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Hello Penny,
Thanks so much for visiting our website. And thanks for writing. I praise God you have been delivered from the deceptions of Joseph Smith to worship and serve God in Spirit and in Truth.
In your note you say you have 'asked' that your name be removed from RLDS membership records. Can I assume you did this in writing? That's really the best way. If you haven't yet put your request in writing, you might need to. And send it directly to the Temple headquarters in Independence. The RLDS/CofC church may be slow to remove your name from their membership rolls, but they generally will do it. Once they do, they normally send you a letter confirming that they have. If this confirmation letter does not arrive within a reasonable amount of time, you might want to send a follow-up letter to prompt the process along.
You ask if you should be rebaptised. Was there a requirement of baptism when you joined your current church? There normally is. In any event, I recommend that former RLDS members be rebaptised. I say this for 2 reasons.
(1) The RLDS church neither understands nor promotes the actual gospel of Jesus Christ. This makes it difficult, often impossible, for people to respond to the new life they have in Christ through baptism in an appropriate way. Most former RLDS say they never understood the gospel until they left the church. This alone is certainly reason enough to be rebaptised. The first (RLDS) baptism was to join a church. This second baptism is to publicly demonstrate your acceptance of new life in Christ, and to proclaim your commitment to follow Him.
(2) Every RLDS is baptized by an illegitimate priesthood member into an illegitimate church. If you've read the chapters in my book on the RLDS priesthood system you understand how un-Biblical and un-Christian it is. Whether you understood it or not, when you were baptized into the RLDS church you surrendered yourself to the authority of this system, and this church. While this was done in ignorance, it is still a sin and needs to be repented of. God knows we did this in ignorance and is quick to forgive us when we ask Him to. We then celebrate this forgiveness from the sin of entanglement with the RLDS church and make a fresh start in Christ. Baptism is the public sign of this fresh start in Christ, and commitment to Him alone.
You also ask if your marriage is valid, since you were married in the RLDS church. The answer is Yes, your marriage is valid. Marriage is a fundamental human relationship ordained by God. In it you and your husband commit yourselves to each other before God. It's that simple. The validity of your marriage does not derive from the quality (or lack thereof) of the ecclesiastical authority attending. Churches solemnize marriage, proclaim it publicly and provide a way for the larger community to celebrate it together with you.
Blessings to you Penny,
Paul Trask
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