Does a Mormon who officially joins another religion automatically lose membership in the Mormon church? I know the whole "out of the frying pan into the fire" argument, but the point is, other religions generally don't bother you if you want to be left alone.

sexismyreligion Wrote:
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> Does a Mormon who officially joins another
> religion automatically lose membership in the
> Mormon church? I know the whole "out of the frying
> pan into the fire" argument, but the point is,
> other religions generally don't bother you if you
> want to be left alone.

I was told to resign when the local authorities found out I had been baptized and joined another Christian church. My guess is that it depends on your local bishop or stake president. I don't think there is anything automatic about it.

a written resignation of your membership from the LDS Church, which can be done by email now.

it is grounds for ex-communication, i believe. which is great! no need to compose an email..

I agree. Also, no one could ever tell me that I left because I was offended, or because I sinned - being exed for joining another church might be the best way to go.

Actually joining (rather than just attending) another church is grounds, according to the Holy Handbook of Antioch, for excommunication. The problem is, excommunication is a clear signal to the church and the public that you were a sinner. They will deliberately say mean and untrue things about you once your are excommunicated.

So the simple option is, CUT THEM OFF AT THE PASS! Resign, which pulls their rug right out from under them and deflates their position. I think it also gives them major heartburn because you just beat them at their own game.

But "Jack Mormon's Wife" posted this in this forum some time ago:

A more recent version (2005 I believe? Sandie knows) includes new rules for excommunication. For years, joining another church was specifically *NOT* considered an excommunicatable offense.

However, the rules changed midstream. The general church membership was never notified about this new policy. NOW you can be excommunicated for apostacy if you officially join another church, for instance if you are baptized into another faith.

I discovered that little tidbit of information when the Bishop found out I'd had all my children baptized into the Catholic church. I grew up Catholic and we returned to the church of my childhood.

Our family no longer believed in the Mormon church and we had been inactive and on the "no contact" list for a year. We were waiting for my TBM FIL to pass away before we officially resigned. The Bishop knew this.

However, when he found out my kids had all been baptized Catholic in our year-long absence, he threatened to excommunicate me within two weeks if I did not resign.

I cannot begin to describe the drama that ensued. Suffice it to say that one late-night Saturday phone call from the Bishop ended up with my psychotic Russian daughter running away in the middle of the night, getting picked up by the police, and transported to a psych unit.

Lovely family church we all belonged to, yes folks?

MY POINT HERE IS THIS: all of this drama, and fear, and anger in our family life was caused by one thing . . . the freaking Mormons changed the rules in mid-stream and nobody knew about it. But according to his big white book (CHI) the Bishop had a "right" to terrorize and threaten our family. He had the "right" to cause tremendous upheaval in our lives because of the silly, secret rules that only CHURCH LEADERS know!!

How in the h@ll is anybody supposed to follow the rules if they don't know what the stinking rules are in the first place! Bishops and SP's can do anything they want if it is in the *white bible*. The rest of us can be blindsided when we break a rule we don't even know exists!

The Mormon church is a crazy-making institution. Members are constantly hammered to follow the commandments and guidelines of the church, but the truly sad thing is that the rules and doctrine constantly change. Nobody can keep up. But you can bet we are held accountable when we break those mysterious rules.

Fuck the Church Handbook of Instructions. I'm glad it's on the internet so the whole wide world can see just how screwed up the LDS church is.

BTW, our entire family resigned September 10, 2007. I was sick of playing by the Mormon "rules."

Shannon



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/06/2011 04:00PM by WickedTwin.

How about children? Let's say, for example, that my 5-year-old wants to get baptized when she turns 8, because she thinks it's the same thing as going swimming. Instead of fighting her dad about the baptism issue, can I just have her baptized into another church afterward? Would that cancel her membership but still allow her the experience?

They sometimes harass a kid a for years, including sometimes even after they've resigned. And they sometimes do missionary discussions or invite kids to church without parent permission even if a parent has voiced objections.

There are parents who aren't bothered by these possibilities. But anyone who would be needs to do what they can to prevent the problems by not allowing the baptism.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/06/2011 07:13PM by Cheryl.

According to the 2006 Church handbook of instructions, joining (as opposed to merely attending ) another church is viewed as APOSTASY and “excommunication may be necessary if repentance is not evident after counseling and encouragement.”

If you like new your church enough to join it, then the only way to be SURE you will not find yourself excommunicated from the LDS church is to is to resign from it before you join your new church.

Also from the 2006 CHI: "Total inactivity in the church or attending another church does not constitute apostasy." So if you do not want to resign from the Mormon church, then just attend your new church without joining it.

Good luck in whatever you choose!

I don't have a new church, really - I would just randomly choose one, join it, and then never attend.

According to the latest CHI (2010), joining another church is now grounds for being exed.

So why have I not be ex'd? The bishop and SP know I have been baptized. I no longer allow my children to participate either. My spouse is still TBM.

tiptoes Wrote:
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> So why have I not be ex'd? The bishop and SP know
> I have been baptized. I no longer allow my
> children to participate either. My spouse is
> still TBM.

Because Mormon bishops don't have to act if they decide they don't want to. Who knows what will happen when you get a new bishop.

As I mentioned in a previous post I had no problem for 20 years but with the current stake president there is a problem hence my ultimatum of either resign or be excommunicated. However, it was not automatic. My SP is still waiting a response.

My response will come from SLC as DW and my letter of resignation was sent a couple of days ago and I just received confirmation a few minutes ago that it had been delivered.

WE'RE OUT!!!!!!!

Let us know what happens when the SP finds out. :-)

Horray for you!!! That must be a big relief.

Since Joe Smith and his family joined The Presbyterian and Methodist churches after God commanded him to join none, I don't think it's a big deal.

This has always been a funny part of JS life. Don't most Mormons know this??? And if they do, how do they make sense of that?

No.

Normally when you join let's say a Protestant church the new church informs your old church of this new membership. Then you are taken off the roles of the old church. But with Mormons, I have no idea how it is done officially. I know you would be shunned big time if you had not given them notice of what you were about to do. And depending on the Protestant denom. you may have to be baptized again.

Besides, I don't think that God is gonna look through their rolodex over at Intellectual Reserve to see if it's okay for you to be at this new church praying to him.