After sending the e-mail I last posted, I received a letter from the SP in my area apologizing and saying they will update their records.

If I've learnt anything through this process it appears that being nice doesn't work! It's sad that trying to leave quietly isn't possible.

Naturally, the SP let me know that once their records are updated, all of the blessings of baptism will be null and void. Of course, it's absurd that updating records could magically remove blessings. So, when the final stroke of the computer keyboard is taken...will there be a disturbance in the Mormonverse?

Thank you to all on Rfm, who were patient enough to offer constructive advice and support!

It's very disappointing that it has to go so far as to threaten legal advice though. Why can't the Ward Clerk, for instance, be told to update the records. It's quite simple.

The board is full of personal tales of recalcitrant bishops and SPs.

Congress on your successful exit, sanityprevailed!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/30/2011 09:01PM by WinksWinks.

Well, they were a pain for a very long time, before I finally got mad. I was trying to be nice because of family members. However, when 4 of them showed up at a nevermo inlaw's house, saying they were from "my" church..., I decided that I wasn't going to be nice anymore.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/31/2011 03:13AM by sanityprevailed.

Sometimes you gotta be all business. Glad it worked!

Congrats to you! Loved your "disturbance in the Mormonverse" reference! : )

"Of course, it's absurd that updating records could magically remove blessings. So, when the final stroke of the computer keyboard is taken...will there be a disturbance in the Mormonverse?"

I never thought of that!

It is all hooey, and there are a lot of ex-Mormons on this board who refuse to jump through the Mormon cult's hoops of fake red-tape. AS IF Jesus cares about Mormon paper-shuffling.

I had to threaten legal action, before the cult finally let me go. It took 10 months.

As a new ward clerk, I was given by the bishop a letter from a member to cancel his membership records. So I fired up the membership software program and found his records. I searched everywhere and found no option to cancel or expire the membership record so I used the built in 'Ask for help' and sent a message back to the Church HQ asking how I could do this.

Boy, did I get my bishop into hot water. Within a week, our Stake President was contacted by someone at the HQ who was furious with our lack of knowledge of offical proceedures and suggested that the Stake do a better job of training. The bishop next got the same lecture from the stake president and I as the new ward clerk got the chew out next.

So, that's how I learned of the administrative action report forms and that the ONLY way a local ward can handle a membership removal request was to do the forms, include the documentation including the letter from the person asking for membership cancellation and pass that on to the bishop and stake president to sign and process.

Oh, and after that, I finally had someone from the stake show up and train me on how to be a ward clerk and was given a copy of the CHI to read and review.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/31/2011 10:07AM by Comfortably Numb.

Comfortably Numb Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> As a new ward clerk, I was given by the bishop a
> letter from a member to cancel his membership
> records. So I fired up the membership software
> program and found his records. I searched
> everywhere and found no option to cancel or expire
> the membership record so I used the built in 'Ask
> for help' and sent a message back to the Church HQ
> asking how I could do this.
>
> Boy, did I get my bishop into hot water. Within a
> week, our Stake President was contacted by someone
> at the HQ who was furious with our lack of
> knowledge of offical proceedures and suggested
> that the Stake do a better job of training. The
> bishop next got the same lecture from the stake
> president and I as the new ward clerk got the chew
> out next.
>
> So, that's how I learned of the administrative
> action report forms and that the ONLY way a local
> ward can handle a membership removal request was
> to do the forms, include the documentation
> including the letter from the person asking for
> membership cancellation and pass that on to the
> bishop and stake president to sign and process.
>
> Oh, and after that, I finally had someone from the
> stake show up and train me on how to be a ward
> clerk and was given a copy of the CHI to read and
> review.


My comment earlier left out those major steps. Church headquarters can't complete a "name removal" without the Administrative Forms -- filled out by the local leaders who are the only ones with the authority to tell Church Headquarters to make a change in church membership.
My memory is faint on this but I think I remember that those forms are on line someplace (to view) and there is a box to check if legal action is threatened, or words to that effect.

That's the sad thing about the whole mess of "resigning from the church". HQ totally could complete a resignation or "name removal" without local admin forms. They make it incredibly and unnecessarily difficult for the their members to take care of.

For the person resigning, it is frustrating to be sure, but it's just a bunch of busy work for Greg Dodge to lookup the person in question, fill out something and send it to a ward, who then has to fill out something and send it to a stake pres, who then has to send it back to the church, all while trying to contact someone who usually specifically states to not contact them beyond letting them know it's complete, when really all it should take is Greg Dodge to update the records at HQ and inform the current ward to remove them. If they wanted to add a confirmation step, something to confirm that you really want out, it would still be simpler for everyone.

There are several reasons I can think of for making the process difficult...
1. It provides more opportunities for "Love bombing"
2. It provides more opportunities for gossip to be spread about the person leaving.
3. It reinforces, to the people who have to carry out the process that the church cares, and only wants to help out the poor apostate.
4. It makes sure that the person leaving the church is completely annoyed and will tell anyone who will listen what a hard time they had leaving.

I find the whole thing sad.

You forgot about adding to the guilt of the local leaders because of their failure. The ivory tower takes credit for all successes, but the individual member takes credit for all failures.

sanityprevailed Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
"Naturally, the SP let me know that once their
> records are updated, all of the blessings of
> baptism will be null and void."

Can you really ungift spirtual gifts??? Really??

Other than taking a phyusical gift/toy away from a child, you really can't ungift anything given to your family and loved ones...

-IF- you're spirtaul and belive in God...then if God has blessed you....he doesn't take blessings away....

For church leaders to say this is the case proves that:
Mormon God really doesn't love mormons unconditionally.
Church leaders truly do treat ALL their parishioners as children.
The mormon church IS a cult and DOES coerce people into staying..