When I was 15, one of my brothers friends forced me to touch them and do things that I never would have dreamed to do. I tried to run away but he grabbed me and forced me into his car. When I got home that night I covered my body with bleach because I felt…
I was sexually abused every week by my teenage brother from the age of 4 until 8. The week after my baptism I finally got the nerve to tell him no, and he stopped. I don’t remember struggling with the abuse until I started young women’s. I sat and listened to young women leaders tell…
Nearly twenty years ago, a bishop that had been an explorer adviser in a ward I grew up in, had told my parents that I was not good enough and had been giving me and them positive motivation books that he thought I needed to have. This man had always “put me down” in front…
When I was applying to BYUH, I had the Stake President ask me if I obeyed the law of chasity. I replied yes. Then he asked if I was a virgin. I told him I was raped and I was not. Then he told me to go back to my bishop to speak with him…
When I was about 16 years old, I remember my bishop called our class of 20+ people to get there temple recommends. We had to all line up in the hallway and he called us one by one to get them renewed. I knew I wasn’t worthy of one and it would be awkward to…
I had a rough childhood. I was molested at age 5 by a stranger and grew up in an emotionally and physically abusive home. As a teenager I rebelled and sought freedom and love from outside sources. As a result, I ended up making bad choices. One night I snuck out with a group of…
When I was 12 or 13 we had a youth caroling activity where the young men and young women rode on a trailer on hay bells with blankets to keep us warm and we would go around our stakes boundaries and sing Christmas carols to the neighbors. One of the young men who was a…
I’ll start from my earliest memories. I do not share this to brag. I do not share this to cause pain or hurt (although I’m sure it will do both). I share this to show the other side. To show that the LDS church does cover up these types of things. I feel my bishops…
I thought for a long time that I was alone in feeling that the interviews were damaging and shaming. This is the story of how my experience with Bishop interviews led to me leaving the LDS church and cutting all ties with my blood family. A bit of context. I am a female. Being raised…
When I went to college I met a guy and began to date him. He told me that he looked at pornography and I didn’t really know what to do about that. I went to the bishop and he encourage me to date him as he told me he was a “good catch” and everything…