Alone and Unobserved

Exactly one week ago, I submitted an official request of resignation to the Member Records Division of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Letters Written, Letters Sent, posted Thursday, September 22, 2005). In the second step of the month-long resignation process, Member Records replied to my request with a form letter on official church letterhead (full text below) and a pamphlet entitled “An Invitation.”

The letter reads:

MEMBER AND STATISTICAL RECORDS DIVISION
50 E. North Temple St. Rm. 1372
Salt Lake City, Utah 84150-5310

September 27, 2005

Sean Michael Tibbitts
Etc., etc.

Dear Brother Tibbitts:

I have been asked to acknowledge your recent letter in which you request that your name be removed from the membership records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I have also been asked to inform you that the Church considers such a request to be an ecclesiastical matter that must be handled by local priesthood leaders bfore being processed by Church employees. Therefore, your letter and a copy of this reply are being sent to President Ted D. Adams of the Salt Lake Central Stake. He will have Bishop Brent O. Hatch of the Eleventh Ward contact you concerning the fulfillment of your request.

In view of the eternal consequences of such an action, the Brethren urge you to reconsider your request and to prayerfully consider the enclosed statement of the First Presidency.

Sincerely,

(signed)
Gregory W. Dodge
Supervisor, Member and Statistical Records

GWD:lkb

Enclosure

The pamphlet was actually fairly nice, with no pronouncements of doom or gloom. It basically lives up to its title as an open invitation to come back and “feast at the table” with the Brethren. [I won't post the text here, since it is a copyrighted document, but you might be able to find one or more versions of it already on the web by typing "an invitation from the first presidency of the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints", in quotes, in Google. Note: I'm not endorsing any copyright violaters who may or may not have posted the full text online.]

The next step in the resignation process should have already begun, since Mr. Dodge says he forwarded my request to some local bishop. I should be hearing from him shortly, but hopefully as little as possible before I get the official confirmation of my resignation (to be chronicled in “It Came!! Part II).

NOTE: For a more thorough look at the process of leaving the Mormon church, check out www.mormonnomore.com.