[Date]
[Name of county] County Health Dept.
[Address]
Attention: [Immunization nurse’s name]
RE: [first child’s name, date of birth. Second child’s
name, date of birth, etc.]
Dear Nurse [name]:
As a result of careful study into inherent and very serious dangers in
vaccines, what the God teaches in the Bible regarding taking dangerous
substances into the body, and after contacting our State Capital for a copy of
current vaccination exemption provisions, and having carefully examined them, I
respectfully submit this letter requesting exemption from vaccination for my
child [children] on religious grounds, as provided by [name of State] Statute
#_____ [complete statute number].
I am a faithful taxpayer, and since I am a U.S. citizen, it
is my understanding that I have a right to First Amendment protection to
practice my religion, and a right, under [name of State] Statute #_____, [same
statute number] to refuse to have my children receive vaccine injections.
I humbly base this decision on sincere religious beliefs
which prohibit me from having my children receive immunizations and
inoculations.
Recent court decisions have upheld the rights of individuals
seeking exemptions from immunizations based upon "personal" (not
necessarily denominationally held) religious beliefs (Sherr and Levy vs.
Northport East-Northport Union Free School District, 672 F. Supp. 81, (E.D.N.Y.,
1987); (Allanson vs. Clinton Central School District, U.S. District Court,
Northern District Court, Northern District of New York (84 CV 174), 1984;
Campain vs. Marlboro Central School District, Supreme Court Ulster County
Special Term, November 15, 1985; Brown vs. City School District, 429 NYS2d 355;
Maier vs. Besser, 73 Misc.2d 241).
My personal religious beliefs include the following, which I
hereby present to you:
It is the will of God that we maintain good health.
"Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest
prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth."—1 John 2.
God has promised to protect us if we will obey His Ten
Commandment law.
"And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy
God, and wilt do that which is right in His sight, and wilt give ear to His
commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon
thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth
thee."—Exodus 15:26.
His Ten Commandment law is found in Exodus 20:3-17. Here are
these commandments:
"[1] Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
"[2] Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or
any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that[is in the earth
beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down
thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God,
visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth
generation of them that hate Me; And showing mercy unto thousands of them that
love Me, and keep My commandments.
"[3] Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in
vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain.
"[4] Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days
shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the Sabbath of
the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy
daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger
that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the
sea, and all that in them [is], and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord
blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.
"[5] Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may
be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
"[6] Thou shalt not kill.
"[7] Thou shalt not commit adultery.
"[8] Thou shalt not steal.
"[9] Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy
neighbour.
"[10] Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou
shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant,
nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's."—Exodus
20:3-17.
I can only please God by letting Christ enable me to obey
these commandments, He requires me to keep.
"For I am the Lord, I change not."—Malachi
3:6.
"The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all His commandments
are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and
uprightness."—Psalm 111:7-8.
Christ did not come to destroy the Ten Commandments and, by
His empowering grace, I can and must obey them.
"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the
prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you,
Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the
law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least
commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the
kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be
called great in the kingdom of heaven."—Matthew 5:17-19.
While on earth, Jesus always kept the Ten Commandments, and
He is my example. I must do as He did.
"If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love;
even as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love."—John
15:10.
"He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so
to walk, even as He walked."—John 2:6.
Sin is the transgression of the law.
"Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law:
for sin is the transgression of the law."—1 John 3:4.
"Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid:
yea, we establish the law."—Romans 3:31.
The Sixth Commandment says "Thou shalt not kill"
(Exodus 20:13). This commandment includes knowingly damaging my body in any way.
I would be injuring it if I took any dangerous substance into my body, or if I
permitted it to be injected into the body of any child of mine.
"And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His
commandments. He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a
liar, and the truth is not in Him. But whoso keepeth His word, in him verily is
the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him."—1 John
2:3-5.
It is important that we avoid placing poisonous substances in our bodies, for
to do so would dishonor God whom we worship.
"For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God
in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."—I Corinthians
6:20.
We must do this because we are twice commanded that our
bodies are the temple of God and He wants to dwell within us.
"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the
Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?"—1
Corinthians 6:19.
"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the
Spirit of God dwelleth in you?"—1 Corinthians 3:16.
This is a very serious matter, for God has told us He will
destroy those who defile their body temples!
"If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God
destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are."—1
Corinthians 3:17.
God’s holy Word says I must not defile myself with anything
that might injure me.
"But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not
defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he
drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not
defile himself. "—Daniel 1:8.
God has explained why we must live clean, godly lives.
"For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and
the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto Himself, above all the
nations that are upon the earth. Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing."—Deuteronomy
14:2-3.
When we live in this manner, God is pleased with us,—and I
must please my God.
"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye
do, do all to the glory of God."—1 Corinthians 10:31.
By doing this, we present our bodies to God as something that
is holy and acceptable to Him.
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your
reasonable service."—Romans 12:1.
True temperance involves avoiding everything that is harmful
to my body.
"And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and
judgment to come,"—Acts 24:25.
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance."—Galatians
5:22.
"And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your
faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to
temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly
kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity."—2 Peter 1:5-7.
Our lives cannot be acceptable to God unless we are temperate
in all things.
"And every man that striveth for the mastery is
temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an
incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one
that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection:
lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a
castaway."—1 Corinthians 9:25-27.
The Bible tells us we must only eat for strength, and not put
anything in our bodies that would cause weakness.
"Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of
nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for
drunkenness!"—Ecclesiastes 10:17.
We must preserve our bodies blameless unto the coming of the
Lord.
"And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I
pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."—1 Thessalonians 5:23.
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[The following statement could be placed on a separate sheet for presentation
if need be. The startling, almost over