I'm anonymous on this one, I don't want those who know me to figure this out. But I was wondering if you have ever had to confess sexual sins to a G.A. and if so, how did it go?

I confessed to Elder Worthlin (though I don't think he was a member of the 12 at the time) that I had petted below the waist. It was the weirdest thing ever. It kept me from going on a mission for a long, long time. Here I was talking to this old codger and he was asking me if I had "inserted my finger?"

They defined above the waist as light petting, below the waist as heavy petting.

I didn't know that you were supposed to lie a little to go on a mission and I was just being totally honest. Later when I finally was allowed to go on a mission I had to face Theodore Burton. That one went better actually and he was nice to me. Worthlin had zero personality and I couldn't imagine that he had a sexual bone in his body. I felt like I had confessed sexual sin to an old man without a penis.

I would imagine there are some pretty bizarre stories out there of encounters with the old guys.

Mormonism 101 - Don't tell leaders anything. They cannot forgive you of your sins. Only God can do that.

Duh.

My brother had to do it. It was for his mission.

I had to meet with Elder Legrande Richards at a Stake center in Stockton, Ca. I had confessed (under pressure) to having sexual relations with a woman. A terrible sin in mormondom. My Stake President had refered my case to church headquarters for review or fodder for comedy.
Mr. Richards was quite elderly and walked with a cane. He told amusing stories about mischievous elders in the Los Angeles mission from from days gone by. He didn't seem interested in my puny tale.

When I was set apart as an elder he was telling jokes and told the stake president to "cut it short" so we can all go some lunch. He is the only GA I have ever met who I did not have the feeling he was an evil pompous liar and that includes Spencer Kimball and Tom Monson.

I sure wish I knew with which GA I met to get my all clear. It was at the old Las Vegas stake center across the street from Cashman Field in late 1964. He approved of my broken heart and contrite spirit and I got off with a six month sentence.

I think he made such a minor impression because I'd had to do it twice already, with my bishop and the SP. All I remember is a pasty white face, so that doesn't narrvow it down much.

50 years ago this month, after our time in the LTM, Melvin J. Bowler and I flew into Mexico City, and boy, were our arms tired!

Had he not been so vital to some operation in the spirit world a year after we got home, he would have been an apostle by now.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/11/2015 06:52PM by elderolddog.

My daughter's boyfriend succumbed to the pressure to "confess all or the HS won't be with you and you'll fail as a missionary." The jerk from the MTC proceeds to call DD on her cell with no warning (a young woman he has never met), put her on speaker with BF in the room, and grill her to confirm the details of the sin! How sick is that?

He told them that a GA would be deciding whether or not the BF would be sent home (he wasn't, but the decision took two weeks).

DD was hysterical, sure that everyone would think she was a slut and that BF's family would blame her if he was sent home. I shudder to think what might have happened if she had been mentally unstable or without family support.

Oh. My. God. To be that young girl!

I had to talk to Hartman Rector. I told him I had sex with my girlfriend, I was contrit and told him I would do better and that I really wanted to go on a mission. He then said something that put the first "doubt" in my mind as a young convert. Hartman said, "I forgive you of your sins and tell you to sin no more." I was taught that only God could forgive you of your sins. Am I not correct? He kept me from going for six months. I wish he had kept me from going al all. That was 40 years ago.

battlebruise Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I was taught that only God
> could forgive you of your sins. Am I not correct?

Well, as there's no evidence of any "god" existing, and "sins" are just things certain religions don't happen to like...nobody can or needs to "forgive" you for them. Unless you've harmed someone else, in which case you should probably make amends and ask THEIR "forgiveness." But I digress...

If you believe the bible, Jesus is quoted in John 20:23 as telling his disciples, "“If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." So it seems he's clearly delegating the ability to forgive there.

At the same time, there are other verses that seem to clearly show that ONLY "god" can forgive sins. Then there are others that clearly show that only Jesus can forgive sins. Since there are so many contradictory claims on the subject -- pick the one you like and run with it. That's what most christians do :)

My friends and I never went on missions, but we would keep track of which guys had to confess to GA's. We knew that meant they had been having sex so we made a point of dating all of the girls that they had.

You, sir, are a rascal and a genius.

Never had to confess to a GA. I lied. I must have been ok, the spirit of discernment had decided that my activation of the little factory and the "heavy petting" was ok.

Well I ended up confessing my indiscretions to a newbie apostle named Gordon Hinckley.

It didn't matter that the BP and SP had already heard my confession and approved me for a mission call, he would have none of it and threw me out of his office.

I was a sobbing mess until I finally said fuck him and I've never looked back.

wow

;o)

That Hinckley. What a guy.

Wasn't he the one who had a son who had engaged in sexual relations with another man but Gordon found a way to not go after his son? Just another fleck of history that needed to be put back in the closet I guess.

A couple of my buddies were having sex with their girlfriends before their missions.

I think one had to confess to someone in the 70, I can't remember the name for sure but he said it was bizarre and humiliating but they let him go after a 6 month wait.

The other guy just lied his way out there and said to hell with this, if I confess I will never go on a mission. Then after he had been out about a year later the guilt got to him and he confessed. I wish I could remember who he told me he had to speak with, it almost seems like it was someone like Featherstone. Anyway, they let him stay out there after threatening him and dragging him through the mud. After he got home, he slipped up again and they ex'ed him.

Good times.

I've never heard this. Give sources, please. I'm going to look it up now; of course a different standard for the high ups.

Shummy Wrote:
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> It didn't matter that the BP and SP had already
> heard my confession and approved me for a mission
> call, he would have none of it and threw me out of
> his office.

Were he still alive, I'm sure he'd say, "I'm not sure I ever did that..."

Putz.

So Hinckley was the moron who was the catalyst for your leaving?

God does indeed move in mysterious ways. Hinckley was no man of God, other than his actions are what led you out from there.

Imagine that if he did that with you, how many others he treated with likewise unChristlike love?

"By their fruits they shall be known."

It would seem you were the more discerning one.

I had a horrible experience with a guy I was engaged to when we were confessing some light petting. The a hole that we confessed to told me that I was a slut. And that it was my job to hold the line....I was the reason this priesthood holder was having problems. I told him that there was no way he worked for God. He didn't even know him. The man acted so oddly that I wondered if he was hiding something himself. How easy to blame the woman.

When I was a naïve young guy at the age of 15, I thought my problems and feelings were so bad that I needed to talk directly to one of the twelve. Besides my bishop at the time was a close relative and a turkey farmer and I sure wasn't going to divulge anything to him. So one day when my folks went to Salt Lake they dropped me off at the genealogy library, since I enjoyed doing that sort of thing. I went over to the granite office building on South Temple and asked the receptionist if I could see one of the general authorities. She asked me if my questions were that urgent and I said yes, so she took me upstairs to LeGrand Richards' office. (BTW, Did he have a middle initial?) I told him of my dastardly deeds with my thoughts of other boys and the big M problem. His answer was that I really needed to talk to my local bishop, but I explained why I didn't feel like I could. He seemed to understand and his advice to me was to search within myself and be honest in my thoughts and actions. He said to find my own philosophy and stick to it. Heck, that is just the opposite of what is taught these days. This was all 45 years ago.

In the late 70s, when I did spill the beans to my current bishop and was sent to church social services and subsequently BYU's electrostatic healing program an appointment was made for me to talk to Spencer Kimball, since he was the GA at the time who 'understood these things.' During the whole interview he asked about the most miniscule of details about my encounters, how each action felt, the physical attributes of the men I had been with and so forth. I was in his office a good hour. The entire time, his hand was in his lap and his right shoulder was constantly moving. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and pretend he had palsy or tremors.

Of course after several torture treatments that summer, I turned my back on the church to never grace an LDS chapel again except for a few funerals over the years.

Follow the examples of the hierarchy AKA the prophets. Preach tell the truth then lie lie lie!

Back in the late-'70's I had to speak with a G.A. named Henry D. Taylor. I think I had to drive to some stake center in Pasadena, CA to meet with him. When I arrived there were seven or eight others sitting waiting in the hallway. We didn't speak with each other.

When it was my turn Bro. Taylor shook my hand and sat across from me. He seemed like a humble, nice, friendly guy. So nice in fact that I didn't have the heart to tell him all that I had done. When we finished he put his arm around me, walked me to the door, and said "Be careful out there Elder. There are all kinds of women who would love to jump a missionary's bones."

As I walked to my car I feared I would be struck by lightning for not confessing everything to Bro. Taylor. Nothing happened though, and it was the first confirmation to me that church leaders did not possess any kind of "Gift/Spirit of Discernment".

I waited until I was in the MTC to confess the "rest of the story". At that time I dealt with the MTC Prez (Pinegar) and another G.A. (Carlos Asay).

Your story sounds very similar to my companion Elder "R".

Had to confess to the same people.

Once they had you at the LTM or mission in those days minor transgressions were dismissed although SWK admonished them to get all the gory details ...."did she orgasm" "what did you do then" etc etc Creepy shit.

In the mission home in Salt Lake City there were perhaps 200 mishies for a week. We sat through meeting after meeting and on the second day a GA was speaking and then just abruptly stopped and looked out over us. He paused for a couple of suspenseful minutes and then said, "there are several of you in this room that shouldn't be here". Another long pause and a scanning of the audience. "You know who you are, I will be in my office after this meeting and we need to talk".

After the meeting there was a long line to this ass hat's office. I wasn't in it.

I didn't know how serious these sins were but I knew that there was no way in hell I was going to confess spanking the monkey to nobody. I put the monkey away for 2 years but the day I came home (that night) the monkey was out again. Oh Sweet Jesus, the monkey was out again.

No, I would never confess anything to a GA, none of their business. If I wanted a confessional I'd be a Catholic.

Wasn't with a GA but I had to "confess" my "sins" at 12 when my parents found my lingerie mags. Even then I was smart enough not to admit to masturbating.

Never "confessed" anything sexual again after that. It's none of their damn business!

Well that's the cruel irony of it all.

Back then as a believing ordained priest with a pure heart that could fuck but could not tell a lie.

Gordo wouldda had zero discernment if I hadda.

Ya see, he only knows when he himself is lying folks.

anonmsrfmer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm anonymous on this one, I don't want those who
> know me to figure this out. But I was wondering if
> you have ever had to confess sexual sins to a G.A.
> and if so, how did it go?
>
> I confessed to Elder Worthlin (though I don't
> think he was a member of the 12 at the time) that
> I had petted below the waist. It was the weirdest
> thing ever. It kept me from going on a mission for
> a long, long time. Here I was talking to this old
> codger and he was asking me if I had "inserted my
> finger?"
>
> They defined above the waist as light petting,
> below the waist as heavy petting.
>
> I didn't know that you were supposed to lie a
> little to go on a mission and I was just being
> totally honest. Later when I finally was allowed
> to go on a mission I had to face Theodore Burton.
> That one went better actually and he was nice to
> me. Worthlin had zero personality and I couldn't
> imagine that he had a sexual bone in his body. I
> felt like I had confessed sexual sin to an old man
> without a penis.
>
> I would imagine there are some pretty bizarre
> stories out there of encounters with the old guy

So, if he didn't have a penis, how did he know about inserting a finger?

I had a bishop once ask me if I climaxed?

Never confessed to a GA. But I shook hands with Nelson and Perry after masturbating. At the time I was horrified of discernment being a true believer. Now looking back at it and recalling memories I find it quite comical. The only thing I can think more comical would have been to shake Boyd the little factory after doing the teenage deed.

Does it strike anyone else as ironic that a religion founded by men that systematically sexually assaulted teenagers, would demand an explanation from a young man involved in a "petting" incident???

Maybe it's based on Emma making JS confess his peccadilloes?

I had to meet two of theses chaps, Charles Didier who is a complete asshole and told me to wait a year and Thomas Monson who was actually very nice and cleared me to go.

TSM asked what I had done and said that he wanted to make sure I would not do it again. No details were sought and he was actually personable, asking me about people he knew in my home town


I told tommy where I wanted to go and I was in the MTC less than three weeks later heading there. At this point I had my first testimony that mission calls/assignments were NOT anything remotely close to inspired by God

For the record, my mission ended up changing my life and making me the apostate I am today. Met my now apostate wife on my mission so I am quite grateful for that aspect of it. Thanks tommy

This falls under the "you've GOT to be shittin' me" category. Why TF would you confess anything concerning your private life to anyone??? None of their business! I know I would have made a terrible Catholic. Confession??? Not gonna fuckin' happen!

RB