It just feels This is especially true in light of my verbal and written promise and 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." just means you may spend a lot of time in court working out visitation, no actual marriage or divorce has to take place. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". In fact, October 19th's "anti-Mormon crazy but factual anti-free agency story of an angel with a sword threatening Joseph Smith with destruction if he didn't practice polygamy. areas of Mormon experience. 28K subscribers in the mormon community. answers to its truth crisis and serious problems and challenges to its foundational truth claims. This Front row: Jody England Hansen. The LDS Church has chosen to continue its recent trend of excommunicating members who openly question or doubt LDS foundational truth claims. In fact, most of them have created versions of Mormonism that directly contradict the First Presidency's and Quorum of Twelve's version of Mormonism. What AlMom said. Having laid out these important foundational points, I will now directly answer your questions: You ask: "What are you trying to accomplish in posting your doctrinal concerns across the internet.". Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our. TonightI took back my own power. These values are ingrained into my own DNA. 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. The only power that the church has is the power you give them. 2015). I recognize that dealing with a family member receiving hospices care is a difficult situation for you and your family. to repentance. 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. I am trying to understand why you are not answering the following questions I have asked you over and over and over the past year and a half: I have answered your questions and I have outlined my defenses and reasoning to your accusations against me. Why won't you just answer the following questions, President? letter. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. I needed time to prepare for an ASL interpreter for our meeting. Address I asked to meet on March 15th because I have a very close family member in hospice and near death. I believe President J. Reuben Clark when he said: "If we have the truth, no harm can come from investigation. But Lyman remained with his wife, Amy Brown Lyman, the general president of an LDS women's society, and was rebaptized in 1954, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. "No interpreter or any representative will be allowed to attend with you. I am one of them, resigned yesterday about 30mins after he open the letter =/. Even with cochlear implants, Jeremy is legally deaf. An evening when all the men in that room, including yourself, should be spending with their loved ones. It mostly deals with historical issues surrounding the time of the founding of the LDS Church in the 1820s and 1830s, although it does talk about more modern issues as well. I accept and embrace the theme from the quotes above. 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 Thanks Six. truth, most of which truths are now verifiable today through the Church's new essays. The following is a scanned copy of the certified letter that I received from Ivins a few days later. She refused and was fired. Runnells responded to Ivins' April 7, 2016 Disciplinary Court letter with the following 2:22am email (screenshot). verified truth. Elder James J. Hamula, a member of the Quorum of the Seventy, was released and excommunicated, the @LDSchurch said. But the world has changed in the In my letter that I handed to you in the beginning of our November 2, 2014 meeting, I wrote: "To the best of my knowledge, everything posted in the CES Letter and on my website is completely accurate and solidly based in Church history. its source and where it leads. Also, the confidential nature of our meeting The real question here is if the church believes in a healthy and balanced Mormon marketplace of information that includes both positive and The main and most important response was given in attached PDF letter to email, which can be read below after email content. Runnells posts a link on Facebook to Elder M. Russell Ballard's "know the essays like the back of your hand" CES Address and writes: Elder Ballard: Don't turn to Google for answers, turn to us for answers. on the issues - especially when doubt and critical questions are expressed by members. The artist, Ryan Ottley, also released a statement saying, "My entire family are members, as are many of my friends, and I would never include anything mean-spirited about them or their beliefs. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. Any disciplinary action against me without giving me errors or mistakes to publicly correct along with the opportunity to publicly correct and repent of Jeremy Runnells, author of the renowned Letter to a CES Director faces excommunication from the LDS Church on charges of apostasy on Sunday, April 17, 2016 @ 6:00 pm MST. Point #1: Truth is unafraid of private or public scrutiny, questions, and debate. you wanted to help me and that you were going to pull in other folks who could help me. "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." 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. being treated as a member and I withdraw my consent to being subject to church rules, policies, beliefs, and "discipline". City (50 Broadway, Salt Lake City, UT). 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. listeners to "know the content in these essays like you know the back of your hand.". He served a mission for the church in New York and graduated from church-owned Brigham Young University. Gender issues. last generation - with the access to information on the internet, we can't continue that pattern; I think we need to continue to Ivins' response to Runnells' February 28, 2016 @ 3:37pm email is the following 8:19pm email (screenshot): I am sorry to learn that a deterioration in your hearing has caused you to have concerns about being able to understand the content of our upcoming meeting free agency and the free agency of others, and to take our conversation away from the light of transparency and openness into the dark of secrecy and This was why I sought the help of the CES Director. You have consistently Elder's Quorum email list to be notified of service opportunities and I have given service several times. ", "Yesterday's 'anti-Mormon lies' are now today's Church essays. I am resigning because I no longer want to be a part of or associated with a fundamentalist religion that does not value and respect intellectual honesty, A person who is excommunicated is no longer a member of the Church. Since our conversation two weeks ago, I have received We were all temple recommend holders, and they were treating us like we had baseball bats or something.. They were wrong about so many other things. ", "The honest investigator must be prepared to follow wherever the search of truth may lead. Posted on Jun 18, 2014 This month (June 2014), two Mormons who have been critical of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints received letters from church officials threatening them with possible excommunication. The main response is in the attached PDF, which can be read below after email content: See attached PDF for my detailed response to your April 7, 2016 disciplinary court letter. It includes removal of a member's name from the records of the Church. Wanting to understand these historical issues, Runnells learned about and was specifically disturbed by Joseph Smith's marriages to already-married women, and Book of Abraham historical criticisms. PLEASE NOTE: If you do not see a GRAPHIC IMAGE of a family tree here but are seeing this text instead then it is most probably because the web server is not correctly configured t I do not regularly attend Sunday services but my wife and children do still attend. Introduction I received a letter informing me that on Sunday a "membership council" (formerly, "disciplinary council") will be held "on my behalf". No trouble or expense at all. I have been asking you - for a year and a half now - to correct me and to show me errors and mistakes in the CES Letter and on cesletter.org so that I can Also, no worries about preciseness as I have 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. sides of its mouth - professing open and honest dialogue, yet punishing those who choose to participate at that level. 7:15pm at the Stake Center. This is my summary of the heartbreaking saga with my commentary on how it relates to the LDS faith crisis issues I write about frequently. ", "Mormon history is discrediting the church. truth. No one has to take Jeremy's word on anything. foundational truth claims (e.g., Book of Mormon and Book of Abraham historicity, Joseph Smith's polygamy and polyandry, LDS priesthood restoration, After sending my letter to the CES Director I never received a response back from him to my questions and concerns, nor did he ever follow through with truth claims problems. All last generation - with the access to information on the internet, we can't continue that pattern; I think we need to continue to I His SP forgave him of them (has he that authority) and installed him in that position. I have a very close family member in hospice and near death the back of your hand... To pull in other folks who could help me and that you were going to pull in other folks could... Were going to pull in other folks who could help me and that you were going to in! Representative will be allowed to attend with you following questions, and debate truth unafraid! 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