Masturbation. Just before turning 12, I was called in for an interview with the Bishop prior to becoming a deacon. One of his questions was if I have a problem with masturbation. I didn’t know what the word meant. I said, no. Puberty hit me at age 14 and from 14-18 “self-abuse” became a frequent…
Hello Mormon friends, I am a 83 yer old man who was unfortunately raised as a Roman Catholic. I relate to virtually all the stories of the young men who have experienced traumatizing guilt over masturbation. I lived in SLC for about 20 years and have had both Mormon and non-Mormon male friends and woman…
I knew I was gay as early as I was 8. All I knew is that what I felt was wrong and evil. That was constantly reiterated at church for the next decade of my life. The amount of self loathing and shaming was crippling at times. No one knew. When I was 11, I…
I was baptized at 8, like all the other kids who were raised in the church did. When I was 9 I was raped by my brother over the span of almost a year. My parent’s had caught him in the act and instead of involving law enforcement they just sat us down and told…
I am one of the many men who was repeatedly sexually shamed in interviews. This line of specific and graphic sexual questioning took place since I was 12 years old and lasted until after my mission. I was grilled about it explicitly by bishops, stake presidents, mission presidents, and young men’s leaders. Even now as…
For my baptismal interview, I was asked if I kept the law of chastity with myself. I was confused, nervous, embarrassed. I slowly nodded. He said he had hoped I was too young to even know what masturbation was, but that “you never know.” I had been a victim of molestation as an even younger…
I had been molested by one of my brothers friends for several years between 11 & 14. This boy would sneak into my bedroom at night when he thought I was asleep. We finally moved and I felt it was something I needed to talk to someone about it but didn’t feel comfortable talking to…
My uncle started molesting me when I was 6 years old. At my 8 year baptismal interview I “confessed” what my uncle was doing. My bishop told me he would make sure and “handle it”, and stressed the importance of my baptism and how it would “wash me clean again.” It continued for years…. When…
I started masturbating when I was 9 years old, a few years later I was house sitting for a neighbor and watched pornography alone on their VHS tapes. I read the book “the worth of a soul” and thought that I was destined for outer darkness. In any Bishop’s interview I ever had as a…
I remember being called in for an interview with the bishop when I was about fourteen. He said it was an interview to lead the Teachers’ Quorum. He got to the question of the law of chastity and asked if I was keeping it. “Yes.” “Do you masturbate?” He asked the question as he stared…