Departure from Mormonism

These letters were written as I left Mormonism and are not as thoughtful as the later essays found elsewhere on this site. I include them because they show how my thinking has evolved since they were written, and as an indication of the pathos that accompanied my change in belief. To be more explicit, if you are going to read something long on this site, the lengthy letter I wrote to my family is probably not the best investment of time you could make.

Coming Out Letter (75 pages; no abstract) – A letter I sent to members of my family about a year ago (in November of 2002) expressing my feelings about the Church. I wrote this primarily to test my own reasoning, since writing and reviewing my own work is helpful in this regard, and then sent it to my family in attempt to let them see that I was not going off half cocked, and was trying to be responsible and careful in the conclusions I reached, etc.

Coming Out Letter (3 pages; no abstract) - I sent this letter to a group of about 50 friends and relatives outside of my immediate family, to short circuit the rumours that had come back to me about my change in perspective.

Resignation Letter (4 pages) – A short time after the "Coming Out" letter was circulated to my family and a few close friends who asked to see it, it was broadly circulated without my permission by innocent people who did not think before passing it on. While this did not bother me, it had not been my intent, and it did bother the local LDS leaders. I was told after a few meeting with local authorities that I must choose between remaining a member and being able to continue to talk about "faith threatening" things (whether true or not) with even the small circle of friends with whom I insisted on retaining the right to talk about these things. This letter is the result.