'Mormon Group' Plans "Mass Weekend Resignation" From Church

[CV75]

It caused me to wonder if this is just the tip of the iceberg and a sign of things to come for the church.

It isn't supposed to be about the Church, but about the liberated. If they were really liberated, that is -- the poor slobs can't even get anyone else to leave it alone!!!

[Calm]

http://yle.fi/uutise...d_20000/5652878

Under normal circumstances, resignations total about 400 members over the course of three days.

They have 4.2 million members. That makes for about 40,000 a year.....interesting.

A record 83,097 members left the church in 2010; the large number caused in part by a Finnish television discussion programme broadcast on 12 October 2010 concerning gay rights, in which church clergy and laymen were divided both for and against the proposed legal amendments.^[27][28][29]

Avoidance of the Church tax (between 1 and 2 percent depending on location) has been a popular reason cited for defections from the Church.^[30] In 2010 the number of defections hit a record of 83,097, caused partly by the Church's controversial view that homosexuality is a sin.^[27][29] Indeed, Stefan Wallin, Finland's minister responsible for church affairs, accused Päivi Räsänen, the Christian Democrat leader, of deliberately taking a public position against homosexuality and gay rights in order to drive away from the church those people who might hold more liberal views on gay acceptance.^[28]

^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelical_Lutheran_Church_of_Finland}

[cursor]

Why would you want to can a canary?

Because he just wasn't performing his job well enough.

[Calm]

Who? (This is kind of a CFR.)

I've been around a while and I have never seen, read, or heard of this happening.

There was a woman up in Calgary who did this. Went around giving presentations to EV groups.

There was a poster over on ZLMB, IIRC, who claimed he was a born again who had undergone baptism in order to preach from the inside of the LDS Church with the understanding and acceptance of his bishop. Another poster claimed to have been from his ward and stated he had joined under false pretenses to give himself credibility and he was excommunicated when it became obvious...can't remember all the details. Wasn't exactly what mnn claimed, but similar. Lots of drama.

[Mark Beesley]

There was a woman up in Calgary who did this. Went around giving presentations to EV groups.

One of my sons served his mission in Calgary.

What was her name, if you know?

[MorningStar]

Mass resignations are silly. To officially remove your name from the records, it's still an individual thing.

[cursor]

Instead of mass-resignations, I'm in favor of mass-'cannings' (firings).

[Calm]

No, I don't remember, sorry, a friend of mine told us about her with the name and ward she had been in when the subject came up about another member who had turned anti-mormon preacher (which was rather shocking because the Church community had stepped in and really tried to help out when his wife was dying of cancer). It was someone who was careful about such claims....she stayed LDS as long as she could, then resigned before being excommunicated. It was told to me in the early 90s.

I suspect most such stories are based in rumours though considering what money some have made going around making presentations about the evils of Mormonism, I can see how someone might be tempted to try it. This one had a name and ward attached as well as the neighbourhood where she lived and the person telling me was not a gossip so I took him at his word. It is possible it was just folklore though.

Where and when did your son serve? (Have I asked you before?)

[Mark Beesley]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that I'll bet there were more baptisms into the Church yesterday than there were resignations. I liked this statement:

In a statement, LDS Church spokesman Michael Purdy said: "We love and respect every member of the church. People make their own decisions about the direction they will follow in life. While there are very few who take this action, it is sad to see someone choose to leave. We wish them well."

[Mark Beesley]

No, I don't remember, sorry, a friend of mine told us about her with the name and ward she had been in when the subject came up about another member who had turned anti-mormon preacher (which was rather shocking because the Church community had stepped in and really tried to help out when his wife was dying of cancer). It was someone who was careful about such claims....she stayed LDS as long as she could, then resigned before being excommunicated. It was told to me in the early 90s.

I suspect most such stories are based in rumours though considering what money some have made going around making presentations about the evils of Mormonism, I can see how someone might be tempted to try it. This one had a name and ward attached as well as the neighbourhood where she lived and the person telling me was not a gossip so I took him at his word. It is possible it was just folklore though.

Where and when did he serve? (Have I asked you before?)

I don't know the areas he served in, but he served from 1996 to 1998.

Interesting story, while on his mission he met an elderly member who remembered an Elder Beesley in Halifax years and years ago. She had a cute story about how Elder Beesley had cut a large chocolate cake into 8 pieces, one for everyone with none left over, and how he was friendly with Sister Hickenlooper. Those were my parents.

[why me]

They have 4.2 million members. That makes for about 40,000 a year.....interesting.

^{http://en.wikipedia....urch_of_Finland}

It has been quite a lot. Many catholics have also resigned in Bavaria. It is a trend. But in the lds case, it is just a group of people who are craving publicity and who wish to harm the lds church. It is their 15 minutes of fame.

[Calm]

I don't know the areas he served in, but he served from 1996 to 1998.

Interesting story, while on his mission he met an elderly member who remembered an Elder Beesley in Halifax years and years ago. She had a cute story about how Elder Beesley had cut a large chocolate cake into 8 pieces, one for everyone with none left over, and how he was friendly with Sister Hickenlooper. Those were my parents.

Very interesting.

[why me]

Mass resignations are silly. To officially remove your name from the records, it's still an individual thing.

Of course, the stunt is designed to hurt the church and to gain publicity for themselves. There would be no other reason for doing a mass resignation.

[Calm]

But in the lds case, it is just a group of people who are craving publicity and who wish to harm the lds church. It is their 15 minutes of fame.

I have no doubt there were some idealists among them.

[treehugger]

Who will place the caps on the ketchup, and transfer the ketchup bottles from one table to the washer, if there is a mass resignation in the Cannery?

Who will prevent burnt peanuts from being turned into peanut butter?

The humanity, the humanity.

I find the stunt quite silly. Even with letters in hand, they still need a visit to make the removal official.

I suspect, that during said visits, many will recant their letters and simply be asked to be left alone.

[MorningStar]

Of course, the stunt is designed to hurt the church and to gain publicity for themselves. There would be no other reason for doing a mass resignation.

Nah, I think it makes them look like a bunch of drama queens.

[Libs]

OK but what you are doing is limiting what God can or can not, would or would mot, do to what you deem acceptable.

Yes, you are right. I certainly do limit what I believe a loving God is capable of doing. There are things which some people have attributed to God that simply grieve my soul. When that happens, I have to reject it. I have to say, though, that sometimes it is my faulty understanding that is grieving me and not the truth. In those cases, I have to readjust my thinking.

I have my doubts that anyone was "put down".

I was talking about some of the comments made on this very board, and they were "putdowns". These people are being talked about (by some) as though they are silly little children, needing attention. If any of them are reading this, and some may very well be, I don't think it would exactly encourage them to give the church a second look.

I have no objections to anyone resigning. If they think they have made a mistake then rectify that mistake. As a matter of fact I don't care if they make a public display of it. I think if I really thought I had made a mistake of that magnitude I wouldn't want to show it off in public.

Yes, I'm pretty sure, everyone of us, who have ever questioned the church, has at some point felt truly embarrassed about being so naive or uninformed...which makes the "public display" of resigning all the more difficult and perhaps even takes a certain amount of humility and courage.

In reality you can only give as much help as they will accept. If they choose to reject the help and go the public spectacle route then there is not much that can be done. Even now if any of them wanted help and would approach it honestly there are any number who reach out to help but the fact that they chose the way they did indicates to me that they are only attempting to bully the church into giving them their own way on some issue or another.

I don't see any attempt at "bullying" in this. Yes, there may be people willing to help, but if all the protesters see is negativity directed at them, why would they bother? Most probably will not come back....but some may...it happens all the time. Better not to help them burn bridges, with negative comments, don't you think? If I were inclined to help someone back into the church, I would just love on them and let them know how valuable they are to Heavenly Father and how very much they will be missed.

[Hestia]

Topics merged due to duplication.

[Duncan]

Who? (This is kind of a CFR.)

I've been around a while and I have never seen, read, or heard of this happening.

I know one person who was in this situation. It was in Canada but not Alberta, maybe she got out there but I don't know.

[Pahoran]

I'm so sorry about your cousin. I have two that are openly gay and one that tried several times to end his life. I agree several have commited suicide before Prop 8. I just think by having to hear that they're not of the same human race as the heterosexuals and they shouldn't be allowed the freedom to seal the deal and get married I think it compounds the problem and many more will take their lives.

I'm sorry, but that is pure emotional claptrap. There is not a shred of evidence that marriage laws have contributed anything at all to "gay" suicide rates. Homosexuals commit suicide at elevated rates everywhere in the world, including in the most "gay" friendly places. No doubt you feel that you want to hug them and love them and validate their precious, tender feelings; but in reality you'd do them far better service if you told them to get used to the fact that the world is not perfect for them or anyone else either, and is not likely to become so in anyone's lifetime.

I just wanted to mention the FLDS because they are people too. And then I added Elizabeth Smart for the one that is LDS.

Neither of whose lives were affected by LDS polygamy.

I honestly believe that Brian David Mitchell in his sick mind thought that he had to live it the way Joseph Smith did by choosing a very young bride.

Nice try, but that doesn't wash. Actually if you wanted to get rigorous in your thinking, you'd realise that what you are really saying is that it wasn't the practice of LDS polygamy that did the damage, but the ending of the practice.

Maybe that's why it isn't talked about in our sunday schools, some men might think it needs to be lived or they'll be damned. Btw, Brian David Mitchell was once my neigbors hometeacher and was a normal guy, until maybe he researched polygamy and therefore the need for correlation in sunday school.

Or maybe until he started sniffing glue or huffing petrochemicals or went off his meds. "Maybe" is not an argument.

Also, polygamy hurts those of us women that dwell on the fact that we'll be asked to live it in the eternities. Or where else are all those righteous sisters that never got married on earth going to go? I've heard it explained that there won't be enough men there. So that some women will have to share their husbands. So in that way it's hurtful.

So the "hurt" (sob) comes, not from polygamy, but from your choice to "dwell" on something that has no relevance to your life.

Got it.

Sorry if I'm not too warm and fuzzy about your issues today.

Regards,

Pahoran

[Pahoran]

An interesting article in yesterday’s Trib caught my attention…The mass resignation of current members of the church. #1 I was surprised that this made national news, being picked up by all the wire services with the article being run in Chicago, LA, DC papers etc. and

#2 It caused me to wonder if this is just the tip of the iceberg and a sign of things to come for the church.

FYI: apart from "cannery," this is another word your spellchecker didn't catch. "Daydream" or perhaps "fantasize" would be closer to the mark.

This might be the first time you've heard of such a stunt, but not me. For a while there were regular "ex-Mormon general conferences" in SLC, timed to coincide with the real General Conference (in order to ride its coattails, you understand.) I saw a detailed announcement for one of them; it spent more time talking about the open bar than about the speakers. I don't know what's become of them lately.

Regards,

Pahoran

[Tacenda]

Pahoran, I can take it, I like plain speaking. But to get to the reason for the mass resignation, there are plenty of personal stories of people leaving because of both prop 8 and polygamy reasons.

[Kenngo1969]

Instead of mass-resignations, I'm in favor of mass-'cannings' (firings).

Only if you're a canary. Reminds me of the scene from M*A*S*H in which Col. Potter ordered Hawkeye to fire his weapon, whereupon he looked at it and said, "You're fired," turned to Col. Potter and said, "I did it as gently as I could."

[Daimao]

Too much chicannery for my taste.

[Glenn101]

Pahoran, I can take it, I like plain speaking. But to get to the reason for the mass resignation, there are plenty of personal stories of people leaving because of both prop 8 and polygamy reasons.

Tacenda, Prop 8 and polygamy are only a couple of the reasons that people give for leaving the Church. Those people never had testimonies, or had lost them long before they began to lose their belief.

Glenn