I have many stories of shame from the Mormon Church. But one that sticks out, and pertains to this issue is this: I grew up in a prominent SLC Mormon ward. One day in YW they taught us about the important role us woman held in the church. We were the protectors of the men…
When I was 4-8 years old I was molested by a neighbor kid. I remember being sick to my stomach, afraid to fall asleep at night for fear that I was going to hell. Right before I turned 8 I started getting really bad stomach aches and wouldn’t go to school. I was afraid of…
I was lucky, like some others here were, that my bishops were never lascivious men asking too-personal questions. The self-hate and attempted self harm I blame firmly on my parents and on church doctrine. My mom and dad had “the talk” with me at probably ten years old. They gave me the mechanics of it,…
When I was 7 or 8 years old I was molested by an older neighborhood boy as well as a babysitter. As I grew up and learned at church concepts of sexual purity, I was devastated to find out that I had committed the sin next to murder. Also, I could not remember my exact…
As far as I can remember, I was attracted to other boys – at least since age 6 – but I had no idea it was sexuality, let alone homosexuality. I discovered the term at 11 or 12 when reading ‘The Miracle of Forgiveness’, written by the LDS prophet Spencer W. Kimball, a required reading…
When I was 13, I was a very devoted little Mormon girl. I prayed every day, read my scriptures, dressed modestly, and got good grades. One day, I was thinking and realized that in previous years, I had intentionally viewed some things that were considered pornographic and masturbated on occasion (although at the time I…
My story isn’t much different than the hundreds if not thousands that have already been told, with one big exception. I am a 60 year old male. I was born and raised in a small Mormon town in Utah. Upon reading some of the testimonies on the website, memories of my youth and my young…
As a teenager my parents found out that I was having relations with my boyfriend and forced me to see the bishop to confess my “sins”. I find it interesting that they refused to discuss anything with me and just wanted the bishop to be the barer of my news. When I went in to…
“When I was 7 and my little brother was 4 we were molested by an “upstanding” male church member who was recommended to babysit us by other church members including ward leadership. The bishop knew that this young man had been raped by his own brother as his other family members had told church authorities…
I grew up in an inactive household. I was still baptized at eight. Never having been to church before or after that until the age of fourteen. I naturally discovered masturbation at the age of ten. It never felt wrong to me. Having not gone to church. When I turned fourteen I moved out and…