How do I remove my name as a member?


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I've been a bit flighty on here lately, it seems that my days have been busy with too many things to do and keep up with, I haven't found much time to revisit threads that I've started or join in on discussions. But I'm here needing some advice and I'll be responding to whoever takes the time to comment. I'm wanting to remove my name as a member of the Church and I'd like to do this as simply as possible, without having to involve more people than those that are on a need-to-know basis.

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17 years ago I decided to remove my name from Church membership.  I wrote a letter to my stake and it was completely ignored.  No phone call, no reply, nothing.

 

I didn't push it because I had many conflicted feelings about staying in the Church, and one part of me wanted to stay.  I called Salt Lake City 2 years after I had sent my letter.  They checked their computer and said I was still a member.  The man who talked to me was really wonderful, he was happy to stay on the line for as long as I wanted and to talk about anything I wished.

 

Letters are okay, I guess, but I would start with a personal contact with the bishop.  If your experience is like mine, it's certainly nothing to be afraid of.  Best wishes to you. 

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First talk with your Bishop!

If you still want to proceed with removing your name from church records then write a letter to your Bishop asking that your name be removed from church records. You do not have to state reason you want to remove your name, but it may help speed up the process if you do. The Bishop should then contact you and make sure you understand the consequences of having your name removed from the church records. The Bishop will then forward the information to the Stake President who will then send you a letter giving you a 30 day waiting period to ponder the decision, if you do not send a letter or ask the Stake President in those 30 days to not proceed with removing your name from church records - your name will be removed from church records.

 

My guess is the process should take no longer that 60 days. If you send a letter directly to Church headquarters your letter will be forwarded to your Stake President to handle your request. Church headquarters only give the Stake Pres 60 days to handle the process so i would imagine you should expect it to be done within that time frame.

 

You can get your Bishop's mailing address off of a tithing envelope. I would not use the tithing envelope to mail the letter as it may inadvertently get passed onto one of the counselors when tithing is being processed.

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I think I prefer route of sending a letter in. I don't really want to have a sit down heart-to-heart meet with my bishop, I don't feel it's necessary at this point, I just want to start the process and get it done.

 

 

It's your choice, of course.  But I think your bishop is obligated to make sure you understand the consequences of your decision, at least from the Church's standpoint.  If your letter is ambiguous or omits key information about the irreversibility of your decision, it might actually start a process by which a face-to-face conversation is needed.

 

If you make it clear that your decision is final, that you understand the consequences, and that the only further contact you wish from the Church is a written letter stating your name has been removed, then it should be pretty straightforward.  You will probably get a pamphlet in the mail from the First Presidency inviting you to reconsider your decision.

 

Back when I was researching this (I pondered resignation many years ago but eventually changed my mind), I found web sites that claimed you could resign by email, but I think a paper document with your wet signature is a lot better.  Keep a copy for your records.

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State your intentions clearly in your letter to the Bishop. From reading the Handbook, I believe he will still be required to contact you in some fashion explaining what you are forfeiting by having your named removed from the Church records.

Also keep in mind that if you have any friends in your Ward this may cause a strain on your relationship as many members feel like a part of them is being rejected when they hear that someone they care for (i.e. your friendship) has decided to leave the church. Most of the time they are not rejecting you and its not that they no longer want to be your friend, its they just don't know how to handle the church issue around you. It may take extra effort on your part to continue to nourish those friendships.

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I think I prefer route of sending a letter in. I don't really want to have a sit down heart-to-heart meet with my bishop, I don't feel it's necessary at this point, I just want to start the process and get it done.

 

I don't know this for fact but my understanding is that the Bishop has to be contacted as well.  So if you sent a letter in to church headquarters they may very well forward it to your current Bishop.

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Legally as soon as they recieve a letter you are out. The rest is the church's process. You can send to a local leader or to Salt Lake. That is it. They will send you a confirmation to tell you that they have to send to local leadership, but legally, you are out.

 

Not to contradict you, RMGuy, but I'm curious what "legally" means in this context. Is there some legislation the Church must comply with in how it counts its members? Or are you using a less technical definition of "legally"? (Honest question, 0% snark)

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Legally as soon as they recieve a letter you are out. The rest is the church's process. You can send to a local leader or to Salt Lake. That is it. They will send you a confirmation to tell you that they have to send to local leadership, but legally, you are out.

 

Clearly, "legally" is not the concern, as the legal state of belonging to a church has pretty much no bearing on anything whatsoever. The missionaries will still try and visit. The neighbors will still try and fellowship. The church will remain concerned with souls.

Edited by The Folk Prophet
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No worries Vort. Usually, when an individual sends a resignation letter to the church they recieve a return notification from the church letting the individual know that there is a 30 day waiting period and that ths has been referred to a local leader (bishop or branch president) to follow up.

However, legally as soon as the church recieves the letter, the member is "out". The courts have said, in instances where the church was sued regarding this, that is no 30 day wait, nor any obligation to meet with a local leader. Hence my used of the word legal.

So while the church may have some internal process, an individual is no longer a member legally as soon as the letter is received by any church leader.

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There is US case law saying that once a person has resigned from a religious organization, the religious organization cannot refuse to accept the resignation and then proceed to take its own action against that person's membership.  (In other words, a church can't say "no, you haven't left us; and further, we're excommunicating you!")  That's probably what RMGuy is referring to.

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Here is my experience with it........members sent me a letter asking for name to be removed and they signed it ....I would start the proceedings

Once all the paperwork was in place sent to Church headquarters. Then once I got notification from Salt Lake the name was going to be removed I then sent a letter to the person informing the name was going to be removed and that they had 30 days to rescind on their decision.

You the made sure no one contacted them and removed the from all home and visiting teaching lists. The one thing you had no control over would be if and when the missionaries went tracting and knocked on their door.

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TFP, if the former member states no further contact is desired and the missionaries/members persist in attempting to visit the could open themselves and the church up to trespass or harassment charges.

 

So? I was responding to their so-called "legal" status as a member or not. On the records of the church or not is irrelevant to harassment and the like. If my neighbor is harassing me when I don't want them to and trespassing on my property against my will it makes no difference if my name is on the records of the church or not.

 

And, frankly, I'm not going to stop being neighborly and friendly because a neighbor insists on no contact from the church. I won't officially visit them, but I'm not giving up either.

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Recently I listened to a podcast about a woman who joined the LDS Church at a young age, then quit and had her name removed, and then she rejoined the Church and was rebaptized, and then she quit a 2nd time.  

 

I won't joke about this.  My heart goes out to her and to all those with tortured souls.  

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