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.
Skeptics are quick to say how much deep research and rigorous study they put into Mormonism. But I find that it turns out all they did was read some anti-Mormon websites. They read something that sounds a little off, and it sparks doubt. The more they look into it, the more a strong wave of panicked emotion washes over them. They feel embarrassed and betrayed as they realize everything that were told could be wrong. This moment of vulnerability can be dangerous unless they seek independent, scholarly research and reflect on what their testimony of the gospel truly is.
Disillusionment
The process of disillusionment goes something like this:
- Challenge To Faith – Negative personal experiences stack up, such as perhaps, parents getting divorced, a priesthood blessing saying something that doesn’t get fulfilled, etc. These challenges afflict our intellect, emotions, and spirit.
- Discover Anti-Mormon Website – We come across some website or social media that sparks our interest because it relates to our faith challenge.
- Anti-Mormon Rhetoric – We read lengthy anti-Mormon literature to prove to ourselves that it couldn’t possibly be valid. But it seems like undeniable common sense. A panicked feeling washes over as our beliefs become vulnerable to deconstruction. How could I be so stupid? It’s so obvious!
- Deeper Research – They look deeper into anti-Mormon sites and move on to other anti-Mormon narratives, and the deconstruction advances.
- Deeper Bitterness – Repressed worldly beliefs and desires are finally liberated, such as political causes. We take part in life’s enjoyments that we have missed out on such as coffee and worldly beliefs. A sense of betrayal and resentment towards the Mormon community solidifies.
This process of becoming bitter and faithless can be interrupted each step of the way by confronting our issues, using a truly scholarly approach, and by looking inward at the root of the faith test instead of scrambling for justifications. Look at how CES Letter justifies losing their faith:
“I’m just going to be straightforward and blunt… All this information is a result of over a year of intense research and an absolute rabid obsession with Joseph Smith and Church history…. Like you, I put my pants on one leg at a time and I see through a glass darkly. You may have new information and/or a new perspective that I may not have heard or considered before. This is why I’m genuinely interested in what your answers and thoughts are to these troubling problems.”
(CES Letter)
They act like their research was scholarly. I do not doubt their claim that they read several books, including Rough Stone Rolling, but I do doubt that they did so objectively or in good faith. Skeptics often read some anti-Mormon sites, and then read these books as an after-thought so they could tell everyone they sought both sides of the argument. But really their mind was already made up, because they researched from the frame of view that Mormonism is a fraud and did not proceed independently.
I came across the website Ex-Mormon when I was very young. A dump-truck of attacks were flung at me, but I noticed one glaring lie: they said it was scientifically false for the Book of Mormon to claim elephants existed in the time of the Nephites, but I knew the Book of Mormon made no such claim; elephants existed in the time of the Jaradites, thousands of years earlier. With the knowledge that one of the attacks was a bold-faced lie, this helped me plot a course for keeping my faith.
My attention turned to raw information. I started reading, at a young age, through lengthy volumes of official Church History. I collected general conference talks and searched through apologists sites like Jeff Lindsay and Hugh Nibley. I believe the scholarly approach is to personally investigate and study the raw data for myself, rather than skim through Wikipedia or some angry blogger. LDS.org and JosephSmithPapers.org offer high quality scans of original documents and a vast library of resources.
Widen Your Frame Of View
When I looked at the Ex-Mormon Reddit site, I was struck by the incredible sophomoric pompousness and fake humility. It’s unbearable to read. CES Letter sounds open to considering new information, but they already showed an unwillingness to consider perspectives outside of their narrow frame.
In the following example of a skeptic, likely a teenager, they decide that either it is okay to say nasty swear words or it is justified to lust after a woman, such as looking at porn. Anti-Mormons often narrow their logic to these kinds of hair-brained binaries, in order to justify whatever faith test is going on in their lives. In this case it looks like it is to justify either swearing or looking at porn. A better way for this skeptic to approach the issue would be to objectively research what foul language really is and how it effects us, and to ponder inwardly what ideal they wish to achieve in life, whether gazing at porn helps achieve life’s goals or not, and to find a path to reach their life goals.
There is no “new” information – Let’s face it, there is nothing new under the sun. The same anti-Mormon attacks have been published thousands of times. Nothing I say is going to change CES Letter‘s mind. What is the real reason why they want “official” responses from the church? Is it to lend credibility for their theories and gain new material to attack the church? Millions of eyes have poured over the vast library of Mormon writings in existence, so it is hard for me to believe that CES Letter is going to be interested in what some random guy like me has to say.
Fake intellectualism and skewed history is a convenient excuse for those who want to doubt their faith. Don’t be a fake intellectual. Don’t ignore the root issues in your life. The issue is not with history but with whatever is going on in your life that causes doubt. Don’t be afraid to address those issues.
CES Letter Logical Fallacies
| Appeal to Novelty | CES Letter disregards hundreds of years of research that directly addresses his issues, and wants “new information.” He briefly mentions modern websites like Fair Mormon, but does not even consider looking at raw information from the 19th century and studying the issues objectively. | |
| Post Hoc Reasoning | CES Letter implies that their concerns with Joseph Smith developed due to a “rabid obsession” and “intense research.” They don’t admit that the concerns were sparked by anti-Mormon websites. They want to pass it off like the concerns naturally developed during church membership. We are left to assume that evidence cropped up in his normal church study which led to his anti-Mormon turn. | |
| Affirming the Consequent | By requesting “new” information to address their questions because nothing else satisfies them, CES Letter gives the impression that their arguments themselves are new and groundbreaking discoveries. They aren’t. They have been around for hundreds of years. | |
| Appeal to Common Folk | CES Letter builds a connection of trust with the audience by acting like a regular person, that they are “like you”. “Like you, I put my pants on one leg at a time and I see through a glass darkly.” Actually, he is a rabid anti-Mormon who spent many hours coming up with persuasive attacks against the church. Most folks aren’t like that. | |
| Appeal to Mystery | CES Letter claims no existing information has answered the troubling questions, that it will take “new” revelation or data. We “see through a glass darkly” otherwise. |
Prideful Approach To Scholarship – By using euphemisms like “concerns” rather than “anti-Mormon narratives,” and by casting this image of a normal every-day guy with normal needs, CES Letter shields themselves from normal scrutiny. The scholastic approach would be to welcome scrutiny and provide easy methods for opposing voices to test and disprove your theories.
CES Letter is deceitful about why they compiled all these claims. Why all the repetition? Why the shotgun of accusations? They claim:
“I’ve decided to lay down just about all the major concerns that I have. I went through my notes from my past year of research and compiled them together. It doesn’t make sense for me to just lay down 5 concerns while I also have 20 other legitimate concerns that are keeping me from believing the truth claims of the LDS Church.”
(CES Letter)
This kind of prideful approach to Mormon scholarly studies, where you start out with rigid assumptions and build narratives that only boost your assumptions, is certain to result in a damaged testimony. It is not about how many books you have read or how much you pretend to be interested in other people’s opinions. It is about how you approach the information objectively and in good faith, truly listening to both sides and searching for answers for yourself.
The fact that skeptics feel the need to deflect from root issues in their lives, or what they truly believe in, and that they put on airs of humility and scholarship shows that they aren’t being honest about themselves or the issues. They are stuck in feelings of betrayal and bitterness, and what they truly want is to reconcile their behavior, whether it be porn, foul language, coffee, etc. whatever, with the man or woman that they know they should be. They want encouragement.
Image Obsession – Followers of Satan are careful to give an impression of humility and erudite intelligence. It is the impression that counts, not the rigor or soundness of their actual intellectual and spiritual approach. A successful seeker of truth does not need to convince the reader about the sincerity of his approach, as it will be self-evident.
Infiltration – Another hallmark of Satan’s followers is infiltration and corruption of righteous institutions, sowing seeds of doubt and apostate messages. I have observed such seeds of doubt from top popular Mormon sites and books, such as Rough Stone Rolling which is presented as a great pro-Mormon book.
Avoid fake Mormons, fake scholars, and widen your frame of view rather than narrow it. Address each step of your disillusionment and ask yourself why you feel this way. Get to the root issues in your life and confront them for what they are. It can be scary to come across “disturbing history” and confront the harsh realities of life, but it doesn’t have to end in disaster. You could end up the better for it.Complete answers to CES Letter questions about Mormons: