I was sexually abused at age 4 and again at age 7 by members of the Church. I learned early that extreme compliance was the way to keep safe. I was also raised to believe that bishops represented God in everything they said and did and that I could not be forgiven without seeing a…
We moved to a new ward when I was 13 and I discovered masturbation shortly after that. I didn’t discuss it with anyone, but I gleaned enough context around the topic from friends and the church’s teachings on sex that I felt guilty and felt the only way to repent was through confession to the…
There are three bishops whom had the authority to declare the validity to my self worthiness: from taking the sacrament to going through the temple and onto serve a mission. The second bishop, whom I knew since the age of 6 was my best friend’s father. I shared family dinners with him, slept over at…
At 17, I was repeatedly asked specific questions by my bishop when I went in to confess the things I had done. I was asked whether I spit or swallowed. I was asked whether or not I masturbated, how often, and what I used. I was required to visit with him weekly and sometimes twice…
When I was 17 I went to see my bishop after I felt my boyfriend and I had gone too far physically. He did ask me very specific details and also what I had done to encourage this and if I felt it was OK to exhibit that type of behavior around a son of…
I joined the Church at the age of seventeen hoping it would fix things. I was being sexually abused by a teacher at my school who preyed on my vulnerabilities and exploited my trusting nature. I was aware that what he was doing was wrong, but never fought against it and never told anyone. It…
I was ten. I stumbled across porn for the first time, and had kept it a secret from my parents as I knew they would be ashamed in me if they knew their child was bisexual. I had always considered myself to be a more mature child, and I had heard that finding and occasionally…
As a teenager I had sex once, I talked to my bishop about it and he told me the cupcake analogy and told me that I was of less value than if I had waited until marriage. I felt less than any of the other girls I grew up around. A couple years later I…
I am a fairly sensitive person that also deals with a guilty conscience, and as a young man in the church those interviews caused many years of psychological damage on my developing mind. The guilt and shame I dealt with almost destroyed my self-confidence and self-worth, all because I was normal, I had hormones, I…
I remember being asked in every interview if I was keeping the law of chastity. I had always answered ‘yes’ until I was 18. Me and my boyfriend at the time had engaged in some “inappropriate” behaviors, and I knew I had sinned. During my next interview I was asked if I kept the law…