My bishop brought up how much help I got from the ward when I was homeless and how he wanted to spend time with me and how the sister missionaries wanted to play monopoly, to convince me to stay. I should have removed my name anyway. He brought up how many people visited me when I was lonely. I am always a pleaser and never stand my ground.

Hmmm... if you want to resign your membership you send a short letter/email to the bishop:
I resign my membership in the LDS Church as of this date. Send a confirmation when the process is completed.
Thank you.
Name, birth date, address/email

When they receive that, you are no longer a member.

You've done more than many by talking to the bishop.
You are under no obligation to talk to him or anyone asking for an interview, again. None.

So, when you are ready, you take care of business. It's not a contest so take your time, if you need to do that.

If the bishop tells you to go jump off a cliff will you do so?
Of course not.

If you want to leave Mormonism, stop talking to the bishop and the members.

It does not matter how many times they visited you or what they handed out - you do not owe anything to a cult.

Send your resignation directly to Salt Lake by registered mail.

Tell him:

"Exactly bishop, I am grateful for all the help but I don't want to feel indebted any more. The only reason I have not resigned is because I feel indebted. That's not the right reason to continue as a member. I no loner believe and I need resign for my own peace of mind."

If that works for you.

If they did not do the things they did for you with no strings attached, then they did it for the wrong reasons.

Kindness should never have strings attached and the pure in heart expect nothing in return. Non mormons help each other 'just because' all the time.

This is manipulative crap. You deserve better. Go ahead and resign.

Yes, this right here.

Always strings attached with mormons.

Won't they come over and play monopoly with you if you resign and aren't a mormon anymore?
Will they only visit you if you're a mormon?
Will they only like you if you are a mormon?
Are you allowed to be grateful for their help ONLY if you stay mormon?

Can't you be grateful and non mormon at the same time?
Can you visit them if you aren't mormon? Maybe drop off a few cookies even if you aren't on their membership list?
Or will your visit to them when they are lonely be discounted because you aren't a mormon?

Most important question.....
why do you want to be friends with people who have these strange expectations of you?

Be the Captain of your own life. :o)

Were your bishop's comments a threat that you wouldn't have any friends anymore, and that you would be lonely again? The sister missionaries won't play monopoly with you, unless you are a member of their church? This is crazy.

Well, come to think of it, I quit my three callings when I got very sick, and my bishop threatened me that I would get sicker.

Don't take these Mormon threats seriously. They are desperate to keep members, and will "guilt" you any way they can. Stay strong.

You will make more friends, in time, and non-Mormons make better friends, and they are better monopoly players.

I have a friend who plays monopoly at the local senior citizens center. The old people really look forward to it. She is doing a good deed, plus she is having fun doing it.

you can do it!

Oh yeah, blackmailing someone into staying in the church because you helped them in the past is a fine sign of Christian love. (sarcasm).

here is the e-mail address msr-confrec@ldschurch.org

Whenever you are ready you can do what YOU want. :) anytime of day any day of the week an e-mail can be send. Ohh what freedom.

"I am always a pleaser and never stand my ground."

It's never too late to change behaviors. This would be a great place to start.

Whatever help you received from the church should not be held over your head. That's not true charity; it's a guilt trip.

Walk away from the guilt. You will be fine.

+1

Relate to your bishop the story of the Good Samaratin. It tells of a man who was lying in the road, beaten, robbed and left to die. Men of two different faiths, one was the same faith as the victim, walked past and offered no assistance or concern. Then a passerby who was of a faith heavily at odds with the victim's faith stopped to help. The man of opposing faith even took the man home and gave him money to help him after the rescuer had to leave. There is no mention of the rescuer (ie. The Good Samaratin) trying to convert the victim to his own religion.

I would then ask your bishop if he and the missionaries would have refused to comfort and assist you when you were homeless if you had not been Mormon. If he responds that he would have treated you the same then let him know that you are pleased that he would feel that way and that you are thankful there will be no hard feelings about you wanting to resign from the Mormon faith. If there were, that would make him a hypocrite. If he says that it WOULD have made a difference in his actions had you not been a Mormon then let him know how grateful you are that you were helped but that a church with an attitude like that is not for you.

"I am always a pleaser and never stand my ground."

Well it looks like you have a great opportunity to change that! Just because you have been a pleaser and someone who hasn't stood their ground, doesn't mean that you have to keep doing that - you can your behaviour!

Change, at first, often feels strange and it can be difficult but it gets normal feeling and easy after some practice. So practice! :D

People here are on your side. Keep that in mind when dealing with the bishop - we got your back. If you want to resign/remove your name, bite the bullet and just do it. I bet you'll feel great if you do!