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TheIrishman
Guest
expound please.
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lax16
Guest
Hello Irishman -
Several of the people answering this post have had similar experiences or know people who have had a similar situation.
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TheIrishman
Guest
Oh of course, as a missionary I was charged from the bishop to visit every less-active member i could.
The point is though, most of the harrassment and constant visits occur in the first few years of you not coming to church, or saying you no longer want to be a part of the church. When their efforts fail, the harrassment and visits become less frequent. Every ex member or less active has been harrassed.
I was a harasser on my mission, not proud of it.
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NeuroTypical
Guest
I want to make sure folks understand what I’m asking.
Mormons go visit people on the rolls of our church. It means somewhere, sometime, somebody made covenants and got baptized. That somebody is considered “in the flock” for some bishop. And there’s a pretty hefty scripture or two in the D&C about a bishop’s duty to know the status of his flock.
So, you don’t get kicked out or quit, you’re part of some bishop’s flock, and you will get visited from time to time.
The solution, for folks who don’t want the dang mormons to visit, is to get kicked out or quit. Excommunication or name removal.
My question is for people who have done that. If you’ve done that, did we stop coming around to check on you?
(None of this has anything to do with missionaries. They’re like traveling salesmen. They don’t care who’s door they knock on. Telling the missionaries to stay away, will last as long as that particular 18 yr old missionary’s memory lasts. If I ever figure out how to stop getting contacted by salesmen, I’ll certainly pass the info on to you folks, because it should work on missionaries too. Heck, they come knock on my door too about once every few years. I like to pretend I’m an anti-mormon with them, and then come clean just as they start to get upset.)
Mormons go visit people on the rolls of our church. It means somewhere, sometime, somebody made covenants and got baptized. That somebody is considered “in the flock” for some bishop. And there’s a pretty hefty scripture or two in the D&C about a bishop’s duty to know the status of his flock.
So, you don’t get kicked out or quit, you’re part of some bishop’s flock, and you will get visited from time to time.
The solution, for folks who don’t want the dang mormons to visit, is to get kicked out or quit. Excommunication or name removal.
My question is for people who have done that. If you’ve done that, did we stop coming around to check on you?
(None of this has anything to do with missionaries. They’re like traveling salesmen. They don’t care who’s door they knock on. Telling the missionaries to stay away, will last as long as that particular 18 yr old missionary’s memory lasts. If I ever figure out how to stop getting contacted by salesmen, I’ll certainly pass the info on to you folks, because it should work on missionaries too. Heck, they come knock on my door too about once every few years. I like to pretend I’m an anti-mormon with them, and then come clean just as they start to get upset.)
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Marie5890
Guest
Yes, many who have left still get Mormons who try and visit. That is common.
Also, there are people who for whatever reason that they chose not to formally resign specifically ask not to be contacted, and they are.
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RebeccaJ
Guest
No, I’m not part of a Mormon flock. To think this after as long as I have been a non-participant in the religion is delusional. A serious denial of reality! It does sound rather sentimental though, in a good way.
I have fond memories of being Mormon, as well as the weirder stuff. The teachings are what I will never agree to, starting with considering Joseph Smith a “prophet”. :nope:
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Marie5890
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Yes, I am not sure why they cant get past that and keep after people who leave.
Christ Himself never hounded people who walked away.
John 6:66, 67
Parable of Prodigal’s Son…
He let them walk away without chasing after them.
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NeuroTypical
Guest
Just out of curiosity, what does a Catholic have to do in order to be considered no longer Catholic?
I’ve done some searches on these forums, but my google-fu skills aren’t too great, and I’m seeing a lot of closed threads. Don’t wanna make assumptions (or waves…)
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Marie5890
Guest
By virtue of their baptism they will always been seen as part of the Mystical Body of Christ.
If they stop identifying themselves as Catholic, no one will is gonna freak out.
No one will be calling them up or showing up on their door steps “checking in on them”
Again, I refer you to John 6: 66, 67 and the Parable of the Prodigal’s Son.
They arent going to chased down. Or followed from one town to another if they move yada yada.
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RebeccaJ
Guest
You’ll see/hear Catholic say, “once Catholic, always Catholic”, which as Marie describes, is based on our beliefs regarding baptism. That is, that it leaves a real and permanent mark on the soul that can’t be “undone”.
I’ve read of people who’ve wanted their name removed from parish records. The thing is, the Catholic church doesn’t keep a central database of the 1.5 billion Catholics in the world. Every parish does their own record keeping for the purposes of recording sacramental rites. These are saved forever and ever, until the parish no longer exists, as they are very important to Catholic life.
Your parish records don’t follow you around. When you move, you register with a parish, which let’s the parish know you are a member of the flock, by choice. So after that you get various things from the parish in mail and email.
If you don’t want to be contacted any longer, just let the parish know that you don’t want to be contacted any longer. That’s it. Nothing more to it than that.
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RebeccaJ
Guest
One other thing, I think what gets a lot of former LDS worked up about having their name in the LDS database, is the that LDS church claims us as members and includes us in a bragging sort of way, that the LDS church does, siting membership numbers a evidence of the truthiness of Mormonism.
That doesn’t happen with the Catholic church. As I said, there is no central database, so there is no Big Number the Vatican can give from its own records. When you see numbers like “1.5 billion Catholics”, it is based on statistical surveys and calculations. In surveys where people have self-identified as Catholic. If a person doesn’t consider themselves Catholic any longer, they self-identity as whatever they are. The Catholic church isn’t putting out numbers that include people who do not self-identify as Catholic.
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lax16
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But if a person moves out of state are they still part of the bishop’s flock? Aren’t bishops only in charge of their own ward?
I understand you are stating that people should get ex-comm’d or have their names removed in order to avoid frequent visits - but my question is if a person** says** they are not interested, isn’t that enough?
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Marie5890
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The answer to that is no from the LDS perspective.
If you are on their rolls, you are assigned home teachers and visiting teachers (if you are an adult female) and they are suppose to continue to try and “re-active” you.
Basically, they follow after those who have chosen to turn and walk away (John 6: 66,67) or, unlike the Parable of the Prodigal Son, rather than letting the son go and live whatever life he chooses, even one of deep sin, they follow after you. They don’t take the example of the father and wait for the son to return, and then run and greet the repentant son.
Again, it’s one of the reason why some will claim the LDS is a cult.
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Miriam1947
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Rebecca, do you mean not baptized as a Mormon or not baptized at all?
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lax16
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Well, I agree it is cult-like and let me explain why. Like I said our friend left Utah and moved to a new state making a new life for himself.
How would they know where he was?? Who would tell home teachers/visiting teachers his new address? Kinda like stalking if you ask me.
And you are right. They are trying to interfere with one’s choice to find his own way.
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kimg901
Guest
And it came to pass, that I never asked for my name to be removed.
And it came to pass that I thought I should have.
And it came to pass that I dont give a **** if my name is there, God loves me!
And it came to pass that I thought I should have.
And it came to pass that I dont give a **** if my name is there, God loves me!
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andrewstx
Guest
I would think the statues of St. Francis and St Fiacre in the front garden might give them a clue, not to mention the crucifix that is the first thing you see through the open door.
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superwimp
Guest
Hello,
I was a convert and relatively active in the LDS church for about a year. I became inactive after I moved and was required to change wards. I still believed in the BOM but had my doubts about the leadership. A few years later I joined the temple lot group and requested excommunication.
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andrewstx
Guest
To be honest as the originator of this thread, it was meant for former or ex Mormons only. Not intended for current Mormons who have no doubts about the LDS organization.
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RebeccaJ
Guest
Both.
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