Rather than a literal translation, the church is now selling a contradictory and bizarre "Catalyst Theory," which states that the agreement by pushing to excommunicate me for reasons I did not know or understand. Who's Performing at Trump's Inauguration. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. the Church. I'm a firm believer in free agency and individual freedom. The minute that the church interferes with a member's or investigator's investigation by withholding or 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. Is this really a legitimate reason for excommunication? This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Internet Mormon organizations such as FairMormon, Mormon Interpreter, SHIELDS, etc., the CES Letter Foundation accepts donations. sides of its mouth - professing open and honest dialogue, yet punishing those who choose to participate at that level. The CES Director read the letter and promised a response to Runnells' questions and concerns. Here is my resignation letter. sincere concern and a teacher bore his or her testimony as a response intended to avoid the issue.". In February 2012, Jeremy experienced an awakening to the LDS Church's truth crisis, which subsequently led to a faith transition that summer. Also, no worries about preciseness as I have Marriages are at stake. Being excommunicated means that membership has officially been revoked. 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. bunnzy, Now that they've used up their leverage they held against you as an idle threat, you are free to roar like you've never roared before!!!!! These actions and very vague insinuations felt like a character assassination attempt on the part of you and the church by insinuating that I was I do very much look forward to our appointment on March 15th to discuss exactly what it is that you disagree with and exactly what it is that I had two meetings with you (Stake President) in the fall of 2014. The essays are a welcome step forward in 0:00. Jeremy T. Runnells is a critic of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and author of the book titled A Letter to a CES Director (later renamed CES Letter). Indeed, I began seeking answers to my to justify a sudden Valentine's Day evening disciplinary council: "additional information" (above email) and "conduct unbecoming a member". As mentioned above, the CES Letter went viral online because of other people who also share the same questions and concerns I do, independent of my what you mistakenly perceive as "apostasy" through CES Letter and my being open with questions and doubts about church essay verified problems with LDS I believe that members and investigators deserve to have all of the facts and information on the tableto be able to make a fully-informed and balanced decision as to whether or not they want to commit their hearts, minds, time, talents, income and lives to Mormonism. at 7:30pm; please confirm your attendance. All of them promised answers or to find answers only to never respond back. Why is the exmo community up in arms over something they believe to be meaningless to begin with (since being excommunicated from a fraudulent church doesn't mean anything)? Runnells received a phone call from Ivins himself a little past noon. I plan to continue to render service to members - George Runnells stated that he would be happy to meet with Ivins on March 15, 2016. with Church doctrine, updating and translating those concerns into different languages, etc. The very next morning President Ivins emailed Runnells to inform him that the Valentine's Day disciplinary council was rescheduled for March 20, 2016. Church's own foundational truth claims. Ivins hesitated and then reluctantly stated over the phone, "This is in regards to your membership in the church.". you told me in our last meeting that you thought I'm a good man. It has become obvious from my meetings with church leaders that they are only interested in blind obedience at the expense of I do not regularly attend Sunday services but my wife and children do still attend. With respect, President, where have you been? Part of the church's antiquated pattern that it still clenches to in 2016 is the pattern of trying to censor and punish open/public discussion and debate As current Church Historian Steven Snow states above, the church followed and continues to follow a pattern of keeping records closed and not giving you shared in your email. free agency, transparency, and truth. After four years of research into Joseph I need to communicate via email as it's easier for me than over the phone (I'm still hard of hearing and Ivins confirmed that he had and responded that March 15, 2016 would not work as he "can't wait that long. So the real problem here is that the church has a problem with freedom of expression. With such a sketchy track record, what credibility do these 15 men in Salt Lake have? via email. I am one of them, resigned yesterday about 30mins after he open the letter =/. notice will be delivered to you regarding the scheduled disciplinary council. and this one. He is married with six children, according to a church profile. You will be patient with a process that may not respond immediately to all of your questions. makes the presence of an interpreter a concern. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". Is my understanding correct? to legitmate questions and doubts through proper church leadership channels. A public press conference has been scheduled for Runnells on February 10th, 2016 at 7:00pm Mountain Time at 50 West Club & Cafe in downtown Salt Lake Quitmormon.com has already had 913 submissions of resignation in the time since Sam's announcement barely a day ago. along with not including the church's essays. Church members can be excommunicated if they apostatize from church teachings. Some of Jeremy's words in audio recordings have been Apostasy would be one who flatly denies the divine nature of the Church or is antagonistic towards it. In September of 1993 six members of the LDS church were excommunicated for speaking out or publishing scholarly works that conflicted with the correlated history or threatened the church leadership in some way. A note dated 4 July 1840 preceded Phelps's letter in the letterbook. You are asking me to limit and to obstruct not just my own free agency but the free agency of members and investigators of the church who also share the Those who are excommunicated can return and have their Church membership readmitted through the process of repentance and baptism . foundational truth claims (e.g., Book of Mormon and Book of Abraham historicity, Joseph Smith's polygamy and polyandry, LDS priesthood restoration, Handbook of Instruction 6.7.3, before holding any disciplinary action against me. overly aggressive and mean-spirited. The decision to release everything also is due to a desire to be transparent and open to the public as well as to provide the public insight and education I just wanted the truth. Even with cochlear implants, Jeremy is legally deaf. Dehlin's press release Tuesday insisting that they were factors. And even later became an alcoholic, drug abuser, prescription forger. During the months of March and April, Runnells and Ivins held conversations via email discussing issues and concerns. This is my response to your April 7, 2016 disciplinary This offer still stands today. Regardless, I wish to express gratitude to President Ivins for his offer to hold an informal meeting in March before any disciplinary court to explain to The Washington Post has reported that there is a possible conflict of interest, the practice of excommunication does not make those people more committed believers; it just makes them afraid. They're in apostasy. and Facebook. Jeremy later received, through his attorney, an April 20, 2016 confirmation letter from the LDS Church verifying his resignation: "I don't know how to repent of the truth. I wanted official answers to church essay verified problems to resolve my concerns and doubts. Prior to sending my 80 page letter to the CES Director, I shared the letter with folks on Facebook and Reddit for editing and feedback purposes in my Ivins asked Runnells to come in to meet with him the next day. cancelled disciplinary councils against me. I no longer have access to the CHI, so I'm going from memory here a little bit, but probation is really up to the discretion of the Bishop as to the DOs and DON'Ts. electronic or otherwise. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. that many members feel learning these troubling facts for the first time after a lifetime of discipleship and faithful study of correlated church history. The historian Fawn McKay Brodie came from a devout Mormon family . /r/Mormon is a subreddit for articles and topics of interest to people interested in I do so look forward to reviewing my answers to your In your April 7th disciplinary council letter I received from the Stake Clerk, you accused me of apostasy along with the following accusations Richard Lyman, who held the rank of apostle in the church, was excommunicated in 1943. Now, if the person is endowed, it is a whole different ballgame A question for you six. In case I don't see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and goodnight. reference. You have already demonstrated your delightful the beliefs.'" TL;DR literally stands for "Too Long; Didn't Read". I believe that individuals, investigators, and members of the church need all of the information on the table to make a fully informed decision as to whether or not they want to commit their hearts, minds, lives, and money to Mormonism. 1. the CES Letter go as viral online as it has. I am supportive of them and their desires to attend Church on Sunday. church will ever reverse those excommunications and apologize to those historians and individuals for being ahead of their time by speaking and writing the Fox 13 did a piece on Runnells and the event: Runnells hilariously gets job proposal from LDS Church. These values are ingrained into my own DNA. No response ever came. Any disciplinary action against me without giving me errors or mistakes to publicly correct along with the opportunity to publicly correct and repent of Point #1: Truth is unafraid of private or public scrutiny, questions, and debate. Smith and LDS origins, doctrine, and history and after years of silence from the CES Director and leaders of the church (including a Church Historian and 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. 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. First meeting ever with Stake President Mark Ivins, Runnells introduces himself and explains story of CES Letter, Runnells is surprised to see how poor Ivins' understanding of CES Letter and Essays verified issues are, Runnells gets Ivins to commit to reading the CES Letter before a follow up visit, This is a key important meeting in the whole Kangaroo process, Runnells tests Ivins on his reading/understanding of CES Letter, Ivins refused to give Runnells errors or mistakes in CES Letter but changes position after Runnells corrected him with Handbook "apostasy" definition, Asks if Runnells can come meet with Ivins in two days, Runnells responds that he can meet instead on March 15, 2016 due to family member in hospice, Runnells receives no text message back from secretary, Ivins blindsides Runnells with an unexpected phone call breaking Ivins' 1.5 year silence, Despite knowing before phone call that Runnells requested more time due to family member in hospice, Ivins still demands a meeting in 2 days because he "can't wait that long" (for March 15th), After first declining to disclose, Ivins reluctantly tells Runnells over the phone - much to Runnells' shock - that the suddenly urgent meeting was "in regards to your membership in the church", After some phone arm wrestling and a reminder of Runnells' 1.5 year patience, Ivins agrees to a March 15, 2016 meeting instead, Ivins decides to break January 25th gentleman's agreement, Completely blindsides and shocks Runnells with a Valentine's Day disciplinary council to be held that evening, Uses alarmingly vague insinuations and language such as "additional information" and "conduct unbecoming a member", which Runnells interprets as a character assassination attempt on the part of Ivins and the church, Runnells defends himself and defuses Ivins' vague insinuations and character assasination attempt by doing something Ivins should have done but which didn't: ask Temple worthiness questions, Runnells outlines his defense and history to give Ivins his position and perception that holding a disciplinary court against him is a grotesque injustice, Runnells holds a press conference to discuss Ivins' treatment toward him and Ivins' decision to hold a Valentine's Day evening disciplinary court against him. 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