If I resigned my membership, how do I get back into the church?

[doctor_snuffles]

Hello,

First off, my question is simple. Last fall I was baptized into the church but two weeks later resigned because my family had given me hell. These past 10 months have been the worst of my life, and when I go back to college in 2 weeks, I know I need to rejoin the church. I didn't receive the Aaronic priesthood or a patriarchal blessing, just was baptized, confirmed, and apostatized. The pamphlet I got in response to my resignation said that "the course was fixed for those wishing to rejoin." What is the course? Will I be rebaptized and confirmed? Thanks for your answers.

The Right Hon. Dr. Snuffles

[Guest JHM-in-Bountiful]

Back in 2001 I had my name removed from the church records. July of 2007 I decided to return to the church again. The process is fairly simple. The church welcomes most former members. Starting from the time you start attending church again, you will have to attend church services for a full year. After a year, you can be baptized and confirmed again. You may also have to Have the discussions with the missionaries again. When you become a member again, you will have your same church ID number as you did when you were a member.

[Mykdiver]

Wow that is a pain, attend for a whole year before letting you back in? I guess I am glad I will never do that.

[richlittell]

One year from an eternal perspective, and even from the perspective of an older person (which we won't define here lol), is peanuts (forgive the mixed metaphor).

Repentance is more difficult than most imagine, it has to be sincere, with the ability to persevere. The church, from my perspective, is extremely lenient.

[Mykdiver]

Very true, I did not really think about it that way.

[NeuroTypical]

when I go back to college in 2 weeks, I know I need to rejoin the church. ... What is the course?

Short answer: Go find your Bishop at college, make an appointment with him, show up, and tell him everything you're telling us. He'll take it from there.

I assume college is in a different place than where you were baptized? If that's the case, your new Bishop will probably want to call your old bishop, just to make sure you aren't a bad guy or a preadator or whatnot.

Will I be rebaptized and confirmed?

If you actually had your name removed from the records of the church, yes. If you just said 'I quit' and stopped going, then no. It's a big thing to remove your name and cancel your membership. A bishop will try to meet with you personally before taking any action on the matter. It has to do with whether you formally and officially cancelled your baptism, and hence the covenants and obligations that went along with it.

I was inactive for around 6 years. Didn't go, didn't consider myself mormon. When I decided to come back, I thought I would have to be rebaptized. What I learned instead was I was still on the records of the church, and everyone was just happy to have me back stepping up to the covenants I made at baptism.

Good luck!

LM

[Hemidakota]

Hello,

First off, my question is simple. Last fall I was baptized into the church but two weeks later resigned because my family had given me hell. These past 10 months have been the worst of my life, and when I go back to college in 2 weeks, I know I need to rejoin the church. I didn't receive the Aaronic priesthood or a patriarchal blessing, just was baptized, confirmed, and apostatized. The pamphlet I got in response to my resignation said that "the course was fixed for those wishing to rejoin." What is the course? Will I be rebaptized and confirmed? Thanks for your answers.

The Right Hon. Dr. Snuffles

Did you in fact receive any paperwork stating your record was removed from the church membership roles from church headquarters?

[MormonMama]

Doctor Snuffles, good luck to you in your desire to return to church. My family was also vehemently opposed to me joining the church, and I went inactive twice because of the lack of support from them (they have since mellowed considerably about it). Hang in there! Find a support group. There are often Institute classes on or near college campuses, and that might be a great place to meet other members your age.

And, of course, there's always these boards too.