Recovery from Mormonism

Posted by Denielle on August 08, 1998 at 01:06:58:

I recently sent a letter to my bishop, asking for my name and the names of my children to be removed from the records of the church. Finally, three months later, I received a response. Wow, you cannot believe these people....but they are so predictable, it's pathetic! My bishop goes on and on about how my decision is "weighing heavily on his soul" and of course, he bears the obligatory testimony, that he KNOWS the church is the ONLY TRUE church on the face of the earth...thanks to Joseph Smith, of course. This is the kicker - it says "the effects and consequences of your request will impact your life. You need to understand that removing your name (and your children's) from the records of the church cancels the effects of baptism as well as any temple sealings or blessings that may have been bestowed. You become just like any other non-member of the church." Can you believe that?!!!!!

Okay, let me see if I have this straight - removing my name will reverse some fabricated effects that I supposedly received at baptism and whatever magical, imaginary "blessing" I received by going to the kookiest place I have ever been (the temple), and that I will then become just like any other piece of bottom-feeding pondscum that walks the earth? Is that the story? Gee, I feel like the Little Mermaid - "Ariel, if you choose to become mortal, you can never come back to the mermaid kingdom, and you will lose your voice and your fins and those cute little sea shells you wear on your chest, and everything wonderful that comes along with being.....a mormon... I mean a mermaid!"

He also makes reference to the fact that God gives us the choice to choose between good and evil and we have to make those choices ourselves. Excuse me? So, if I don't choose their way, I am automatically choosing evil? Do they think they are the bomb, or what? Actually, I wasn't suprised at anything in his letter - it's extremely typical of their superiority mindset. I just don't understand why they don't see this attitude as pompous and self-rightous, which it is. Anyway, I just had to vent about this. Thanks for listening.

By the way, all I have to do is sign the letter, send it back, and it will supposedly be a done deal in about 30 days. We'll see.