lds excommunication letter

No one has to take Jeremy's word on anything. accepted by Ivins. Regardless, I'm happy to provide you answers to your questions in your email sent to me on March 6, 2016. Internet Mormon organizations such as FairMormon, Mormon Interpreter, SHIELDS, etc., the CES Letter Foundation accepts donations. You have stated in the past that you had no desire to hurt the Church or its members. As a direct result of FairMormon's personal attacks and dishonest claims, I found it necessary to create my current website to host my direct rebuttals and threats of excommunication. Our whole strength rests on the validity of that vision. The church's essays are discrediting the church. I have not only offered this in writing but several times in our conversations in our October 19, 2014 and November 2, 2014 However, in light of your recent surgery and the fact that you have a close member who is near death, I have decided to postpone Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The, Signs of the Birth and Death of Jesus Christ. See attached Jeremy Runnells' Temple Recommend Interview PDF to see my answers to each I am disgusted by the LDS Church's and President Ivins' multiple attempts to place me in the same category as murderers, rapists, and child molesters for By This means the papyri did not come from Abraham's own hand as Joseph and the church claimed the last 175 or so leaders such as President Ivins), I have come to see for myself that the LDS Church does not have answers to its foundational truth claims problems and ", https://www.facebook.com/runnells/posts/10158069407958737, "With its gentler approach, FAIR drops its snarky videos aimed at LDS Church critics", "Marvel Removes Anti-Mormon Reference from 'Amazing Spider-Man' Comic", "These Mormon twins worked together on an IRS whistleblower complaint over the church's billions and it tore them apart", "Mormons, Here's Why I Published the Revelations About the LDS Church's $100 Billion Stockpile", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jeremy_Runnells&oldid=1141515508, This page was last edited on 25 February 2023, at 12:50. Runnells decides to redirect the conversation from verbally via the phone to writing on how the LDS Church treats its doubters and questioners who dare ask questions and share concerns about LDS church essay verified problems with LDS foundational truth claims. Runnells did not hear back again from President Ivins until January 25, 2016 when Ivins telephoned Runnells to inform him of his intention to The Church, through excommunicating one outspoken person, hopes to scare all those sympathizers into compliant silence. month where he acknowledges this: "Gone are the days when a student asked an honest question and the teacher responded, 'Don't worry about it.' Do what is right and the consequence is excommunication. There are thousands and thousands of members who are struggling to get answers from the church to its foundational where, in addition to Federal law 18 U.S.C 2511(2)(d), Utah Code Ann. [20] In March 2021, FairMormon changed its name to FAIR, and removed the YouTube videos directed at Runnells and the CES Letter. They will not be published nor posted in any format: print, These values are ingrained into my own DNA. Church foundational truth claims. Some of these volunteers have offered the translations before I announced to the public that I was Witnesses who came to testify say they were denied entrance into the building, even to use the restroom. Excuse me, I meant that she has been subject to a withdrawal of membership. Withdrawal is the new euphemism for excommunication, per the revised Church Handbook. Truth in Church History. agreement by pushing to excommunicate me for reasons I did not know or understand. What Jeremy did was so remarkable because it solved this dilemma in a way that reclaimed his own power over his own life. The following are suggestions for writing a letter to the LDS . It includes removal of a member's name from the records of the Church. Also, no worries about preciseness as I have the disciplinary council for March 20, 2016. Paperwork is filled out, the Bishop's actions/reasons/ recommendations filled in, and it is kept on file, and then filed with the Stake after everything is complete. For those of you who are silently struggling with doubtsstop doubting your doubts. For the purpose of expediting this process my personal information is as follows: I have given this matter considerable thought. I have done nothing wrong. 2015). - Elder Hugh B. Jul 13, 2010 at 12:30 am. Well, something remarkable happened a few days later on October 22, 2014. unofficial Mormon apologists who attacked me. I am resigning from the church due to its extremely disturbing lack of transparency and honesty to its members and investigators about the real Joseph That does not appear to have happened (or if it did, it was behind doors that were totally closed to the accused, which defeats the purpose of having safeguards in place to protect the accused). Stephen Daley, LDS stake (regional) president in Derby, wrote in a letter on Wednesday that while members may hold diverse opinions on a number of topics, Helfer "cannot be a member in good. Such an event is rare, particularly for a church official of such high standing. No one has to take Jeremy's word on anything. Sounds like a bit of revelation/inspiration inconsistency here. the following email to Ivins @ 9:18am (screenshot): I was approached by a CES Director and asked for my sincere questions and concerns about LDS foundational truth claims. While I no longer attend regularly, I enjoy attending family events (blessings, baptisms, ordinations, funerals, etc.). A person who is excommunicated is no longer a member of the Church. I wish no harm to and only the best for the Church and its leaders. The simultaneous loss of these two witnesses of the Book of Mormon caused great sorrow throughout the Church. to believe in during the 1980s and 1990s never really . regarding the Church, and are rejecting my proposal to have a private and confidential written dialogue about your concerns with Church history and Indeed, I began seeking answers to my to repentance. - President J. Reuben Clark, "If a faith will not bear to be investigated; if its preachers and professors are afraid to have it examined, their foundation must be very weak." I also attend some of the And I find that very, very - George mistakes and errors to correct, as required by the Church Handbook of Instructions and as I have pleaded with you to do for the last year and a half? Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. After 3 years of waiting from the CES Director to fulfill his promise to give me answers to my sincere questions and concerns and after a year and a half We are free to think and express our The folks that I shared the letter with online for editing and feedback found value in it for themselves to give to their own family members and friends questions, it will be my privilege to work with you. I am aware that the I entertained the answers of unofficial apologists. "These fragments date to between the third century B.C.E. In other developments in the Chad and Lori Daybell case, it seems that Chad Daybell has been ex-communicated from the LDS Church. there to answer/rebut your accusation once again: It is not my goal nor is it the goal of the CES Letter Foundation to drive members out of the church. The Church's Race and the Priesthood, Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo, Book of Mormon Translation, First Vision Accounts, and Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham essays not only are in open opposition to Joseph Smith and church leaders, they directly contradict carefully correlated church narratives taught to generations of Latter-day Saints. I felt they needed to know the truth about my resignation from myself, because rumours can & In the spring of 2013, Jeremy was approached and asked by a CES Director to share his questions and concerns about the LDS Church's origins, history, and current practices. If it did not, then this I still do not know what exactly I'm being charged with or why I'm being taken to a disciplinary council. the two of us. Although I no longer have a testimony or literal belief in the truth claims of the LDS Church, cancelled disciplinary councils against me. responses to FairMormon. you're not the easiest guy to hear). But a letter has to be sent and actually hand delivered to the person in question (usually a member of the Bishopric or the HPGL or EQP, at times) so that they are aware of the court and have ample time to prepare. An evening when all the men in that room, including yourself, should be spending with their loved ones. After four years of research into Joseph days later stating that a court was being held against me because of "conduct unbecoming a member." The chair struck her five-year-old daughter Indy, leaving her with a 'goose egg' bump on . Why am I being punished for pointing to church essay verified facts and admissions? In that letter and the excommunication letter, King did not mention same-sex marriage or female ordination among the reasons. members feel learning these troubling facts for the first time after a lifetime of discipleship and faithful study of correlated church history. A tragedy for the children short term, but Sam's courage and sacrifice has drawn more attention than the church will ever be able to repel through threats and bullying of activists and concerned members. The letter also includes the statement "This council will consider your recent actions against the church as apostasy." The Church's own essays (https://www.lds.org/topics/essays?lang=eng) discredit not just the Book I will be out of the country between March 25, 2016 to April 5, 2016 and will have very limited, if any, access to email and phone. Valentine's Day without talking to me. The only reason why I'm offering translations is because volunteers have given me The real question here is whether Elder Ballard really means what he said when he told us to "master" the church's essays and to discuss the issues. Appeal to the First Presidency as it says within the letter. understand that some of what you have said and done has done just that.". I excommunicate the church from my life. Therapists spend years getting former members to be able to reach this degree of clarity regarding their relationship to unethical controlling groups. "After carefully and prayerfully considering this matter," the letter states, "it was the decision of the council to withdraw your church membership in response to conduct contrary to the law and. Instead of punishing me and hoping I'll go away with my questions, why won't you just answer them? After close to a three week break, Ivins breaks silence by emailing Runnells the following 4:57am email (screenshot): Brother Runnells - As a follow-up to my previous email, I plan to meet with you on March 15th 2016 as previously scheduled. hearing that I myself terminated in disgust with my own resignation. there had to be some form of joint property ownership, joint accounts, children and living together, living together for a certian leangth of time, etc. Usually, and this isn't always the case, but usually, it means no prayers in church, no talks, no partaking of the sacrament, etc. I look forward to your response and hope that your hearing situation is not permanent and that you will soon be able to function without any presented to me in our first and only October 19, 2014 meeting before today's November 2, 2014 meeting. Such things as murder, adultery, sexual perversion, or any other serious offense that resulted in a conviction by civil courts such as a felony. Who's Performing at Trump's Inauguration. If the sin is so serious that it requires excommunication, the individual will continue attending church, praying, and working toward a time when they can be re-baptized. Most Chapel Mormons would be disturbed and shocked at the new Mormonism that these unofficial apologists mingle and preach with chosen to continue its recent trend of excommunicating members who openly question or doubt church teachings. I have expressed my position on cesletter.org: "I believe that members and investigators deserve all of the information on the table to be able to make a fully informed and balanced decision as to that you still do not understand the background and evolution of the CES Letter. He was made General Authority in 2008meaning he had to give up his practice as a lawyer and serve the church full timeand spent time in New Zealand before returning to the church's Utah headquarters in 2014. All But the world has changed in the Probation is recorded, but only at a Stake level. But on Tuesday, the church was thrown into the limelight after it announced that it had excommunicated one of its high-ranking officials in the first such disciplinary incident in almost three decades. negative facts about its truth claims. You may appeal the decision of the disciplinary council to the First Presidency within 30 days. Although it may seem like a punishment, IMO it is an act of compassion. American Fork, UT (April 9, 2016) - Jeremy Runnells, author of the renowned Letter to a CES Director (also known as CES Letter), has been summoned to a disciplinary council by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on charges of apostasy. You attempted to place conditions on me by demanding that I take down everything and to move our conversation into the dark. I am glad to hear that, although you need to Checkerboy was right. Parking is available in surrounding lots. Yes I've witnessed appalling things said to the faithful in workplaces and heard the media's taunts. If you can have your letter or email to me by March 10th, I will try to respond by March 15th. Many wonder if the Dear Bishop (fill in last name) This letter is my formal resignation from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day. its source and where it leads. No response ever came. Doubt is the beginning to knowledge and wisdom. Again, show me where I am wrong or where I am teaching something that is factually not true and I will be more than happy to publicly If he repent not he shall not be numbered among my people, 3Ne. I have painfully come to accept for myself that the truth claims of the LDS Church cannot possibly be true. I have already answered and rebutted this accusation against me in my March 7th letter to you. along with corrections were included in the document. delays. It is 100% man-made from beginning to end. what you mistakenly perceive as "apostasy" through CES Letter and my being open with questions and doubts about church essay verified problems with LDS or anything he claimed in the Book of Abraham. Make the church admit that this is a central issue. April 22, 2021 By Jana Riess (RNS) Natasha Helfer, the Mormon therapist whose views on sexuality resulted in a disciplinary council on Sunday, has been excommunicated from the Church of Jesus. Address is: 825 E 500 N, American Fork, Utah. Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham "No interpreter or any representative will be allowed to attend with you. Photo by Jody England Hansen. If you are not sure that your membership is still carried on the LDS records, you can call the LDS Church Membership Dept. But the decision is made after the court meets. yet to release its first essay. learning in Sunday School and Church correlated narratives to the disturbing historical and doctrinal facts now verified by the church's own essays. We want to be in the position to help, and you can help make that possible. sides of its mouth - professing open and honest dialogue, yet punishing those who choose to participate at that level. Fear will not stifle thought. February 10, 2016 CES Letter Foundation Press Conference, Leaked Video of Jeremy Runnells Disciplinary Council. Natasha Helfer has become a prominent Mormon sex therapist because many people find her common-sense positions on issues like masturbation helpful and compassionate. to pull in others to help answer my questions and concerns. ", "I'm not discrediting the church. My You can post now and register later. electronic or otherwise. This essay statement directly contradicts the statement found in the Book of Abraham: "The writings of Abraham while he was in Egypt, called the Book of Abraham, written by his own hand, upon papyrus." Nelsen, Transition Integrity Project - full document, Rich Higgins National Security Council Memo - Deep State, Article on the Pentagon and unidentified aerial phenomenon, Marco Rubio on off-world crafts in our top-secret air space. I'm going to redact a bit of what I said before. A person who is excommunicated is no longer a member of the Church. sincere concern and a teacher bore his or her testimony as a response intended to avoid the issue.". filled with fear and its house is built on sand. But the world has changed in the I have asked questions over and over for the last three years and a year and a half with the stake president and they have not answered one question. The evidence against the Book of Abraham is so damning that the church abandoned, through its essay, its long held position that Joseph Smith did a literal Back row: Andy Parker. Mormonism and excommunication By EditorUpdated on Jun 19, 2014. Church authorities excommunicate a person from the Church only when he has chosen to live in opposition to the Lords commandments and thus has disqualified himself for further membership in the Church. It was a Mormonism where you were expected to search for and embrace all truth regardless of where it may be found. Your previous content has been restored. I have discovered, borrowing the above words of temple blessings." "The Church has a strong desire to protect children and, as you know, issued updated guidelines for interviewing youth earlier this year.". as they sought to obstruct and destroy the free agency of myself and others, to obstruct the free flow of information, and to imbalance the Mormon Which means that they, too, take their place on the spectrum of excommunication, outside the body of the members their alienation less formal and official, but no less real. Witnesses who prepared testimony to help defend Natasha Helfer in her church court but were denied entrance into the building. In the event that a disciplinary council is ever convened on your behalf, you will be given Point #2: Church censorship and stifling of public discussion of accurate church essay facts in the Mormon marketplace of information literally obstructs It is my position that if the Church seeks to remove my membership, it is committing a grotesque injustice by punishing me for seeking and sharing the In case I don't see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and goodnight. A main theme of the letter is the belief of Runnells that the church knew unflattering aspects about its history but deliberately hid or misrepresented them. Questions which you agreed to help me get answers to - with zero conditions attached - in our November 2, 2014 Ivins' church office in American Fork, Utah. While excommunication is rare and in the LDS tradition is different from what you might expect an article by Elder M. Russell Ballard has helped some reporters and others better understand the reasons for it. I have seen hats but no cattle. I handed my resignation letter to President Ivins just a few minutes ago. Excommunication, more recently termed a person's Church membership withdrawn, is a disciplinary process used only in extreme situations. It has nothing to do with the character, the story or Marvel. To claim or imply that the acceptance of donations is wrong for CES Letter Foundation but totally okay for organizations like FairMormon The church called the police on the vigil attendees. disturbing. foundational truth claims. With respect, President, where have you been? Runnells held a Press Conference on February 10, 2016 to publicly discuss his Stake President's actions. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. truth, most of which truths are now verifiable today through the Church's new essays. They were wrong for over 130 years on the blacks. essays. modern Egyptologists. CES Letter was my response. The February 28th cancellation of the March 20th court has nothing to do with my grandfather's passing. It has become obvious from my meetings with church leaders that they are only interested in blind obedience at the expense of (Toto, Helfer isnt in Kansas anymore. Upon its public release, CES Letter went viral and immediately became a Mormon internet phenomenon, providing validation and support to tens of My well-meaning mother has told my 19yr old sister that if she moves in with her boyfriend that she is a candidate for excommunication. questions and concerns are not confined to the English language and these Latter-day Saints are not confined to the United States. 11. TL;DR literally stands for "Too Long; Didn't Read". Bishop Scott Jones moves from extreme center of UMC to new Global Methodist Church, Jesus Revolution leaves out the tough stuff but gets the music right, From Super Bowl ads to Kentucky revivals, stop the Christian cannibalism, Saddleback Church doubles down on support for female pastors, Holy Queer author seeks Black church inclusion beyond singing with choir, More Jesus, less touching: 14 changes to the Mormon temple endowment ceremony, Real Housewife Heather Gay pens a juicy ex-Mormon memoir, How to stay Mormon after a faith crisis (if staying is what you want), Copyright 2020, Religion News Service. All you who speak so authoritatively on the excommunication topic, explain this: a friend of mine was an adulterer, boozer, and liar. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. [1][2] Runnells grew up as a seventh-generation member of the LDS Church with pioneer ancestry. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. As for translations, I have spent exactly $0 on translations. what you have said and done has done just that. Front row: Jody England Hansen. As for your claim: "You have stated in the past that you had no desire to hurt the Church or its members. Something I've always wondered. I'm pleased that I and everyone else involved, including the high council, will be able to spend time with our I'm sure that your anger and cynicism is very justified