It is interesting to see the apparent dichotomy between things we consider events and things we consider journeys. Last night I experienced an event that was - that is - part of a long journey: I delivered a letter to the bishop of my old Ward declaring my resignation as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. That's right, it means I'm officially no longer a Mormon.

I've been doing some research on the subject for some months now. Apparently the moment that letter is received it is considered legally and immediately effective. This means that if church officials try to drag it out any longer than is necessary or try to persuade you otherwise or even try to subject you to church discipline (i.e. excommunicate you), they are out of order. In Canada and the U.S. there are laws that protect against this sort of thing from institutions who might otherwise be less than scrupulous. My understanding is that many church members in the States have experienced a lot of grief and problems with getting their names removed from church membership record. I also understand that Canadian members don't have nearly these kinds of problems. Is this indicative of Canadians as a whole, or is it indicative of how distance from church headquarters can influence the process? Hard to say I suppose. Regardless, I guess this is one of those small perks of being Canadian.

So less than 24 hours later, I don't really feel any different. I guess that's the difference between an event and a journey. This journey away from Mormonism and into something else - for now it's atheism, and could very easily stay there - has been filled with events like this. I don't know if actually becoming an atheist was an event, or more of a journey in itself - probably the latter. Once I got there, though, that's when it became a true journey. I suppose one can't truly begin such a journey without first feeling the need to search; if you believe you have all the answers, what's the point in searching?

So with events like having my bishop stop by and my telling him I no longer believe, like taking off my garments and cutting them up, like packing up my church books and getting them ready to ship, I suppose this is another in the series. I think I prefer to look at my journey out of Mormonism and my journey into atheism as parallel process rather than one preceding the other. Truth be told I'm not entirely done my journey out of Mormonism, and I'm still looking at atheism and other, more spiritual, avenues to see if there is any merit in it/them. I don't feel like I'll have total closure until I have these books shipped off. I suppose I need to get a letter of confirmation from the church stating that my name has been removed before it's really final, but in my mind it's already done; the confirmation letter is merely a formality.