Those who read my story may well conclude that I have no business posting alongside those who have been subject to the horrors of sexual abuse and assault. My story is perhaps altogether commonplace. I share it because I am convinced that many members of the church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints have suffered…
My father was in church leadership as were all the males in my family dating back to Joseph Smith himself and are direct descendants of him. My maternal grandfather was a stake president, the first in the stake where I now live. He had a large family and every one of his children as well…
It was summer and we had a large garden in Nothern California we shared with neighbors and ward members. My dad was a postman and money was always tight for our big family. I was not yet old enough to date – 16 years old. But I my lessons in young women’s taught me that…
If you were with me in Utah right now, I would walk you out past my old neighborhood thru a farmer’s field about a quarter of a mile to the back edge of the field where an irrigation canal passes thru and a clump of trees still grows there today. One tree that’s there which…
This is my story for all the men and women who’s hearts and souls are broken because of men at church. This My story for you. I didn’t know who he was until he was my leader, before then, he was the new kid’s dad. He told us stories about him, about his violence. I…
I left TSCC in my early 20s almost 45 years ago. My parents were “pioneers” of Mormonism in a small Australian city, hence branch presidents and later bishops were well known to the whole family. I was asked as a 12,13,14 year old if I “self abused”. I did not know what that meant. It…
I was ~middle school age when my Mormon leaders started bringing this stuff up and asking me about the same stuff. Wish I’d known back then how messed up it was. In my case. My father drove me late at night to have an “emergency interview” with our Mormon bishop when they found some “magazines”…
I’m a pretty sexual person. I don’t know if it’s a consequence of my youth or whether it’s just how I am and I was made to feel ashamed of something that is just natural for me. When I was 14 I ‘sinned’ with a boy in my stake. My mum found out because I…
When I was in high school I was sexually assaulted by a classmate. When this happened I was totally naive to anything sexual in nature, so obviously I didn’t quite understand what had happened to me or that what had happened was not a normal sexual experience. After some time of feeling guilt, I went…
I remember a dimly lit room where I was interviewed quickly for baptism at 8 years old. My parents were ‘inactive’ and the first I heard of what I was agreeing to was in that interview. I was told I was promising to never sin again. I had a fight with my sister that night…