For me it was my SP growing up. After I got home from my mission he put the fear of God into me said I need to get married ASAP. I married a girl about a year after I got home we are now divorced no kids. Here is how bad this guy is when we were getting interviewed for our temple marriage, I had a nightmare of an interview. I had just gotten out of the hospital that morning I had my appendix removed the suite pants rubbed against my stiches. I went and bought slacks larger so I wouldn’t be in any pain. This was the same day I got out of the hospital and I made an effort. To buy a pair after how much pain I was in. This was also the same day her dad passed away. He didn’t care instead said I had no respect for his office, that I should always wear a suite when I’m meeting with church leaders spent 2 hours yelling at me in his office. Fast forward a few years divorced and now married now a beautiful Filipino told me that I’m going to hell as I married outside of my race that my kids will never know the kingdom of God that they well be outcast in heaven. That pissed me off fast. More stories to come about this guy. So Happy I’m no longer a member next one I’ll tell you about is this past week at my brothers home coming and his need to call me out in front of my family

If someone called me out in front of people, I'd smile and say, "Give it two years, and you and I will be meeting for coffee!"

Most of the leaders I had were pretty good folks. I did have a Stake President though who was a pain in the ass. I was called to be the Stake Athletic Director and this SP did nothing but throw road blocks in front of me that hampered my efforts. The best example I have is of one day him calling me into his office soon after the stake center basketball court had been refinished. He was CONVINCED that the finish would last longer if the basketball players would change into their basketball shoes before playing on the floor. I gave him a puzzled look and he said that if the players wore the same basketball shoes outside of the building that they wore on the court, that tiny pebbles would become lodged in the grooves of the bottom of the shoes and scuff up the new finish. I thought he was pulling my leg and let out a loud laugh. He was serious though and mandated that ALL players bring a change of shoes to the games.

Of course I was met by resistance and moaning and groaning from the players, but although everyone agreed it was ridiculous, they complied. Then a week or two later I was at the stake center one night in the middle of the week. There happened to be some function going on that was wrapping up so I took a peek. I saw tables and chairs being dragged across the basketball court, food and crumbs being left on the floor, women in high heels walking around, men in dress shoes scuffing the court, and kids running and sliding on the floor all over the place. After seeing that, I told the basketball players that I would no longer be enforcing the “bring an extra pair of shoes” rule. The SP confronted me about it later and I told him that if he wanted to have the rule include EVERYONE who stepped on the court, then I would go back to enforcing the rule on the players.

We had a few other confrontations. Once on a softball field the SP thought he and his ward team could do whatever they pleased. When I threatened them with forfeiting a game he got all up in my face, putting on a show in front of everyone. His face was red and turning purple as he was nose-to-nose with me screaming, “DO YOU SUPPORT ME AS YOUR CHURCH LEADER AND STAKE PRESIDENT!!” I kept my cool but sternly said, “In church when you are at the pulpit you have my full support. But this is MY program, and this field is MY church today. So either you get on and get with the program…or you get on and go home. Your choice.” He backed down.

Amazingly I was never released. I think the main reason was because I put on the most spectacular, well organized, sports program that that stake had ever seen before.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/04/2017 08:01PM by steve benson.

Jaxson's story reminds me of when I used to Umpire softball.

This particular incident was in Maryland about 1974. I was a ASA certified umpire and would also umpire church games. The Regional Tournament was going on and I was umping the young mens' tournament.

The game was played on a field that had no fence and a huge drop off into a small canyon in right field....so ground rules were if it went into the canyon in the air it was a home run...if it rolled into that canyon it was a ground rule double.

So during the game a ball was hit and it rolled into the canyon...thus ground rule double..I called it as such and positioned the runners on their appropriate bases. The next thing I knew, a guy, who I did not know came running around the field fence, from the stands and runs up to me arguing the call...he said it was a home run....all I told him was that he had ten seconds to get off the field or what ever team he was associated with would forfeit the game....his eyes got big as saucers and I just looked at my watch and said your time is almost up...he ran off the field. I next took up my umpire position near first base and the first base coach said to me:"If the Stake President can't argue a call with me then who could?" I informed him that a coach could....not some blow hard from the stands.

Local LDS leaders are are pretty much the same...

It erks me when LDS People question the sincerity of (paid) clergy, so I'll give the unpaid LDS the courtesy of my doubt here.

I had the misfortune of serving under a mission president that believed that I could do no right and that others could do no wrong. I was found guilty of continual rule breaking based on those damn weekly reports from companions before I answered a single question. I was never worthy and thus declared a grand failure to HF.

The worst was a bishop in a rural Utah town. My now ex and me were having difficulties regarding tscc and other issues. I spoke candidly with him and sought his advice. Told me I was a POS. No spiritual or emotional help. Left his office. He called my ex and told her our entire conversation. That helped. Yeah. Boy, howdy.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/05/2017 08:22AM by incognitotoday.

A bishop who was a seminary teacher. He wasn't just speaking "as a man". He of all people knows church doctrine and tried to make me feel guilty when I had valid reasons about a certain issue.

I read these stories and cringe. I hope he suffers his own pain and if I found him crying for help, I'd walk by and ignore his wailing.

I guess I'd have to advise people to never go for mormon interviews unless they're in the best of health and are feeling emotionally strong enough to put up with being demeaned and jabbed with a devils pitchfork.

Our bishop, who was chosen for his job as bishop due solely to his association with the billionaire Howard Hughes. (H.H. built the all-wood 'Spruce Goose'.)

As a bishop, this man was a complete dope. Later, we found out his job was to keep H.H. supplied with Kleenex, the boxes of which were used by H. as slippers (as H. knew they were clean and germ free.)

H. was a germ-a-phobic.

The worst part of this bishop's job was taking care to see H. was well supplied with jars in which he could pee. These jars were kept along a wall in the house (not to be thrown out).

Some may remember H. was once found walking along a dirt(?) road from Los Vegas.

Poor guy (H)---all that money and all those brains, but his quirks interfered with his genius.

Yes, I remember all the times Jesus berated his followers for not
wearing fancy-enough outfits.

During a stake conference, the 1st counselor in the stake presidency got up and spoke and said: " I declare from the pulpit this day, that the word,"suck" is a swear word", and that he hadn't better hear anyone in the congregation use that word ever again. Sometime later, the stake prez spoke and put that counselor in his place in front of everyone. He turned and looked at his 1st counselor and said that he realized that the 1st counselor is a "bean counter", but that he needs to be a humble bean counter.

The look on that 1st Councillor's face musta been priceless.

Great story.

I guess that the discussion of vacuum cleaners would be verboten. Hoovers do indeed suck. Lol

Such a hard question because there were so damned many idiots that let their tiny "powers" go to their heads.

I never got past a bishop. Most of those guys were so bad that I hated the office. We moved a lot, and we had a lot of bishops. The ones in the east were generally much nicer than the western asshats. It was when we moved from Pennsylvania to Oregon that I first encountered a bishop who wanted to talk about my penis. It was a disgusting experience. Just foul.

My priests quorum adviser. Uber (self) righteous TBM RM/high school French teacher (did his mission in Paris and never passed up a chance to brag that up) who didn't think us hormone fueled delinquents paid him the required amount of respect (respect is earned....he came up short)...so he up and quit in the middle of a lesson and walked out in a rage. That was a GOOD day.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/07/2017 06:12PM by Lethbridge Reprobate.

I had four (count them--4) extreme asshole bishops. They each had their asshole specialty, it would be hard to say which one was the worst leader I knew personally.

If that SP had said what he said to you to my dad, my dad would've punched out his lights.

That was how men in his generation settled scores. Take him outside on the church lawn and kick his arse.

Dad was a fifth generation Mormon. For him that wasn't a deterrent. In WWII he was a military policeman who had to break up bar room brawls. What's ironic about that is he was most likely in a few of his own.

My point is, if/when the SP says anything disrespectful to you again, without punching him out, tell the bleeper off! He sounds like a total jerk.

Two bishops:

The first was the bishop who conducted the annual birthday worthiness interviews, starting when I was 13 years old. He was a lawyer and used to intimidating witnesses on the stand. He did the same to the nervous teens in his office. Although I was a good kid I always felt like an evil sinner when I left his office. He scared the crap out of everyone he interviewed. What a self obsessed jerk he was.

The second was another jerk of a bishop. He treated me very unfairly and later apologized. He's one of the reasons I finally walked away from the cult. I guess I should be grateful to him.

I was a very sincere, eager-to-do-the-job convert. I was called as a teacher in RS. I made a point of taking the material in the manual and then adding stuff to it from other sources. They might have been Gandhi, Corrie ten Boom, Louisa May Alcott - they were all over the place. I figured that if a person worthy of literary or cultural note said something that complemented the week's RS lesson, why not add it to the material? This was generally received with enthusiasm. I was surprised that many of the deeply religious, BIC Mormon ladies did not seem very well-read. One lady had no idea who Gandhi was.

After giving what I thought was a well-prepared lesson, which had taken me hours to research and prepare (using some of DH's LDS books from his mission time, as well as my own resources, none of which pertained to Mormonism, but were quote-worthy), I was gratified that many of the sisters seemed to thoroughly enjoy the lesson, and thanked me for doing it.

The RS Prez called me a few days later and asked me how I thought the lesson went. Still basking in the praise from the sisters who had enjoyed the lesson, I replied that my lesson had gotten the sisters to talk in focus groups, to formulate questions, and to think.

She said icily, "They aren't there to talk. They aren't there to question. They aren't there to think. They are there to learn correct doctrine."

Silly me. I thought I WAS teaching correct doctrine - just spiffing it up with additional material.

I called the bishop a few days later and told him I would not be teaching any more in RS. About that time, I found RfM. That experience lit up the EXIT sign for me.

A counselor in a stake presidency when I was a kid, about thirteen, grilled me excessively about masturbation. My parents had previously told me to always answer no to any question about masturbation and to say that I couldn't discuss it further without one of my parents present. I answered no to his initial question, and probably without much anxiety, as I was a relatively good liar as a kid. He wasn't willing to let it go. He then felt he had to demonstrate what he meant (without actually taking his organ out), then said "You've done THAT. I KNOW you have." I kept saying no and shaking my head. I asked if I needed to get my dad. That seemed to make him really angry. He wouldn't let it go, and at one point he said, "I'm not letting you out of this office until you admit to me what you have done." I just sat there for while, then got up to leave. He blocked my way. I told him I would scream if he didn't let me out. He wisely let me leave, but my temple recommend (for baptisms) wasn't signed.

My dad was the president of the local mission at the time, and he was waiting outside the office for me. I didn't tell him about it until we got almost home. He called the stake president's office and the counselor's house, but didn't get an answer. Later that evening, my dad reached the stake president. I don't know what was said, but the stake president signed my recommend without an interview.

This was the same stake presidency counselor who, years earlier, also as a stake president;s counselor but in a different stake in the same general area, asked my nanny who was then fifteen if she was a lesbian. She wasn't, but at that point in her life she was prepubescent and many years away from sexual activity of any variety. What he knew but my nanny didn't know at the time was that her much older sister was reportedly in a scandalous lesbian relationship with the daughter of a member of the stake high council. My nanny didn't live in the same home as her older sister and barely saw her. Her sister wasn't a member of the LDS church. Because they were sisters, however, the old geezer thought it was a fair question. My nanny wasn't that bothered by the question until the group from her ward was riding back to their city following the interview, and compared questions. The others all stifled giggles and snickers when she brought up the lesbian question. It was probably common knowledge among the other kids that the relationship was at least rumored (I'm not sure the rumor was ever confirmed) to everyone who knew them other than my nanny. This was in the early 80's, when such relationships were not accepted.

I'm not sure what it was about the creepy counselor, as not one
but TWO stake presidents thought he was a fitting counselor in their presidencies. So much for their powers of discernment.

In retrospect I'm really glad I waited to tell my dad about my interview with the creep, as my dad might have decked him. However much the jerk might have deserved it, violence is rarely a good thing, and the reason for it would eventually have leaked out and caused me embarrassment.

Rolled Tacos On a Sunday just told me a story about a coworker of his whose Bishop told him that his mother was a whore. He responded by punching the Bishop out in his own office. How's that for a faith promoting story?

funeral taters Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Rolled Tacos On a Sunday just told me a story
> about a coworker of his whose Bishop told him that
> his mother was a whore. He responded by punching
> the Bishop out in his own office. How's that for
> a faith promoting story?

It promoted my faith in humanity.

Hell yeah, now that is righteous wrath!

I briefly met the Hinckster, I tipped him off about my roommate who discovered "negro blood" after getting the PH, was allowed to keep it.

I'll always believe that info was a major factor in the '78 change.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/08/2017 09:26PM by GNPE.

Several bishops were horrible. One bishop was having an emotional affair with the RS president and she was a cold hearted, mean-spirited sociopath. She was jealous of me and made my life a living hell. So this bishop was vindictive and hateful towards me. I left the cult for four years. When she moved to Utah and he was gone, I returned. I think I was suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. Nine more years of abuse from others hit my limit. Other rotten, two-faced, phony bishops created a terrible environment in the wards. For example, one bishop manipulated me to take on a 4th calling by saying, that if I did, I would be blessed with a husband. Since I had no desire to get married, I told him no. Wow, the guilt trip he put me on was crazy. Meanwhile his only son (17 years old) committed fornication and a baby resulted. They moved. So glad to be out and finished with the abuse.

The experience that damaged my shelf the most was with Hugh W Pinnock.

I guess i need to clarify the definition of 'knew personally' as in this instance he came to our mission and spoke to us all, and i ended up speaking with him after.

He took the stand and his talk was about as delightful as a Nazi seminar on ways to make death slower.

1. We should NEVER use the word 'kids'. Kids are baby goats, we must always use the word children. If we don't we're being disrespectful and lose the spirit. This started me off wrong as i'd already noted the large US bias in LDS decision on what is acceptable and not acceptable (In the UK Hell is not cuss word neither is Damn).


2. Pressure your investigators more to feel the spirit - Use the 'Feel, Felt, Found' technique to resolve concerns. I'd held a job in sales prior to my mission and had come across this technique before. I knew it was a sales technique and the idea of a messenger from God needing to use a sales technique didn't quite sit right, it felt manipulative.

3. Use the alternative close - don't ask them if you can meet with them, give them two dates and ask them which of the two is more convenient. As above this is a sales technique.

4. Why the country we were in is going to pot. He began a big talk on everything wrong with the nation from the people, the political system, the economy, the lack of faith, the educational system, the morals. He lectured us about how we had to save the nation from itself because without us it was doomed. He was very negative about the place, summed it up as a pit of despair.

5. He opened his scriptures to show how marked up they were and explained, one day, if you study, your scriptures could look like this. Mine already did, in fact i'd taken a copy the BOM to pieces with scissors to study it and then pasted in post it notes, references, sections of historical relevance, and it looked like a colouring book so by contrast, mine was more written up than his, but i found his tone very patronising. What does marking up prove - i knew it concluded nothing.

he opened for questions and then i asked him, if he felt using sales techniques was appropriate for missionaries. He had me stand up and then lectured me about judging him - how i was taking the wrong stand and had no right to judge his motives. This in a half mission conference.

near two years later he spoke in my stake in the same country. I was home with another RM from that mission who'd been in that conference. Pinnock gave a talk to the stake about how wonderful this nation was, and after, people gathered around him as Mo's do to praise him. My RM buddy and i looked at each other aware of the stark contrast between the talk he was giving to members praising this great nation as a wonderful place, and the lecture we'd received about the country in that conference.

We both approached him and asked him directly, "Elder Pinnock, do you recall conference X when you said...."

He looked mighty embarrassed and denied ever saying any of those things. By this point our shelves were already getting some weight. He just came across as totally puffed up, willing to manipulate the public, and be two faced with completely different messages to different cuts of the same audience.

I learned later he was involved in the Mark Hoffman mess.

Overall, he single handedly created the worst impression of a GA i've ever seen.

Elder Bednar.

He is two faced. He was very polite and nice to my face. He graced the table in my home and told me all sorts of nice things about women and how the GA's would really like to give more praise and power to women, especially single women. Then he turned around and refused promotions, jobs, and authority to women at work while he was at Ricks College. In fact, he wouldn't even include women in meetings unless absolutely necessary. He is a Hypocrite to the max! He's a real snake. How he can rationalize to himself that his job as a GA is doing good baffles me. Well, not really. He has such a bloated ego and such an entrenched belief that women are to be ruled over by men that the only place he truly belongs is within Mormonism. It's probably better that he's in a church that everyone knows is a joke than out in the real world where he would set back higher education/business by a century.

His Sunday "surprise" visits to the dorms at Ricks are infamous. He seemed to think he was so special that common courtesy was not required in his exalted state. Can you imagine any other person of note showing up at your front door, expecting to be invited in, and then shaming you if you were under dressed or not attired in Sunday dress? He needs some elementary lessons in manners and etiquette above all else.

We proudly took our precious tbm 2nd daughter up to BYU-I the summer of 2002! First daughter had already graduated BYU Provo, (son went on a mission) at the parent meeting at BYU-I, Bednar was introduced as the new Univ Pres. In his talk he chastised the tbm Mothers in the room with calf-length Capris on... told us to change and never wear them on campus again AND to take any calf-length Capris or overalls our daughters might have in their suitcases home with us as they were not allowed on campus. They were standard dress for our eldest daughter at BYU - Provo...Bednar acknowledge this, but told us on HIS campus the rules were determined by him.

Just another pile on the shelf!

I cannot tell you how sick we were to hear this arrogant ass was made a GA. He's young... has a good chance of out living the other 14 GA's...should he become prophet by default the Church is doomed!

BTW 2017...both daughters BYU Grads - OUT, RM Son - OUT, and this year BIC Mom _ OUT!

outtahere@age66 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> should he (Bednar) become prophet by default the
> Church is doomed!

You say this like it would be a bad thing! ;-)

sharapata Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> outtahere@age66 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > should he (Bednar) become prophet by default
> the
> > Church is doomed!
>
> You say this like it would be a bad thing! ;-)

Exactly! I hope he DOES become "prophet." I would enjoy seeing someone like him being the public face of Mormonism.