A couple of weeks ago I finally got the courage to send my letter of resignation in to Church Headquarters. I was very clear and specific that I understood the consequences of what I was asking and I did not need to go through any waiting period. I got a form letter back today saying it is an ecclesiastical matter that has to be handled by the Stake President and Bishop & a Stupid pamphlet titled 'An Invitation'. What is up with that? Why do I have to speak to the Bishop and Stake President in order for this to happen. I've never spoken to either before so I know its not like they really care. What a headache!!

Your out! Done! Finito!

You have your legal proof that they received your request in your hand. Do nothing, no need to contact anyone. That "it is an ecclesiastical matter" thing is just their internal wheels turning. Those wheels will timeout all by themselves.

Breath the fresh and pure air called "The Freedom of Mind and Soul". Welcome to the real universe!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/22/2012 06:07PM by AmIDarkNow?.

Ok so I don't have to do anything? I was getting ready to send the Stake Pres. & Bishop and email telling them I meant what I said. If I don't have to though, that's even better. Why is this such an ordeal? If I say I'm done...I'm done. You know what I mean?

It's their way of trying to keep you in the fold. It's a formality. They send that letter to EVERYONE resigning from the church now. I resigned last October, and got that same letter. From what I have noticed, and I may be wrong, but I think I was the first member to resign from the church in the local branch in a VERY long time.

You're officially out. Let them do the dirty work now.

You'll get another letter soon confirming your exit.

Someone MAY attempt to contact you, but you don't have to communicate with them. You may hang up, screen your calls, speak your mind as rudely or politely as you desire. Respond or not as you please, you are not a member anymore.

You are already done, this is their last gasp at making you think they have any authority. The last letter will be issued to you in 30 days regardless of what any possible bishop tries to do.

Some bishops take their "mantle" too seriously and make the attempt to verify your identity, but it is completely unnecessary.

Some people here report receiving contacts from bishops during this interval, but I and many were not contacted at all.

Which makes some of us exmos contemplate resigning other members vicariously. >:-)

I actually didn't receive the "ecclesiastical matter" letter, but that seems to be rare.

Congratulations!

The bishop and sp will be notified of your request and they will need to send off a letter. They may try to contact you. You cam tell them to go pound sams and follow the instructions in your letter. I think in forty five days reguardless of if they speak to you or you speak to them they will send you the official letter letting you know it is finished and you are out should you reconsider contact your bishop. I called membership records a lot to speed the process up. Congrats!

You may get a form letter from the bishop. I ignored it and had no further contact, either locally or from SLC, until about six weeks later, when I got my second Dodge letter.

As a matter of curiosity, it was reported a while back that Dodge is no longer in charge of Member Records. Who signed your letter?

Congratulations on your freedom. Feels good, doesn't it?

Honestly I'm not sure how I feel. I was a member for 42 yrs. & now I don't know what to do with myslef. I went to a different church a couple of times but it didn't quite take. I think I'm just tired of church. I do love all my free time and the raise I got from not having to pay tithing any more. If only I could somehow recover all that money I wasted over last many years of my life, that's what burns me more than anything else. I could have sent my kids to college, avoided bankruptcy, etc... I appreciate your response, thanks. Oh my letter was signed:

Sincerely
Confidential Records

It is okay to take a break from church for a bit. But if you are still a believer you must try many churches to find the right fit. Just know there are great ones, not so great ones and mediocre ones. Try all the mainstream Protestant churches - like Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, Presbyterian....and then some not so well known too. And I hear that one can become Catholic if you go thru classes. Most other churches let you come and go as you please, give an offering each wk or not, attend a women or mens group or skip it all. No pressure to do anything. Good luck beginning your new life. I applaud you.

I'm sorta glad there's some/any safeguard against a prankster sending in a resig in someone else's name;

in that case, ChurchCo could accurately claim that they've received some resigs from members who didn't intend to...


just sayin'



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/22/2012 07:58PM by guynoirprivateeye.

I didn't get an invitation/come back pamphlet. I guess the spirit moved them to know that I would think it rather silly and send it right to the recycling bin.

Do nothing. Distance from anyone associated with church. Screen calls and emails. In time you will get the letter from SLC

The minute you request name withdrawal and they receive the letter you are no longer a member by law.

I resigned a few years ago,my daughter decided to resign in november 2011 and also asked for her daughters name to be removed too,she emailed her request to UK Headquarters,got a letter confirming it in Jan 2012,which was also cc'd to the Bishop and SP,last sunday my phone rang,hubby answered ( nevermo )it was missionaries asking for my daughter,she had'nt been to church in about 9 years,so they still had my phone number,or some "Friend" had kept it from years ago,hubby just said no one of that name lived here,wish i had answered,what fun I could have had.

Congratulations! You're done. :-) You may get some contact to make sure they have the right person, but it's nothing to be concerned about.
I didn't get any pamphlets or calls, or contact ...that was 2002.
It seems to vary by area.

I sent my resignation letter to membership records as well as to the bishop of the ward I supposedly belong to, last March. I too received the "invitation" pamphlet/ecclesiastical matter letter. I had also heard that once you send the letter you're done, and you'll get a confirmation at some point. Several months passed, during which I was visited by the missionaries once, the home teachers twice, and received monthly newsletters from Relief Society. I had politely informed the home teachers several times that we were not interested, yet they continued to come - they had no knowledge of my resignation letter. I returned every Relief Society letter that was sent to me, with increasinly aggitated notes requesting that they discontinue sending me their newsletters. Finally after 8 months I started calling the bishop at home - but of course never received a returned phone call from him. His dippy wife must have thought I was completely deranged for calling once a week for over a month. Eventually I sent a very disgruntled letter to the bishop, asking what his problem was, and demanding that he forward my resignation request to the proper party and give me confirmation that I was no longer a member of the church. He showed up at my house the next day to apologize. I wasn't home but my husband told me that he basically said he'd hoped I would change my mind, so he hadn't taken further action with my request. I got a confirmation letter from the church 3 weeks ago saying that my name had been removed.