Why Mormon Bishops Ask Children About Masturbation Behind Closed Doors - And What Finally (Sort of) Changed

Your worthiness to enter God's house is determined by a volunteer with zero professional training asking you detailed personal questions in a private room. He might be your dentist. He has a handbook.

The Mormon bishop interview system assesses members on sexual purity, tithing compliance, testimony, and sustaining church leaders — but in practice, questions about masturbation and pornography use are common, because Mormon theology frames sexual sin as second in severity only to murder. Hannah had to confess to her bishop for dry humping at age 13. Spencer W. Kimball's The Miracle of Forgiveness — which taught that masturbation could lead to homosexuality and that assault victims who didn't fight back bore some responsibility — served as the de facto bishop's manual for decades. Sam Young collected thousands of survivor testimonies, gathered 55,000 petition signatures, and went on a 23-day hunger strike to end one-on-one interviews with minors. The church excommunicated him, made policy changes, and framed them as inspired leadership. The worthiness paradox: Hannah's mother would answer yes to every recommend question honestly — and then no to the final one.

In this episode: the structure and questions of a Mormon bishop worthiness interview; the theological basis for sexual sin ranking second to murder in LDS doctrine; Spencer W. Kimball's The Miracle of Forgiveness — its teachings, its reach, and its official status; the history of sexually explicit questions in bishop interviews with minors; Sam Young's Protect LDS Children campaign — the petition, the hunger strike, and the excommunication; the policy changes the church made and how they were framed; the worthiness paradox and what it means to fail a question you've never been able to honestly pass.

Support the show: buymeacoffee.com/postmormonpostmortem

Ad-free listening from $2/month: patreon.com/postmormonpostmortem

TikTok & Instagram: @postmormonpostmortem

postmormonpostmortem.com

New episodes every Sunday at 9 AM — just in time for sacrament meeting.