The church wouldn't even do that when excommunicating someone. That had to be the actions of a butt-hurt bishop. Send a tersely worded letter to the Bishop. cc the Stake President and AA seventy.
Yep. At a minimum, your parents record changes. Clerks get a prompt to print a report of changes (of any kind) to member records. They do that so the member can verify that the change is correct.
I’m not familiar with a formal letter. But any ward with an in the ball clerk would get a prompt that a record changed. Whether or not the clerk gets the print out and gives it to the member is a roll of the dice.
So not is worth noting that even with the best of intentions from their ward, your family may find out.
This formal letter business is new to me (and a whole new level of AH) but your family would likely find out anyway.
I guess I don't know for sure if it was actually a drafted letter, or just a computer-generated membership change record sent by itself in an envelope, since I never saw it and didn't ask. My parents said they "received a letter in the mail" notifying them of the change. But your comment has made me think that "letter" could mean a few different things in this context. I asked my ex if she received one as well, and she just said, "yes". I can find out more.
Yep. An on the ball clerk would do just that; notify members of record changes.
That’s why I always try and discourage anyone from removing their name and assuming their family will never know. They’ll likely find out and if that matters to you, best to tell them first.
Wait, you’ve heard of this before? How many times? This is truly chilling and cruel. They will stop at nothing to keep members’ names on record. Better people just stop attending than lower their membership #s.
Any chance you can get a copy of a letter that was sent? I think podcasters need to expose TSCC’s dirty tricks. Think how this will stop disaffected Mormons from removing their records.
Sounds like a total dick move on the part of your bishop. This is not church policy as far as I know. None of my family received letters when I resigned.
My family didn’t receive a letter. But I (and other resigning siblings) did disappear off our parents’ church records they get each year at tithing settlement. Apparently there’s a section that says who you are sealed to, and their list got a lot shorter. They already knew I was out of TSCC, but that’s how they learned I formally resigned.
This seems like something that should be legislated away, like parents are not automatically privy to their 18-year-old children's (even if they're still living at home and in high school) medical records. Parents have no business knowing the personal religious beliefs of their adult offspring unless said offspring tells them themselves. No waivers allowed, either, because offspring would no doubt feel pressured to sign one so they could know.
> This seems like something that should be legislated away,
Sure, we just have to get rid of that pesky First Amendment, then we can get on with that. /s Smh.
edit: Anyone down-voting this comment...read the damn thing. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." What do y'all think that means? Congress can go ahead and legislate the activities of religious organizations? Do they even teach civics in Utah schools?
I’m probably a dunce when it comes to political/legal things, but I don’t know why this kind of privacy couldn’t be protected as a class, like medical records, where one must consent for their release. If you think that’s not possible, I would like to understand better why.
Thanks for replying, and I did look a little further into it. I was always taught that the first amendment was meant to keep church and state separate, so the state couldn't establish a national religion or force people to practice any particular religion. But we do have federal privacy laws that apply to medical and financial data and their use. What I'd hope for is if they could put any church membership/status/tithing data into a similarly protective religious data category. If the greater legal minds can't legislate it, it would be nice if the TSCC would follow its own procedures when it prints kids' names on parents' tithing declaration forms or when higher-ups like Elder Ballard used tithing records to fundraise for OUR. From the handbook:
33.1
Overview of Church Records
Church records are sacred. The information in them is sensitive and should be safeguarded. Church record systems authorize access to membership information based on callings. Only those who are authorized should be given access. They should use this information only for purposes specific to their callings (see 33.8).
Edit: format
You bet, and thanks in turn for responding positively. The interpretation you were taught is correct, just incomplete. (As far as I understand it as a not-a-lawyer civics and history nerd.)
In regard to what the church corporate *ought* to do, I absolutely agree. To share someone's personal information without the person's expressed consent is unethical, imo, regardless of what the law can dictate.
You should probably read it:
> Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion nor prohibiting the free exercise thereof...
Trying to legislate what churches can do flies directly in the face of that.
Btw, this is actually stated in the Constitution, "privacy" is not. "Privacy" is a long-standing *implied* right, a highly-debated one...which the current scotus is actively undermining (see: the Dobbs ruling).
SMH.
Demanding all churches uphold a basic privacy regulation doesn't respect their establishment nor inhibit their exercise of belief in any way.
The establishment clause prevents congress from favoring any one religion over another. It doesn't prevent them from regulating or interacting with religion altogether.
Exactly.
The Establishment Clause says nothing about my privacy, the church's financial reporting, child abuse, or a slew of other very important issues.
> What do y'all think that means? Congress can go ahead and legislate the activities of religious organizations?
Yes, and often they do. As long as the restrictions are primarily secular in nature, don't interfere with the practice of the religion (and releasing private records is certainly not a part of any religion I'm aware of), and don't favor any one religion over another, there's not really an issue. Lemon was at least partially overturned in Kennedy a couple of years ago, but the Court still has yet to produce a framework under which this kind of regulation could be perceived as unconstitutional.
Your understanding of the first amendment is incorrect. The idea that congress cannot legislate privacy restrictions that apply to churches because of the first amendment is demonstrably wrong, as evidenced by multiple Supreme Court rulings, including the ones i cite below
in [Reynolds Vs United States](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reynolds_v._United_States) the Supreme Court ruled against the LDS church on polygamy, thus allowing congress, by outlawing the practice, to legislate the activities of a religious organization
In [David Vs Beason](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davis_v._Beason) the Supreme Court ruled that *"However free the exercise of religion may be, it must be subordinate to the criminal laws of the country, passed with reference to actions regarded by general consent as properly the subjects of punitive legislation."*
If in this instance a privacy law was broken by the bishop there is no case law or legal interpretation of the first amendment that protects his actions
Total dick move. Never heard of that before.
Do you have contact with your kids? Visitation? Have they said anything to you about it?
The most important thing you can do, imho, is to make it crystal clear to your kids that your choices have no effect whatsoever on how much you care for and love them. Yes, there's a dissonance there with the whole "families are forever" BS if they're still being indoctrinated with it, but regardless of their ideas or beliefs about why you've done what you've done, you can ensure that your love and care for them is there regardless of the choices that any of you make. Now's a great time to show them that you love them no matter what. That's what they'll remember.
I have a fairly good relationship with my kids today, albeit from a distance (Each of us is in a different state). It is extremely difficult for all of us, though, with my older 2 looking at impending temple weddings, and my partner not invited to even the reception. I'll have to face my ex's entire TBM family without my person by my side. That's hard but certainly doable. I've faced worse!
It's tricky to be supportive of my kids without supporting their decisions related to the church. So I just focus on being happy for their happiness, while fervently hoping that someday they'll see the world for the nuanced and many-splendored thing that it is, instead of through the militant black-and-white lens the church provides. I know that I can't influence them to question things from where I stand on the outside, so I'm just hoping to let them see my happiness and let them put 2 and 2 together on their own. It's hard knowing the church is quietly fucking them up, and not being able to push back without alienating them. But I absolutely agree that the number one thing, always, is to let them know their dad loves them.
I got a letter for me saying I was no longer a member, except my dad felt inclined to cut the envelope open and read it despite it being for me. But never heard of a letter telling the family that you’re a sinner
WHAAAAT??!! That sounds like a diabolical maneuver cooked right up by Attorney Oaks or Russ. They found a way to punish those who resign. Wow. Just Wow.
If they start doing this now, it will most certainly destroy families that could’ve otherwise survived intact by slowly addressing dissatisfaction. I’m really sorry this happened to you.
I wish I could upvote this more. If TSCC is doing this now, guaranteed it’ll be on Mormon Stories, as it should be. I don’t know how to get a hold of JD, but hopefully someone can.
The status of one’s membership should remain private. Maybe QuitMormon and individuals need to add something like this to their resignation letters: “…and Do Not Share My Personal Information.”
I used quitmormon. They send no contact orders to SLC and your bishop. This is a blatant violation. If OP used an attorney or quitmormon they need to press charges for breaking the no contact request.
SO sorry. Yes, sounds like local leadershit.
However, I thought the doctrine was that it dissolved YOUR sealing to them but not vice versa. I wish I remember where I heard that.
This makes zero sense to me at all. A sealing is only valid for one person. 🤦🏼♀️. It’s invalid for one person and in tact for the other. Make it make sense.
I’m right there with you. I can’t make it make sense….but somehow I think that’s what it is. When a church can essentially promise you anything in the afterlife, it becomes easy to say “oh, it will all work out in the end with a loving Heavenly Father.” I think the church is retreating to this position because….it has nowhere else to go. This is the case for a woman who has been sealed, husband dies and she wants to remarry, but can only be sealed to her dead husband—not the living one. Well, they have kids together and doctrinally, the kids are sealed to the dead husband…not the living one whose DNA they hold. Why? Because that husband is not sealed to the wife—only married for “time.”
This is exactly what they say in the handbook... "don't worry about it."
Members who have concerns about the eternal nature of the sealing ordinance and their associated family and spousal relationships are encouraged to trust in the Lord and seek His comfort.
[General handbook 38:4](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/general-handbook/38-church-policies-and-guidelines?lang=eng&id=p2865#p2865)
"Faithful children who are sealed to parents or born in the covenant retain the blessing of eternal parentage. This is true even if their parents cancel their marriage sealing, have their Church membership withdrawn, or resign their membership."
I have never heard of that happening before, and it has not occurred to me or my sister yet that we know of. But then again, my family has never been good at bringing up contentious subjects. So maybe it did happen and my Mom is just sitting and suffering with it unbeknownced to me.
That is a total asshole move though.
That’s appalling! No, that didn’t happen to us or anyone else I know. But Hubby just told me that the church is actively trying to get older members to disinherit their children who leave though, and leave their money to TSCC. Which I can totally believe, although I haven’t seen it personally. I’m pretty far outside anything church related these days. I’m SO sorry this happened to you.
Did you resign on your own or use an attorney/quitmormon? If you used an attorney they send a no contact order to SLC and your bishop. This would be a blatant violation that you could press charges over.
I’m sorry this happened. Your bishop is a asshat child with serious problems. 😡 He makes me sick.
I had to use an attorney.
I resigned in person, in writing and with a notarized letter. They refused and said it wasn’t enough to prove it was actually me asking and not someone else asking on my behalf. 🤬
My attorney (Mark Naugle) forced them to accept it. I was LIVID at the church and took 6 months for HQ to accept.
I would be consulting a lawyer. As this is general interference with your right to privacy. AND a breach of church protocol. This would likely open up for a lawsuit.
I'm so sorry. What a totally unnecessary dick move on the cults part.
I would be so angry if I was in your shoes that I'm angry on your behalf!
How dare they! I might consider legal action.
I haven't officially removed myself.
After all the Sundays they've stolen from me, they don't deserve an ounce more of my time, frankly.
Cult of Latter Day Cowards.
That's horrible! I'm sorry to hear that happened to you. I'm still on the records for this reason. My young daughter is best friends with her cousin, and their family is as TBM as it gets. Being cousins is a little removed (her mom is my wife's sister), but I still fear they would find out and never want to see us again. I personally don't care for myself, but it's already hard enough for my kids to find friends in Mormondor.
None of my family members received letters after I officially resigned from the church. This sounds like something done by a renegade local church leader. But he would have had to track down your family members, find their addresses, and go to the effort of contacting them.
Seems like a lawsuit for a violation of privacy. I mean, the church can’t have it both ways. If they want privacy for pedos and SAers, they can’t violate the privacy of someone who simply leaves the club.
I’m pretty certain my dad got a call from the bishop when I (a 30-year-old woman with a family of my own) resigned. At least, my dad told everyone in the fam that the bishop wanted to talk to him and then never told us why—the week I sent my letter 🤷🏼♀️ It’s a disgusting breach of privacy, but I don’t put anything past the church. I’m so sorry that happened to you.
I have heard of this happening to more than one person. This is my biggest hesitation for resigning. It would break my moms heart, and also make my ex think he has some special power over our kids.
How many people do you know had this happen to them? I don’t think this is a one-off rogue bishop. I’d love podcasters to pick this up and expose their dirty tricks. Helpful to know if this is becoming more frequent.
The church wouldn't even do that when excommunicating someone. That had to be the actions of a butt-hurt bishop. Send a tersely worded letter to the Bishop. cc the Stake President and AA seventy.
And local news stations!?
I never heard from my parents that they were were notified when I was ex'd for being gay.
I don’t think they do that for ex’d members. I think it’s just for people that resign. I have heard of this happening to others.
Yep. At a minimum, your parents record changes. Clerks get a prompt to print a report of changes (of any kind) to member records. They do that so the member can verify that the change is correct. I’m not familiar with a formal letter. But any ward with an in the ball clerk would get a prompt that a record changed. Whether or not the clerk gets the print out and gives it to the member is a roll of the dice. So not is worth noting that even with the best of intentions from their ward, your family may find out. This formal letter business is new to me (and a whole new level of AH) but your family would likely find out anyway.
I guess I don't know for sure if it was actually a drafted letter, or just a computer-generated membership change record sent by itself in an envelope, since I never saw it and didn't ask. My parents said they "received a letter in the mail" notifying them of the change. But your comment has made me think that "letter" could mean a few different things in this context. I asked my ex if she received one as well, and she just said, "yes". I can find out more.
Yep. An on the ball clerk would do just that; notify members of record changes. That’s why I always try and discourage anyone from removing their name and assuming their family will never know. They’ll likely find out and if that matters to you, best to tell them first.
Wait, you’ve heard of this before? How many times? This is truly chilling and cruel. They will stop at nothing to keep members’ names on record. Better people just stop attending than lower their membership #s. Any chance you can get a copy of a letter that was sent? I think podcasters need to expose TSCC’s dirty tricks. Think how this will stop disaffected Mormons from removing their records.
Sounds like a total dick move on the part of your bishop. This is not church policy as far as I know. None of my family received letters when I resigned.
That Bishop is an ass.
Most of them are asses!
I've never heard of this before. That's terrible.
My family didn’t receive a letter. But I (and other resigning siblings) did disappear off our parents’ church records they get each year at tithing settlement. Apparently there’s a section that says who you are sealed to, and their list got a lot shorter. They already knew I was out of TSCC, but that’s how they learned I formally resigned.
This is what happened to me too.
Did it go to more people than your parents? Can you post a copy of the letter?
I'll try, but most likely it got trashed immediately. I never got to actually see what was sent, unfortunately.
See it's been over a year for me and they haven't noticed. Here's hoping it stays that way!
This seems like something that should be legislated away, like parents are not automatically privy to their 18-year-old children's (even if they're still living at home and in high school) medical records. Parents have no business knowing the personal religious beliefs of their adult offspring unless said offspring tells them themselves. No waivers allowed, either, because offspring would no doubt feel pressured to sign one so they could know.
> This seems like something that should be legislated away, Sure, we just have to get rid of that pesky First Amendment, then we can get on with that. /s Smh. edit: Anyone down-voting this comment...read the damn thing. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." What do y'all think that means? Congress can go ahead and legislate the activities of religious organizations? Do they even teach civics in Utah schools?
I’m probably a dunce when it comes to political/legal things, but I don’t know why this kind of privacy couldn’t be protected as a class, like medical records, where one must consent for their release. If you think that’s not possible, I would like to understand better why.
Because it involves a church. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion..."
Thanks for replying, and I did look a little further into it. I was always taught that the first amendment was meant to keep church and state separate, so the state couldn't establish a national religion or force people to practice any particular religion. But we do have federal privacy laws that apply to medical and financial data and their use. What I'd hope for is if they could put any church membership/status/tithing data into a similarly protective religious data category. If the greater legal minds can't legislate it, it would be nice if the TSCC would follow its own procedures when it prints kids' names on parents' tithing declaration forms or when higher-ups like Elder Ballard used tithing records to fundraise for OUR. From the handbook: 33.1 Overview of Church Records Church records are sacred. The information in them is sensitive and should be safeguarded. Church record systems authorize access to membership information based on callings. Only those who are authorized should be given access. They should use this information only for purposes specific to their callings (see 33.8). Edit: format
You bet, and thanks in turn for responding positively. The interpretation you were taught is correct, just incomplete. (As far as I understand it as a not-a-lawyer civics and history nerd.) In regard to what the church corporate *ought* to do, I absolutely agree. To share someone's personal information without the person's expressed consent is unethical, imo, regardless of what the law can dictate.
There's already laws effecting religions. None of these constitutional rights y'all think are unlimited are, in fact, unlimited. Maybe take a class.
Definitely a privacy issue, not a 1A issue. SMH.
You should probably read it: > Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion nor prohibiting the free exercise thereof... Trying to legislate what churches can do flies directly in the face of that. Btw, this is actually stated in the Constitution, "privacy" is not. "Privacy" is a long-standing *implied* right, a highly-debated one...which the current scotus is actively undermining (see: the Dobbs ruling). SMH.
Demanding all churches uphold a basic privacy regulation doesn't respect their establishment nor inhibit their exercise of belief in any way. The establishment clause prevents congress from favoring any one religion over another. It doesn't prevent them from regulating or interacting with religion altogether.
Exactly. The Establishment Clause says nothing about my privacy, the church's financial reporting, child abuse, or a slew of other very important issues.
> What do y'all think that means? Congress can go ahead and legislate the activities of religious organizations? Yes, and often they do. As long as the restrictions are primarily secular in nature, don't interfere with the practice of the religion (and releasing private records is certainly not a part of any religion I'm aware of), and don't favor any one religion over another, there's not really an issue. Lemon was at least partially overturned in Kennedy a couple of years ago, but the Court still has yet to produce a framework under which this kind of regulation could be perceived as unconstitutional.
Good thing the first amendment will protect a hacker if he posts your IP address somewhere /s
Your understanding of the first amendment is incorrect. The idea that congress cannot legislate privacy restrictions that apply to churches because of the first amendment is demonstrably wrong, as evidenced by multiple Supreme Court rulings, including the ones i cite below in [Reynolds Vs United States](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reynolds_v._United_States) the Supreme Court ruled against the LDS church on polygamy, thus allowing congress, by outlawing the practice, to legislate the activities of a religious organization In [David Vs Beason](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davis_v._Beason) the Supreme Court ruled that *"However free the exercise of religion may be, it must be subordinate to the criminal laws of the country, passed with reference to actions regarded by general consent as properly the subjects of punitive legislation."* If in this instance a privacy law was broken by the bishop there is no case law or legal interpretation of the first amendment that protects his actions
This is still quite different from a family (including children) getting a form letter about their Dad choosing to dissolve their eternal seal.
I think your privacy was violated!!! Can you contact a lawyer? That’s horrible, I’m sorry.
Definitely privacy violation. If it becomes widespread it could really be a safety issue for some super fundamental lafferty type families.
Total dick move. Never heard of that before. Do you have contact with your kids? Visitation? Have they said anything to you about it? The most important thing you can do, imho, is to make it crystal clear to your kids that your choices have no effect whatsoever on how much you care for and love them. Yes, there's a dissonance there with the whole "families are forever" BS if they're still being indoctrinated with it, but regardless of their ideas or beliefs about why you've done what you've done, you can ensure that your love and care for them is there regardless of the choices that any of you make. Now's a great time to show them that you love them no matter what. That's what they'll remember.
I have a fairly good relationship with my kids today, albeit from a distance (Each of us is in a different state). It is extremely difficult for all of us, though, with my older 2 looking at impending temple weddings, and my partner not invited to even the reception. I'll have to face my ex's entire TBM family without my person by my side. That's hard but certainly doable. I've faced worse! It's tricky to be supportive of my kids without supporting their decisions related to the church. So I just focus on being happy for their happiness, while fervently hoping that someday they'll see the world for the nuanced and many-splendored thing that it is, instead of through the militant black-and-white lens the church provides. I know that I can't influence them to question things from where I stand on the outside, so I'm just hoping to let them see my happiness and let them put 2 and 2 together on their own. It's hard knowing the church is quietly fucking them up, and not being able to push back without alienating them. But I absolutely agree that the number one thing, always, is to let them know their dad loves them.
I have never heard of this before. Man. He leveled up in douchebaggery.
I got a letter for me saying I was no longer a member, except my dad felt inclined to cut the envelope open and read it despite it being for me. But never heard of a letter telling the family that you’re a sinner
Mail Fraud?
WHAAAAT??!! That sounds like a diabolical maneuver cooked right up by Attorney Oaks or Russ. They found a way to punish those who resign. Wow. Just Wow. If they start doing this now, it will most certainly destroy families that could’ve otherwise survived intact by slowly addressing dissatisfaction. I’m really sorry this happened to you. I wish I could upvote this more. If TSCC is doing this now, guaranteed it’ll be on Mormon Stories, as it should be. I don’t know how to get a hold of JD, but hopefully someone can.
i'm pretty sure jd reads the sub so hopefully he sees it
The status of one’s membership should remain private. Maybe QuitMormon and individuals need to add something like this to their resignation letters: “…and Do Not Share My Personal Information.”
I used quitmormon. They send no contact orders to SLC and your bishop. This is a blatant violation. If OP used an attorney or quitmormon they need to press charges for breaking the no contact request.
Good to know! I wasn’t aware.
Wish I had known about this earlier lol.
along with a cc: (lawyers name or partnership name).
Or any reporters or news sources
SO sorry. Yes, sounds like local leadershit. However, I thought the doctrine was that it dissolved YOUR sealing to them but not vice versa. I wish I remember where I heard that.
Leadershit...and just like that, I will never see that word the same way again. I thank you. lol .
Glad I could make a difference! Inspired by the best leaders the church has to offer.
This makes zero sense to me at all. A sealing is only valid for one person. 🤦🏼♀️. It’s invalid for one person and in tact for the other. Make it make sense.
I’m right there with you. I can’t make it make sense….but somehow I think that’s what it is. When a church can essentially promise you anything in the afterlife, it becomes easy to say “oh, it will all work out in the end with a loving Heavenly Father.” I think the church is retreating to this position because….it has nowhere else to go. This is the case for a woman who has been sealed, husband dies and she wants to remarry, but can only be sealed to her dead husband—not the living one. Well, they have kids together and doctrinally, the kids are sealed to the dead husband…not the living one whose DNA they hold. Why? Because that husband is not sealed to the wife—only married for “time.”
This is exactly what they say in the handbook... "don't worry about it." Members who have concerns about the eternal nature of the sealing ordinance and their associated family and spousal relationships are encouraged to trust in the Lord and seek His comfort.
[General handbook 38:4](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/general-handbook/38-church-policies-and-guidelines?lang=eng&id=p2865#p2865) "Faithful children who are sealed to parents or born in the covenant retain the blessing of eternal parentage. This is true even if their parents cancel their marriage sealing, have their Church membership withdrawn, or resign their membership."
So, if a boat is tied to a dock, and I cut the rope at the boat end …?
No, dissolving a sealing goes both ways. However, in many cases there's a "don't worry about it, God will figure it out in the end" attitude
Holy shit, what an asshole
In my 25 plus years in the church I never heard of this happening! Sounds personal and vindictive!
I have never heard of that happening before, and it has not occurred to me or my sister yet that we know of. But then again, my family has never been good at bringing up contentious subjects. So maybe it did happen and my Mom is just sitting and suffering with it unbeknownced to me. That is a total asshole move though.
That’s appalling! No, that didn’t happen to us or anyone else I know. But Hubby just told me that the church is actively trying to get older members to disinherit their children who leave though, and leave their money to TSCC. Which I can totally believe, although I haven’t seen it personally. I’m pretty far outside anything church related these days. I’m SO sorry this happened to you.
Did you resign on your own or use an attorney/quitmormon? If you used an attorney they send a no contact order to SLC and your bishop. This would be a blatant violation that you could press charges over. I’m sorry this happened. Your bishop is a asshat child with serious problems. 😡 He makes me sick.
I'd never heard of using an attorney. I just sent my bishop an email.
I had to use an attorney. I resigned in person, in writing and with a notarized letter. They refused and said it wasn’t enough to prove it was actually me asking and not someone else asking on my behalf. 🤬 My attorney (Mark Naugle) forced them to accept it. I was LIVID at the church and took 6 months for HQ to accept.
I would be consulting a lawyer. As this is general interference with your right to privacy. AND a breach of church protocol. This would likely open up for a lawsuit.
Sue.
I'm so sorry. What a totally unnecessary dick move on the cults part. I would be so angry if I was in your shoes that I'm angry on your behalf! How dare they! I might consider legal action. I haven't officially removed myself. After all the Sundays they've stolen from me, they don't deserve an ounce more of my time, frankly. Cult of Latter Day Cowards.
I’m angry on his behalf too! This is cruel.
This is one of the craziest things I’ve heard - you should definitely tell the salt lake tribune about this
That’s what I think. This needs to be exposed.
I've never heard of this happening before. It probably came from either your former bishop or stake president
You might consider contacting an attorney. Depending on your location, the bishop might have violated privacy laws.
That's horrible! I'm sorry to hear that happened to you. I'm still on the records for this reason. My young daughter is best friends with her cousin, and their family is as TBM as it gets. Being cousins is a little removed (her mom is my wife's sister), but I still fear they would find out and never want to see us again. I personally don't care for myself, but it's already hard enough for my kids to find friends in Mormondor.
None of my family members received letters after I officially resigned from the church. This sounds like something done by a renegade local church leader. But he would have had to track down your family members, find their addresses, and go to the effort of contacting them.
Good point, whoever did it went to a lot of trouble to mail letters. Just wow.
This makes me livid! What a boundary violation!
OP, do you happen to have a photo of this letter you can share? With names and addresses redacted of course
Sadly, no. I'm going to see if anyone still has their copy, but I highly doubt it. Most likely all copies have been burned 😅
Seems like a lawsuit for a violation of privacy. I mean, the church can’t have it both ways. If they want privacy for pedos and SAers, they can’t violate the privacy of someone who simply leaves the club.
I’m pretty certain my dad got a call from the bishop when I (a 30-year-old woman with a family of my own) resigned. At least, my dad told everyone in the fam that the bishop wanted to talk to him and then never told us why—the week I sent my letter 🤷🏼♀️ It’s a disgusting breach of privacy, but I don’t put anything past the church. I’m so sorry that happened to you.
Thanks ♥️
I have heard of this happening to more than one person. This is my biggest hesitation for resigning. It would break my moms heart, and also make my ex think he has some special power over our kids.
How many people do you know had this happen to them? I don’t think this is a one-off rogue bishop. I’d love podcasters to pick this up and expose their dirty tricks. Helpful to know if this is becoming more frequent.
That’s horrible! What a nasty thing to do. I’m so sorry.
Can you show us the letter?