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Mormonism

The document discusses the politics involved in leaving the Mormon church. It explains that Mormonism involves tight-knit communities that exert social pressure. Leaving the church is difficult, as members who resign face an onerous process and efforts to change their minds. They may also be shunned by their families and friends still in the church. While the church leaders can no longer discipline former members, the social authority of congregations can still impact ex-Mormons' lives after they leave.

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87 views6 pages

Mormonism

The document discusses the politics involved in leaving the Mormon church. It explains that Mormonism involves tight-knit communities that exert social pressure. Leaving the church is difficult, as members who resign face an onerous process and efforts to change their minds. They may also be shunned by their families and friends still in the church. While the church leaders can no longer discipline former members, the social authority of congregations can still impact ex-Mormons' lives after they leave.

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api-508715281
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Running head: LEAVING MORMONISM 1

Politics of Leaving Mormonism

Brooke Jones

Box #6829

PSCI 150 A

Professor Ron Mock

George Fox University

Fall 2018
LEAVING MORMONISM 2

Politics of Leaving Mormonism

A polity is a group that repeatedly makes decisions. Polities are political groups, meaning

they involve power and choice; families, businesses, sporting teams, and religious groups or

denominations are all examples of a polity. In religion, a polity can make various decisions that

influence others, defining these as political choices. A church has leaders that enforce a set of

guidelines as well as make governing decisions, but they also have a congregation that have a

large influence of the politics of the church.

In the Mormon religion the church congregation is a close body. Members of The Church

of Latter-day Saints all belong to a ward based on geographical location. These wards gather to

worship, build relationships, and spend time together as a unit (Wards, n.d.). Philip Barlow, the

director of religious studies at Utah University explains, “Mormonism as a whole is so knit

together as a community” (Golden, 2016). Collectively, Mormonism is different from other

religions in that members spend a lot of their week together outside of simply Sunday church

services. The distinct groups gives the congregation political power through incentives; the

members want to belong so much it can alter their actions in order to be in the group.

Leaving the Mormon church is a difficult decision to make that can derive from a variety

of different sources. Often, Mormons can find themselves feeling stuck. If they were to begin to

question the religion at all the Church does not provide answers. A former Mormon, Lynda

Cooley tells her story in the book ​Mormons in Transition,​ saying, “If I asked too many questions,

they would reprimand me for it" (Reynolds, 1998). While choosing to leave is a hard choice, it is

an even more painful process to resign and be removed. If a member decides they no longer wish

to be apart of The Church of Latter-day Saints the process is not made simple. Until recently the
LEAVING MORMONISM 3

only way to leave Mormonism was to get excommunicated; however, after a large lawsuit,

according to the right of freedom of religion, the Church is not allowed to force someone to be a

member of a religious group (Packham, 2015). While the Church can no longer force a member

to be affiliated, they have put into place difficult steps if a person wishes to not be apart of

mormonism any longer.

There are two steps for a member to complete to officially not be affiliated with the

Mormon religion—resigning their membership, and removing their name from the church

records. Resigning is a long process that includes writing and presenting an official letter of

resignation. Due to freedom of religion the Church cannot prevent members from resigning, but

many report being questioned and tried to be swayed towards not leaving. The next step is to

have their name removed from the church membership lists; after removal from this list,

however, the Church will still have note of their former membership. Should they decide to come

back to The Church of Latter-day Saints, there will be stricter reentrance policies and

questioning as to why they were unfaithful.

All specific rules for leaving Mormonism are in the ​Church Handbook of Instructions​. As

another obstacle in the difficult process, the handbook is “not available to the public or even to

general members. There are only a handful of copies of this handbook in each ward, and in order

to read it, a member must make an appointment to inspect it, and must do so in the presence of

the custodian of the handbook (usually, the bishop)” (Packham, 2015). After submitting their

letter of resignation and applying for removal, past members explain that “[they]’ll likely receive

some follow-up messages attempting to change [their] mind, as well as a visit . . . from a local

bishop or branch president” (Golden, 2016). These repeated attempts can weigh heavy on a
LEAVING MORMONISM 4

person who has already made the difficult choice to leave and is dealing with repercussions of

family and friends.

While being an active member, The Church of Latter-day Saints has authority over the

members to discipline them according to their rules and guidelines. According to Richard

Packham, “Once [they] have resigned, the church has no more authority over [them]. It cannot

summon [them] to a disciplinary council. It cannot excommunicate [them]. [They] have ended

[their] relationship as soon as [they] notify them that [they] have resigned” (Packham, 2015).

The decision making group of the Church has no legal bearing over them once they have

resigned. The authority is limited to them for only while they are members.

Aside from the official leaders of the Church, another group with power within the

Mormon religion is the congregation. As state before, Mormonism can be characterized by the

tight bond within individual wards as well as through the religion itself. Out of this closeness

comes an authority rooted in members wanting to belong. Should a member choose to leave,

they are often disowned and alienated from their Mormon friends and even family. An account

from a former member recalls “meeting a young woman who told her that her parents don’t want

anything to do with her now that she left Mormonism” (Golden, 2016). The decisions of the

congregation influence the lives of countless former members and even after leaving, their power

affects the previous member’s life.

Politics in a church such as The Church of Latter-day Saints can be complicated and

messy. When dealing with situations such as conversion or abandoning Mormonism, church

guidelines become fuzzy and decisions of the congregation and officials have lasting impacts on
LEAVING MORMONISM 5

the member. While authority is limited to the membership time period, the power of the

congregation can cross over into the daily life post-Mormonism.


LEAVING MORMONISM 6

References

Golden, H. (2016). Why it’s not easy becoming an ex-Mormon. ​Daily Beast. ​Retrieved from

https://www.thedailybeast.com/why-its-not-easy-becoming-an-ex-mormon?ref=scroll

Packham, R. (2015). Leaving the Mormon Church: how to get out. Retrieved from

http://packham.n4m.org/leaving.htm

Reynolds, L. (Ed. 2). (1998). ​Mormons in Transition. ​SA: Baker Book House.

​ etrieved from
Ward. (n.d.). ​The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. R

https://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/ward

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