When I was 16 years old I moved to a new ward in Herriman, Utah. The first day at church right when we walked in the door we happened to meet the bishop. After my mom had talked to him for a few minutes and she had started talking to someone else, he then came…
When I was 7 years old I had my first worthiness interview a few weeks before I turned 8 and would be baptized. The bishop already knew that I was being abused at home and told me that I was a sinner and needed to repent because I was not being a worthy daughter and…
My 15 year old son has been crippled with guilt and shame about masturbation. He has talked to our LDS bishop about it and feels worse afterward. My son is predisposed to depression and anxiety. His therapist thought he was experiencing a level of religious scrupulosity. I spoke to the bishop about this and asked…
My father was both a Bishop and a Stake President for almost my entire childhood. Both of my parents were very well known and respected in our small Mormon community. Nobody outside of our family knew the extreme psychological, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse that was happening behind our perfect facade. I wonder how many…
I felt uncomfortable just being in the presence of Bishop _____. Knowing what he was going to ask me made my heart race with dread. Every 6 months he would pull me into his office and shut the window-less door behind me. Then he would proceed to grill me. “When was the last time you…
As a young child, I overheard whispered conversations between my mom and her younger sisters at family reunions. As soon as I or my grandparents drew nearby, the subject would change….Usually to something like “Oh, do you want a popsicle? I think we should get out popsicles for all the kids!” I do remember hearing…
While my story may not be as traumatizing as others shared in this movement, I feel that it is still worth sharing. During an interview for a temple recommend, I was asked the standard question about obeying the law of chastity. When I gave the answer that I was obeying, the bishop decided to press…
I was raped my first semester at BYU. My on-campus bishop was the one person I told of my experience, in desperate hopes to obtain some sort of peace for my broken heart. He told me I’d need to stop taking the sacrament, he handed me a copy of The Miracle of Forgiveness, and before…
I’m deeply saddened reading these stories. Although mine isn’t on the severity scale as some of those on here, I think the church needs to know that this happens everywhere. They are not one in a million. This shame happens to EVERY child in EVERY congregation in our church. In some degree. Just putting a…
I was asked specifically at 13 if I masturbate (had never heard the term before), and if I watched pornography (had heard the word, but didn’t know what it meant. Bishop got to explain them to me… Now because of his explanation, I learned I had been masturbating for 7 years (discovered it on my…