I thought the day would be boring today. I checked my email this afternoon and saw I had an email from Quit Mormon waiting for me. My name has officially been removed from the church records! Turns out I will have to do a bit of celebrating tonight!

I hope this isn’t against the rules, but I can’t say enough about how great Quit Mormon was for this. I was really nervous, but it was so painless - I don’t even think church members at the local level even knew I was resigning. I guess I don’t have the novelty of telling people I’m ordained in the Mormon priesthood anymore, but it feels so good to finally be cut free from the Morg.

How old are you, sparty? I'd like to think you did it right after your mission.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/29/2017 04:46PM by helenm.

Past mission age by a decade now. I went inactive shortly after I joined because of the obnoxious pressure to serve a mission and all the drama that came with it. With the age being lowered, I have to imagine a lot of recent RMs will be following suit.

Whoo hoo!

You did it!

Now what?

;-)

Congrats on taking that big step. :-)

You have a great reason to pop a cork and toast yourself this New Year (you can choose non-alcoholic juice if you prefer).

Congratulations.

Congrats Sparty.... its a great feeling isn't it?

You will never be sorry.

And Michigan state won easily. Good day for you

Gatorman

Congratulations! Enjoy the euphoria of being freed from a cult! Guess what-- the joy lasts and lasts, and increases over the years. It's like a gift to yourself, that keeps on giving! I'm glad you are on RFM. You gave me some great advice a while ago, and I thank you.

Free

Sparty, way to go!

Could you detail for readers just how much effort was involved in getting free of la iglesia mormona? And are you saying that it is your impression that there will be no visits by local mormonites to check to see if you're really, really, really, for sure, serious about quitting? 'Cuz that's always been an ongoing complaint, that despite the letter to the church saying, "I quit, and don't visit me!", very often, pursuant to the claim, "we have to be certain the letter writer really means it...", someone from the church ends up on your door step.

If you can confirm the seeming ease you've hinted at, it would make for good reading!

I went a slightly different route than a lot of people have. I stumbled across a site called “Quit Mormon” - it is a free site, run by an attorney in Utah. You fill out a form, and he sends a letter on his firm’s letterhead to church HQ. The letter instructs the church to remove the client’s name and to direct all future communication to his office. He acknowledges that sometimes local members will visit to try to persuade people to come back, but it did not happen in my case. I had missionaries track me down after 4 years at an unlisted address one night, filled out the form the next day, and got my confirmation letter that I was out about a month later. I can’t speak for everyone, but I personally didn’t have contact with a single member during the process - it could be because my file was transferred to a new ward where no one knew me, or it could be because of the system itself. Either way, I highly recommend it for anyone who is on the fence about resigning - it really was painless. I am now on Jeff Holland’s shit list and it feels great!

I sent my letter two months ago; the LDS headquarters indicated they sent my letter to the local SP and bishop, but I've heard NOTHING. Do you think I should contact that "Quit Mormon" site?

The important thing is, you are NOT a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Your bishop and SP may drag their feet, or even try to change your mind, but legally, you are not a member of their church.

Thanks so much. But I feel like there is some kind of tether pulling at me. I don't like it.

What I would do is call Member Records in SLC next week and tell them that you resigned 2 months ago, and are wondering what the delay is. Then ask them if you need to get an attorney involved. My guess is that member records will resolve the situation fairly quickly at that point. If not, then you can contact the attorney at Quit Mormon.

Better yet, just call and tell them you are calling to find out who is the bishop of (your name). When they transfer you, ask about the membership status of yourself.


Let us know what happens and good luck. You will never regret it--I promise.


Kathleen

pilgrim Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I sent my letter two months ago; the LDS
> headquarters indicated they sent my letter to the
> local SP and bishop, but I've heard NOTHING. Do
> you think I should contact that "Quit Mormon"
> site?

Send in a legit letter to them Pilgrim. Sure it will give them your address, but sending in a legit letter will show them you are serious. Or keep sending in mail electronically. I too went through Q.M. and no one contacted me via knocking on my door. In fact, most of the wards I had gone to didn't give a rats ass about me and never even spoke to me.

I sent it in November of 2016 and got confirmed in January 2017 so it may take a few months.

Congrats!!! You chose wisely.

Congratulations!! I hope that your example will help family members who are dissatisfied to also leave. My younger brother left first and that made it easier for me to leave.
I see leaving the TSCC as escaping from a mental prison, but resigning the TSCC is like getting a pardon from that mental prison for the rest of your life. They have no power over you anymore.

Happy new year, happy new life! Congratulations;-)

If been reading countless stories now of people resigning. Is there any advantage to resigning VS just not attending anymore?
I never, ever had s problem of them calling me or visiting when I stopped attending . I did move later , but in the same city,
They never found me, like a lot of posters here.
Of course , then I married , I lived all over the place,
I don't even think they know I exist anymore.
I feel relieved , but my feelings are hurt too, like I wasn't important enough for them to miss and look for me.
I'm just on the churches book, but maybe since I've been inactive, they removed my name themselves.
I live literally 4 miles from the chapel.I pass it every day when I go out.

To be honest, I wanted to just slip into the shadows and off their radar, but they kept pestering me. I moved 4 years ago and never told a soul, but they tracked me down somehow (no one in my family is Mormon, so they tracked me down by creepier methods). If you are being left alone and don’t feel the need to resign, I’d say just be content being off their radar. If they start bothering yoh, and/or you want to officially break away from the church, then I would say resign. If you are being left alone, though, I guess there is no harm just being an inactive member file.

Sometimes it takes years before they look for you.

About 10 years after my wife died I started getting letters from thd local ward, addressed to her with nothing in them.

Then little notes from visiting teachers.

Then one day some guy says he's my home teacher. I asked who he was looking for. He first said he didn't know, he just had an address. Then he came back with the wife's name. I told him no one lived here by that name. So he apologized and I never heard from them again. They never asked for me.

They may already know where you are from public records.

It does seem odd you haven't been pestered by VT or HT.

I didn't resign until I felt pressured to. Once I did I haven't regretted it. It was the right decision at the right time. Had things kept coasting for my family I might have remained a member, despite going inactive.

The stuff that went on at church reinforced my decision that resigning was the best way to insure the church was going to be out of our lives after the YW leaders tried to usurp my parental authority over my daughter when she was a minor.

I did get married to a non member( name change) and moved overseas.weve been to bases all over.I went by myself, after they called on me to pray or talk, I stopped going , but still read the ensign and studied my manuels, until I looked st the Internet and found this site.
I don't have anything to do with it at all now. I was just curious why they haven't found me ( don't want them to)

Why resign?

Here's my perspective:

1. Resigning really helped me move on mentally. Resigning represented a clear break. I'm not Mormon anymore, it doesn't have to be a consideration for any decision I make. It's really simple to explain this to people. I was Mormon, and I'm not anymore--in any sense.

2. I don't want to be associated with the LDS Church. To be short, I excommunicated it from myself. I want no part of the lying or hatred (yes I don't buy the double-talk propaganda on this subject from LDS Inc.--the leaders really hate) of LGBT folks.

3. It shows you have guts, and aren't afraid of the paper tiger of "eternal consequences." Like many LDS people, I grew up in a kind of awesome fear of God and his servants (people who's priesthood aka Schwartz was bigger than mine). Now I can laugh such people off. In fact, I think they are a big scared of me instead--bonus!

4. The resignation letter was a good way of summarizing why I was leaving the LDS Church. I wanted to explain to someone, even a bishop I didn't know, why I was taking this course of action. It wasn't as good as I thought it was, but it was an important exercise nonetheless.

Congrats Sparty!

What got you into the TSCC in the first place? A girl? My cousin married a nevermo that converted just for her... She was at chiropractor school where there were almost no TBMs. She upgraded him as soon as she found a replacement. I really feel bad for him. He's an honest and hard-working guy that was in the wrong place at the wrong time. At least he got out with no kids and no alimony... I take it back... I don't feel bad for him at all.

You called it - a girl. My first year in college, I was MADLY in love with a girl. I knew she had no interest in me, but she got me interested in the church. The more I learned, the less it was for her. Once I was in, the people in the ward I loved started to show their true colors. My time as an active member was only around 2 years. I don't regret it, but I'm happy to officially put it behind me.

They sent my resignation to the local bishop against my wishes. I bit his head off when he contacted me and he got it done. It’s annoying that they try to humiliate you in the last minute.

Congrats, Sparty!

Way to go, Sparty! Happy for you, buddy. -edz