The Bishop's Response
Since I never called him back, our ward bishop mailed me a letter stating that he would honor my request for name removal from the records of the LDS church and that I would "not be required to attend a Church Council" (aww, how NICE of him to advise me that I wasn't required to do something I already know I don't HAVE to do.)
He then apologized for visiting which he thinks I found offensive. Man, I said right there in my letter to him that I wasn't "offended" by anyone in the ward. I simply asked that he call ahead to schedule an appointment if he wanted to come see us. I don't care who it is, I can't stand unannounced "pop-in" visits to our house. I suppose I'll have to write him back to clarify my position concerning this.
Overall, it was a very kind and compassionate letter. He didn't make any attempt at changing my mind about leaving the church other than suggesting that I listen to the Holy Ghost, since he is the teacher of all truth (despite any scientific evidence that disproves many, if not all, of Joseph Smith's claims).
He went on to say that I was welcome at all church activities and that he has fond memories of spending time with us at our home. (My wife was the Relief Society President for a couple of years and the Bishop and his wife would come over and conduct business every Sunday night.)
He informed me that he asked the Elder's Quorum to remove my name from Home Teaching lists, but asked that my wife be allowed visits from her Visiting Teachers. Hell, what do I say to that? In my resignation letter, I stated that she wished to remain a member. Even though I think it would be best (for her, for our marriage, and for our children) that she come around to my way of thinking when it comes to accepting Mormonism as a fraud, I won't force it on her. Of course I'll "allow" her to receive visits from the Visiting Teachers, if that's what she wants.
All I've asked of my wife is to read two books with the hopes that she'll see things as I now do, but she has yet to do so. I think she's just too afraid to know the truth, so she's happy to keep her head buried in the sand. I promised her that if she would just read these two books ("How Good is Good Enough?" by Andy Stanley - a booklet explaining that salvation comes by God's grace alone, and not of our works as taught by the LDS church...and "An Insider's View of Mormon Origins" by Grant Palmer - an awesome book that reveals the true history of Mormonism and of its founder, Joseph Smith, not just the sanitized version the church promotes) and that if she chose to remain an active member of the church, then I would give her my full support. (I would make a serious attempt at supporting her, anyway...I would really try.) But she won't read them. She hasn't refused to read them, she actually said that she would, but she just hasn't yet.
In the meantime, our marriage has begun to show signs of strain. The dynamic of our relationship has been forever altered. But you know, I think that was inevitable anyway. Even if I hadn't decided that the church wasn't true and excused myself from it, something else would have happened to cause an evolution of our relationship...that's part of marriage. We're no longer the lovey-dovey newlyweds we once were (although I think we were fortunate to have that phase of our marriage last several years) and the normal stresses of life have just sort of happened.
We'll see where this fork in the road takes us.
He then apologized for visiting which he thinks I found offensive. Man, I said right there in my letter to him that I wasn't "offended" by anyone in the ward. I simply asked that he call ahead to schedule an appointment if he wanted to come see us. I don't care who it is, I can't stand unannounced "pop-in" visits to our house. I suppose I'll have to write him back to clarify my position concerning this.
Overall, it was a very kind and compassionate letter. He didn't make any attempt at changing my mind about leaving the church other than suggesting that I listen to the Holy Ghost, since he is the teacher of all truth (despite any scientific evidence that disproves many, if not all, of Joseph Smith's claims).
He went on to say that I was welcome at all church activities and that he has fond memories of spending time with us at our home. (My wife was the Relief Society President for a couple of years and the Bishop and his wife would come over and conduct business every Sunday night.)
He informed me that he asked the Elder's Quorum to remove my name from Home Teaching lists, but asked that my wife be allowed visits from her Visiting Teachers. Hell, what do I say to that? In my resignation letter, I stated that she wished to remain a member. Even though I think it would be best (for her, for our marriage, and for our children) that she come around to my way of thinking when it comes to accepting Mormonism as a fraud, I won't force it on her. Of course I'll "allow" her to receive visits from the Visiting Teachers, if that's what she wants.
All I've asked of my wife is to read two books with the hopes that she'll see things as I now do, but she has yet to do so. I think she's just too afraid to know the truth, so she's happy to keep her head buried in the sand. I promised her that if she would just read these two books ("How Good is Good Enough?" by Andy Stanley - a booklet explaining that salvation comes by God's grace alone, and not of our works as taught by the LDS church...and "An Insider's View of Mormon Origins" by Grant Palmer - an awesome book that reveals the true history of Mormonism and of its founder, Joseph Smith, not just the sanitized version the church promotes) and that if she chose to remain an active member of the church, then I would give her my full support. (I would make a serious attempt at supporting her, anyway...I would really try.) But she won't read them. She hasn't refused to read them, she actually said that she would, but she just hasn't yet.
In the meantime, our marriage has begun to show signs of strain. The dynamic of our relationship has been forever altered. But you know, I think that was inevitable anyway. Even if I hadn't decided that the church wasn't true and excused myself from it, something else would have happened to cause an evolution of our relationship...that's part of marriage. We're no longer the lovey-dovey newlyweds we once were (although I think we were fortunate to have that phase of our marriage last several years) and the normal stresses of life have just sort of happened.
We'll see where this fork in the road takes us.
posted by Al Jordan | 6:41 AM
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