So after much debate and I guess planning (can't think of a better word for it right now, it's been a long day and I'm sleepy...) I've decided that tomorrow is going to be the time when I speak to our bishop about relinquishing my calling and handing in my resignation letter.

Eek!

My wife (onthewayout) and I have been talking about it pretty much all day, about when we're both going to do it, how it's going to be done, etc etc and I think we've pretty much come up with a plan.

I'm going to request a meeting with our bishop as soon as I can after we get to church, and tell him plainly and simply that I no longer have a testimony of the church and after the meeting I won't be attending anymore. I'll tell him at least a few things I don't believe him asked, but won't go into any great detail as I respect his beliefs and I value him as a person - I can't say enough good things about him and he's one of the funniest and genuine people I've known.

I'll hand over my books, paperwork, calendars etc relevant to my calling and also hand over my resignation letter. I'm going to make it clear that it's nothing personal and that this is something that I need to do for me, and that once the dust has settled I am willing to discuss anything that he wants to discuss with me.

I've got all kinds of butterflies going round and round inside me right now, although at the moment it feels a bit anti-climactic. I'm sure when tomorrow morning rolls around I'll be wussing out like there's no tomorrow - my 9 month old will be more manly than me - but it's time to rip off the plaster and get it over and done with, otherwise I'll just be stewing on it and it'll eat me up until I actually do get it done.

OK, well now that I've got that out, the floor is open............suggestions, comments, prayers and donations welcome!! :)

The hardest part is worrying about how it'll go. I'm happy that you are both in agreement, it really is the best way.

Be sure to return and report.

I admire your courage in resigning face-to-face. I emailed my resignation to Greg Dodge and ignored the bishop's letter because I didn't want any interpersonal confrontation.

It's a great day for you and your family.

Good for you guys!

So glad your wife and yourself are in agreement and can back each other up when things become difficult.

It will all seem like a bad memory in a few weeks. You will think to yourselves, "How did we DO all those callings/labor for TSCC?" And.... you will absolutely RELISH free thinking and your free time!


Good luck!!!

I see that you've decided to go the quick route! Best wishes to you. You might want to chat with several ward members and let them know, generally speaking, that you are leaving due to problems with church history, etc. That way maybe you can have some control over the inevitable gossip.

Let us know how it goes.

I told him, I'm not here for counsel or discussion, I'm just giving you information.

And same when I resigned my calling.

They're not used to people knowing what they're doing and talking control, so have fun with it.

I personally would have my resignation letters ready as well, to remove all doubt, covering the big three

I don't believe Joseph Smith was a Prophet
I don't believe there is a living Prophet
and I don't believe LDS Inc. is the one true Church
Amen and we resign.

Good luck. You will feel so good to get it over with. You will walk out of there with a load taken off your shoulders and maybe a little sadness too. You may need this board awhile to help with the recovery process. You are so lucky you and your wife are in it together. I wish to God that could be me. I have suffered so much not having my spouse support me. Congratulations!!!

Prayers going up. But listen, you won't wuss out. All you have to do is think of that precious baby of yours and you will get strength you never knew you had. YOU and your wife are saving him/her a ton of pain, guilt, money and all that. You will be saving him/her from a stupid ritual in a temple and also your child will never be disrespecting nonmormons during the B for the D crap. He/She will grow up correctly and not arrogant. All the best.

I was very pleasant and just went from the angle that I was simply letting him know that wouldn't be coming any more and that he needed to find a replacement for my wife and I in our respective callings.

His responce? "Don't you think other people want to be rleased?" I still smile at that one.

talk about totol control.

"I'm not in a cult" whaaaaa

"unhh, OK, if you say so."

Good grief! If he had said that to me, my response would have been "Well then they should release themselves from their calling just like I'm doing."

I was leaving the Church and I started telling him some of the evidence regarding the false claims of Mormonism. I even gave him a copy of the Smithsonian letter saying basically that the Church was a fraud.

And that was about it. I never heard from him again.

Thank you everyone for your support and suggestions so far...I've got my letter almost ready and in talking to my wife I'm determined not to go in with all guns blazing and instead just be pleasant and polite and explain to him exactly how it is.

I particularly like the way Socrates2 described it - go in, explain the situation, make it final, and leave again.

Just noticed that this board is on USA time, so for anyone who is interested it's now 9:31pm here in Good Old Blighty, which means there's around 12 hours or so left of me being a Mormon......

Good luck to you and your wife. Congrats also. I'm sure you will feel so much relief after it is over.

My bishop said to me,

"Everyone feels like you sometimes."

I replied,

"No, bishop, I'm different than you. I don't believe anybody was wiser or "more current" than Jesus. You Mormons deceived me and I'm never coming back and if you value your own soul, you will leave also."

Not a peep.


Anagrammy

That was great Anagrammy. Yes, they need to know that no matter what they say to their flock the main man was and is JC.

It's now been about 3 and a half hours since I left the church.

I've posted the exit story here - http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,270778

It's not a particularly exciting story, it was all very amicable and simple, but there you go! :)

I want a "like" button to all of the above!