The ces letter is one of the greatest things that has ever happened to the lds. Any ces letter that they might receive would be the grades of their children who attend seminary. Why did joseph smith fail to sell the book of mormon. Do not use ces letter or letter to a ces director or imply that its a sequel example. Either the book of mormon is what the prophet joseph said it is or this church and its founder are false, fraudulent, a deception from the first instance onward.
John dehlin june 18, 2014 best of mormon stories, book of mormon, church history, exmormon stories, top 10 exmormon, top 10 truth claims, top 100, top mormon faith crisis stories 167 comments. We talk about ways in which to corroborate a fraudulent narrative of the book of mormon. The book of mormon was not corrupted over time and did not need correcting. Fairmormon analysis of ces letter runnells response letter to a ces director. Why did the church change the following section of the introduction page in the 2006 edition book of mormon, shortly after the dna results were released. How is it that the book of mormon has the incorrect sermon on the mount passage and does not match the correct jst version in the first place. Is there archaeological evidence for the book of mormon.
For example, when i started mormon stories podcast, or when jeremy runnells created ces letter, or when kate kelly and i were excommunicated, or when the lds church came out with its november, 2015 lgbt policy i thought that these things might spark significant outrage, and possibly even lead to a large number of people leaving the church. Bamboozled by the ces letter kindle edition by michael r. Ces letter my search for answers to my mormon doubts. It is a list of criticisms against the church within its own expressed paradigm of reality. Bamboozled by the ces letter book of mormon central. Bamboozled by the ces letter kindle edition by ash. In part 2 we tackle other issues in the book of mormon including the presence of 19th century material in all of joseph translation productions, the 11. The 100 millionth book of mormon is printed march 10.
On june 22, 2018, hannah stoddard joined greg jarrard on latterday radio to discuss the ces letter, joseph smiths polygamy, the translation of the book of mormon and more. Jeremy runnellsis probably a heck of a lot smarter than most humans. Debunking fairmormon letter to a ces director book of. The ces letter gives overall fair treatment to book of abraham issues. Tight rebuttals to the ces letters swiss cheese arguments matt. Dna dna analysis has concluded that native american indians do not originate from the middle east or from israelites but rather from asia. Joseph purchased some mummies that came with ancient scrolls and. There are errors in the book of mormon that are also contained in the 1769. Yet, no attempt has been made to contextualize these claims with available documentary evidences.
Faithful answers for those who doubt a ces letter reply. Unfortunately, the reason the ces letter has enjoyed any success is that most latterday saints have never been exposed to some of the more complex matters in early mormon history. The ces letter has alleged that joseph smith borrowed names from obscure maps, andor used view of the hebrews as a basis for the book of mormon andor was influenced by the last war and the first book of napoleon. Letter to a ces director 4 book of mormon translation.
Ces letter is one latterday saints honest quest to get official answers from the lds church on its troubling origins, history, and practices. Its very likely if you talk to a faithful mormon they will call the ces letter hateful, poorly written trash full of lies. Roberts refers to when he wrote, what is herein set forth does not represent any conclusions of mine. On june 22, 2018, hannah stoddard joined greg jarrard on latterday radio to discuss the ces. One believers reactions to the ces letter rational. In the first chapter of the ces letter the author accuses joseph smith of fabricating book of mormon names based on real geographic place.
The ces letter foundation, which markets jeremy runnells book at, describes it as one latterday saints honest quest to get official answers from the lds church on its. This all makes is much easier for ces letter and other critics to undermine the faith of the latterday saints. This booklet, which is now typically referred to as the ces letter. Runnells published a pdf booklet entitled, letter to a ces director.
Jeremy runnells was offered an opportunity to discuss his own doubts with a director of the church educational system ces and was assured that his doubts could be resolved. A closer look page by page analysis, videos, and written responses some reflections on that letter to a ces director runnells response jeremy runnells and the book of abraham runnells response. Many lay members, as well as educated mormon scholars, are fully aware of every topic discussed in the ces letter but continue strong in. The above donut chart shows percentages of the book of mormon section of letter to a ces director that fairmormon is in agreement, disagreement, and neutral on if one assumes that fairmormons undisputed silence is acceptance of the facts, fairmormon agrees with 62. The ces letter is not a list of criticisms against your personal concepts of spirituality, the institutional lds church, or how you would like it to be. Release of gods army, starting the mormon cinema movement. These italicized words were added by the authors to make the passages read more poetically in 17th century english. Granting ground where i think jim offers a reasonable response as well as pushing back where i think the ces letter presents a credible case. Below youll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as ces letter. The ces letter introduces the book of mormon section with two quotes, one by president ezra taft benson and another by elder jeffrey r. Many mormons or former mormons cite the letter as a powerful influence on their various faith transitions jeremy was born into a mormon family and served a twoyear mission in new york when he turned 19. A current lifelong latterday saint, jeremy runnells was asked by a ces director in april 20 to share with him jeremys questions and concerns regarding the lds church and its truth claims. The ces letter is one of the greatest things that has ever happened to the lds church, and they dont even realize it. The ces letter also complains of the lack of book of mormon archeology around the current hill cumorah area in upstate new york.
The book of mormon is an ancient american document. Chapter 3 book of mormon translation concerns 15 joseph smith used a rock in a hat to translate the book of mormon. In part 1 jim gives us a history of him and his father and the why of his response to jeremy runnells ces letter. Joseph made it up or stole the ideas from someone else. Joseph smith used a rock in a hat to translate the book of mormon. Lets be careful when we analyze the ces letter issues that we are not conflating spiritual and historical concepts. Note the date of mormonism unvailed, published soon after the church was established. Marvel is removing a reference to an antimormon book from. These quotes establish the premise that the churchs religious truth claims hinge on the book of mormon. Tight rebuttals to the ces letter s swiss cheese arguments matt. Spiderman and ces letter response the book of mormon in. Despite the apparently large list of similarities between book of mormon geography and names and great lakes geography and names, i see it as a case of imposing a pattern where there mostly isnt one. On growing up mormon and the genesis of the ces letter duration.
It should not only be removed from the ces letter, but dna can now be counted as among positive evidences supporting the book of mormon. Keep in mind that even if a historical claim is challenged, an underlying spiritual truthclaim may still stand. Are you or someone you know experiencing a faith crisis. The typical member of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints has no idea what you are talking about. The book of mormon is the most correct book and was translated a mere decade before the jst. Meticulously researched, this book represents jeremys sincere, heartfelt. Jim bennett and bill reel and the issues of the ces letter. The ces letter the book of mormon in north america. Marvel removes logo deemed antimormon from latest edition. We then tackle joseph smiths treasure digging, the first vision, and begin to get into the multiple aspects of the book of mormon including translation and the level of absurdity in some of the narratives stories. If mormonism is all truth, then the brethren should be rushing to switch all quads out for copies of the ces letter any day now. But it doesnt take much to realize one quickly reaches limits when dealing with a text like the book of mormon the amount of redaction and editing by people of very diverse eras, languages and cultures is staggering when just considering what the text claims. This became very popular very fast and within a couple years he had over 100,000 downloads.
The ces letter is a fairly comprehensive list of common objections to lds claims about church history, the book of mormon, the book of abraham, and various doctrines. Because, in addition to haplogroups, there is actually evidence against a mass migration over the land bridge through the bering strait to alaska. Mormon author whose ces letter helped many leave the faith. This web page is dedicated to the accomplishments of jeremy runnells and his dealings with the mormon church. The living christ is issued by the first presidency and quorum of the twelve apostles, a declaration of lds doctrine about jesus. What are 1769 king james version edition errors doing in the book of mormon. Many book of mormon scholars have a much larger geographical idea of where the book of mormon peoples might have lived. On the ces letter by common consent, a mormon blog.
The ces letter became infamous in mormon circles and one of the most visible examples of why lds leaders continually admonish members to avoid researching church history on the internet. If mormonism is all truth, then the brethren should berushing to switch all quads out for copies of the ces letter any day now. The controversial image refers to a book called ces letter, which aims to get official answers from the lds mormon church on its troubling origins, history, and practices. Jeremy runnells and his ces letter have sort of become icons in the mormon world. In this edition of kjv, there are italicized words. The ces letter became infamous in mormon circles and one of the. Ces letter is one latterday saints honest quest to get official answers from the lds church mormon on its troubling origins, history, and practices. Ces letter joseph smiths revelation was true we have the original handwritten revelation so we know exactly what it said.
Lets be careful when we analyze the ces letter issues that we are not conflating. It adds on to this that people who have looked at these issues and given answers for them, such as fairmormon, the interpreter, book of mormon. Book of mormon in responding to the ces letter s book of mormon section, fairmormon makes a few critical concessions, including that errors unique to the 1769 version of the king james version bible are included in the current version of the book of mormon. After reading jeremys letter, the director promised him a response. Bamboozled by the ces letter explains why these controversial issues need not kill a testimony. A study january 1922, which he presented in his meeting with the brethren. On average, the typical latterday saint has never needed to think outside of the box on mormonrelated philosophical, historical, or scholarly issues. Grant hart palmer august 17, 1940 september 25, 2017 was an american educator best known for his controversial work, an insiders view of mormon origins, which ostensibly led to his disfellowshipment in 2004 from the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds church. There is absolutely no archaeological evidence to directly support the book of mormon or the nephites and lamanites, who were supposed to have numbered in the millions. A millennials brief guide to the ces letter zelph on. Runnells is using it as a fundraiser at this point, but thats irrelevant to the merits of the questions he raises. Many book of mormon names and places are strikingly similar to many local names and places of the region joseph smith lived. Strengthening ones testimony in the face of criticism and.
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