Bamboozled by the "CES Letter"

By: Michael R. Ash

Narrated by: Derrick Duncan

In April 2013, Jeremy T. Runnells published a PDF booklet entitled "Letter to a CES Director". This booklet, which is now typically referred to as the "CES Letter", catalogs Runnells’ concerns and reasons why he left the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons). Runnells has worked hard to make his booklet available to people everywhere (and in several languages) and has, unfortunately, been the agent for leading at least a few other believers out of Mormonism.

Sadly, most of those who have been bamboozled by the “CES Letter“ are Latter-Day Saints who were blindsided by scholarly sounding interpretations of challenging data. In my opinion, however, the “CES Letter” creates a caricature of Mormonism. The arguments are fundamentally flawed and do not accurately represent either Mormonism or the only logical interpretations of the data.

Unfortunately, the reason the "CES Letter" has enjoyed any success is that most Latter-Day Saints have never been exposed to some of the more complex matters in early Mormon history. On average, the typical Latter-Day Saint has never needed to think outside of the box on Mormon-related philosophical, historical, or scholarly issues.

Bamboozled by the "CES Letter" explains why these controversial issues need not kill a testimony. Interpretation matters. Many laymembers, as well as educated Mormon scholars, are fully aware of every topic discussed in the "CES Letter" but continue strong in their faith because they recognize that there are logical interpretations that can be integrated with their belief in Mormonism. There are answers to the concerns raised by the "CES Letter", and those answers can be supported by current scholarship as well as harmonized with the acceptance of Mormon truth claims.

©2015 Michael R. Ash (P)2022 The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc.

Accomplishes what it set out to do.

I wouldn't say Michael A is a great story teller, or the most eloquent. I would say he knows how to be efficient and get the job done. This is intended to be a quick overview of the nonsense of the CES Letter, providing good explanations of the fallacies used and the factual information left out of the letter. He also discusses proper methods that should be used to analyze data. He covers the misleading material and shines a light of context on it (the time, the people, human errors, etc). It's a short listen/read and I knocked it out in about a day. If you're either curious or having a struggle of faith regarding the CES Letter, you'll find yourself completing this booklet thinking "wow, I was so silly to fall for the CES tactics in the first place." And for that, I commend the author. It's very little time, very convenient, and there are no downsides really.

If you find yourself wanting more in depth analysis and/or rebuttal, I suggest doing a web search for "Sarah Allen's (dice1899) response to the CES Letter" for incredible additional works on this.

any easy read

it was nice to listen to, the guy has some jokes sprinkled in. plus the points made were concise and easy to follow

Good stuff

Love having an objective counter argument. It’s always good to hear both sides of an issue and make your own decision.

Cogent and Informative

I highly enjoyed this book. Less acerbic than Hugh Nibley's "The Myth Makers", Michael Ash nevertheless flays the CES Letter wide open to show to all that for every claim the Letter makes, there are a number of inconvenient truths left out by its author through either ignorance or willful misdirection. "Bamboozled by the CES Letter" is the latest funerary rite for the Letter's potency, yet it maintains the decorum and demeanor our modern world has come to expect from a faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Concurrently, it disabuses the reader of any notions they may be harboring that perhaps the Letter really does present accurate, valid and uncontested claims against the teachings and history of the Church and Joseph Smith. This is the peer review the Letter has desperately needed and will hopefully serve to fortify those who have been, are now, or will be affected negatively by it. I think Derrick Duncan does a great job of narration, but could have been a bit more engaging in tonality and cadence. I fully realize this is completely subjective.

A common sense answer to the CES questions

Mike Ash answers questions with kind yet common sense. I have thoroughly enjoyed this book.

CES letter conquered

This is a great writing that directly responds to each point in the ominous “ces letter”

Helpful

Helpful and fair counterpoints to the contents of the CES letter and some common criticism of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

A solid answer

Michael Ash gives solid answers to faithful members regarding the CES letter. I have read a great deal of defense of the LDS faith by scholars and laymen, which Ash has mastered and brings to bear in answer. Ash also had new insights and facts that I was not aware of. Ash's tone is appropriately personal and humorous in presenting what has gone before and in crafting his own replies.

The CES letter mostly repeats old arguments and questions that anti-Mormons claim have not been answered, though solid answers have been given to them. Most of the new material from the letter is inaccurate and misleading in trivial ways. Like much anti-Mormon literature, any careful reading of some of the criticisms reveal that they are not just arguments against the LDS faith, but against Christianity, in general or against religion, in general. Ash appropriately answers the critiques.

I have only two minor quibbles. The first quibble is likely only relevant to those like me who have done a great deal of prior reading and thinking about the issues. It takes about 20 minutes in the audiobook for Ash to dispense with a preliminary explanation of how arguments work and how critiques and answers work. For instance, Ash rightly points out that a one-sentence critique may require several pages of answer, something that one sees in many fields. I would have preferred a sooner "hook" into the CES critiques and answers, with the material in the 20 minutes scattered throughout. Ash is a good writer, so he may have tried this and found that the 20 minutes worked better.

The second minor quibble is that the tone is humorous, but the reader's tone is more serious. At first I wondered if humor was intended until it finally became apparent.

I recommend "Bamboozled..." Ash does a solid job. Those who need answers to the CES letter will find them here. Those who do not necessarily need answers, may, like me, enjoy the fun of hearing the the questions and answers.

Not recommended. Terrible answers.

Save your money and don't buy this book! I believe 79% of the listeners of this book, would think the writer is bamboozlong the readers in believing that most people believe in Magic, not science. And believing in magic, is the only way you can believe in the Latter-day Saint or "Mormon" faith. That for some reason, it is okay that Joseph Smith could just make stuff up. Joseph learned he could manipulate people with his treasure digs, (he would get paid to find buried treasure and but he never found anything for his clients, see court cases). I am sadden when people justify and protect a pedophile, and conman like Joesph Smith. These answers to the CES letter are terrible. Once again, I do not recommend this books.

Immediately Regretted

I don’t fault the author for his beliefs. However, I was extremely disappointed in the amount of mental gymnastics he attempted in explaining away legitimate concerns about the church and its history. He often made arguments that failed to address the crux of the issue and/or disregarded significant amounts of relevant information. This is NOT a scholarly writing.