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|link=Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/Letter to a CES Director/Witnesses Concerns & Questions | |link=Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/Letter to a CES Director/Witnesses Concerns & Questions | ||
|subject=Response to section "Witnesses Concerns & Questions" | |subject=Response to section "Witnesses Concerns & Questions" | ||
|summary=Regarding the witnesses to the Book of Mormon, the author states, "At the end of the day? It all doesn’t matter. The Book of Mormon Witnesses and their testimonies of the gold plates are irrelevant. It does not matter whether eleven 19th century treasure diggers with magical worldviews saw some gold plates or not. It doesn’t matter because of this one simple fact: Joseph did not use the gold plates for translating the Book of Mormon." | |summary=Regarding the witnesses to the Book of Mormon, the author states, "At the end of the day? It all doesn’t matter. The Book of Mormon Witnesses and their testimonies of the gold plates are irrelevant. It does not matter whether eleven 19th century treasure diggers with magical worldviews saw some gold plates or not. It doesn’t matter because of this one simple fact: Joseph did not use the gold plates for translating the Book of Mormon." | ||
− | |sublink1="If Oliver Cowdery’s gift was really a divining rod then this tells us that the origins of the Church are much more involved in folk magic and superstition" | + | |sublink1=Response to section: "If Oliver Cowdery’s gift was really a divining rod then this tells us that the origins of the Church are much more involved in folk magic and superstition" |
− | |sublink2="who all shared a common worldview of second sight, magic, and treasure digging" | + | |sublink2=Response to section: "who all shared a common worldview of second sight, magic, and treasure digging" |
− | |sublink3="Martin Harris was anything but a skeptical witness" | + | |sublink3=Response to section: "Martin Harris was anything but a skeptical witness" |
− | |sublink4="he was known by many of his peers as an unstable, gullible, and superstitious man" | + | |sublink4=Response to section: "he was known by many of his peers as an unstable, gullible, and superstitious man" |
− | |sublink5="Whitmer responded that the angel 'had no appearance or shape'" | + | |sublink5=Response to section: "Whitmer responded that the angel 'had no appearance or shape'" |
− | |sublink6="As scribe for the Book of Mormon and cousin to Joseph Smith, there was a serious conflict of interest in Oliver being a witness" | + | |sublink6=Response to section: "As scribe for the Book of Mormon and cousin to Joseph Smith, there was a serious conflict of interest in Oliver being a witness" |
− | |sublink7="I did not see them uncovered, but I handled them and hefted them while wrapped in a tow frock" | + | |sublink7=Response to section: "I did not see them uncovered, but I handled them and hefted them while wrapped in a tow frock" |
− | |sublink8=James Strang and the Voree Plates Witnesses | + | |sublink8=Response to section: James Strang and the Voree Plates Witnesses |
− | |sublink9=No Document of Actual Signatures | + | |sublink9=Response to section: No Document of Actual Signatures |
− | |sublink10="James Strang’s claims and Voree Plates Witnesses are distinctive and more impressive compared to the Book of Mormon Witnesses" | + | |sublink10=Response to section: "James Strang’s claims and Voree Plates Witnesses are distinctive and more impressive compared to the Book of Mormon Witnesses" |
− | |sublink12="the fact that all of the Book of Mormon Witnesses – except Martin Harris – were related to either Joseph Smith or David Whitmer" | + | |sublink12=Response to section: "the fact that all of the Book of Mormon Witnesses – except Martin Harris – were related to either Joseph Smith or David Whitmer" |
− | |sublink13="in light of their superstitions and reputations" | + | |sublink13=Response to section: "in light of their superstitions and reputations" |
− | |sublink14="The mistake that is made by 21st century Mormons is that they’re seeing the Book of Mormon Witnesses as empirical, rational, nineteenth-century men" | + | |sublink14=Response to section: "The mistake that is made by 21st century Mormons is that they’re seeing the Book of Mormon Witnesses as empirical, rational, nineteenth-century men" |
− | |sublink15="It doesn’t matter because of this one simple fact: Joseph did not use the gold plates for translating the Book of Mormon" | + | |sublink15=Response to section: "It doesn’t matter because of this one simple fact: Joseph did not use the gold plates for translating the Book of Mormon" |
|sublink16=Citation abuse in the original Letter to a CES Director: Anthony Metcalf's Ten Years Before the Mast | |sublink16=Citation abuse in the original Letter to a CES Director: Anthony Metcalf's Ten Years Before the Mast | ||
|sublink17=Citation abuse in the original Letter to a CES Director: Stephen Burnett to Br. Johnson | |sublink17=Citation abuse in the original Letter to a CES Director: Stephen Burnett to Br. Johnson |
Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
—1 Thessalonians 5꞉19-21
A FAIR Analysis of: Letter to a CES Director A work by author: Jeremy Runnells
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The "Letter to a CES Director: Why I Lost My Testimony" is an online document which is critical of Latter-day Saint truth claims. The document is comprised of a list of issues that the author states caused him to lose his testimony, and it is hosted on a number of websites which are critical of the Church. [1] The author states that he is "a disaffected member who lost his testimony so it’s no secret which side I’m on at the moment. All this information is a result of over a year of intense research and an absolute rabid obsession with Joseph Smith and Church history. With this said, I’d be pretty arrogant and ignorant to say that I have all the information and that you don’t have answers."
A long list of issues follows. The author ultimately concludes that "There are just way too many problems. We’re not just talking about one issue here. We’re talking about dozens of serious issues that undermine the very foundation of the LDS Church and its truth claims."
In developing our response, our primary intended audience is not necessarily the author of the Letter nor his associates, but rather those individuals, perhaps faithful Latter-day Saints, perhaps questioning, perhaps once-faithful but now sincerely doubting, who may have come across this Letter and been troubled by its contents. We respond here to the original version of the letter that was actually sent to the CES director and posted on FutureMissionary.com. The author has since made some corrections based upon this analysis and posted an apologetic in defense of his position at http://www.cesletter.com/debunking-fairmormon/
In his Letter to a CES Director, Jeremy Runnells explains how a year of obsessive investigation brought about the loss of his testimony. In an LDS FAQ, LDS blogger Jeff Lindsay deals with all of the same questions, and has done so at least twenty years and has not only an intact testimony, but boundless enthusiasm. What makes the difference? In the parable of the Sower, Jesus explained that the same seeds (words) can generate completely different harvests, ranging from nothing to a hundred-fold increase, all depending on the different soil and nurture. This essay looks at how different expectations and inquiries for translation, prophets, key scriptural passages on representative issues can lead to very different outcomes for investigators.
One of the challenges in defending one’s faith is coping with critics who use the “Big List” technique in their attack. This involves throwing out numerous arguments to create the impression of an overwhelming barrage that decimates the faith in question (see the related post, “If Only 10% of These Charges Are True…“). The Big List is loaded with barbed questions that weren’t written in search of a real answer. If there is a good defense to the arguments raised at first, never mind, there are many more to be launched in different directions.As with many topics in fields like history, science, and religion, the issues raised in Big List attacks are often complex and may require exploring abundant details to answer questions properly. Even for those who are prepared to answer questions on a wide variety of topics, the time it takes to lay a foundation and properly answer a question can be taken by the instantly impatient critics as an admission of weakness and confirmation that they are right, and then it’s time to move on to the next attack and the next. If reasonable answers are promptly provided for some attacks, or if the alleged weakness on further examination actually proves to be evidence in favor of the faithful position, the response can be ignored as new attacks from the Big List are hurled out.
Some of you don’t know what the “Letter to a CES Director” is. It’s a letter that’s been circulating online for about a year now…a year and a half, I think, as far as I know, that has gotten quite a bit of circulation. It’s a kind of compendium of standard critical arguments against the truth claims of the Church. ....I don’t object to the attempt in the “Letter to a CES Director” to subject the claims of Mormonism to reasoned examination. I just don’t think the effort went nearly far or deep enough.
Notes
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