When Mormonism excommunicates or disfellowships people who aren’t faithful to Mormonism or believing in Mormonism, it helps both Mormons and evangelicals. It adds clarity to identity and worldview. It contributes to religious integrity. It speeds up the process of people re-evaluating their beliefs.
We’re better off interacting with Mormons as Mormons, agnostics as agnostics, and atheists as atheists. When the waters are muddied, and I have to parse between committed Mormons, cultural Mormons, New Order Mormons, Jack Mormons, agnostic Mormons, atheist Mormons, etc., it takes away from time and focus spent on actually promoting the truth.
For this reason, I would be glad if every religion excommunicated or disfellowshipped all of its unfaithful or unbelieving members. Evangelicals are better off too if we do this. It also happens to be biblical (1 Corinthians 5).
Many months back my Stake President wanted to help me in a way that really helped the church rid itself of me . Many times during our conversation it was all about getting together to get the paper work going to help me move on . Sep 11 , 2011 was my last time in the Mormon Church and as I have shared i didn’t plan on leaving, nor did i plan on joining it back on Feb 15, 1975, but each day removed is more peace and more joy and being myself and i really don’t care about the official paperwork they want to do , they leave me alone, i leave them alone.
And over time they become even smaller and smaller in importance in my life, they are not even a pebble in my eye anymore .
I have lost and given up on many friendships and relationships over that church , yet have gained more in return.
I know there will be those on the front line against them , i was like that at first, now my inner peace is more important than to convince them of the truth . Good luck to all who engage them , i have little to zero desire to do so .
I might be on there rolls , but I was never in there hearts , except when i was on the Mormon treadmill .Glad i unplugged it and moved on. Has anyone really moved on if they are always trying to fix or explain that treadmill ? yes and no . I do understand both sides .
Ironman,
I get your point! What I’ve observed is that former LDS actives move through a series of stages on their way out of the (LDS) church. For many, it comes to a point of, “I’m so over that!”. I could see where some might even have developed a mild phobia or PTSD like symptoms in regards to the group.
As to the name on the rolls issue, it’s estimated that two-thirds of those on the rolls of the LDS church are inactive. Having the names of a bunch of people on the rolls is just a way for the LDS church to try and gain some sort of numbers status.
This has made me wonder if I’m on the rolls of the Catholic Church? I’ve never given any thought to it and I haven’t really been involved for 40+ years. Do I care? Not really!
But one last thought. In the eyes of the LDS church, if you don’t take your name off the rolls are you saved from LDS outer darkness?
Just my opinion, But I believe the LDS church leaves lots of names on the rolls just to give the appearance of high amounts of LDS. We have seen it’s alla numbers game for the LDS church.
Really it wouldn’t be very practical to try and excommunicate “members” from any particular religious organization on a wide scale. Just think of what that would take. In the LDS church that would mean excommunicating several million people. Even if we’re talking about culling the membership list, it would be quite an undertaking.
Yeah, falcon, excommunicating all those folk would be about as useful as all the time, effort, and money they put into the work for the dead.
Let’s face it. Those who are no longer active in the LDS church have sort of excommunicated themselves. These inactive folks are no real threat to the organization. They aren’t knocking it or even delving into the history of the religion to uncover the things that prove the sect is more than a couple of bubbles off of plumb.
Mormonism, LDS style, is just of no interest to them. I talked to a woman out in Idaho one time who wasn’t a Mormon but said that her family were Mormons “way back when”. She certainly felt no connection to the sect but wasn’t hostile in any way. My guess is that there’s a lot of these folks around.
I’m what’s known as a “lapsed” Catholic. There’s all kinds of us around. I think the church even had some sort of PR campaign at one point to encourage those who have left to come back. It didn’t reach me.
I believe the Bible hints at the concept that what’s important is to have our name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. It’s some where in the Book of Revelation. That’s really the only membership roll I’m interested in having my name appear!
@Aaron Sh.
“…committed Mormons, cultural Mormons, New Order Mormons, Jack Mormons, agnostic Mormons, atheist Mormons…”
Thanks for the list. Is there an article where I can read about what differentiates those who fall under these groups? Or perhaps you could clarify or define why Mormons fit into these classifications – and what defines the classifications.
Thanks
RJ
Here’s a couple for you.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Mormon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Mormon
This blog article made me realize that one of the criteria for getting excommunicated from the LDS church is if you’re wearing the wrong underwear.
“Before I made my final mental break from Mormonism however I wanted desperately to be accepted and loved by the organization I grew up in. I gave a lot of my time and energy to it. I had many friends and family in the LDS church. Yet I was always worried as a New Order Mormon that when people found out what I really thought about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, that I wouldn’t be accepted. Going without the garment would be viewed as a sign I am not a True Believing Mormon. I remember thinking to myself, “They won’t accept me because I wear the wrong underwear.” I realize now how stupid and exaggerated that might sound but it is how I felt. In fact, there were quite a few Mormons who I tried to be friends with during this time; but when they discovered my liberation from the garments and LDS dogma I became a conversion project for them; and once they realized that their testifying to me over and over had no effect on me, and they didn’t like hearing about the facts I was sharing that they’d rather ignore, then we quickly drifted apart.”
For more of this article see the following:
http://postmormon.blogspot.com/2011/01/i-cant-be-mormon-because-i-wear-wrong.html
I’m wondering if the LDS church contacted all of those “members” who have been identified as “inactive” (by some predetermined criteria) and asked them if they would like to have their names removed from the membership list, how many would say, “Yes”? This could be done at the stake level and the results shipped-up to SLC for action.
I’d ask a follow-up question regardless of whether the person answered “yes” or “no”. I’d ask them “why”? “Why do you want your name to remain on the rolls of the LDS church?”
Having a natural interest in research, I’d love to see the results of such a survey. Now we’d have to depend on the honesty of people answering this question. We know that everyone lies. It’s just a matter of degree. Despite this, a skillful questioner could probably glean a lot of interesting information from such a survey.
Let’s face it. Most people when asked an “Is it over?” question, have difficulty with finality. They have to commit, for example, to letting go. It’s uncomfortable. For most inactive LDS folks, my guess is that there’s no up-side to slamming the door shut on the LDS church. They may very well consider themselves “Mormon” even though they are inactive or maybe don’t even believe in the LDS church, the BoM or Joseph Smith as a prophet.
I read a comment on a blog where a woman said that her husband still wore the magic underwear despite the fact that they were out of the “church” for five years. Very strange indeed but to those of us who are in apologetic ministry to Mormons, we have to remember the psychological conditioning that goes deep into the psyche of some of these folks.
If someone were to ask me if I was a Catholic, I’d say “No”. And yet a large part of me is still Catholic. It’s within the Church that I received both my religious/moral instruction as well as my academic foundation. It doesn’t go away even though my theological perspective has been altered significantly.
I don’t get into these debates as to whether or not Catholics are “Christians”. I consider anyone who is trusting completely in the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation to be a Christian. Catholics have an orthodox view of the nature of God. The concept of “works” within the Catholic framework gets a little murky for me.
Consider this since the term “excommunicate” appears here as suggested by the article above:
The Catholic Church has never taught such a doctrine and, in fact, has constantly condemned the notion that men can earn or merit salvation. Catholic soteriology (salvation theology) is rooted in apostolic Tradition and Scripture and says that it is only by God’s grace–completely unmerited by works–that one is saved.
The Church teaches that it’s God’s grace from beginning to end which justifies, sanctifies, and saves us. As Paul explains in Philippians 2:13, “God is the one, who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work.”
Notice that Paul’s words presuppose that the faithful Christian is not just desiring to be righteous, but is actively working toward it. This is the second half of the justification equation, and Protestants either miss or ignore it………………………
The Council of Trent harmonizes the necessity of grace and works: “If anyone says that man can be justified before God by his own works, whether done by his own natural powers or by the teaching of the Law, without divine grace through Jesus Christ, let him be anathema” (Session 6; can. 1).
The Council fathers continued by saying, “If anyone says that the sinner is justified by faith alone, meaning that nothing else is required to cooperate in order to obtain the grace of justification and that it is not in any way necessary that he be prepared and disposed by the action of his own will, let him be anathema” (Session 6: can. 9).
By the way, “let him be anathema” means “let him be excommunicated,” not “let him be cursed to hell.” The phrase was used in conciliar documents in a technical, theological sense, not in the same sense as the word “anathema” is found in Scripture. Don’t let “Bible Christians” throw you for a loop on this one.
So, far from teaching a doctrine of “works righteousness” (that would be Pelagianism, which was condemned at the Council of Carthage in A.D. 418), the Catholic Church teaches the true, biblical doctrine of justification.
http://www.catholic.com/quickquestions/why-does-the-church-teach-that-works-can-obtain-salvation
So the topic of excommunication would be significantly different for a member of the LDS church as opposed to a Christian. People getting excommunicated from say the Catholic church is not as natural occurring practice as in the LDS church.
It’s interesting to see what Mormons have been excommunicated for , what we’re they guilty of ?
Another thing that interests me is how much shunning by friends / family is experienced by
those who have been excommunicated ?
Mormons who find themselves on the outside of Church membership because of being
excommunicated or those who are inactive because they are disillusioned about their
leadership :
If you are reading this blog post I hope you would take some time to ask yourself what was it
that led you to join the Mormon church ? Stop and ponder that question . How much about
Mormonism did you know before joining ?
We here often describe Mormonism has a counterfeit / imitation of Jesus’ church and gospel ,
and because of it sincere , decent , people are misled . Hopefully you will come to see that
a right relationship with God is through Jesus alone , not a church , not by following a man
at the top of a religious organization . Take a Bible , read slowly the New Testament , see
what it teaches about you and God/Jesus . The answer to your desire to know God is in there ,
and you are now in a position to read His word with your own glasses on .
@Falcon
I agree with you, my friend that anyone who trusts solely in Christ’s saving grace for his/her salvation is already saved.
However, the Catholic theology in the link you posted has a different view than what Paul teaches, despite their claims.
Notice that Paul’s words presuppose that the faithful Christian is not just desiring to be righteous, but is actively working toward it. This is the second half of the justification equation, and Protestants either miss or ignore it
Actually no, Paul does not pre-suppose that the faithful Christian is actively working toward it. Paul states the entire opposite:
“But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.” (Romans 11:6, ESV)
Paul goes on in Romans to counter those who are working towards being righteous (in terms of salvation) and writes/wrote, “Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.” (Romans 4:4-5)
Paul’s pre-supposition is that you’re not working towards being righteous.Works oppose grace. The Catholic explanation above totally contradicts the teachings of the Apostle Paul.
Also, the Council of Trent states to ‘earn’ forgiveness of sins:
The Council of Trent (Sess. XIV, c. i) declared regarding Penance:
“As a means of regaining grace and justice, penance was at all times necessary for those who had defiled their souls with any mortal sin. . . ./ (Sess. XIV, c. i) [see: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11618c.htm%5D
This includes saying the Rosary, praying ‘Our Fathers” and/or “Hail Marys”, doing the absolution that the priests’ command.
This is works and a total opposite of grace. Sorry Falcon, it appears to contradict Paul’s teaching.
“Notice the Paul’s words” quote above in my last post is a quote from falcon’s Catholic article link. Sorry for the formatting.