Approximately 12 years ago I wanted to make it official that I was no longer wanted to affiliated or associated with the LDS / Mormon Church. Some of the background, my family is some of the original founders tracing back to Illinois and the ingress to Salt Lake City. I had finally come to terms with my faith and that did not include the Mormon religious beliefs. It included the Bible. No other books were necessary. As I said my family must had let the Church know my address since I only had a PO BOX and the house was in my father-inlaws name. Yet the missionaries were knocking on my door asking for Elder <my last name> (Guffaw). Well there is no one by that title here Needless to say, I requested that they discontinue contact with me and further asked what I needed to do to be removed from the list as I do not wish to be contacted by the Church at all or for that matter ever again. They said they would check in to it and let me know. They came back the following week and stated that I needed to send a letter to the Bishop basically stating that I was revoking my membership to the church and wanted nothing further to do with it. I told them thanks for looking up the information and asked for the address. They gave me the address and I wrote out a letter stating the items that I know longer wanted to be a member and to PLEASE stop bothering me that I do not want missionaries or anyone else from the church coming to my house (I included other items such as a revocation on my baptism and understanding that if I wanted to join at a later time this action would be under consideration). A few days later I get the letter I sent returned to me with a handwritten note on the front saying there is no at this address. I am not sure if it was the postal service that wrote it or what but it was the address the missionaries left. I looked the address up, both on the Internet and the phonebook and it was the same address. So I sent the envelope and its contents to the business offices in Salt Lake City. Approximately one month later, a very angry Hispanic man was on my porch yelling and clutching my letter that looked it had traveled to many places before landing in his hands once again.

He asked if he could come in to my house to discuss this ridiculous letter, I stated that the letter asked politely to NOT come to my house and that he needs to respect my wishes and leave. He said that was unacceptable, I told him that he has two options he could leave now and correspond with me via Mail as I was requested to do or he could be charged with trespassing as I am calling the police in 2 seconds and pulled out my cellphone. He opted to leave but I never heard from him or the Church again.

I mistakenly thought this was the end of that issue. I moved from Denver to Maryland and then at some point moved back to the Denver area (fast forward 10 years from the above mentioned events), my new residence was 20 or so miles from where I was when the incident first occurred. The second day after moving from the East Coast into my new home, there were two men standing at my front porch asking for Elder <Last Name>. Knowing that either could be a potential neighbor and not want to start a fight I was very polite and told them that I had requested 10 years ago to no longer be affiliated with the Church and to NOT contact me, especially in person at my home. One of the men seemed shocked and stated, sir we would have never come had we known that you sent such a letter, but so you know we received your file and their is nothing at all in it that indicates this request or any request not to contact you. He then asked if I would like him to initiate the process again, which does require a letter to the Bishop. I stated yes, and I trust it will get taken care of this time.

I received a letter from the local church stating what I needed to do. In the meantime there were several visits from the missionaries. I ended up traveling for a while and did not get to the letter and had not been bothered for many months, and then some missionaries came to my door asking for Elder <Last Name>. I told them I am very frustrated with the Church as I just want to be left alone, one of them had the gumption to ask me what I now believed in. I just said, really!, you want to go there with me? His partner looked at him, like are you crazy. I then told him that I was to send a letter to the Bishop to be removed but was busy for the past few months and it was low priority action item, but I still had the intention to do it. I then asked if in the mean time they could stand down and not bother me or my wife any longer they said they would make a note in my file.

A couple of weeks later I got a letter from the Bishop with a letter for me to sign stating all of the things that it needed to say as well as a return envelope. All it needed was my signature and mailed back (Thank you sir!). I promptly did it. Last week, my wife called to let me know their were two Mormon missionaries at our door again. I am not sure what the next step should be -- legal action a restraining order. I know that people will say they are nice people great get on their list and indulge but be nice enough to respect when people don't want you to persistently bother them after multitudes of formal and informal request to be left alone.

I had no choice in getting involved in this Church, I was born into it and it is difficult if not impossible to have my decision as an adult stand. For those who state that I am lying as I saw with another Mormon poster, I can provide proof of the letters, sworn affidavits, regarding conversations and events surrounding the aforementioned activities -- you seriously don't want to go there, as I will just add it to my restraining order documentation, if that is the way it has to be.