‘A’ Week: Getting Out

As ‘A’ Week 2011 comes to a close, I thought this would be a good time to stop procrastinating. I’ve been and out atheist for over a decade now, though I wasn’t always as “out” as I am today. So I decided this year I should get out of something other than the closet—the Mormon church.

For many years I didn’t give it much thought, but in recent years I’ve decided I don’t want my name associated with Mormonism any longer—even if it is nothing more than a procedural matter from my perspective.

I spent some time today drafting my letter of resignation, which the LDS Church requires before name removal. Parts of my letter were taken from samples at ExMormon.org and MormonResignation.com with more than a little of my own input. Here is the full text of my letter, which you can feel free to use as a template if you’d like:

[YOUR FULL NAME]

Membership Record No.: [xxx-xxx-xxxx]

DOB: [YOUR DATE OF BIRTH]

Date of baptism: [YOUR DATE OF LDS BAPTISM]

[CURRENT ADDRESS]

[TODAY'S DATE]

Member Records Division, LDS Church

50 E North Temple Rm 1372

SLC UT 84150-5310

This letter is my formal resignation from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and it is effective immediately. I hereby withdraw my consent to being treated as a member and I withdraw my consent to being subject to church rules, policies, beliefs, and “discipline.” As I am no longer a member, please remove the name “[YOUR FULL NAME]” ([MEMBERSHIP RECORD NUMBER]; [DOB]; [DATE OF BAPTISM]) from the records of the LDS Church immediately.

I understand fully the “consequences” of name removal as outlined in Handbook 1: “it cancels the effects of baptism and confirmation, withdraws the priesthood held by a male member, and revokes temple blessings … a person can be readmitted to the Church by baptism and confirmation only after a thorough interview.” (6.14, 2010). I will not be dissuaded and demand that my name be removed immediately, without announcement, and with the 30-day waiting period waived, as required by section 6.14 of Handbook 1.

I find the bulk of theistic doctrine and teachings, including LDS, to be morally repugnant and intellectually bankrupt. I no longer wish to be associated with the LDS Church or any other religion for these and other reasons.

Furthermore, I object to having ever been considered a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on the grounds that membership forced upon me as a child at the age of eight—well before a person is able to competently make decisions of this nature and well before the legal age of adulthood (18) in the U.S. This letter is written out of necessity due to the unfortunate procedures and policies set forth by the LDS Church, therefore I expect this matter to be handled promptly, with respect and with full confidentiality. This matter is not to be discussed with members of my family, friends, or anyone inside or outside the LDS Church who is not crucial to the process of name removal.

Sincerely,

[NAME SIGNED]

[NAME PRINTED]

You’d probably fine with only name and DOB, but the member number and date of baptism might help avoid hiccups if you have that info.

Also, thanks to some message board, I was able to download a pdf of the church’s updated handbook here (password: martin).

Now I’m off to mail this thing!