u/LamanitaMx

Throughout my life in the church, I saw countless young couples who seemed incapable of doing anything wrong in public—I have five sisters myself.

I have to be honest and admit that when I was dating my ex-wife, she was a virgin and I wasn't; however, we engaged in a lot of oral sex, and she once asked me to do it anally. That made me think about how many couples probably believe anal sex doesn't count as breaking the rules, and so on...

So, I’m curious to know if the majority of couples married in the Temple actually arrive there chaste, or if every temple on earth would need to be rededicated...

Confess now (take advantage of the anonymity), and your sins will be forgiven by the authority conferred upon me by my patriarchal blessing. (Hey, that blessing would be the perfect excuse to start a new sect based on Mormonism... let's just hope Shane Baldwin doesn't read this idea.)

I'll start:

"Before our Lord returns, you were chosen so that through you, the gospel would be made known to many nations!

I preached in only one country and in a single language, and I do not know any other countries.

And here I am, doing the exact opposite!

I was taught from childhood that single mothers were sinners who didn't want to repent… I have five sisters, all of them Mormons, and one day my oldest sister became pregnant with my oldest niece. I was a huge fan of my sister; she seemed like one of the most loving people I'd ever known.

One of those days when an answer suddenly dawns on you, I thought: how come my sister doesn't seem like the worst woman in the world to me for giving in to “temptation”? From that moment on, I stopped judging single mothers, who, besides their “misfortune,” still carry the prejudices of strangers.

I remember when I finished reading the Book of Mormon for the first time—back when I was in Seminary—and my teacher (who was my aunt) told us that the Hill Cumorah (where the great war between the Lamanites and Nephites ended, where hundreds of thousands of warriors died, and where Moroni was the sole survivor) was the same hill where Joseph Smith had unearthed the plates, and that the Church owned the hill. I said: "Wait a minute... why don't they excavate the hill and find evidence of the book?" My teacher was sharp, and I don't recall what she answered... but my life as a Mormon went on for another 20 years without a hitch. Like a meme that says: Nobody cares! Who wants to eat something?

Do you have any moments like that in your life?

I was taught from childhood that single mothers were sinners who didn't want to repent… I have five sisters, all of them LDS, and one day my oldest sister became pregnant with my oldest niece. I was a huge fan of my sister; she seemed like one of the most loving people I'd ever known.

One of those days when an answer suddenly dawns on you, I thought: how come my sister doesn't seem like the worst woman in the world to me for giving in to “temptation”? From that moment on, I stopped judging single mothers, who, besides their “misfortune,” still carry the prejudices of strangers.

What is the most extreme case of a "wolf in sheep's clothing" you’ve ever seen (first-hand) in the church?

I met a Patriarch on my mission who lived in a mansion because, as it turned out, he had been a drug trafficker before converting to the church. I had heard about him and hadn't believed the stories were true, but when I met him, he kept telling me about his favorite sins—including tales of smuggling. Since we were from the same region of the country, I suppose that made him feel comfortable enough to open up to me, but he overlooked the fact that I didn't subscribe to that kind of culture.

What about you?

When I was a teenager, the Church tried to introduce "Pioneer Day" in Latin America, as well as "Sweet 16" celebrations to replace the traditional *quinceañera* (which has a history spanning 200–300 years). Fortunately, both attempts failed.

The first time I entered the temple, I was 18—a young, virgin devotee—just a year before leaving for my mission. An aunt had already warned me many times about what to expect during the temple ceremony—presumably to justify any doctrinal anomalies—but when the moment came for the narrator to say, "This is the true way of prayer," I thought: "Wait a minute... if we already know the true way of prayer, why do we pray the 'false' way every day?"

What was your experience? If you had one, that is.

Let's share memorable mission experiences. Today, the topic is quirks or culture clashes between you and your companions!

I'll start with one.

I was assigned to train a missionary fresh out of the MTC who looked a lot like Milhouse from *The Simpsons*, but with black hair.

This missionary didn't use deodorant, and we were in a very hot area. One day—after about two months, when I couldn't stand the underarm odor anymore and noticed he wore the same clothes every day—I asked myself, "Does this guy not bathe?" I suggested he wear different colored trousers and a different tie because it *looked* like he wasn't bathing. He said, "Come here!" and showed me the clothes in his closet: he had seven identical white shirts, seven black ties, and seven pairs of black trousers—plus the same black socks—everything identical, one set for each day. That’s why it looked like he wasn't bathing. We spent a little over four months together, but I couldn't get him to use deodorant; I even gave him some as a birthday gift, but he never took the hint.