I was an active, worthy, temple recommend carrying young adult woman of 19. I met a returned missionary at a dance club, gave him my number, then met him for lunch. We really hit it off. I liked him a lot. We had agreed to meet again, this time at his house to watch a…
I served as a full time missionary for the church. After my mission I soon afterward married an incredibly faithful and loving fellow stake member. I had known her before my mission. She had waited for me. We married in the temple. My life has been deeply influenced by my private closed door so-called worthiness…
My story starts outside of bishops interviews. When I was in preschool on a play date, I was raped by two boys a few years older than me while their grandfather watched. They threw me on a bunk bed, covered my face with a pillow, and removed the bottom half of my clothes. I had…
This is a story about one of my children whose life was impacted in a huge way due to explicit sexual worthiness questions by clergy. Growing up in the church, the gospel was a large part of his identity and self-worth. All of that changed upon turning 17 years old and being disciplined by the…
Starting at a very young age, I dealt with many family issues and depression which soon led me at a young age to seek love and approval from boys. At the age of 13, I participated in sexual activity but not actual intercourse. My father was actually the bishop at the time when my parents…
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…
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…
Growing up, my mother and I were the only ethnic people in the ward. I generally blended in since my skin is fair but that changed when I hit puberty. Suddenly I had wide hips and was the only girl wearing a real bra. I got a lot of comments from adults and I guess…
My brother has suffered for 20+ years because of the extreme shaming coinciding with sexually explicit questioning. It was only about a year ago that he shared his tearful story with me. My brother was a “pleaser” from a young age. He strove to be a model Mormon, citizen and son. As his teenage years…