Duncan Posted November 13, 2013 Posted November 13, 2013 I have heard that if you join another Church while as a member, active or inactive you could be summoned to a Church court with the various outcomes of that. Why? if you aren't active let's say, what does the Church care what you do with your time?
Spammer Posted November 13, 2013 Posted November 13, 2013 (edited) Although I am now a baptized, chrismated Orthodox Christian, I am still on the records of the LDS church. I have not asked to have my name removed for the sake of my wife and mom, who asked that I not do so. I'm currently on my fourth LDS bishop who knows everything. So far, no church court. To their credit, they're probably taking my wife's feelings into account, for which I'm grateful. If I ever am summoned, I will politely decline to attend. We'll see what the future holds... Edited November 13, 2013 by Spammer
Buzzard Posted November 13, 2013 Posted November 13, 2013 I believe that if you become a pastor or other public leader of another public religion, then you might face a church court. The mere act of joining another church will not trigger discipline. A few years ago, a former BYU professor became a Unitarian minister and was summoned to a court. I'll root around and see if I can find the reference.
thesometimesaint Posted November 13, 2013 Posted November 13, 2013 You CAN be subject to Church discipline. though you may not necessarily actually be called into it.
The Nehor Posted November 13, 2013 Posted November 13, 2013 It is an option but unless you are using your church membership to discredit the church or are holding a position of importance it is unlikely to be exercised. That said, it is at the Priesthood leader's discretion. There is no "safe" way to join another church and guarantee that your membership will remain,
pmccombs1 Posted November 13, 2013 Posted November 13, 2013 I have heard that if you join another Church while as a member, active or inactive you could be summoned to a Church court with the various outcomes of that. Why? if you aren't active let's say, what does the Church care what you do with your time? In the Church Handbook of instructions (I believe manual 1), the section on Apostasy is fairly clear that joining another church is grounds for excommunication.
DarkScythe Posted November 13, 2013 Posted November 13, 2013 as long as you are not with a religion or a group that is activity against the Mormon church, I do think you are good.
EllenMaksoud Posted November 13, 2013 Posted November 13, 2013 I have heard that if you join another Church while as a member, active or inactive you could be summoned to a Church court with the various outcomes of that. Why? if you aren't active let's say, what does the Church care what you do with your time?If you view the church as a prison, perhaps it depends on which side of the bars you feel you are looking from. I am still mildly active in my Muslim community, and my Bishop is fully aware. However I am not confused about the LDS church, what it did for me, and Heavenly Father's will in my life.
Bill “Papa” Lee Posted November 13, 2013 Posted November 13, 2013 I have heard that if you join another Church while as a member, active or inactive you could be summoned to a Church court with the various outcomes of that. Why? if you aren't active let's say, what does the Church care what you do with your time?No action needed, if someone joins another church, then no longer a member of this church. Unlike some Nations that accept dual citizenship, the church does not do so.
Sleeper Cell Posted November 13, 2013 Posted November 13, 2013 Although joining another church is incompatible with membership in the LDS Church and grounds for church discipline, I don’t believe that church discipline is mandatory. A lot would depend on the member’s reasons and other individual circumstances. IMO, the bishop should visit the member to ascertain his feelings toward the LDS Church and ask whether he wanted his name removed from the Church’s membership records. If he continually refuses any church contact, I feel he should be excommunicated, absent compelling reasons to the contrary.
Derl Sanderson Posted November 13, 2013 Posted November 13, 2013 From handbook 1, 6.7.3: Total inactivity in the Church or attending another church does not constitute apostasy. However, if a member formally joins another church and advocates its teachings, excommunication or name removal may be necessary if formal membership in the other church is not ended after counseling and encouragement. As is the case with virtually everything of an ecclesiastical nature, this direction is couched in terms of "may be necessary," indicating to me the final decision is at the discretion of the bishop or stake president. 2
rockpond Posted November 13, 2013 Posted November 13, 2013 From handbook 1, 6.7.3: Total inactivity in the Church or attending another church does not constitute apostasy. However, if a member formally joins another church and advocates its teachings, excommunication or name removal may be necessary if formal membership in the other church is not ended after counseling and encouragement. As is the case with virtually everything of an ecclesiastical nature, this direction is couched in terms of "may be necessary," indicating to me the final decision is at the discretion of the bishop or stake president. I've served with two bishops now and I have never seen either of them suggest that we pursue disciplinary action against inactive members who we believe are attending another church. I think that a member would really have to be publicly "advocating", as the handbook says, in order for a busy LDS bishop/SP to want to take the time to call a church court.
Mola Ram Suda Ram Posted November 13, 2013 Posted November 13, 2013 I will politely decline to attend. We'll see what the future holds...Which in and of its self is a reason to not hold a discplinary council. Seems useless to me. If some one joind another church so be it. 2
rockpond Posted November 13, 2013 Posted November 13, 2013 No action needed, if someone joins another church, then no longer a member of this church. Unlike some Nations that accept dual citizenship, the church does not do so. False. We maintain membership for plenty of people who attend other churches. As the handbook quote says, our official policy is that we don't take away your membership simply for joining another church. You would have to also advocate its teachings and even that doesn't require name removal/excommuncation. 2
Buzzard Posted November 13, 2013 Posted November 13, 2013 (edited) If you view the church as a prison, perhaps it depends on which side of the bars you feel you are looking from. I am still mildly active in my Muslim community, and my Bishop is fully aware. However I am not confused about the LDS church, what it did for me, and Heavenly Father's will in my life.Not to derail, but it is my understanding that one does not join the Muslim religion in a formal way, but upon repeating a Muslim affirmation of faith is considered a Muslim for life. Is this correct? Edited November 13, 2013 by Buzzard
Sleeper Cell Posted November 13, 2013 Posted November 13, 2013 If you view the church as a prison, perhaps it depends on which side of the bars you feel you are looking from. I am still mildly active in my Muslim community, and my Bishop is fully aware. However I am not confused about the LDS church, what it did for me, and Heavenly Father's will in my life.A few years ago, a Muslim congregation in my area invited the general public to attend an “Open Mosque” outreach. My bishop encouraged ward members to attend. At first, I was uncomfortable (strange environment, didn’t know anyone, afraid of inadvertently doing something disrespectful, etc.). The Muslims I met there were very gracious and I was amazed how quickly I became comfortable. I regret that -- due to unrelated circumstances -- I never followed up on their kind invitation to return. 1
EllenMaksoud Posted November 13, 2013 Posted November 13, 2013 Not to derail, but it is my understanding that one does not join the Muslim religion in a formal way, but upon repeating a Muslim affirmation of faith is considered a Muslim for life. Is this correct? It is called the "Shahadda" and basically says, "There is no god but God and Muhammad is the prophet of God." I said it and still believe it. However, my involvement in Islam, actually made the step to becoming LDS easier because there was no struggle with Joseph Smith as a Prophet, and no issue with the Book of Mormon. I said this to the Bishop and the Stake President. They did not have issue with my being baptised. Getting this back on track, I know several converts who were other religions, and some Mormons who have messed with Buddhism. Perhaps the intention of the original poster was regarding joining a religion that would be openly hostile to Mormons like Baptists perhaps.
EllenMaksoud Posted November 13, 2013 Posted November 13, 2013 A few years ago, a Muslim congregation in my area invited the general public to attend an “Open Mosque” outreach. My bishop encouraged ward members to attend. At first, I was uncomfortable (strange environment, didn’t know anyone, afraid of inadvertently doing something disrespectful, etc.). The Muslims I met there were very gracious and I was amazed how quickly I became comfortable. I regret that -- due to unrelated circumstances -- I never followed up on their kind invitation to return. We can PM about this if you like. When I was still Shia Muslim, my mosque in Beaverton provided the same invitation, of course at the time, I could see that certain Christians felt threatened. We did all we could to avoid discomfort to anyone. If you wish to talk more, please PM me. I do not wish to be in trouble for de-railing this thread.
cinepro Posted November 13, 2013 Posted November 13, 2013 Can someone explain a situation to me (real or hypothetical) in which someone would join another church but still wish to maintain their LDS Church membership? 2
Sleeper Cell Posted November 13, 2013 Posted November 13, 2013 Can someone explain a situation to me (real or hypothetical) in which someone would join another church but still wish to maintain their LDS Church membership?Spammer gave one example (concern for the feelings of his wife and mother). I have known people who joined churches for social or family unity reasons, but retained a sense of attachment to their original church. In that sense, they may feel that they are joining a congregation, rather than a particular denomination (even though they have gone through the formality of joining the denomination). It would probably depend, in part, on how the new church felt about a member’s desire to retain his previous church membership. Then there is the possibility that a particular individual has not entirely given up all of his unique LDS beliefs, or even that he subconsciously wants to “hedge his bets.”
Bill “Papa” Lee Posted November 13, 2013 Posted November 13, 2013 False. We maintain membership for plenty of people who attend other churches. As the handbook quote says, our official policy is that we don't take away your membership simply for joining another church. You would have to also advocate its teachings and even that doesn't require name removal/excommuncation.Maybe you misread me...I started with a "no". We do not have church courts for others attending other churches. But thank for bold type. I know what handbook says and know the actions taken when I served in Bishopric, my comment was about those who "join", not attend other churches.
Mola Ram Suda Ram Posted November 13, 2013 Posted November 13, 2013 Can someone explain a situation to me (real or hypothetical) in which someone would join another church but still wish to maintain their LDS Church membership?Spammer has done just that.
rockpond Posted November 13, 2013 Posted November 13, 2013 Maybe you misread me...I started with a "no". We do not have church courts for others attending other churches. But thank for bold type. I know what handbook says and know the actions taken when I served in Bishopric, my comment was about those who "join", not attend other churches. I don't think that I misread you. We don't require name removal for those who join other churches either. This would indicate that we probably have a significant number of people on our membership rolls who either attend or have joined other churches.
Stone holm Posted November 13, 2013 Posted November 13, 2013 The General Handbook of Instructions was changed to allow for membership challenges for joining another Church back in the late '70s or early '80s. I remember because I was a Stake Executive Secretary at the time and in charge of working with the Stake's hometeaching program. We discussed how we might improve the Stake's hometeaching statistics and decided that one way was to start culling all the inactives who had joined other churches. I was all geared up to present the program to the Executive Secretaries throughout the Stake at Stake Conference, and then there was this Bishop's Question and Answer session with Elder Faust. And he was asked about the change in the Handbook, and he said, "Well Brethren, I wouldn't take that too far, you know joining another Church is kind of like joining Kiwanis." I sat there and hurriedly tried to figure out what I was going to talk about in leadership training, because it was pretty clear to me that none of the Bishops were going to run with our program after hearing that.
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