“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…
My experience with “confessing” to my bishop at an interview came in teens. I was 16 years old. I wasn’t a child, but it affected my life and who I am today. My then-boyfriend and I, both being active and devout followers of the LDS Church, kept “toeing the line” of the lds rules. We…
My worthiness interview story only scratches the surface of how the Mormon Church destroyed my life. The details of exactly how my life was destroyed I left out because the memory is too painful to revisit but basically, I lost my one and only true friend as a result of the first interview described here…
When I was 15, I was living in California and in a relationship with a non-LDS boy. One day, he forced himself on me. He was very manipulative and convinced me that I had been asking for it and that I needed him. I was heart broken and felt broken myself. I felt that my…
I grew up in an abusive home. I was raped for the first time when I was 7. I spent decades trying to convince my “leaders” that it wasn’t my fault. They insisted that I must have done something and I needed to repent (after all, what’s the point of a worthiness interview if you…
Of my own experience, I wish to say that it is not remotely as appalling as many of the personal stories bravely posted on the website. I have experienced abuse in the LDS church – the law was broken, I naively thought the Church would take meaningful action but that did not happen. I did…
The first time I ever masturbated was on my Mission at age 21. I knew I had to confess to my mission president, but I sat there in silence for what seemed like a few minutes unable so speak. Finally, I blurted it out. My Mission President responded with, Do you think that is why…
My experience with interviews has been all over the map. It ranges from mildly intrusive to absolutely inappropriate. At one point the proceedings of a church disciplinary council made me consider ending my life. I grew up in Utah as a member of the church. I remember first being asked questions of a sexual nature…
I was born into and grew up in a very strict Mormon family. My mom had this view of the world that the less you knew about sinful, harmful stuff, the better. So when I was 11 and I got “the talk”, it lasted about 4 minutes. I knew what sex organs were, and roughly…