Comments | johnhummel: Found out why I haven't gotten post church flack: Nobody told

johnhummel

Found out why I haven't gotten post church flack: Nobody told

Jan 09, 2009 08:40

I had an interesting phone call and email from members of my (now former) church about callings and the like. I was stumped, since I had turned in my official "I'm leaving the Mormon church k-thanks-bye" letters before the new year ( Read more... )

Comments 7

dracoangelica January 9 2009, 14:20:25 UTC

I wish you luck on your service project and research. I have to admit...your letter of self-removal seems a lot more mature than the argument I had with my mother about leaving our Baptist church. Seems like there is less screaming and such. I can't wait to hear about the new churches you visit.

poet_ninja January 9 2009, 16:47:22 UTC

Well-written and coherent. If only more people could discuss articles of belief, faith, and what is right with such eloquence.

johnhummel January 9 2009, 16:56:39 UTC

It took a few rewrites - the first several drafts were much more irritated. Thanks, man.

poet_ninja January 11 2009, 04:16:49 UTC

Yeah. My brother's "please take me off the rolls, for the tenth time" mail was definitely a bit more irritated, overall. Then again, they kept saying "yes we did!" then sending missionaries.

emirunagakura January 9 2009, 20:32:06 UTC

Ok I'm stupid...what's a "calling"

johnhummel January 9 2009, 21:31:28 UTC

In the LDS (aka "Mormon") church, everyone is "called" to perform a certain duty, like being the leader of a local church organization. So you may get a "calling" to be a primary teacher, or the secretary, or activities coordinator, and so on. All voluntary.

Someone in the church leadership was calling to ask if I'd commit to performing a certain job in the LDS church, but since I'm no longer a member, I had to refuse. I just typed up the extra because it was clear he didn't know that I had left the LDS church, and I didn't want people to misunderstand why I had.

auroara January 19 2009, 15:08:07 UTC

I enjoyed your letter. I found that I was having the same issues with the spiritual leadership of the churches I had been attending. Another GIANT issue I had was the emphasis on giving God your money and then God making you rich. It's not Biblical in any way and I think it was church leadership preying on a desperate group of people.