June 14, 2015
Member Records
50 E. North Temple, Room 1372
Salt Lake City, UT 84150-5310
United States
This letter is my formal resignation from the Corporation of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (hereafter referred to as “the LDS Church”) and it is effective immediately.
Please remove my name permanently and completely from the membership rolls of the church. I would like to explain the reasons for my decision, for any who care to understand, including my current bishop and Stake President. These men have treated me fairly and have exercised no unrighteous dominion in handling my dissent. I admire the service they render to members of their stake and ward.
In gratitude, I would like to acknowledge that the LDS Church has been a blessing in my life. I have learned much about coming unto Christ and serving my fellow man as a life long member. I believe that the Prophet Joseph Smith truly conversed with God and was a chosen prophet. I believe that the Book of Mormon is true and I value its teachings. Without the LDS Church I would not have this knowledge, and I am grateful to the organization for maintaining these records, including the history of the church, and publishing them. I love the members of the LDS Church and I am grateful for the friendships that I have built through my associations therein.
I have recently been awakened to the reality that the church is currently in apostasy. I believe this began in 1844 upon the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith. The 124th section of the Doctrine and Covenants gave strict instructions to the saints regarding the completion of the temple in Nauvoo. Upon closely reviewing the history associated with this section, I believe that the saints did not complete the temple in the allotted time and received the associated curses as outlined in the chapter in lieu of the promised blessings. The main issue I have with this is that I have not been able to discover any record of Christ visiting the temple (in Nauvoo or elsewhere) to “restore again that which was lost unto you, or which he hath taken away, even the fulness of the priesthood.” (D&C 124:28)
This explains to me the lack of the power of the Melchizedek priesthood displayed in the church. The privileges of this higher priesthood are explained in D&C 107:19: “To have the privilege of receiving the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, to have the heavens opened unto them, to commune with the general assembly and church of the Firstborn, and to enjoy the communion and presence of God the Father, and Jesus the mediator of the new covenant.” In scripture and early church history, those who held this Priesthood performed such miracles as moving mountains, commanding the elements, and raising the dead. It is presumptuous and arrogant to walk around saying that all the Elders of the church hold this priesthood unless they have actually attained the privileges associated with it.
Section 84 of the D&C also makes it clear that there is more to “obtaining” the Melchizedek
priesthood than just an ordination by man. “For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies. They become the sons of Moses and of Aaron and the seed of Abraham, and the church and kingdom, and the elect of God. And also all they who receive this priesthood receive me, saith the Lord; For he that receiveth my servants receiveth me; And he that receiveth me receiveth my Father; And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him. And this is according to the oath and covenant which belongeth to the priesthood. Therefore, all those who receive the priesthood, receive this oath and covenant of my Father, which he cannot break, neither can it be moved. But whoso breaketh this covenant after he hath received it, and altogether turneth therefrom, shall not have forgiveness of sins in this world nor in the world to come.” (vs.33-41) If I am to believe that ordination by a man is all that is necessary to obtain the Melchizedek priesthood, then I also must believe that every Elder who later goes inactive or commits serious sin is damned, unable to receive forgiveness. I don't believe that God would hold every 18 year old boy in the church to this standard. This is talking about something higher, an actual covenant with God Himself, once a person has received the privileges spoken of in D&C 107:19.
I believe that the LDS church was left with only the lower priesthood, or the Aaronic priesthood, when Joseph Smith died. This makes sense when you examine the privileges of this priesthood, which are more obviously present in the church today. “The power and authority of the lesser, or Aaronic Priesthood, is to hold the keys of the ministering of angels, and to administer in outward ordinances, the letter of the gospel, the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, agreeable to the covenants and commandments.” It bothers me that the general male membership of the LDS church presumes to have been given the Melchizedek priesthood by a man, and that they are not taught that they actually need to seek diligently to obtain it from God, thus blinding them to their personal responsibility in the matter and robbing them of potential blessings and exaltation.
When I bring up the matter of the priesthood, I am often asked if I have not ever benefited from a priesthood blessing. My answer to this is that God can bless us through our faith alone. In the early days of the church, women used to lay hands upon others and give blessings of faith and healing regularly. This practice was encouraged by the Prophet Joseph Smith. It was not until decades later that these blessings became associated exclusively with the priesthood. Faith is a very powerful force and should not be underestimated or dominated by priesthood authority. “Wherefore, we search the prophets, and we have many revelations and the spirit of prophecy; and having all these witnesses we obtain a hope, and our faith becometh unshaken, insomuch that we truly can command in the name of Jesus and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea. Nevertheless, the Lord God showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace, and his great condescensions unto the children of men, that we have power to do these things.” (Jacob 4:6-7) “Where there is true faith there are miracles, visions, dreams, healings, and all the gifts of God that He gives to His saints." (Bible Dictionary, Faith)
I am pleased to see the church become more transparent with their history. I applaud the release of the Joseph Smith papers for public use. I do not, however, believe the rhetoric set forth in the recent essays on polygamy. I believe that Joseph Smith was doing something very different than what was later instituted by Brigham Young. I believe the prophet's own declaration on the subject when he said, “What a thing it is for a man to be accused of committing adultery, and having seven wives, when I can only find one.” I believe Section 101 of the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants which stated, “Inasmuch as this church of Christ has been reproached with the crime of fornication, and polygamy: we declare that we believe, that one man should have one wife; and one woman, but one husband, except in case of death, when either is at liberty to marry again.” I believe the Book of Mormon, where it states, “Wherefore, my brethren, hear me, and hearken to the word of the Lord: For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none; For I, the Lord God, delight in the chastity of women. And whoredoms are an abomination before me; thus saith the Lord of Hosts.” (Jacob 2:27-28) I believe that Joseph was sealing people, including women and men, to himself under the law of adoption. I think that the fact that he had no children with anyone besides Emma is convincing evidence that he was not practicing the same form of plural marriage as the later saints. I believe that the term “raising up seed” has been misapplied and refers to something different than fathering lots of children. I am aware that there are historical records that support different conclusions. In each case that I personally have studied, there seems to be ample motive for fabrication by the witnesses, with most of the evidence stemming from the temple lot legal altercation nearly 50 years after Joseph's death. My current belief is that the church has done Joseph Smith a great disservice and has smeared his good name to support the antics of Brigham Young.
Another objection I have to the teachings of the church is regarding the infallibility of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve. I know that it is said on one hand that they are men, and therefore fallible, but then it is also taught that they can never lead us astray. These two ideas simply cannot both be true. There are many examples of contemporary prophets contradicting teachings of previous prophets, including such issues as polygamy being essential to receiving exaltation, Adam-God doctrine, and ordination of blacks to the priesthood. These errors destroy any foundation for prophetic infallibility. I strongly object to the description of sustaining the prophet given in the recent general conference address by Elder Russell M. Nelson. He said, “Our sustaining is an oathlike indication that we recognize their calling as a prophet to be legitimate and binding upon us.” I refuse to swear an oath to any fallible, imperfect man, but I put my trust in God alone. “But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.” (James 5:12) “O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm.” (2 Nephi 4:34)
I am disappointed by the lack of prophecy, seership, and revelation displayed by the leaders of the LDS Church. In Joseph's day, the first Quorum of the Twelve was given this direction: “You have been indebted to other men, in the first instance, for evidence; on that you have acted; but it is necessary that you receive a testimony from heaven for yourselves; so that you can bear testimony to the truth of the Book of Mormon, and that you have seen the face of God. That is more than the testimony of an angel. When the proper time arrives, you shall be able to bear this testimony to the world. When you bear testimony that you have seen God, this testimony God will never suffer to fall, but will bear you out; although many will not give heed, yet others will. You will therefore see the necessity of getting this testimony from heaven. Never cease striving until you have seen God face to face. Strengthen your faith; cast off your doubts, your sins, and all your unbelief; and nothing can prevent you from coming to God. Your ordination is not full and complete till God has laid His hand upon you. We require as much to qualify us as did those who have gone before us; God is the same. If the Savior in former days laid His hands upon His disciples, why not in latter days?” (Pp.95–96 in Roberts, B.H., ed. 1976. History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Vol. II. 2nd ed. Rev.) Today, they instead use crafty wording and say that these experiences are “too sacred”, avoiding a direct acknowledgment of whether or not they have seen God face to face. They refer to market research and pilot programs when making policy changes, downplaying direct revelation. Our body of scripture has only shrunk since the death of Joseph Smith, with scarcely any new revelation being recorded and The Lectures on Faith being removed by a committee in the 1921 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants. I have no fruits to examine whether or not these men are actually “prophets” and yet I am being asked to swear a binding oath to sustain them as such. In my opinion, they are simply very good inspirational speakers who have given much service throughout their lives. I believe that they believe that they are building the kingdom of God on earth, but they have been blinded by false traditions, corporate obligations, and the praise of men. “They wear stiff necks and high heads; yea, and because of pride, and wickedness, and abominations, and whoredoms, they have all gone astray save it be a few, who are the humble followers of Christ; nevertheless, they are led, that in many instances they do err because they are taught by the precepts of men.” (2 Nephi 28:14)
Which brings me to another point, that of the secret financial affairs of the church. The LDS Church claims to have no paid clergy, and yet their highest leadership receives substantial support from the funds of the church. Of course, they do not release financial records to the public, so there is no way to be sure how much is received. The Book of Mormon teaches, “He commandeth that there shall be no priestcrafts; for, behold, priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion...But the laborer in Zion shall labor for Zion; for if they labor for money they shall perish.” (2 Nephi 26:29, 31) Is it priestcraft when the brethren's income is paid by our tithes? Is it priestcraft when the brethren receive royalties from their books published and sold by the church-owned company, Deseret Book? Is it priestcraft when the church is involved in commercial ventures such as City Creek? Is this not laboring for money? Is it setting themselves up for a light unto the world when we are required to have a testimony of their prophetic gifts in order to receive baptism and temple ordinances? Is it setting themselves up for a light when we are told to “follow the prophet”?
What can be substantiated even without financial transparency are the numerous and diverse investments made by the church. I know that it is said that these ventures are completely separate and do not use tithing money. I believe reports that I have read that claim that the church invests tithing funds for three years and at the end of the three years, it budgets the amount that was originally collected as “tithing” and the interest is used to fund investments. This would explain the ever growing commercial interests of the church. This would also explain how it all got started in the first place. If no tithing money were ever used, there would be no commerical arm of the church. “No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and Mammon.” (Nephi 13:24)
The church should absolutely disclose all financial information to its members. “For behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you that the Lord God worketh not in darkness.” (2 Nephi 26:23) I was astonished last year when I learned that 900 LDS children die each year from malnourishment. I would really like to see the dollar amount that currently goes toward feeding the poor. I am pretty certain, based on the guidelines recommended for each appropriation, that tithing donations far exceed fast offering donations. I know that tithing funds aren't technically meant to be used for humanitarian needs, and this seems backwards to me. “They rob the poor because of their fine sanctuaries; they rob the poor because of their fine clothing; and they persecute the meek and the poor in heart, because in their pride they are puffed up.” (2 Nephi 28:13) “For behold, ye do love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel, and the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted.” (Moroni 8:37) Shouldn't the church's priorities more closely reflect what is taught in scripture? Especially if their goal is to build up Zion? “And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.” (Moses 7:18)
I end with a warning from the Book of Mormon. “And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell...Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion! Wo be unto him that crieth: All is well!” (2 Nephi 28:21, 24-25) I have heard this message from the pulpit, on Elder Holland's Facebook page, and in church magazines. I implore you to heed the message of the ancient prophets. When you read the Book of Mormon, don't discount its message as pertaining to some other people. It was written for the members of the LDS church, the people who are actually reading it. “Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing.” (Mormon 8:35) There are many precious truths that can only be treasured and applied if we are willing to humble ourselves, become as little children, knowing nothing, and awaken to our awful situation. Cry mightily unto your God, so that you may know the truth of these things for yourselves. Rely wholly upon your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for He alone can save. “O then, my beloved brethren, come unto the Lord, the Holy One. Remember that his paths are righteous. Behold, the way for man is narrow, but it lieth in a straight course before him, and the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there; and there is none other way save it be by the gate; for he cannot be deceived, for the Lord God is his name.” (2 Nephi 9:41)
With solemnity,
Tracy Tilby
