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I committed some sexual sins twice in the past couple weeks. I won't go into detail, I'll only say this much: it wasn't sex itself. However, I already know what I need to do. I've been begging Heavenly Father for forgiveness and I'm going to go to my bishop and ask what I need to do to repent fully of my sins. The advice I'm looking for is first of all, what to say. I've never had to go to my bishop about something like this and I don't know what to say to him. How do I start that conversation? Secondly, I'm wondering if its necessary for me to tell my bishop who the guy is that I committed these sins with. He's in my ward and I know there's a good chance he won't go to the bishop himself. He isn't that kind of person. He's a bit of a player and I think he does this quite a bit with girls. However, he's my good friend and I don't want him to.... I guess get in trouble? Do I tell my bishop who he is or no? Any help would be much appreciated. I'm ready to get this sin out of my life so that I can let the full power of the gospel work its beauty in my life again.

When I was younger I considered myself an atheist. Throughout most of high school, I denied the existence of God. And then I started praying. If you pray with an honestly open heart asking for guidance to the truth, God will help you. He did that for me. I was instantly overcome by this amazing feeling, like a warmth or burning in my chest. I could hardly breathe and it was literally the best feeling I have ever had. I actually have this feeling now, as I type. I know this is God. There is no way I can give you physical evidence. I just know. You have to find that knowledge for yourself. And once you've found it, you can share that with your husband. God bless the both of you, and I hope that you'll soon be guided to the answers to your question. :)

I was talking to some missionaries today and we got on the subject of chastity. I was raped five years ago by four men who grabbed me when I was out jogging. I was wearing something completely modest (sweatpants that were not tight fitting and a baggy t shirt) and I fought my hardest, but did not manage to keep them off. I didn't tell the missionaries this, but asked what they think about rape victims. One proceeded to tell me that rape did not exist. The other said that it was always the fault of the rape victim and that they must beg our Heavenly Father for forgiveness, but will never be able to repent fully and would most likely go to hell anyway. They said that rape victims have to take responsibility for what they've done. I just wanted to know how to feel about this. Do all Mormons feel this way? Am I disgusting and dirty because of this? Will other Mormons always chastise me for this and believe I am impure?

Thank you all so much! I read all of the things that you posted and started the conversation with my mom and so far she's taking it well. Initially she was extremely angry, but now I've got her thinking that it will be good for me. Thank you all!

Hi there all! I'm new here, but have a very important question that (I feel) needs addressing ASAP. First, a little background on me. I come from a family who has never attended church, except on some Easters with my grandmother, and then it wasn't LDS churches. I discovered the church a while ago through my closest friend and have recently been reading the scriptures and praying quite a bit. I would really like to be baptized because I know that the church is true. The problem here is that my parents believe that Mormonism is the occult. I'm afraid that if I do decide to get baptized, they'll kick me out and won't pay for school anymore (I'm 18 and in college), but I can't just ignore my faith. My mother doesn't seem like she'll ever accept the LDS church because she is black (my dad is white, and so am I) and she has very strong prejudices against anything that she feels has ever excluded her or disliked her based on the color of her skin. I can understand that, but I also feel like every church has made mistakes and has skeletons in it's closet. It doesn't mean that the religion is wrong, just that the church made a mistake. It happens. We're human, no matter how hard we try to be like Jesus Christ. I would seriously appreciate some advice on what to do. I have no job and no money and rely on my parents completely when it comes to financial things. Thank you sooo much in advance for any help you can give me!