“‘Letter to a CES Director’: A Closer Look”

A document called “Letter to a CES Director” has been circulating for a while now.  Written by a young man who’s lost his testimony, it’s done substantial damage to the faith of a number of Latter-day Saints.  I regret that very, very much — and especially so because I don’t think the “Letter” does a remotely responsible job of addressing the issues.  In my judgment, it fails, painfully and comprehensively, to adequately engage the relevant evidence and arguments.

In response to the request of another, I offered a brief evaluation of it — transcribed here — at the FairMormon conference in 2014.  I didn’t enjoy the task at all.  I found the “Letter” extraordinarily frustrating and exasperating.  Every page, and indeed virtually every line, struck me as significantly misconceived and wrong.

I keep thinking that I should,  maybe, return to the subject, since I know that the “Letter” is doing harm, but I also keep putting it off.  Reading the “Letter” was, for me, roughly as much fun as undergoing certain very uncomfortable medical procedures.  As I went through it, I grew increasingly vexed and annoyed.  I could scarcely finish the thing, and haven’t, thus far, been able to muster any enthusiasm for going back to it.

So I’m grateful to others who’ve given it their attention.

Here’s another response to the “Letter” that some might find helpful:

http://debunking-cesletter.com

Thanks to Varden Hadfield for bringing it to my attention.