Member Records Division, LDS Church
50 E North Temple, Room 1372
Salt Lake City, UT 84150-5310
To Whom It May Concern:
The LDS Church has taken a stand against the civil rights of the citizens of the United States by its support of Proposition 8 in California. I don’t agree with the LDS Church teaching that this is a moral issue; it is about the rights that all Americans should have to marry whomever they want.
Therefore, this letter is my formal resignation from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and it is effective immediately. I hereby withdraw my consent to being treated as a member and I withdraw my consent to being subject to church rules, policies, beliefs and 'discipline'. As I am no longer a member, I want my name permanently and completely removed from the membership rolls of the church....
I've been think about this for a long time and I finally decided to send the letter today. I have a lot of thoughts, feelings and emotions going on in my head at the moment, but I know this is what I need to do. I am not rejecting Jesus or all the Christian teachings, all this means is that I think there is more out there than the Mormon teaching I was brought up with. And I don't feel that the only way back to God is through Jesus. How else can you live in the 'world community' and not just the a 'western thinking' society.
I have said often that I don't consider myself Christian anymore, I am a seeker of truth and the Mormons, the Baptists or Catholics don't have it all. There is good in their teachings! There is much that helps people in their lives, helps them live better and have compassion for others. They are good faithful people. But there are also good faithful Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Jews and many others.
The other thought is that this essentially breaks the "sealing" ties with my family. If you believe in that. And to me, that is the key. I don't believe it. I love my mom and dad. They're always in my thoughts and heart. And they will always be a part of me. I don't see how a loving God would separate loved ones in an afterlife, again, if that's what you believe.
Also, a weight has been lifted in a sense. I no longer a member of an organized religion. I am free to worship God as I see fit, not as someone else tells me I should.
Wow. Heavy post and some heavy thoughts.
4 comments:
Jim, you should read Mark's (Scuff Productions on my bloglist) entries for Nov 2008- he also resigned from the LDS church.
JIM - THANKS for stopping by scuff productions . . . . I too grew up in a small farm town in SE Oregon...in the 50's/60's.. I was SO naive then about life and religion. I'm sure we share a LOT of things in common because of our background. I just browsed through some of your posts, and know I too will be back to visit your writing... One thing different for me in my family was....my MOM truly gave it her all to understand and accept not only me but my long-term partner. She succeeded, and before she died told me she believed the Church was WRONG on the subject and that God just had not yet revealed the full truth about the subject...she realized OUR love was as genuine as the marriages of her other children (two of whom have had TWO divorces each). Oh well, don't mean to go on and on. Hope we meet sometime. Sorry you didn't stop by POrtland when you drove up to Seattle. That would have been fun. THANKS for commenting.
Jim, We stand on two different sides of the fence in regard to the church. But I hope we stand together in our hearts when it comes to our friendship. I will always love you, regardless of your choice of life style. I told you a long time ago why I loved you as my friend. I still do.
Your Forever Friend, Detra
Detra, Of course I still value our friendship... I'm glad we reconnected after all these years!!
Love ya!
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