The stmnt of Uchtdorf that (paraphrase) 'leaders have made mistakes' sits like a open wound in me, tearing at me due to a personal experience I had a few years ago - A most Serious matter I would like to have him consider.


If anyone is skilled in writing letters And cares to help me by reading & commenting/editing... Perhaps making suggestions, I'd Very Much appreciate it.


thanks!

I think my email is open, pls buzz me here if it's not.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/01/2016 12:30AM by GNPE.

The "General Authorities" do not care about your pain, not one bit, Or anyone else's.

It's nice to think that they'd care, but there mail is heavily screened.

If you're looking for compassion, this board has exponentially more than any GA - and we're all ears if you want to share. If not, that's ok. Just know WE care. ❤️

Sadly Your letter will never reach them.

Layers of beuruecrats will intercept or delete it.

Worse case it will be routed to your stake president or bishop.

Those gentlemen will most likely harass you for sending it.

I tried once with hard evidence of theft of church funds. No one cared. I was harassed for sending it.

Wish you luck though.

why won't Uchtdorf tell mormons just what mistakes were made.

..and of course it would be more accurate if Pukedorf would say "crimes" instead of "mistakes", but sugar coating is an art form in TSCC. Yukdorf could simply clarify the "mistakes" my subtlety including bits and pieces of the "mistakes" in ongoing testiphonies. For example, "I know that Joseph Smith is a profit of Gawd (softly and rapidly)..even though he was a pedophile who preyed upon 14 year olds." See how easy peasy that would be for Ookdork to do.

I really like what you did with the multiple variable iterations of Dieter's last name. Well done!! -edz

If you look up the German, Uchtdorf literally translates to "crazytown".

Most likely you'll get a generic letter from his "secretary" and/or staff indicating that you should go to your local leaders. It would be interesting to see what your stake president would say as you quote this GA in your letter.

Unfortunately I think Heartless is right. About 15 years ago I was on the Bishopric where I lived in Nottingham in the English East Midlands. It went with the job to sit on Church courts, whose purpose was allegedly to show compassion to sinners. However I found out that their main function was more linked with defending 'the Church ' from any form of dissenting idea. I realised that the many years of persecution we read about in 'The History of the Church' has left the leadership with the idea that the Church needs defending from 'enemies.' An enemy is anyone who dares to question the leadership who are 'called & sustained by God!' This was a significant reason why the Spirit moved me to quit the Church. As a convert with a theology degree, I had said to my LDS -now ex-wife- That if I discovered something which was contrary to the Gospel I would leave. There was plenty!

Please forget about all that. I am trying to.

I think it is okay to write the letter if your expectations of a particular response are low.

Maybe you just need somebody in the church hierarchy to hear you.

If you need a particular response from them to help you heal, I'm with the others in this thread, you are not likely to get it.

Don't know if you're interested, but writing and editing are my job. In fact, I have also written to GA Opossum Jeff Holland before, after he said on BBC that he'd be happy to meet with some ex-Mormons and hear their concerns. I took him up on the challenge, offering to help broker a meeting between him and a few of us here. Hmm. Never got a response. Although the letter was very polite and even somewhat deferential to his authority, it is very likely that his secretary or other go-between lackeys just filed my letter in the round file, along with his Comcast offers.

Drop me a line through admin sometime. I'll have my people get with your people. We'll have coffee.

I believe you may be making the mistake of assuming Uchtdorf is a decent person who cares about others. Those who rise to the top of Mormon pyramid only care about protecting the corporation. They have been thoroughly vetted. Many of us have experienced the ugliness of Mormon leaders as we left the organization or while we were yet active. You are apparently a compassionate person and believe others are like you. I believe too most people are inherently good. Somehow general authorities lose a sense of humanity. Perhaps their egos are so inflated from membership infatuation with them, the monies they make from all the boards they sit on, the forgivable loans, etc. that they no longer care for the individual members. We have seen this over and over. Look at Scientology leaders and the JW governing body. They are nearly identical in their goals of protecting their respective organizations. Individuals be damned.

He will likely never see the letter. An underling will send the letter to your local stake president, if you are still a member.

If it makes you feel better to attempt some communication, give it a try. We all wish the GA's would find integrity.

Eric K Wrote:

>
> He will likely never see the letter. An underling
> will send the letter to your local stake
> president, if you are still a member.


I'll add a note reminding him Not to Bother, I've been OUT for going on 10 yrs...

Maybe the OP is thinking about an 'open letter' to Muckdorf?

He may hear about it if you send it to every ward in the country.

Leaving your personal info out.

From what I have witnessed the MormonCult has made it clear that a member who wants to reach the ruling elite has to go through the bishop and stake president. So, my unsolicited advice, is do not include any information in your letter that you do not want those people to read as this is where your letter will end up. Sure, it would be comforting to think that one of the elite would break the rule and actually listen and respond to you.......but I don't think for a minute that it will happen but would love to be proven wrong.

All those involved at the time have been released; I specify them Not to be included...

Back in 1984 when I was dating my gay "ex," a friend (who was a bishop) had read the talk "To The One" by Boyd. He suggested I write to Boyd. I poured my heart out to him. I had been suicidal for months. I was extremely depressed one day and stayed home from work. It just so happened my sister and her husband stopped by when the mail came and there was my reply from Boyd.

My sister and my BIL were SHOCKED. Everyone I showed it to was shocked. He told me he was too important to be bothered. He berated me in several ways. I sure wish I had kept the letter. I'm sure it was Boyd. It was the meanest letter I've ever received and devastated me. Even my friend, this bishop, was shocked. That letter bothered me so bad that I burned it. It wasn't good enough to just throw it away.

Years later, about 8-1/2 years ago, I told my dad about the letter when he was asking me again if I knew when I married my ex that he is gay. I had never answered him before. I told him that, yes, I knew and that the leaders told me it was my job to save him. Then I told him about Boyd's letter. He was furious. He told me if I had saved it, he would have taken out a page ad in the SLT and published it.

My ex wrote TSM a letter years later when our marriage was breaking up. We got a stupid little reply from some other guy that said, "They wished us well," and that was about it.

cl2 Wrote:

"My ex wrote TSM a letter years later when our marriage was breaking up. We got a stupid little reply from some other guy that said, 'They wished us well,' and that was about it."

TSM only reads letters from widows who already worship him.

If you have been hurt, abuse or neglected in any way by a so called "leader" I advise you to reach out to the authorities.

One of the greatest ways that we can defend the truthfulness of the church is by sharing the awesome experiences we have in seeing the miracle of continuing revelation occur while we show the world how the church is the most honest and transparent caring church on the planet. So with this in mind I am excited to get the feedback on how this all turns out.

It sounds like you have a concern. Send a letter as you wish and let them know you will be keeping a good paper trail as a faith promoting experience for all. And then, assuming the church is true, the miracle of honesty/transparency will happen :)

Eric's observations are dead on.

I wrote a letter to Dallin Oaks because when I was at BYU, I thought he was a wonderful, personal, approachable leader. (I'm not sure why I felt that way, I never saw him except at devotionals).

The letter was given to an underling (or perhaps, never made it past the underling). A meeting was set up with two priesthood holders. I was ridiculed and humiliated during the meeting. After about 30 minutes, I got up and said, "Thank you gentlemen."

Years ago I wrote a letter to Perry after reading the text of a speech he gave at BYU. He spoke about his concern that Mormons were not liked or respected by non-Mormons. He chastised the audience to be kinder and less cliqueish.

I wrote about our families experience of being excluded from our convert DD'S marriage and if TSCC wanted to be liked they should do away with the 1 year punishment and encourage couples to consider having a more inclusive ceremony.

He (or a flunky) responded very arrogantly telling me that we should have met with our bishop (ah, remember the part about not being Mormon?) who would have helped us understand the Mormon POV.

That is the response you are most likely to receive: talk to your bishop as we high and mighty are not required to deal with the great unwashed.

GNPE
If it is really essential to get to Uchtdorf, run it by Steve Benson on how to do that. But my guess is like many other here, it will just come to haunt you even worse. It did for me when I went to the SP over stuff my ex-bishop was doing.

When Oaks made a press release that the Church will never apologize, that means NOBODY will ever get appropriate consideration no matter the offense. Take Norman Hancock's case as your guide. His lawsuit made it possible for the rest of us to exit without public humiliation. That's what it took for them to "notice" him.

. . . who contact them about, say, doctrinal questions to their local bishop or branch president for answers to their concerns.

That is what the Kimball First Presidency did to me by--rather than directly answering my questions that I had put directly to them on the official Mormon Church position on organic evolution--contacted by bishop and told him to answer my questions for them.

My bishop subsequently called me in to his office, showed me (and then gave me for my possession) that First Presidency letter, confessing to me that he didn't know enough about the subject to render an informed opinion.

So, I asked my bishop if I could write the First Presidency and repeat my question that I had most recently ask of them, telling them by way of preface that my bishop had recommended that I write the First Presidency one last time in seeking answers from the First Presidency to my questions.

My bishop agreed, so I dispatched a final letter The Big Three.

The uninformed, unequipped and uninspired First Presidency answered me . . . with deafening silence.

Stupid is as stupid does.



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 12/02/2016 02:11PM by steve benson.

you've been recommended (unknowingly, ha ha) to review & possibly edit a letter I've drafted to Dieter U.

If you would Please contact me (manderst@yahoo.com), I'd very much appreciate it :)

tusen takk!

P.S. If ANYONE else feels able to help (S.B. may not see this / have time), I'd be glad to hear from You!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/02/2016 03:18PM by GNPE.

. . . don't get sidetracked into the weeds of whatever books various GAs may be peddling at Mormon bookstores. Stay focused on, and confine your sources to, statements that represent officially accepted, officially promoted and officially acknowledged Mormon Church pronouncements, as these official stamps of approval come from any of the following sources:

(1) statements from the First Presidency, speaking as a body;

(2) statements from the past and present presidents of the Mormon Church, made when these fellas were the actual Mormon Church president; and

(3) joint statements issued in simultaneous concert by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve, speaking together, and specifically on the matter at hand.
_____


If you cannot locate such statements and/or pronouncements, ask in your letter to the targeted GA the following:

(1) Do, in fact, such statements/pronpuncements exist?;

(2) If they do exist, where can they be found, where can they be accessed and rea ; and what exactly do they say that can be correctly concluded to be the officially-stamped doctrinal position of the Mormon Church?; and

(3) If they do not exist, why not?
_____


If the GA with whom you are corresponding cites canonized Mormon scripture back to you, ask him:

(1) if those scriptural referemnces represent the present, standing official position of the Mormon Church on matters of doctrine; and

(2) if that is the case, where that fact can be verified, through available sources, as having been so described by past or present presidents of the Mormon Church who made such affirmations of other official declarative status when they were president of the Mormon Church.
_____


If you have canonized scriptures of your own that you would like to cite to the GA, then do so while asking:

(1) if these scritpures that you quote do, in fact, represent the current official position of the Mormon Church on your particular topic of focus; and

(2) if not, why not?
_____


Be polite, prepared, steady, specific, tightly reasoned, directly worded, tenacious--and don't take a personal GA testimony as an answer.

In other words think of maybe saying something along these lines:

"Show me the meat, Dieter U. I'm not playin' games here. Give it to me straight and in full because:

"1) I've done my homework,

"2) paid my tithing,

"3) attended the temple,

"4) filled my callings,

"5) said my prayers,

"6) read my scriptures,

"7) obeyed the commandments,

"8) read your General Conference talks and those of your fellow witnesses for Christ, and therefore

"9) deserve answers to my questions.

"Yeah.that's right, Dieter. I deserve answers--and you heard me right: I deserve them from you. Produce the goods like a good prophet, seer and revelator should."



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/02/2016 05:25PM by steve benson.