Finally, after three full months (and a few threats of embarrassment) they released me from my “membership”.  I’m very relieved.  You know how when you grow up and there come a point during adolescence that you realize your parents aren’t perfect and it’s kind of a huge disappointment?  That was somewhat how I felt and what triggered this process for me.  The difference is, my parents never represented they were perfect, never professed it to be true, never dictated it… it’s just what I thought.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints professes all those things and THEN puts men in front of you to represent those absolutes.   I am not a blindly obedient follower… I’m a rational, loving human being… so when you tell me that there is a truth… and that there’s one man who’s in charge (on Earth) that represents all that is good in the world and THAT MAN makes an error, sins… and is dishonest… then all those absolutes that he is supposed to typify get thrown out the window.

I’m proud to say that I’m not represented by him, his ideology, his relgion or counted as member under his jurisdiction.

On with life…

Here’s the letter of confirmation (of my damnation no doubt);

————–

Member and Statistical Records Division
50 East North Temple Street
Salt Lake City, Utah 84150-1010

April 30, 2010

<my name>
<my address>

Dear Brother <>,

This letter is to notify you that, in accordance with your request, your name has been removed from the membership records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Should you desire to become a member of the Church in the future, the local bishop or branch president in your area will be happy to help you.

Sincerely,

<name>
Manager, Member and Statistical Records

—————

So I decided to write to the Bishop and Stake President just to acknowledge their letter to me.  Even though I’m sure I could sit tight and wait for the 10th, I don’t want anyone to misunderstand or assume anything about my intentions.  That, and I really am no okay with them having the last word assuming I’ll be crying over all the blessings I’m missing out on or something.  May 10th and I should get my final form letter!

Anyhow, here’s what I wrote to each of them and put in the mail today;

———————–

Wednesday, May 05, 2010

Bishop xxx & President xxx,

Please do not continue to insult my intelligence by delaying this process any longer with additional form letters or pleas to any inherent religious guilt that can be bartered with.

Your concern for my soul is no longer to be traded amongst your organization.  That’s the point really, and I thought I made that explicit in my initial letter.

If the “review” by the First Presidency is what elicited this, then have President Monson contact me.  He (and he alone) has the accountability for the actions of his persuasion and while the membership at large is not entitled to full disclosure, maybe I am; I look forward to speaking to him and only after a “very thorough interview process” with him would I entertain reconsideration.

If this is standard protocol, then you might want to edit the form letter because it is insulting and manipulative to infer such things (i.e. a review by the First Presidency).

This has entirely nothing to do with the stellar people who continue to positively influence my life and entirely everything to do with an organization and its leader who manipulated his influence to the detriment of other human beings outside his organizational jurisdiction.  I will not be counted as a member amongst such an organization.  Please forward this to President Monson, if you feel so inclined, so that he can “understand the consequences” of his actions.

By removing my name, I am not the first to “confirm that he understands the consequences” of his actions; I will not be the last.

My patience with this process and topic has long since atrophied.  I will await confirmation following the 10^th of May and I expect it to be post-haste.

See you at Mother’s Day’s and Christmas’s no doubt.

—————————–

So two days ago I sent a letter back to Church headquarters telling them to quit sitting on my request however, yesterday, I received a letter which reads as follows;

————————————-

THE CHURCH OF
JESUS CHRIST
OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS

<Name of Ward>
<Name of Stake>

April 25,2010

<My Name>
<My Address>

Dear Brother <……>-

My name is <….> and I am the bishop of the <….> Ward.   I am writing to inform you that your request to have your name removed from the records of the Church has been reviewed by the First Presidency.   I have been asked to contact you to confirm that you understand the consequences of this request.   Name removal will cancel the effects of baptism and confirmation, will withdraw the priesthood, and will revoke temple blessings. Readmission to the Church by baptism and confirmation subsequent to name removal would be allowed only after a very thorough interview process.
If you have reconsidered this decision and wish to rescind your request, please send a written request for recision to President <….> at the address below before May 10,2010.   If no written communication is received by this date, your name will automatically be removed from Church membership records.
President <….>
<address>

Please contact me with any questions you might have.

Best wishes,
Bishop <….>
<….> Ward
<address>

———————————–

So I don’t know this Bishop, he’s new… they just split the boundaries but I know the Stake President quite well.  While I assume I could wait till the 10th of May, I’m inclined to respond in writing to both of them anyhow.  Honestly… it’s belittling… fear an intimidation (and guilt) used as tactics to motivate submission and “righteousness” make me postal.

Funny funny funny… Google “thomas s monson looks wierd” and see what the second result is.  Someone in Arizona searched for that 7 days ago and found my site.  Hilarious!

Three months and no response is ridiculous.  I guarantee that the department responsible for cashing tithing checks doesn’t take more that seconds to yank money out of peoples accounts and use it to buy strip-malls, call centers for political campaigns and whatnot.  Seems they may be understaffed in the “Membership and Statistical Records” department however.  Regardless… not my problem.

Here’s the text of the letter I’m sending today… It’s a little bit harsh but really… enough is enough.

—————-

Thomas S. Monson
c/o Member Records Division
50 E North Temple, Room 1372
Salt Lake City, UT  84150-5310

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Dear Thomas S Monson,

A representative from the “Member and Statistical Records” department managed to receive acknowledge and send me confirmation of my request for the expulsion of my membership within two days of receipt yet it has been three months since you have acted on completing the request.

I believe both local Ward and Stake leaders have responded to your clerical/ecclesiastical process to release my name.  If they have not then I demand you get back to the clerical process and remove my name as requested and acknowledge to me in writing of said action.

I’ve reattached the letter for reference.  If my request is not honored swiftly, I’ll be reading it aloud wherever I get a chance.  First Sunday of every month in Sacrament meetings sounds like a good place to start.  I’ll be traveling through several States these next few months, I’m sure I can find an audience who will listen (and likely get all the way through it before a Bishop awkwardly asks me to stop).  I don’t take kindly to an organization who (when in full favor) is responsive, but in dissent, is dismissive and unresponsive.

Communicate in writing to the address below.

————————-

So that’s that… I’ll see how long it takes now.  Took them two days to respond to the first letter but the “ecclesiastical” part (i.e. my soul) seems to take longer to ponder over.  All I want is for them to quit pondering, I’ll be fine… trust me.

I just want NO ASSOCIATION!

No I haven’t lost sight of my goal or urgency… I’ve just been busy with life that I haven’t recognized that I have yet to hear back.

I’m going to send a letter by the end of this week I think to demand they hurry up.  Maybe I’ll tell them I plan to read my original letter aloud during open mic Sunday (fast and testimony meeting) and see how far I get in it before I get yanked from the pulpit.  I’m pretty sure I can get through the whole thing before people realize what I’m talking about or what to do about it.

I have travel plans across the country in the coming months, so I should be able to hit a few open mic first Sunday’s if they keep dragging their feet on acknowledging my desire to disassociate.

I realize it’s a form letter they likely send me and they don’t ACTUALLY purge my record… but even still.  It’s the process and the purpose and the exercise I’m making them go through that is the point.  Not that I’m electronically eradicated from their MT/GPHTTS (Mormon Tracking/Global Positioning Home Teacher Tracking System).

I’ll post the letter after I write it…

This is humorous… I have stats and analytics tied to the site that I review on occasion.  It’s interesting to see who stumbles upon the site and why.

So apparently a Canadian thought it best to search Google (not through divine inspiration, or thoughtful prayer or gifts of the spirit or their local leaders or anywhere else but of all things the deity that is G-O-O-G-L-E this simple question; “will thomas s monson see the end of days”.

Luckily (and I’ll choose to think it was REAL inspiration, this site came up as the SIXTH search result and he/she clicked on it to find out more.  Take a look here; it made me laugh out loud.

Someone brought it to my attention that I’ve been quiet on here for a bit and it’s due entirely to the fact that there’s nothing to report.  I wish there was.

Little over a week ago I contacted my father, who’s the ward clerk for the ward I’m “supposed” to go to and actually the Stake President is now in their ward too sooooooooo the two gentleman who received copies of my letter sent to Thomas S Monson see my parents every Sunday.  Good times!  Anyhow, I contacted my dad to get their contact information… either phone number or church email address (if they even have those?) so that I could follow-up and get this DONE.

My Dad kindly replied that he had spoken to the Stake President who said he signed and returned it to SLC so now it’s in their lap again… but passed the local leadership hurdles at least.

Jason from excommunicatethechurch.com suggested I send a follow-up letter to close the deal.  Apparently there’s a “cooling off period” that they just sit on it to see if the heavens will open, I’ll see the light, and miraculously find the error in my ways and revoke my revocation of my membership (pretty sure that was bad grammar).

Interestingly, my Dad sent me some articles from a liberal Mormon publication called “Dialogue” that talked about Prop 8, the Church’s involvement and what they (as a religious institution) should have and could have done to right the wrong.  Very well written articles but of course go nowhere near using WHO was behind it, WHY they were behind it and the tremendous amount of manipulation that occurred to hundreds of thousands of blindly obedient members.

Anyhow, he opened the door for me to comment on the articles and their merit and I offered up to him that;

It makes no sense to me for those who think along the lines of ‘dialogue’ to subject themselves to the matriculations of an antiquated and deaf system of heirachy when it’s clear their thought process is independent and infinitely superior (in objectivity) both to themselves and to general populus.

Which basically poses the question that if you read, agree and subscribe to “Dialogue” then why are you a sheep/member of the Church in the first place?

His response?

As for the reason why many of us “subject themselves to the matriculations of an antiquated and deaf system of hierarchy when it’s clear their thought process is independent and infinitely superior (in objectivity) both to themselves and to general populous.” is that it allows us to regularly feel that superiority. And, we like the friendships, the occasional spiritual experiences, are afraid of drifting into the “great and spacious building,” need to be involved in good works (like being a clerk or a Primary President) for our own improvement, etc. The reasons vary by the person. The baby in the dirty bath water is still worth it for us.

He’s a smart cookie and I give him lots of credit for that.

So it’s been 7 days since I got the form letter response…  I would imagine the Bishop would have come visit by now if that was his desire.  If it wasn’t then he would release/approve it and send it back to SLC eh?  I don’t really want to preemptively call the bishop to see if he held it up at all if it’s just a “process” but I don’t know how long to wait before I demand some swift action?  Maybe one more week…. hmmmmm.

This is brilliant, I just stumbled upon it.  I’m printing the letter and sending it in.  EXCOMMUNICATE THE CHURCH! Check out the site and do so yourself!