So I was talking to my friend who is a mormon and she never says anything negative to me when I express my complaints about the church..but I asked her who I would have to contact to get my records removed and she replied saying, "why would you want to?" Like why does it matter? And it was interesting to me because I don't exactly know why I want to. What are some of your reasons for getting them removed or not?

I was a non-denominational Christian before I was basically co-erced into joining the LDS Church. I never really believed in Joseph Smith or had a testimony of the Book of Mormon.

After three years of being "Mormon" (not active at all, not believing the crazy doctrines) I decided I'd like to officially go back to being non-denominational Christian.

I sent the letter to have my name removed and it went down without too much effort on my part. It was kind of funny because the ward bishop showed up after I sent in the letter, asking if he could talk to me about my decision to leave. I said no, you have my letter and my reasons are explained in it. He admitted he hadn't read it. I said "how awkard for you -- you haven't even read the letter you are here to discuss." I asked that he process it and shut the door.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/19/2015 12:06PM by rubi123.

You handled the situation well. Congratulations.

How rude to show up like that and to not read your letter!

I believe that a resignation makes it more clear that the person left for doctrinal or historical reasons, and not simply slinked away so they could 'sin'.

A large number of resignations also freak out the 15, so they start to over-react and get more extreme in their control methods, which is amusing to watch. Then their over-reaction starts to make others question more, and the death spiral for the church gets bigger.

Well, a couple of things...

First, you're not "removing your records". The church will always keep your name on file. (just like most businesses do, like a gym, when you quit them). You are resigning your membership. This is the official and legal term for it. Many members try to call it a "name removal", it's not, you aren't removing your name from anything, you are resigning.

A lot of people question why people resign, there are a lot of reasons to resign and reasons not to. All are valid and whatever a person chooses depends on what they want.

Reasons I've seen to resign:
- No longer wanting to be listed as an active participant with the church, seeing their membership as agreeing with their policies and practices. (This is one of the reasons why I resigned, I want it listed somewhere that I actively chose cancel my membership with an organization that does what the church does).
- Wanting to reduce unwanted visitors, be it missionaries, home teachers, visiting teachers, bishops, etc. (This was the main reason why I resigned, my wife and I popped up on a list as "inactive members" and we suddenly started getting cookies, notes and missionary visits, resigning put an end to that, well, pretty much)
- As a way to gain some control back in their life, some use resigning as a means to show that they are taking back control.
- As a means to get some closure on a chapter in their life.
- Use it as a chance to try and let some member of the church or even a family member know that they no longer have power over them.
- Some resign when it's discovered that they no longer believe and an "court of love" is scheduled, by resigning, they avoid an excommunication, which might be more public and bothersome.
- there are more, everyone has their own reasons.

Reasons for not resigning:
- Not wanting give the church the satisfaction.
- Realizing that resigning doesn't actually remove a person from the churches membership records (it just flags it as no longer a member, for example, I can still log on to the church's website with my old login, but if I check my account, it says "You've stated that you no longer want to be a member")
- To make things easier on family members.
- Just not wanting to deal with the hassle of it all.

If you decide that you wish resign, it's pretty simple. You can send an e-mail to HQ, they will say it's a local matter, redirect it to the local Bishop, who, depending on how much they like busy work will either process it, try to contact you to get you to come back, or down right pester you to try and get you to come back... or they will just ignore it, after 2 months time (aprox, less if you call HQ and tell them to go ahead with it) you'll get a letter saying "You're out, but we really, really miss your tithing money, if you want back in, just call us any time"

See the link below for details:
http://www.exmormon.org/remove.htm

I've been out about 30 years and have never done anything about my records. Every few years the missionaries will start calling the house wanting to come over. OR, they just drop by. So I have to EXPLAIN it to them all over again. If I would go ahead and remove my records, I suppose I'd be off that list.

On the other hand, it kind of feels good to tell young missionaries (as they stand outside - I don't let them in) that yes, I used to be a member, but when I was just about their age, I discovered that I really didn't believe in it and I could not, in good conscience, stay with a church I knew was untrue. It was a hard decision, but I had to do what I knew was the right thing. And I've had a very good and fulfilling life since making that decision.

Now I was very lucky and never suffered any harm by the church or its members. But if I had, I would think that formally resigning would be a good way to help find closure.

I asked to have my records removed but am not naive enough to actually believe an organization as corrupt, controlling and, in their own minds, beyond reproach as the LDS church would actually fulfill such a request from an apostate. BUT...I don't really give a shit if they did our not as they are zero threat to me.

Ron Burr

Don't bother.. they NEVER remove your records or take your name

off of their records. You just resign when you say you've

resigned and that's it. Its not against the law to leave a

church . A baptism is not a legally binding ceremony. You

are gone when you say you are gone. I left over ten years

ago and I've never been bothered.

I put a stop to my family turning my name and address in to local LDS INC. whenever they felt like it, for their own completely selfish and delusional reasons. (How would they like Scientologists coming to their homes with gifts and messages?)

If I could have chosen not to be baptized as a child, I would have. The church offers nothing worthwhile for females, or anyone for that matter, just a constant suction of money, time, and sanity.

my doorbell every month even though I told them not to. They did not want to ruin their %'s for their report every month. I did not want my descendants reading I was a mormon so resigning stopped all that for me.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/19/2015 06:41PM by mav.

"remove my records"

Good one! LOL! They never would.

Any ward clerks here? Kayla is 17.

You may need to wait until 18, Kayla.

(Funny how age 8 is the age of accountability to be baptized, but you can't get out until you're an adult...)

SLC will let your bishop/parents know what you're doing. Good luck!

Actually (legally) it's 18 in both cases. It's the parents (or legal guardian) that decide that 8 is okay for their kids. Conversely, if a kid was under 18, the parents could insist a that his/her record be "removed" as well regardless of the kid's wishes.

Until 18, parents rule.

For me, it was saying that I left for doctrinal reasons, and that the missionaries rush people into baptism before they really know what they're getting into. I know that my records are in some other file, but even with the missionaries living in an apartment in the neighborhood, they've left me alone now for about 10 years.

I will be resigning soon. I do not want my membership to be counted in their statistics nor do I want to be associated with a fraudulent organization. Good luck in your decision! :)

If your name remains in the records of the church, the Church forever believes you belong to them; you are one of the lost, or wandering sheep. They believe God wants them to herd you back in.

For as long as your name remains, the church discusses you and your family at regular meetings; it's their procedure. The bishopric strategizes over how to get you reactivated to the fold; they feel this is their sacred obligation.

The word NO does to mean NO to them. I directly refused phone calls and visits, repeatedly…and they kept pursuing me.

This is why I forced the issue of removing my name from the church records. I simply did not have the energy, or the strength, to continually be battling these people who hounded me and my children.

Peace of mind and freedom is why I went down this path.

If you don't want your name to be associated with PURE EVIL, then get them removed. Otherwise, leave them.

I can see the arguments both ways. The two arguments I think are most relevant are the following.

The church cannot with any legitimacy call you a member of TSCC when they regularly brag about how fast the church is growing.

An dramatic increase in the number of resignations will likely cause the old boys to get even more controlling which in time will drive even more members out.

I hear the argument that resigning is giving TSCC authority over you but I see it as being no different than cancelling a subscription to a magazine you no longer want to read.

However, being out of the Mormon world, I now am comfortable with others having contradictory beliefs.

Personally don't see the point. For many it can be a catharsis. Others who don't easily define and enforce their own boundaries find the letter gives them more confidence.

I actually like the idea of my name sitting in their records and any time and energy spent on my name, no matter how small, is money they're losing. Also, there's no evidence that there is truly such a thing as "removal." They likely just move your name to another list...

I sent my resignation letter to my bishop a few years ago and I do not believe he removed me from the records. Every few months the HP Group Leader or the missionaries come by. I keep them on the front porch if I'm in the mood to talk and I get a chance to tell them about this website. Because I care about people I want them to have a chance to find out the truth and enjoy the freedom and happiness I have found. Staying in gives me a chance to be a missionary again. You might consider it.

The right to resign from the LDS cult has not always existed. Before the 90's anyone who left the church was excommunicated period. It took several lawsuits and court rulings to get the right to resign.

kaylaaaa Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>... Like why does it matter? And it was interesting to me because I don't exactly know why I want to..."

That a question you should ask yourself.

Why do you want to resign/ "remove records"?