Mormon411: Name Removal, Update 3

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Name Removal, Update 3 - It Is Official

I am no longer a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I received official confirmation in the mail yesterday.

Other than the two-month wait and the unexpected visit from the local bishop (both of which I specifically requested in my resignation letter not to happen), the resignation process really wasn't that bad.

I was an official member of the LDS church for just months shy of 30 years.

I feel like partying! Like breaking 50 of the 101 Mormon commandments!

http://www.mormonresignation.com/

9 comments:

Brad said...: Reading about you getting your letter reminded me of what it was like for me. Before I submitted my resignation letter I didn't go to church, only on occasion when my kids were doing some activity. A lot of the members knew me and treaty me nicely. Some of them I knew at work and we would say hello when we passed in the hall or maybe stop for a small chit chat about this or that. All of that changed soon after the bishop came to my door and handed me the letter saying that I was out. The members no longer acknowledged me in the halls, didn't wave if I happen to see them out in the street. It took several years before they started to act as they have before. Obviously something was said by the bishop, contrary to my request to keep this in confidence. The whole thing was interesting to watch. One day their friendly, the next I don't exist. I was still the same person.

Again, I congratulate you on your journey out! My life has been the better for it.; January 23, 2014 at 8:59 AM
Mormon411 said...: Wow, Brad, I'm sorry to hear that, but am not surprised. I stopped going to church while living in a different ward and since moving, have never been to church once in the ward I now reside. Somehow my records found their way here; strange how that happens.

Anyway, I don't know a single person in this ward so at least they won't openly judge me like that (kind of strange how the spirit somehow neglects to tell them they are in the presence of an evil apostate. They rely on rumors and gossip to get all their info).

This kind of behavior is only further evidence that we have both made the right decision to get out. If they can't continue to be friendly to a person simply because that person has changed their beliefs, then that shows the church for what it really does to people.

What was that phrase they love to quote? Something about "by their fruits"...; January 23, 2014 at 9:21 AM
Anonymous said...: Good for you.; January 23, 2014 at 11:19 AM
Heather said...: Wow! Congrats!!!!!!!!!!!

I left the church mentally at 30. I was 32 when I got the letter. And damn- you seem much more mature than you are age wise. Are you really only 29?

I had similar experiences like Brad. As soon as we left officially all of those "friends" were strangers. I had one lady see me in the grocery store aisle and blatantly turn and walk the other way. Such a jesus-y thing to do.

Now Mormon411- off to celebrate a free life!; January 24, 2014 at 2:59 PM
Mormon411 said...: Take 29 and add the 8 years before I was baptized; I'm 37. I was either 29 or 30 when I left the church mentally as well. Part of the reason I didn't have my name removed years ago was because my ex worked for the church and I didn't want to jeopardize her employment.; January 26, 2014 at 9:52 PM
Heather said...: Of course! 8. The "magical" official number. How could I forget? Maybe thats a good sign that I'm moving on. My 3rd daughter turns 8 soon- and it hasn't even occurred to me she's baptismal age.

I had no idea your ex worked for the church. Maybe you've posted that before. I have even more respect for your honesty and determination to live more authentically.; January 27, 2014 at 8:28 AM
Mormon411 said...: I dreaded when my oldest was approaching 8. I knew they would pressure us to baptize him. I told them he could meet with the missionaries and go to church, if he wanted to, but that he would not be getting baptized until he is old enough to make that decision on his own. He is now leaning toward my views, which I am glad about, but ultimately, I want him to make whatever decision is right for him.

No, I've never posted before that she worked for the church. I kept that private to protect both of us. Now that she lives out of state and no longer works for them, I don't see the harm in sharing.

What can they do now? Excommunicate me?!?! HAHAHA!!; January 28, 2014 at 1:08 AM
senigami said...: Congratulations Mormon411; February 2, 2014 at 2:50 PM
Mormon411 said...: Thanks! It's nice knowing that I'm officially out, but also life is pretty much the same.. No better, no worse.; February 3, 2014 at 7:18 AM

Quotes & Thoughts

New Rule: Churches don't get to offer their commentary on political matters until they start paying taxes!
"...reading the Bible is what has made me an Atheist." ~ The Citizen Atheist
Faith is just gullibility. ~ The Atheist Experience
Don't teach creationism in my school and I won't preach evolution in your church!
In your fiction book, your fiction god did a fiction miracle and that's all the proof you need!
"It's called FAITH because it is not KNOWLEDGE" ~ Christopher Hitchens
"...faith, by definition, is believing in things without evidence and, personally, I don't do that because I'm not an idiot." ~Kate Smurthwaite
"If you could reason with religious people, there would be no religious people." ~House
"Developing a critical mind and having your own view of the world takes education, reflection and time. Having faith is much easier. People prefer to be deceived." ~Michael Shermer
"It's hard to free fools from the chains they revere." ~ Voltaire
"Just because you don't understand something, it doesn't mean it's wrong." Arthur, Sword in the Stone
A diety who remains silent and invisible should not be angry or surprised when its existance is doubted.
Intelligent Design: Because it's so much easier to just invent an answer.
99% of people who DENY evolution can't even DEFINE it!
If money is the root of all evil, why do churches want it?
The Bible was written by the same people who said the earth was flat.
When you don't see the truth, it's easy to accept the illusion.
What most anti-evolution supporters don’t realize is that to nearly anyone educated in biological sciences, an anti-evolution world view today is almost equal to holding a position that the Earth is flat, and the sun revolves around the Earth.
There once was a time when all people believed in God and the church ruled. This time was called the Dark Ages.
"Does religion work? It brings some of us solace, impels some to do good (and others to fly planes into buildings), and buttresses the same moral truths embraced by atheists, but does it help us better understand our world or our universe? Hardly." ~ USA Today
Mormonism is enforced religion.
"What's so merciful about a god who punishes Adam and Eve and all of their descendants over a stupid piece of fruit?" ~ Khalid Thalib
"If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for a reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed" ~ Albert Einstein
Isn't it ironic that both you and your god hate the same things?
"Santa Claus never asked for 10% and I still got everything I wanted. And I wasn't good all the time either. I paid the Mormon church 10% and got zip." ~ Let Go
"For god was such a cowardly chicken shit, that he had to send someone else to do the hard stuff." Mormon411
"The good thing about Atheists is they wont knock on your door and they wont blow you up!" ~ Bumper Sticker
"I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours." ~ Stephen Roberts
"You believe in a book that has talking animals, wizards, witches, demons, sticks turning into snakes, food falling from the sky, people walking on water, and all sorts of magical, absurd and primitive stories, and you say that we are the ones that need help?" ~ Dan Barker, Losing Faith in Faith
"Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet." ~ Napoleon Bonaparte
"Philosophy is questions that may never be answered. Religion is answers that may never be questioned." ~ Unknown
"To the simple mind everything can be explained with one three letter word." ~ Michael Pain
"The government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion." ~John Adams, 2nd President of the United States
A watered down long island iced tea: $7.00. A lap dance from your favorite girl: $20.00. Feeling absolutely no guilt for any of it: Priceless!
"I have a hard time with historians, because historians idolize the truth." ~ Boyd K. Packer
"...if God told us to brush our teeth with mud I would do it." ~ Anon TBM
Some of you are probably thinking, "Why don't you just leave them (the Mormons) alone?" So I ask you, if you saw a thirsty man drinking water from a well you knew to be poisoned, would you let him continue to drink or would you guide him to a safe well? ~ Christopher Miller
"Just as you can always tell sea water because it tastes salty, you can always recognize enlightenment because it tastes like freedom." ~ The Buddah
"What have I got to lose? My family? No. They are already gone. They were gone as soon as I was gone from their "family oriented" church." ~ ex-Mormon
"He (Joseph Smith) may get drunk every day of his life, sleep with his neighbor's wife every night, run horses and gamble... but the doctrine he has produced will save you and me and the whole world." ~ Will Jarvis
"My most painful Mormon experience was learning that having faith in something does not necessarily make it true." ~ Anon
"The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction." ~Richard Dawkins
"If a faith will not bear to be investigated; if its preachers and professors are afraid to have it examined, their foundation must be very weak." ~George Albert Smith
Prayer: How to do nothing and still think you're helping.
"Being an atheist means you've been able to see through the social pressure, black balling, guilt trips, propaganda, threats against your eternal soul, etc. and be a rational person in an otherwise irrational age. We think that's something to be proud of." ~The Arrogant Atheist
"Every member a missionary? Every member a revenue generator" ~Brian, ex-Mormon
"I love god. He's so deliciously evil!" ~Stewie Griffin
"We met in a little place called the MTC... If you don't know what the MTC is, then you're not cool." ~April Fenn, LDS church member
"This is our most devastating problem... retention." ~Sister "Nana" Barker, LDS Missionary
"Each of us has to face the matter—either the Church is true, or it is a fraud. There is no middle ground. It is the Church and kingdom of God, or it is nothing." ~Gordon B. Hinckley
What's the difference between a teenager and a Mormon? Eventually the teenager will realize that he doesn't know everything.
"How we treat others is a measure of what we think of ourselves" ~Sharon Bower
Atheists have morals too.
If complexity necessitates a creator, wouldn't our creator also need a creator?
Santa Clause is to children as Jesus Christ is to adults.
"If you are truly searching for the truth, then you must be prepared to admit that you don't already have it." ~Myself as a former LDS missionary
"It's impossible to reach good conclusions with bad information...We're all entitled to our own opinions, but none of us can afford to be wrong in our facts." ~Mort Crim
"...it's not a lie if you believe it." ~George Castanza