Recovery from Mormonism

Example 1

President R G. C.
______ Stake
______, WA

Dear President ____,

This letter is being sent to inform you that we are officially requesting that our names, and the names of our children, be removed from the records of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This request is being made after many years of soul-searching, and studying on our part. We did not easily come to this decision, and in fact have found it to be one of the most difficult decisions of our lives. We have a deep love and gratitude for many friends and family that are still members of the church, and wish to make it very clear that we are not leaving because of hurt feelings, or being offended by anyone in the church. We have had to base our decision on our faith in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and our intellect. This decision is being made freely on our part, and with a full knowledge of what the LDS church teaches the consequences of making a decision like this are.

We insist that our records, and the letter notifying us that our names have been removed from the church records, show that the only reason why our names have been removed, is that we requested it to be so. We also insist that the word excommunication not be used in the church records, or in the letter notifying us of this action. We would not hesitate to take legal action against the church if anything is done to slander our good names, or if members of this stake are given the impression that we left because of immorality.

Please understand that we are taking this action because it has been proven to us that Mormonism is false, and does not teach correct doctrine according to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Some of the doctrinal problems we have investigated are:

1. We do not believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, or that he received direct revelation from God. We also believe that we will be judged someday according to our faith in the Savior, not Joseph Smith. We believe that he taught false doctrine, and that he has led many good people astray, and away from the true teachings of Jesus Christ that are taught in the Bible.

2. We are convinced that the Book of Mormon is not of divine origin, except for the verses that are plagarized from the Bible. We do not believe that Joseph Smith translated any part of the Book of Mormon, and that it is nothing more than a contrived document.

3. We are convinced that the Pearl of Great Price (particularly the Book of Abraham) is a pure work of deceit and fraud. It became apparent to leaders of the church that the papyrus that Joseph Smith translated into the Book of Abraham, was nothing more than Egyptian funeral documents, yet they continued to claim that the book was of divine origin. This fact has been hidden from members of the church for many years.

4. We are certain that the Doctrine and Covenants is also false, and has been changed and rewritten so many times, that Saints today have no clue what some of the false doctrines that Joseph Smith taught really were.

5. We are convinced that polygamy is a wicked principle that is taught by the church, and that it is demeaning and devastating to women. We are also convinced that it was an excuse for Joseph Smith to commit adultery, since he practiced it for at least 10 years prior to the 1843 "revelation".

6. We are convinced that, on the whole, the LDS church has made serious and substantial changes to all of their scriptures, and most of church history. We believe that this has been done to satisfy and comfort its members, to hide doctrinal errors, and to protect some leaders from exposure to their moral failures.

7. We are convinced that men and women are not treated equally in the LDS church, that women's issues are ignored, and that women are truly made to feel like second class citizens. LDS doctrine is completely offensive to women, and could not possibly be pleasing in God's eyes. We are also convinced that depression among women in the LDS church is rampant, and always ignored by church leaders. The impression is given that any LDS woman who is depressed, must not be living the gospel.

8. We believe that the the often quoted statement, "The glory of God is intelligence", is completely contradictory to what the church truly teaches about members increasing their intellect. Free thought is discouraged, and members are told what to read, when to pray, how to pray, and what to think.

9. We do not believe that God was once a man, that he lived on a planet similar to Earth, and that through his righteousness he became a God. Furthermore, we do not believe that men on this Earth can someday become Gods. According to the bible, God has always been God, and is "from everlasting to everlasting".

These are just a few of our major issues with the doctrine of the LDS church. We could write many more pages of other problems that we have with the doctrine, but I'm sure that our point has been made very clear. WE DO NOT WISH TO REMAIN MEMBERS OF A CHURCH THAT IS BASED ON FRAUD AND LIES!

In closing, we wish to tell you our greatest reason for leaving the LDS church. Our six beautiful children! We do not want our children to grow up in an oppressive religion that dictates every aspect of their lives, and teaches them that men are superior to women. We know that we can raise good, moral children outside of Mormonism, and teach them integrity and the most important of Christ's teachings: The love of their fellowman. The LDS church does not own the patent to teaching these important values. Our greatest hope in doing this, besides our own happiness, is the goal of having our children reach their full potential. If our daughters reach their full potential in this life, and our sons become better men, who respect and treat women with the dignity that they deserve, then our goal will be accomplished.

We ask that you please respect our request to have our names removed immediately, and be aware that we will not welcome any visits from missionaries, home teachers, visiting teachers, bishopric or stake presidency members. Our decision is final in this matter, and any missionary efforts on the part of the LDS church, will be considered an invasion of our privacy.

With Respect,

____________

____________

CC - Bishop _______

This is a recent exit letter used by a family in the Pacific Northwest. It is important when writing your letter that you write to the home addresses of the Bishop and Stake President and have your minor children also sign the letter. You will get a notice that you have 30 days to change your mind. That is it. There is no further correspondence if the Stake president and Bishop do their jobs. It is all very anti-climatic.

Example 2

"Please remove my name from the records of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as specified in the General Handbook of Instructions, 1989 Edition, chapter eight, page four.

These instructions to you state that you, as the bishop, are to be certain that I understand the following:

- that withdrawing a name cancels the effects of baptism; - withdraws the priesthood from a male member; and, - suspends temple sealings and blessings.

I do understand these things, and make this formal, written request that my name be removed from the records of the church.

Therefore, I ask you to promptly complete the form "Request for Admimistrative Action", and forward it to the Stake President. You will need to send me a letter, telling me that you have done so, and that the Stake President will hold the form for 30 days. With no further action from me, at the end of those 30 days, the Stake President will forward this letter and the form to the Office of the First Presidency."