interview with the bishop, my son would be told he couldn’t administer the…
I wasn’t a child when this happened, but I was still an impressionable, self-conscious young woman of 20. Starting a new semester at BYU, I was required to get an ecclesiastical endorsement from my bishop. I LOVED this bishop. He was such a friendly, genuine guy and frequently gave me awesome references and job leads.…