My name is Julie. At the time of this writing I am 34 years old. I was born and raised in Utah within the Mormon church. I come from a multi-generational family with deep roots in Mormonism. Most of my family joined at the very beginnings of the church under Joseph Smith or Brigham Young.…
***Sam, thank you for your hard work, selfless service, dedication to protect our children. I don’t know if this counts but I believe my bishop could have stopped the sexual abuse I endured from a brother and two cousins. My abuse was the span of age 4-10. My baptism interview is where I thought I…
Dear Mr. Young, March 22, 2018 I only recently discovered your work yesterday—your website, and stories of LDS children abused by ecclesiastical interviews. I glanced briefly at the headers for some of the stories on your web site, and knew I had to submit a story. I apologize for the length of the narrative, but…
I am a very active member of the LDS church. I served as a young women’s leader. During the time I served, a couple of the young women I had stewardship over, had messed up but went into Bishop ______ to clear up their mistakes. These beautiful young women went in willingly and sought forgiveness.…
I converted to the church at the impressionable age of 16. My parents did not go to the church and they had no knowledge of what was asked during bishop interviews. And I never told them. If I had, they’d probably make me leave the church, and at the time, I thought the church was…
When I was 9 years old, I was molested by a boy who lived in my neighborhood. I told my parents right after it happened. My parents got the boy and parents involved. Asked for my story, then the boys side. The boy’s parents asked for the cops not to get involved. (The boy was…
My father physically/sexually abused, neglected, and abandoned his children, with no remorse. When this was brought to the attention of multiple bishops and stake presidents, his vehement denial was all they needed to brush us off. He continued to go to the temple with his recommend and hold callings in his ward… now he is…
I was molested by my stepdad in 1988 when I was 8 years old, told my family to get help with no avail. The abuse began to occur again in 1994-95 which included watching me bathe and change my clothes by holes drilled into the walls, doors and showers. I reported all of the abuse…
I went to my bishop as a teenager for help navigating trauma from childhood physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. He connected me to some resources and was an empathetic and curious listener– too curious, sometimes. We met a couple times a month for about year. He was always physically affectionate with me giving full body…
Beginning when I was 9 years old, I had an older brother that repeatedly tried to coerce me into playing sexual games with my 7 year old sister. I was too young to understand what was happening then, but many years later I learned that he had begun raping her. When I wouldn’t go as…