For many Latter-day Saints struggling with scrupulosity, one of the most distressing questions they face is: Do I need to confess this to my bishop?
Perhaps you remembered something you did years ago and suddenly wondered whether you had repented sufficiently. Maybe you had an unwanted sexual thought and worried that it violated the law of chastity. Or perhaps you already discussed something with your bishop, but now you're concerned that you left out an important detail.
These concerns can feel incredibly urgent. You might believe that unless you confess, you're being dishonest, jeopardizing your temple worthiness, or preventing yourself from being fully forgiven.
But for people with religious OCD, the urge to confess is often not about repentance at all. It's a compulsion designed to relieve anxiety and eliminate uncertainty. Understanding the difference between genuine repentance and compulsive confession is an important part of recovering from scrupulosity.
What Are Confession Compulsions?
Scrupulosity is a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in which someone experiences excessive fears about sin, morality, worthiness, or their relationship with God. One common compulsion involves repeatedly confessing perceived sins to a bishop, spouse, parent, or another trusted person. These confessions may involve relatively minor mistakes, intrusive thoughts, events from the distant past, or even things the person isn't sure actually happened.
For example, someone might:
Repeatedly contact their bishop to clarify details of a previous confession.
Confess unwanted thoughts because they worry that having the thought means they secretly wanted it.
Review past experiences, searching for something they might have forgotten to confess.
Ask their bishop, spouse, or parents for reassurance that they haven't committed a serious sin.
Feel compelled to confess something again because the original confession didn't feel sufficiently complete or sincere.
The problem is that confession often provides only temporary relief. Soon, another doubt appears: What if I didn't explain it correctly? What if the bishop misunderstood? What if I left something out?
And the cycle begins again.
What Does the Church Handbook Actually Say About Confession?
One of the most helpful things for Latter-day Saints with scrupulosity to understand is that the Church does not require members to confess every mistake or perceived sin to their bishop.
In fact, the General Handbook makes an important distinction between repentance that takes place personally and repentance that requires priesthood leadership involvement.
Section 32.5 explains: "Most repentance takes place between an individual, God, and those who have been affected by a person's sins."
Section 32.4.1 further explains that members who commit serious sins should confess them to their bishop or stake president.
This means that while repentance is an important gospel principle, confession to a bishop is not required for every sin, mistake, unwanted thought, or moment of imperfection. On the contrary, most sins can be resolved without assistance directly through prayer.
What Counts as a Serious Sin?
Section 32.6 of the General Handbook defines serious sins as a "deliberate and major offense against the laws of God."
The Handbook identifies several broad categories:
Violent acts and abuse, including serious violence and abuse of others.
Sexual immorality, including serious violations of the law of chastity.
Fraudulent acts, including serious financial dishonesty.
Violations of trust, particularly serious misconduct involving positions of responsibility.
Other serious acts, including certain serious criminal offenses.
The Handbook provides additional guidance about specific behaviors within these categories and the circumstances under which Church membership councils may be necessary. Importantly, not every sin requires a membership council, and the requirement to confess a serious sin is distinct from whether a council is necessary. For someone with scrupulosity, the distinction between a deliberate, serious transgression and an unwanted thought, ordinary mistake, or imagined possibility is especially important. OCD frequently takes something that is not a serious transgression and constructs a frightening story about why it might be one.
How OCD Creates Doubt About Whether You Need to Confess
In Inference-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (I-CBT), we focus on how OCD creates doubt by moving away from observable reality and into imagined possibilities. For example, someone might remember an interaction with a person they found attractive. The observable reality is straightforward: They had a conversation.
But OCD introduces another possibility: What if I was flirting? What if I secretly had inappropriate intentions? What if that means I violated my covenants? Suddenly, an ordinary interaction becomes the subject of hours of mental investigation. The person may begin reviewing the conversation, analyzing their intentions, or seeking reassurance from their bishop.
The problem isn't that they have discovered evidence of serious wrongdoing. It's that OCD has convinced them to treat an imagined possibility as though it deserves investigation. The mere possibility that something could have been sinful is not evidence that a serious sin occurred.
How Can You Stop Compulsive Confessing?
Overcoming confession compulsions doesn't require abandoning your religious beliefs or disregarding genuine responsibilities. Instead, treatment helps you recognize when OCD is creating a false problem and resist the urge to resolve it through compulsive behavior.
A few important strategies include:
1. Recognize obsessional doubt. Notice when your concern begins with "What if?" rather than with something you actually know happened.
2. Stop reviewing the evidence repeatedly. Mentally replaying conversations, examining your intentions, or searching your memory for forgotten details usually strengthens OCD rather than producing clarity.
3. Resist reassurance-seeking. Repeatedly asking whether something needs to be confessed can become another form of the compulsion, even when the reassurance comes from a trusted Church leader.
4. Work collaboratively with your bishop when appropriate. A bishop who understands scrupulosity can provide meaningful spiritual support without repeatedly answering the same OCD-driven questions. Establishing appropriate boundaries around confession and reassurance can be particularly helpful.
5. Seek evidence-based OCD treatment. Both Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) and I-CBT can help people address confession compulsions. I-CBT specifically helps individuals recognize how OCD creates doubt and learn to trust ordinary reasoning rather than imagined possibilities.
You Can Take Repentance Seriously Without Taking OCD Seriously
One of the most difficult aspects of scrupulosity is that resisting a compulsion can initially feel like neglecting a spiritual responsibility. But genuine repentance and OCD compulsions are not the same thing. Repentance is intended to help us change, grow, and draw closer to Jesus Christ. Compulsive confession, on the other hand, keeps people trapped in cycles of fear, doubt, and temporary reassurance.
You don't have to choose between faithfully living your religion and recovering from OCD.
At Mountain Home Center for Religious and Moral OCD, we specialize in helping Latter-day Saints recognize these patterns and develop a healthier relationship with their faith through evidence-based treatment, including I-CBT.
Recovery means learning that you can take your covenants seriously without allowing OCD to dictate how you live them.
