#455 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,6,7,8

It wasn’t the interviews so much as a combination of the interviews with the fire-and-brimstone chastity lessons. Masturbation was described as an incredibly selfish and shameful act. Then we got the For The Strength of Youth pamphlet which called sexual sins “next to murder”. Then came the interviews asking about masturbation and the copy of…

#454 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,4,8

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…

#451 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8

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…

#450 George P. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8

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…

#447 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,9,10

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…

#446 Brian A. CS: 1,2,3,7,8

After reading many of the stories here, I find myself fortunate, and I realize that it could have been so much worse. But the shame that I felt surrounding topics of sexuality were still potent. I was only 11 or 12 when I learned about the church’s stance on masturbation. I learned it in the…

#439 Name Hidden. CS: 1,2,3,5,6,7,8,9

There is so much. I can not write it all. I was beaten for masturbating. I was snuck up on if my bedroom door was closed or in the shower to “catch me in the act” so I could be beaten again if caught masturbating. I was raped by a guy I had gone on…

#436 Allen M. CS: 1,2,3,4,7,8,9

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…

#435 Sadie W. CS: 1,2,3,7,8,9

My story begins at 2 or 3 years old when I was molested multiple times by/with the permission of a woman in her home during “daycare”. My mother, instead of reporting the incident to police, chose to report it to her bishop. I was examined by a doctor and he found that my hymen had…

#434 Name Withheld CS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9

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.…