From the time we're in kindergarten, Mormon boys know that when we turn 19, we'll serve a mission for the church somewhere in the big world. armed forces in the 1857 Utah War to protect this freedom. Other ancestors were martyred during the Mormons' 1,300-mile westward trek to 'Zion' in search of religious freedom. Like Mitt Romney, I have ancestors who fled to Mexico to practice polygamy after Utah outlawed it. My great-great-grandparents were among Utah's earliest Mormon pioneers. And every year, the same question threatened to consume me with shame.Įach time I lied, I plunged into a very Mormon kind of hell. Rumors would flood my neighborhood in Utah Valley. I’d be excluded from joining my family and friends in Temple rituals.
Everyone in my life would know if I failed. I grew up Mormon, and every year I endured a hair-raising interview to get my “temple recommend.” (Think of it like Mormon “security clearance.”) It was a firewalk in the guise of an annual interrogation.
