I resigned in about 1979 when the only way I could get out was to be excommunicated. I didn't like that because there are lots of negative connotations related to being excommunicated.

A few years later, I called the COB to see if my name had actually been removed. It had not. The gentleman on the phone said, "Name removed at request of individual."

I asked why my name hadn't been removed. "Because," he replied,"we couldn't tell you your name had been removed if we didn't have it on our computer."

What an answer, I thought after hanging up!! Just take my name off and then say, "Your name didn't show up when we did a computer search."

In any case, I assume they still have me in their computer system. Which sometimes bothers me. Other times, I'm happy to be formally listed as someone who told them to "bug off."

Plus, one time when I told a friend about my experience, he said, "I should think you'd be proud to have been excommunicated." And I can only think: Thank you. I am proud that I dumped that organization.

It is put on the ex-member list instead.

Why is anyone surprised by this? When a person dies, the place they were born still has a record of their birth. If you get divorced, the place you were married still has a record of your marriage.

If you resign from LDS Inc, it will still have a record that you were once a member. It doesn't "remove" your name. It just puts it on a different list. Your grade school did the same thing when you left that behind. And all your former employers, and pretty much every other organization you ever belonged to.

DW and I resigned earlier this year. About 3 months ago missionaries show up at the door looking for our adult children. I wrote about this in an earlier post. Anyway, my son can take care of himself and if they find him, I'll take my hat off to them. My daughter, however, is autistic and DW and I are protective even though technically she is no longer a minor.

I called the bishop and asked him to talk with the missionaries. He said he would. Last night missionaries show up again with the same inquiry. I called the bishop again. He apologized and said he would make it a point to notify new missionaries to leave us alone and especially leave her alone.

I guess records of BIC children who have not been baptized are kept indefinitely and given to the missionaries.

Are your children resigned? If not, they will show up on the ward's membership lists. Missionaries can see that they weren't baptized and will forever stalk them.

Is there a process for BIC children to resign when they haven't been baptized and, so technically, have not joined?

An interesting article in today's news:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/9038589/Digital-right-to-be-forgotten-will-be-made-EU-law.html

Basically, it looks like they are planning to make an European law allowing people to ask for data on them to be removed within company databases if requested.

I wonder if this will include organisations like churches...

They may stop stalking you but it's like the Hotel California song "You can check out any time you like but you can never leave." It's so creepy that they think they own you forever.

Of course it is. Once you join, your name is kept in a file. It just changes files when you resign your membership. The same is true for almost all of your vital statistics. They don't disappear. The originals may not be able to be found because of a fire, for instance, but you leave a long, long paper trail from birth to death.