Tech Forum

Unfortunately, after some recent efforts by our High Priest group to make contact with some lesser known names on our ward records, we have a short list of people who would like their name removed from the records of the church. Our Bishop has tasked me with drafting the letter that we will send each member as part of this process.

Several years ago when I was executive secretary I had a basic letter that our Bishop at that time had drafted, and I had tweaked, but I no longer seem to have that. I'm looking for a sample letter that we can use and tweak as appropriate to our specific members. Does anyone have a sample they could offer, or someplace they could point me to find one. I've searched the forum, the wiki, and a couple other sites, and while I've found some discussion of this topic, I've not found anything along the line of a sample letter. I'm sure I can work it out, but I'd like to see some other efforts to use as a base.

Thanks much.

I don't mean to sound rude... but... personally, I think it's the member's responsibility to write their own letter and express their own reasons for taking this step. This is a very serious matter and I'd hate to think we look like we're encouraging it by having a form letter standing by. Perhaps the departing member just thinks they're sick of having home teachers or they feel some kind of animosity towards the church because of some temporarily-newsworthy social issue (like same sex marriage).

On a more helpful note, however, I would think the CHI has more information about this (which would be more useful than what you can find online).

GregAnderson wrote:I think it's the member's responsibility to write their own letter and express their own reasons for taking this step.

It's true that the member write the letter requesting to have their name removed from Church records. But then once that has happened and the stake president approves the removal, the bishop is required to send a letter back to the person, and there are some specific points he must make in that letter. I believe it is a template for this letter that was being requested, not the member's letter.

Oh, yes. I mis-read that completely. Sorry about that.

Perhaps the best way of handling a situation such as this is to have the Bishop consult with his Stake President. Stake Presidents are aware of the communication requirements in matters such as these and they are your best source of information. It would not be appropriate to post the contents of such a letter on the forum.

The administrative form the SP handles -and I think from memory CHI has some notes too- has the basic information needed to include in that final letter from the Bishop to that member requesting name removal. I think -again from memory- it needs to state that they will no longer be members of the church and that it will take effect 30 day from the date of this letter if there is no action by the bro/sister involved to stop the process.

So I'd add in an intro paragraph saying something like "we received your request to have you name removed from our church records and sincerely regret that you have chosen this course of action...etc' a second explaining the above ie "you will no longer be a member of the church as off [date of letter +30]...etc" and a final one that "it will take effect 30 days from the date of this letter unless you call Bishop ]name] on [his phone] .to stop the proecess....etc" and then a closing line " we will always welcome you back to church should you wish to return one day....."etc Signed ,dated

NOTE: A word of advice: Please take this process seriously and do what the person wants to do ie they don't want to be members anymore, and do it as quickly as possible.

I was unfortunate enough to run into a "less active member" when I was quorum president who claimed , very angrily, that he wasn't a member anymore, hadn't been one for 15 years, and had written that letter too, and as he said it he became more and more agitated until he turn away from the door and went and grabbed a large butchers knife and was headed straight for me when his wife intervened and stopped him. I passed on this information off course but was told that the angry 'less active member' needed to write a letter......etc etc. So we had to fix the situation by deleting his address and write in "Do not contact, violent and aggressive" as his address to try and save any future innocent elder who may wonder to his house again. Obviously it doesn't help anyone to fix things that way but we didn't have any other choices back then nor had we any authority to excommunicate him as was required back in the day before this 'Administrative Action" name removal. So even if one has to write a letter for the member requesting name removal and give that letter to them, explaining the process and have then sign and date it, I'd say its the safer way to work after my experience with that butcher knife wielding angry ex-member.

techgy wrote:Perhaps the best way of handling a situation such as this is to have the Bishop consult with his Stake President. Stake Presidents are aware of the communication requirements in matters such as these and they are your best source of information. It would not be appropriate to post the contents of such a letter on the forum.

The CHI is specific concerning what should be included in the letter. As a former bishop, I never used a sample or form. I found that I was prompted each time to word the letter a little bit differently.

Each letter contained the required information. And yet each letter was also slightly tailored for the member to whom it was being sent. That cannot be done with a sample or form letter.