One year at girls camp a few girls were hanging out in the cabin talking about various things. Ouija boards came up and several stories were told (I was really clueless at the time, I didn't even know what a Ouija board was) about their or other people's experiences with these boards. One of the girls really freaked out and was shaking and wouldn't stop shaking. We had to get the leaders and they forced us to tell them what happened. All the while this girl still couldn't stop shaking. The priesthood leaders were called to give a blessing and she stopped after the blessing. We all got a talking to and were told to never speak of these kinds of things again, that we'd invited an evil spirit into the camp and thank goodness the priesthood was able to drive it away. Most bizarre camping experience I've ever had.

Have your counselors ever heard of epilepsy?

Apparently not.

...be present at young women's camp-To drive out evil spirits! And here I always thought it was just a convenient excuse to ogle the young hotties!

One time at band camp, I mean girls camp, there was a huge storm that came through. Nothing unusual, just a thunderstorm typical for this mid-western area. No rotation had been seen in the clouds. There was no tornado warning or sirens, just rain. Well the overzealous GA wannabe women leaders gathered all of the girls in the mess hall for three hours of prayer and testimony, until the storm passed. When it was over? You guessed it, the penishood had thwarted a tornado from destroying them. My girls thought WTF? There was no tornado. Anyway, at cult camp, the delude themselves into thinking all sorts of nonsense.

I absolutely hated the testimony meetings, I just couldn't ever get emotional enough to cry like the others. One year me and this other girl had a watermelon eating contest between us during dinner. Later that evening during the testimony meeting, she got up as if to bear her testimony, having everyone's apt attention as the testimony before hers was particularly interesting (family dirt, LOL) and said, "I don't know about you jessica, but I have to pee real bad, can we take a break?" Leaders let everyone go to the restroom.

Doesn't Parker Bros. make Ouiji boards?

Sounds perfect for FHE... talk to the dearly departed kin and ask about who in the family has accepted the proxy-dunking.

strivingforbalance Wrote:
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> Doesn't Parker Bros. make Ouiji boards?
>
> Sounds perfect for FHE... talk to the dearly
> departed kin and ask about who in the family has
> accepted the proxy-dunking.

Yeah, Parker Brothers makes the Ouija boards. I've even seen them in the board game section of Toys R' Us.

This whole story is ridiculous. Ugh...

That would have helped greatly in doing genealogy work, LOL!

Being calmed by adult leaders can cause shaking to end.

She kept saying she was cold so they had her sit by the fire, when she didn't stop after that, they got the priesthood leaders. I was an interesting experience for sure, one of many that totally sold me on Mormonism.

ever heard of the placebo effect?

An over imaginative girl works herself up and you need the priesthood to calm her down? Wow. Even at my most TBM, I would never have bought that.

I was a kid and bought it, hook, line and sinker.

Although I always did wonder if evil spirits were there, why wasn't I affected as well? I always thought it was my ignorance in not knowing what they were talking about, but I got the jist of it from the tones and the whole explanation of how a Ouija board worked.

BTW, this was in the Jello Belt, so although they are sold and I know what they are now, it wasn't as common there.

I remember one year, we were forbidden from telling "ghost stories" lest we invite Satan's influence into the camp.

I hated the testimony meeting...It always felt forced and never genuine. I remeber there was this girl who stood up and apologized to the whole camp because she didn't have a testimony of the cult and she just didn't believe it. I think her whole YW group stood up, so she felt she had to, but it backfired.

itzpapalotl Wrote:
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> I remember there was this girl who stood up and apologized to the whole camp because she didn't have a testimony of the cult and she just didn't believe it.

How did that go over?

She was whisked away by her leaders, I assume for a blessing (read indoctrination session) and it was never mentioned again. I mean NOBODY talked about it afterwards. I was still pretty brainwashed at the time, so I was shocked by her honest confession.

I almost did that my last year at camp. I was 17, & was about to enter my Senior year of high school. Because of Summer school, I could only go a few days at the end of the week, & at first I was kind of excited because I was getting out of the house, but once I was up there I regretted going. I shouldn't have gone at all. I felt uncomfortable. My 12 year old sister was there. I was humiliated at campfire just before dinner one night. At the time, all I could think was that I had one more year to deal with all of it, & then once I graduated from high school I could leave. I just wanted to blurt out what I really thought & felt.

Of course that didn't happen, & I didn't leave until late 2000 just before I turned 25.

Looks like this superstitious hokum is still continuing.

Got a link? I'd love to read them!

Those are great, thanks!

My last experience at Girls' Camp was as a "leader". The girls in my ward were camped nearest to the latrine and decided to play pranks on any midnight potty goers. They gathered a bunch of leaves and sticks, securing it with a length of fishing line long enough to control from a nearby tent. The clump of leaves and sticks was then lowered into the opening of the crapper, with the fishing line leading out the window.
None of us grown ups had any idea what was going on until we were awoken by a chorus of screaming, crying, and laughing in the middle of the night.
That was the BEST camp experience ever.

It's just unbelievable how some people are so sensitive to suggestion. But then again she's probably from a long line of gullible ancestors. The real story: The poor girl had a panic attack.

I had a similar experience at Youth Conference. On the first night, they showed some kind of mildly scary movie (don't even remember it). My roommate got scared by it for some reason. The priesthood leaders concluded she was possessed. Our ward's mutual girls were gathered in my roommate's and my dorm room for a blessing on my roommate.

I must say, I was rather annoyed by the fact that I had to sleep in that room afterwards. I felt like I was in some kind of Mormon version of The Exorcist.

I never attended another Youth Conference.

tell us stories about Ouija boards. This was in the 1970s. Imagine my surprise when I was looking for the game "Risk" for my younger brother in Brigham City, Utah and saw a "Ouija" board in a little drug store in town. I didn't know what it was because it wasn't spelled the way I thought it would be.

AND camp--there was always something like this going on. We had one girl who almost drowned every year for attention. Then we'd have some big talk about how blessed she was that she didn't drown.

Our testimony meetings were done in a circle and nobody got out of bearing their testimony. I absolutely hated it. Although I was TBM all the way, I NEVER bore my testimony unless forced. I've always seen beliefs as something very individual and personal and I felt it was abusive to make those of us who didn't want to participate join in.

"Our testimony meetings were done in a circle and nobody got out of bearing their testimony. I absolutely hated it. Although I was TBM all the way, I NEVER bore my testimony unless forced. I've always seen beliefs as something very individual and personal and I felt it was abusive to make those of us who didn't want to participate join in."

+1 on this! It's even worse here though, after girls camp they all get up in sacrament meeting the next Sunday and talk about it and there is social pressure there to bear your testimony too--you don't want to be the one girl left out. I think I'm going to get up and bear my testimony about my summer vacation next time, I surely feel inspired by Mickey Mouse.