It's OK to resign.

[TripletDaddy]

I'm waitng to resign until the church develops a resignation app for smartphone and tablet.

[YOhio]

I disagree with the thread title. It's not OK to resign from the LDS Church. By resigning you abandon the covenants you've made with God; forgoing blessings and putting your salvation in jeopardy. I urge all who are struggling with their testimonies to continue forward in faith, fasting, prayer and scripture study. Also I'm the Ward Mission Leader in my ward so if you have any church questions just PM me.

[Uncle Ted]

Wrong. It doesn't work like that, unless your bish just typed something up to keep you from bugging him.

Your mileage may vary, however. Byron Marchant was excommunicated back in the late '70's and I am pretty sure he didn't get re-baptized. Therefore, I suspect processing Byron's resignation email would be a no-brainer for a bishop.

[Sullyute]

Your mileage may vary, however. Byron Marchant was excommunicated back in the late '70's and I am pretty sure he didn't get re-baptized. Therefore, I suspect processing Byron's resignation email would be a no-brainer for a bishop.

Wow, you change 'blacks'to 'gays' in that article and it could have been written yesterday. Not a lot changes in 40 years.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Wow, you change 'blacks'to 'gays' in that article and it could have been written yesterday. Not a lot changes in 40 years.

I think he should have gone with the SP name: Narvel J. Schervinger. That's an awesome name.

[Solon]

I disagree with the thread title. It's not OK to resign from the LDS Church. By resigning you abandon the covenants you've made with God; forgoing blessings and putting your salvation in jeopardy. I urge all who are struggling with their testimonies to continue forward in faith, fasting, prayer and scripture study. Also I'm the Ward Mission Leader in my ward so if you have any church questions just PM me.

Maybe he means that it is okay to "re-sign", as in, "This pen is low on ink, so I will have to re-sign that temple recommend."?

A true dissident wouldn't resign, but would force th church to remove him/her.
Have these folks learned nothing of Civil Dispbedience?

[YOhio]

Maybe he means that it is okay to "re-sign", as in, "This pen is low on ink, so I will have to re-sign that temple recommend."?

A true dissident wouldn't resign, but would force th church to remove him/her.
Have these folks learned nothing of Civil Dispbedience?

Good post.

[ByronMarchant]

I'm OK with Solon not thinking that I'm a true dissident. I don't care if I'm a true dissident or not.

I just happened to want out given the recent policy change.

Others may:
A) Hope to change the policy from within.
B) Pray for God to change the policy.
C) Endorse the policy.
D) Think that leaving the Church is throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
E) Some combination of the above.

For me, the bathwater was so toxic that the baby died a terrible death and needed to be buried.

But I accept that for others, the glass may be half full (or 1/20th full) or something along those lines.

The Church isn't perfect. No one should expect it to be perfect. But people should expect that it wouldn't do the kinds of things that United Families International would endorse.

(In case you're wondering, UFI is a Mormon, anti-gay organization based out of Gilbert, Arizona that the Southern Poverty Law Center has designated as a hate group. If you look at the map, The SPLC doesn't designate very many organizations as hate groups. It takes a rare group such as neo-nazis or the Westboro Baptist Church to win this distinction. UFI's mission seems to be defense of "traditional marriage" by advocating historical LDS teachings on gays.)

[Solon]

I'm OK with Solon not thinking that I'm a true dissident. I don't care if I'm a true dissident or not.

I just happened to want out given the recent policy change.

Others may:
A) Hope to change the policy from within.
B) Pray for God to change the policy.
C) Endorse the policy.
D) Think that leaving the Church is throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
E) Some combination of the above.

For me, the bathwater was so toxic that the baby died a terrible death and needed to be buried.

But I accept that for others, the glass may be half full (or 1/20th full) or something along those lines.

The Church isn't perfect. No one should expect it to be perfect. But people should expect that it wouldn't do the kinds of things that United Families International would endorse.

(In case you're wondering, UFI is a Mormon, anti-gay organization based out of Gilbert, Arizona that the Southern Poverty Law Center has designated as a hate group. If you look at the map, The SPLC doesn't designate very many organizations as hate groups. It takes a rare group such as neo-nazis or the Westboro Baptist Church to win this distinction. UFI's mission seems to be defense of "traditional marriage" by advocating historical LDS teachings on gays.)

Sorry for not being clear, BM. My thoughts on civil disobedience vs resigning were geared towards the people participating in the mass-resignation events. Not towards individuals. I was just typing barely connected ruminations.

Leaving the church makes plenty of sense for some people. I am less convinced at the rationale behind making it official via a letter. In some ways, sending the letter gives a credibility to church authority that the letter-writer probably doesn't think that the church deserves. It recognizes church authority while simultaneously rejecting it. I don't begrudge people who do write the letter- maybe it's therapeutic or something - but I am a proponent of the "just walk away and don't look back" method.

On the other hand, I also respect the "Civil Disobedience" style, where church members place the church in awkward or untenable situations, forcing the church to confront the injustice of its ways. Like the college kids who decided that sitting at a Woolworth lunch counter would force the issue, I respect people who adhere to the tenets (or tenants, take your pick) of the faith while forcing local leadership to confront the injustice of their practices. Sure, it's sometimes poor form to inject agenda into worship services, but let's not kid ourselves. It happens every Sunday, but usually from the right-leaning members. Again, that's not my style, but I respect it.

It's the empty, "pay-attention-to-me" form of protest (like mass public resignations) that elicit little more than a shrug from me. As Jesus said, they have their reward.

[myboynoah]

Just finished District Conference. My glass runneth over.

[ByronMarchant]

I should say that I didn't have to write a letter.

All I had to write was an email saying: "I'd like to resign now. Thanks."

[Topper]

I'm OK with Solon not thinking that I'm a true dissident. I don't care if I'm a true dissident or not.

I just happened to want out given the recent policy change.

Others may:
A) Hope to change the policy from within.
B) Pray for God to change the policy.
C) Endorse the policy.
D) Think that leaving the Church is throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
E) Some combination of the above.

For me, the bathwater was so toxic that the baby died a terrible death and needed to be buried.

But I accept that for others, the glass may be half full (or 1/20th full) or something along those lines.

The Church isn't perfect. No one should expect it to be perfect. But people should expect that it wouldn't do the kinds of things that United Families International would endorse.

(In case you're wondering, UFI is a Mormon, anti-gay organization based out of Gilbert, Arizona that the Southern Poverty Law Center has designated as a hate group. If you look at the map, The SPLC doesn't designate very many organizations as hate groups. It takes a rare group such as neo-nazis or the Westboro Baptist Church to win this distinction. UFI's mission seems to be defense of "traditional marriage" by advocating historical LDS teachings on gays.)

I don't understand this need for validation.

If an organization no longer serves my needs, I simply stop going, unless of course if there is an automatic deduction on my credit card. Then I resign and cancel. I was unaware the LDS Church had automatic charges to bank accounts and credit cards.

It creates the impression you define yourself by your victimization. That is pathetic. (And this coming from an agnostic person).

[Bo Diddley]

I should say that I didn't have to write a letter.

All I had to write was an email saying: "I'd like to resign now. Thanks."

Do you think I'd get a letter like yours if I sent my bishop an email like yours?

[ByronMarchant]

Do you think I'd get a letter like yours if I sent my bishop an email like yours?

It might have helped that I took my bishop out to lunch about a year ago.

[creekster]

I'm OK with Solon not thinking that I'm a true dissident. I don't care if I'm a true dissident or not.

I just happened to want out given the recent policy change.

Others may:
A) Hope to change the policy from within.
B) Pray for God to change the policy.
C) Endorse the policy.
D) Think that leaving the Church is throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
E) Some combination of the above.

For me, the bathwater was so toxic that the baby died a terrible death and needed to be buried.

But I accept that for others, the glass may be half full (or 1/20th full) or something along those lines.

The Church isn't perfect. No one should expect it to be perfect. But people should expect that it wouldn't do the kinds of things that United Families International would endorse.

(In case you're wondering, UFI is a Mormon, anti-gay organization based out of Gilbert, Arizona that the Southern Poverty Law Center has designated as a hate group. If you look at the map, The SPLC doesn't designate very many organizations as hate groups. It takes a rare group such as neo-nazis or the Westboro Baptist Church to win this distinction. UFI's mission seems to be defense of "traditional marriage" by advocating historical LDS teachings on gays.)

And you just keep talking about it over and over again.