This is an archived copy of a post written by Conflict Of Justice (conflictofjustice.com). Used with permission: Conflict Of Justice may not agree with any alterations made.
Elder Marlin K. Jensen’s response: “Maybe since Kirtland, we’ve never had a period of – I’ll call it apostasy, like we’re having now; largely over these issues…”
(CES Letter)
Did LDS church historian Marlin K. Jensen say Mormons are leaving the church in droves?
Out Of Context
Google result for “Mormon”: 
This account comes from a Reuters news article which quotes Marlin K. Jensen out of context.
The “issues” that Elder Marlin Jensen was talking about weren’t church history. He was answering a question about “the effects of Google on membership,” and he discussed a “search engine optimization” strategy for the church’s website that would drive traffic to church sources rather than anti-Mormon sources of information. The “apostasy” that “we’re having now” is due to biased anti-Mormon sites being the top search results on Google for Mormon topics.
He admitted that we are experiencing apostasy, but not “over history.” It is because anti-Mormon literature is so prevalent and dominant, while objective, truthful information and pro-Mormon literature is being stifled on Google. Not since maybe Kirtland has truthful Mormon history been so stifled, and fake information causing so much apostasy. Obviously, people are more likely to go apostate and leave the church if they can only find information about the church on hateful anti-Mormon websites and fake information on sites that they trust, such as Wikipedia, rather than objective truthful sources. Truth has been replaced with misinformation and skewed bias.
Trust Only Original Sources
The list of biased sites includes websites that most people consider reputable and most people trust, such as Wikipedia. Once, I edited a Wikipedia page about Blacks and the Priesthood, and now everything I wrote is now wiped away. Gone. Today, Wikipedia is full of misinformation and skewed propaganda that I would expect from the most virulent anti-Mormon sites.
So where is one supposed to go for truth about Mormon history? Go to the original source. All of the original documents and histories are available, and sites like LDS.org and JosephSmithPapers.org. That’s the only place you are going to get objective information. If you don’t have time to read through it all, then you are just going to have to get both sides of the issues and try to discern what’s really going on. But be warned though, 99% of writings about Mormon history are propaganda, either pro-Mormon or anti-Mormon.
The fact that a organization like Reuters, which is supposed to be reputable news organization, bases an important article off complete misrepresentations is evidence that everyone has an agenda. It’s fake news.
Why shouldn’t the church try to boost their Google page ranking so they get more visitors? What organization doesn’t want to get its website to the top Google ranking? Should Mormons be able and allowed to talk about what they believe in and what they are all about? Right now, the state of Mormonism on the internet is just ridiculous, with Google giving search results of dorky white guys, Wikipedia pushing hoaxes, and Twitter being filled with “Mormon porn.”
The Same Information Has Always Been There
Reuters frames their article as if the new availability of information causes people to doubt their faith, kind of like how the invention of the printing press in the Middle Ages placed the Catholic Church in. CES Letter likewise acts as if they had no ideas about all of these issues until the internet.
“I was reading the news online when I came across the following news article: Mormonism Besieged by the Modern Age. In the article was information about a Q&A meeting at Utah State University that LDS Church Historian and General Authority, Elder Marlin K. Jensen gave in late 2011. He was asked his thoughts regarding the effects of Google on membership and people who are “leaving in droves” over Church history… This truly shocked me. I didn’t understand what was going on or why people would leave “over history.”
(CES Letter)
But this couldn’t be further from the truth. The internet isn’t the problem. Anti-Mormon literature has always been there. It is the same material that has been around hundreds of years, and it has always been easy to find.
Big internet corporations do make it easier to access, but the problem is not accessibility. The problem is the internet is saturated with bias. People don’t have enough time to look through thousands of pages of volumes and church history documents, so they turn to biased sources that omit important information, skew facts, and shed Mormons in a negative light. The problem is people don’t go to libraries like they used to for facts and true information.
Mormons who stand up for true doctrine and who do not cave in to social justice trends are bullied off the internet. Maybe that sounds exaggerated, but it is really the case. You can’t be a mainstream Mormon on the internet today, because even if manage to not get shut down by Youtube or Twitter, “progressives” will hound you into silence for opposing their “progressive” beliefs. The climate of discussion does not allow for objective or pro-Mormon voices. We have gone from bias against pro-Mormons to hostility against objective view points. There is indeed a church history problem, but it is not because of technology. It is because these voices are squeezed out and biased anti-Mormon fake scholars are propagating today’s corrosive and obtuse learning environment.
Emotional Attacks On Mormons
But the anti-Mormon spin on facts is just a small part of the problem. We all have powerful emotional experiences early in our lives which affect the direction of our faith, and they can be at the root of doubts. It is important to confront our personal emotional issues, while maintaining an intellectual approach to the facts. Emotional experiences will always end up undermining faith if they aren’t confronted. A scholarly investigation of Mormon history can help.
Unfortunately, Anti-Mormons usually omit discussion of personal experiences and direct their emotions to pseudo-intellectual discussions. Emotion, intellect, and spiritual issues must not be ignored or misidentified. The first factor is emotion. Sure, there are some aspects of Mormon history that one could easily use to mock Mormons, like polygamy. But it goes further than joking. Anti-Mormons twist discussions into emotional appeals and malicious ridicule.
The second factor is an intellectual knowledge of the gospel, and this is where anti-Mormon websites like to hit hard. This is where CES Letter devotes the first part of their literature to attack. By spinning, covering up facts, replacing context, and through sophistic rhetoric, they give an emotionally and spiritually weakened Mormon the justification to “free themselves” of Mormonism.
The third factor is loss of a spiritual testimony. This happens when a person commits sin or removes themselves from a healthy spiritual environment, often through internet porn or associations with bad friends who bring them down.
CES Letter Logical Fallacies
| Bandwagon | This argument implies it is right to consider leaving the church because “droves” of people are doing it, which Elder Jensen didn’t even admit to; he only said there is widespread apostasy. |
| Non Sequiter | Elder Jensen said the low Google rank of pro-church websites is leading people to get church information from anti-Mormon sites which frame it in a negative way. CES Letter assumes from this, “church history” is making them leave, rather than how it is framed. The truth is nobody is leaving due to access to church history, as it has always been accessible. They are leaving because of how popular sources frame the history. |
| Red Herring | Do popular history information sources determine what is true and moral? Truth and right are often not popular or easy to find. |
Anti-Mormons Rule The Internet – This is a sneaky way for CES Letter to start out their literature, to take a quote about SEO strategies out of context and suggest church history is being covered up. This argument makes Anti-Mormons look like some kind of heroes for bringing hidden truth to light.
I find it hard to believe that any devout Mormon would be shocked that some people would leave the church “over history.” Polygamy? Ever heard of it? We all know there is controversial history. Well, it is portrayed as controversial by the mainstream media, anyway. The sad truth is anti-Mormons rule the internet and cherry-pick the information that most folks have access to. You don’t see many average church-going Mormons represented on the internet, because they don’t want to deal with the hostile environment of fake Mormons, skeptics, and hostile opposition. Right now there is no space for devout Mormons to talk about history, doctrine, and moral issues.
Anti-Mormons were some of the original pioneers of the internet. Back when Yahoo was a new thing and people talked about “surfing the web,” anti-Mormons were setting up their shop with extensive literature and strategies for gaining popularity. They spread the same old talking points, wrapped in an impressive new package–and I have to admit, their websites were very well made. Some of the best.
Discussing In Bad Faith – CES Letter claims: “I was reading the news online when I came across the following news article”. Oh, they just happened upon it? Is it just coincidence that this same quote from the Reuters news article and the same argument about church history appear on Mormon Think? I’m wondering whether CES Letter is being honest about how they came across information that made them doubt their testimony, and whether they are being honest about the rest of their story?
A positive discussion and a final resolution begin by discussing in good faith. Why can’t they just be straightforward? If you looked for an anti-Mormon website one day and became convinced by their arguments, just say so! Why this narrative about stumbling across dubious church history? Because, again, this is all about Anti-Mormons portraying themselves as the underdog heroes who fight for truth and reveal hidden facts. Anti-Mormons cover up true history, their true intentions, and their true actions in order to portray a positive image of themselves to their audience. It’s all just propaganda.Complete answers to CES Letter questions about Mormons: