#hearLDSwomen: I Was Lectured for Telling My Bishop About My Temple Concerns

[image error]This feels small, but it had a significant impact on me. We were engaged, and I was scheduled for my stake president interview for my first temple recommend. I was excited and bubbling with enthusiasm. For some reason, my fiancé was in this interview with me. The stake president started out by asking what I knew about the endowment. I acknowledged I didn’t know much and excitedly began to ask him questions. He immediately cut me off. He was very stern and reprimanded me. He informed me that he was the one asking the questions, not me. I never spoke again the entire hour except to answer the temple recommend questions, and he directed most of the discussion to my fiancé.

– Anonymous

 

When I brought my concerns about the temple to my bishop, he spent an hour and a half lecturing me about not talking about the temple outside the temple. I was crushed. I went in for healing or at least compassion.

In that meeting, the bishop said his wife originally wanted to keep her name when they married. It was really, really important to her. She didn’t keep her name and now barely remembers that experience (according to him). He said to give it a few years and the temple won’t bother me anymore.

Way to invalidate your wife and me at the same time.

– Tessa

 

Pro Tip: When women come to you with concerns, listen. Believe them. Treat them as equals.

Click here to read all of the stories in our #hearLDSwomen series. Has anything like this happened to you? Please share in the comments or submit your experience(s) to participate in the series.

“If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.” (Mark 4:23)