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Resigning From The Church.


azisbest

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After reading some of the thread about resigning from the church I was prompted to ask a question. Should a person who was born and baptized in the LDS faith but no longer believes in what the church teaches formally resign from the church? Would taking a laisser faire attitude toward the whole thing and doing nothing be ethical?

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Some people say no longer believe the Church's truth claims, but in reality they're agnostic about them; some people genuinely no longer believe the Church's truth claims and their disbelief is more firmly set. Some people would rather not mislead people regarding their prospects for returning to the Church, so they feel that removing their names from the records is the best option for doing this. If one is really "agnostic" with respect to the Church's truth claims, or is simply "taking a break" from full Church activity and service for whatever reason but would not mind an occasional visit from (or other contact with) Church members and leaders, there's no reason for one to have one's name removed. The Church rarely excommunicates people for anything less than serious sin or active opposition. I think the Brethren would prefer that the ball be left in the court of anyone not falling into one of those two camps, and some people feel that even simply leaving their names on the roles when their disbelief is more firmly set is not being true to themselves, and have their names removed for that reason.

Different strokes for different folks.

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I don't think there is anything unethical about remaining a member even if one doesn't believe, unless the purpose of remaining a member is to lead others out of the church by appearing to be a faithful member. And there are plenty of people who want to hedge their bets in case they are wrong about their lack of belief. Some resign though because they don't want anyone contacting them, and that is a near impossibility since people who are members are assigned VT and HTers.

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I don't think there is anything unethical about remaining a member even if one doesn't believe, unless the purpose of remaining a member is to lead others out of the church by appearing to be a faithful member. And there are plenty of people who want to hedge their bets in case they are wrong about their lack of belief. Some resign though because they don't want anyone contacting them, and that is a near impossibility since people who are members are assigned VT and HTers.

Hi rpn...

I don't think this sentence is correct... if a person resigns and takes their names from the rolls, they should no longer be receiving visits from VT and Hters. We have enough to do visiting inactives who agree to visits/contact (like I used to be for 30+ years) without trying to visit those who resign.

I must say, I'm thankful for faithful VTers who kept contact with me through the years (of course my mom always saw that my records were transferred to wherever I was, and soon I'd get a call). I was always a believer in my heart but in my circumstances I was simply inactive. It took my mom's sudden death to send me back to the Church in earnest in 1995... and I've been TBM ever since.

So asizbest... I'm one who kept my name on the rolls for all those years... and here I am now.

GG

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Hi rpn...

I don't think this sentence is correct... if a person resigns and takes their names from the rolls, they should no longer be receiving visits from VT and Hters. We have enough to do visiting inactives who agree to visits/contact (like I used to be for 30+ years) without trying to visit those who resign.

I must say, I'm thankful for faithful VTers who kept contact with me through the years (of course my mom always saw that my records were transferred to wherever I was, and soon I'd get a call). I was always a believer in my heart but in my circumstances I was simply inactive. It took my mom's sudden death to send me back to the Church in earnest in 1995... and I've been TBM ever since.

So asizbest... I'm one who kept my name on the rolls for all those years... and here I am now.

GG

Being unfamiliar with your acronyms and argot, what or whom are VTers and HTers? I have not been active for 40 plus years so forgive my ignorance.
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I don't think there is anything unethical about remaining a member even if one doesn't believe, unless the purpose of remaining a member is to lead others out of the church by appearing to be a faithful member. And there are plenty of people who want to hedge their bets in case they are wrong about their lack of belief. Some resign though because they don't want anyone contacting them, and that is a near impossibility since people who are members are assigned VT and HTers.

I have no desire to lead someone out of the church, in fact the only reason I would not welcome missionaries into my home is because I would not want to cause consternation nor doubt in them about their faith. The ones I have seen are, after all, mere babes philosophically speaking. No bet hedging here, I have zero doubt that I might be wrong, no matter the morosity I feel about that belief.
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Some people say no longer believe the Church's truth claims, but in reality they're agnostic about them; some people genuinely no longer believe the Church's truth claims and their disbelief is more firmly set. Some people would rather not mislead people regarding their prospects for returning to the Church, so they feel that removing their names from the records is the best option for doing this. If one is really "agnostic" with respect to the Church's truth claims, or is simply "taking a break" from full Church activity and service for whatever reason but would not mind an occasional visit from (or other contact with) Church members and leaders, there's no reason for one to have one's name removed. The Church rarely excommunicates people for anything less than serious sin or active opposition. I think the Brethren would prefer that the ball be left in the court of anyone not falling into one of those two camps, and some people feel that even simply leaving their names on the roles when their disbelief is more firmly set is not being true to themselves, and have their names removed for that reason.

Different strokes for different folks.

I am not agostic in the least, so would you advise that I withdraw formally?
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Hi rpn...

I don't think this sentence is correct... if a person resigns and takes their names from the rolls, they should no longer be receiving visits from VT and Hters.

GG

I think he meant for members, not for those who resign....that unless they took their names off the rolls it would be practically impossible to not have contact with someone from the Church.
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I know non-believers (atheists) who are, by record only, still members. I have also met others like myself who are no longer members but who still attend meetings and are culturally active but no longer believe any of it. There is a wonderful variety of us. I happen to have a bishop who refers to me as a filthy atheist (an endearment) and I refer to him as a filthy Mormon (also an endearment).

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If you have been on the rolls for 40 years and not visited by Home Teachers or missionaries I'd find a new ward. :rofl:

They lost track of me years ago (I assume) and I have lived in many different areas in the interim. It is not their fault I have never sought their council. Anyway I can't imagine seeking guidance on matters ethereal with someone barely out of their teens. Although I have confused a few of them using the talk to a missionary feature on their website, lol.
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They lost track of me years ago (I assume) and I have lived in many different areas in the interim. It is not their fault I have never sought their council. Anyway I can't imagine seeking guidance on matters ethereal with someone barely out of their teens. Although I have confused a few of them using the talk to a missionary feature on their website, lol.

azisbest, what is your background in the church if you don't mind me asking?

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azisbest, what is your background in the church if you don't mind me asking?

I don't mind at all. I was born LDS and baptized but at somewhere around 10 or so I quit going. I have however done a bit of reading on the subject and thought myself at least conversant until I start reading the posts in here. Now I consider myself borderline ignorant LDS wise, lol. I have many family members on both sides who remain LDS and our ancestors we can trace back to the beginnings of the church.
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After reading some of the thread about resigning from the church I was prompted to ask a question. Should a person who was born and baptized in the LDS faith but no longer believes in what the church teaches formally resign from the church? Would taking a laisser faire attitude toward the whole thing and doing nothing be ethical?

Careful about starting such threads...
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If you haven't heard from any home or visiting teachers or bishop in 40 years, are you sure you remain a member? People resign for a whole host of reasons. But I'd venture to speculate that a lot more simply do what you originally suggested ----let their membership ride, without considering themselves a member themselves.

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Our family is still on the rolls per my wife's request. I had our letters typed and ready to send when she asked me not to. I was curious as to the reason since it was what we ALL had agreed upon. Her response was, 'it doesn't hurt us at all but us leaving the church has already crushed my 80 year old mother.' (she didn't speak to me for almost a year as it was surely my fault for leading everyone out. We were not even going to tell her for fear of her health. (you know, some truths are not very useful - Packer) My wife had told her sister - big mistake. She couldn't wait to let it slip to Mom. She's the perfect sister (HA!) Three oldest kids no longer in the church. Fourth "did it right" married in the temple to a return missionary. As the old saying goes. The second child in a marriage always takes 9 months - the first one can come at any time. Wallah, seven months later, a full term 8lb baby.

Back to the story, my wife wanted to keep the peace with her 'pretend to be perfect mormon family' who ALL still use the N- word on a regular basis, Mom and Dad don't even attend anymore, and they call us the 'Apostates'.

ps We still worship our Savior, Jesus Christ every Sunday in a local church and love being involved in sevice and missionary work as a family.

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If you haven't heard from any home or visiting teachers or bishop in 40 years, are you sure you remain a member? People resign for a whole host of reasons. But I'd venture to speculate that a lot more simply do what you originally suggested ----let their membership ride, without considering themselves a member themselves.

To answer your question, no I am not sure I am still a member. I have no clue how they classify folks such as myself.
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