These are personal accounts of the negative consequences that inappropriate interviews have had on people.
My bishop started asking about masturbation at age 14. The interview I remember most vividly was my 14th birthday interview to advance in the priesthood. I don’t remember much about the interview except toward the end he got very serious and asked, “do you masturbate?” At the time I did, but there was no way…
I started masturbating at age 13 or so. When I was first masturbating, I don’t think I even knew what I was really doing, let alone the idea that I was ‘sinning’. Shortly after, I realized/learned that it was a sin, and between bishopric changes, and ward splits, etc. I ended up having four different…
I don’t recall inappropriate bishop’s interviews as a youth. I guess I am lucky in that sense. The interviews I did have as an adult and newly wed were a far different story. The church teaches that in order to be in good standing with God, and thus able to attend the temple, you must…
Feeling emotional today! Since I was young and went through trauma I had the ability to forget a lot of things, well not forget, but push it far down it doesn’t come to mind. I was reading Sams post and a few stories and it hit me so hard that I too have stories to…
I will never forget when a young inexperienced bishop’s counselor took it upon himself to come into our Deacons Quorum and “warn” us against the horrors of masturbation. This lesson was not in the manual. To this day, I have no idea why he felt compelled or authorized to give us such a lesson. I…
At different times in my life I have confided in several bishops about various spiritual and emotional concerns. Throughout my youth, and young adulthood, I have never had an interview with a bishop where the topic of chastity hasn’t turned into an inappropriate conversation. As a teen, in order to qualify for different rights of…
I grew up around the USA in Mormon communities from the west coast, to the south, and then eventually landed in SLC for a bit. The intrusiveness and inappropriate questioning from bishops in all of the places I’ve lived greatly impacted my decision to leave the church not quite a decade ago. From age 8,…
Years ago, out of the blue, I got a clear impression that the present practice of clerical interviews on sexual matters, especially of young people, is wrong. I had always had comfortable interviews with my leaders; no boundaries were violated, but I knew of countless others who had experienced great harm from interviews. Some of…
As a teenager I was immersed in the gospel. I loved it. I loved the Book of Mormon. I spent much time memorizing passages from it. I was proud of my faith. But I masturbated from the time I was twelve years old. After much internal agony, I confessed to my bishop in my annual…
I don’t remember the first time that sexual questions were asked by my bishop, but I remember that just before my 12th birthday I was racked with shame, embarrassment, and dread because of an upcoming interview with my bishop. I had held a secret for the last two years, and now I was about to…