I dont have it in me to organize anything but I will be happy to show up to a few. These interviews made my teen years a lot harder than they had to be. I can attest to the stress and humiliation that comes from them. There is no reason for anyone to ask my kid about his sexuality without me present. In fact no bishop should ever interview anyone under the age of 18 about anything without parents present in my view.
That's all well and good to want to have the parent present but what if the parent doesn't think those questions are wrong? My parents wouldn't have bat an eye on those questions and would have expected an answer. That's still a violation of trust imo. What kid wants to talk about their sexuality/sexual activity in front of their parents let alone a bishop? They just need to end that line of questioning all together.
This slogan would be an awesome sign at a protest!!!
"Can ask I YOUR kid if they touch themselves?"
Great idea to have a public protest. This is how some of the protesters outside of the gates at General Conference should be focusing their energy.
It just strikes a cord with the public to know that children are being sexually questioned by "bishops" who are farmers, plumbers, bus drivers, cab drivers, and any regular old dude that gets called to the job.
Someone please do this. A facebook page with links to articles about the kids that have committed suicide and have been asked to regularly report to the bishop each week with text messages or a thumbs up at sacrament meeting to signal they didn't masturbate that week. All that perverted stuff that is considered child abuse if it were done by a doctor or a teacher.
Some of these guys deserve jail time when they do this to kids.
I was required to interview each missionary in the mission at least once every 6 weeks, so that usually coincided with zone conferences.
I never once asked a missionary about masturbation, and yet you'd be surprised how many of them confessed it. It got really old. They were just conditioned to feel guilty, bring it up and unburden themselves. You should have seen their faces when I said I didn't think it was that serious.
Love this idea. These interviews ruined my life. I know that sounds overly dramatic but they really did ruin my life. I didn't get over the trauma of these until I was 30 years old.
I am glad your wife trusts you with this info. Non-members don't understand why 5/10/15 years after exmos struggle. My worst nightmares are of those interviews, and yes it does ruin parts of our lives. I remember leaning over a 3 story stairwell at BYU thinking it would just be easier to jump, than endure another interview. My Branch president (who had the reputation for holding more church courts than any other at BYU) had told me if I ever lied about masturbating he would hold a court. I can't believe I bought into all that. Joined at 16, They got me young.
My wife still has anxiety about seeing a bishop or ward member and a large portion of that can be attributed to this Mormon doctrine/philosophy of having to confess sexual acts. It is so abusive to do to young men and women at developing stages of their bodies and feelings of self-worth, self-awareness.
Ironic part is that she never did anything that she should have to be ashamed of...just normal sexual development in an adolescence and she was labeled as a bad girl and rumors spread around a ward that loved the smell of blood and couldn't help themselves. Sick fawkers.
Totally abusive.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/16/2013 02:22PM by upsidedown.
You have my support, but I have no intention of returning to Moridor to carry a poster. I well however, be happy to hang a banner off my condo balcony just let me know when.
"Masturbation is Safe Sex. No more questioning children."
Wait, you mean there have been M parties that I haven't been invited too. Uhh. No fair. Those guys at the COB building have all the fun. They don't call him Boyd K. Pecker for nothing.
You know, if people held signs saying that very thing, "Stop masturbation interviews!", it would pique so much interest by the press that they would run over to you. If there were any press present. Which I doubt. Just sayin'.
If we could bring the issue to a head, we might pull it off. It requires precise handling and sure manipulation. In the long and short of it, it comes and goes. Facts can't be massaged, but this thing can. Ideally, there would be some penetration, some knowing in a biblical sense. But there's this issue shooting into the air. Firing blanks, as it were.
I just wasted a perfectly good mouthful of Merlot.
On a serious note - I'd be willing to participate in an online venture to protest this abusive practive, since I can't do so in person. I consider the invasive, abusive questioning I received to have been enormously damaging with consequences that lasted well into adulthood.
This reminds me of this guy who was arrested for soliciting sex from a minor. He happened to be my brother's stake president, and my SIL shuddered at the thought he had interviewed her teenage daughters.
This could be especially effective if the protests were well publicized. Since it regards sex and religion, the news outlets would love it. It also makes the church look very creepy and abusive (rightfully so). If the media got involved, it would create a public outcry against the church and would seriously embarrass it. A few months later the leaders would "receive a revelation" that it's the parents' responsibility to keep track of those things or something... Although for many kids, that would be far more traumatizing.
Why is it that Mormon leaders feel free to ask ANY question of the membership and require profound honesty, while they insist on their own profound secrecy and evasion when members ask equally personal questions of them?
Do I truly know with certainty (by some mysterious personal revelation) that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God?
First, tell me when was the last time that you literally saw and talked with God yourself?
Do I pay a full tithing on my income to the church?
First, tell me how much income the General Authorities make from the donations of members like me.
Do I masturbate?
First, tell me - did Joseph Smith have 37 (or so) wives? 13 of whom were currently married to other men? And one of whom was only 14 years old?
Some poor mormon kid is sitting on his bed right now jacking his dick angrily ... saying f y'all f y'all oooohhhhhh F Y'ALL .... ahhhhhhh. TSSC does a number on those poor kids and their parents. My wife (ex now) wanted me to have that talk with my son (the never ever touch your dirty part talk) but, having not been raised in TSSC, I gave him my version of the do's and don'ts of self-pleasure (ridiculously called "self-abuse" by TSSC). I told him go-ahead, it's natural and it's healthy just don't get carried away or, really son, you WILL go blind!!!
I started masturbating my brains out when I was very young. I was BIC so I knew the church didn't "approve." I thought about confessing a few times, but in general, I knew that would be mormon suicide so I didn't. I'm not sure there's a need for a campaign. Most kids already know it's not allowed and don't want to talk about it. I think very few actually end up confessing to their bishop about it.