The LDS Church and the Boy Scouts

UPDATE: The LDS Church is going to stick with the Boy Scouts. Here is the press release announcing it. Further info from ksl.

Good. I'm glad. 

I can understand some of the reasons that some people were hoping they would split (such as the high financial cost of participating). The LDS Church is probably aware of that, which is why the Church is still evaluating other options. Hence why they stated in their press release: "The Church will continue to evaluate and refine program options that better meet its global needs."

As you’ve probably heard, the Boy Scouts recently voted to allow openly gay men to be scoutmasters. The LDS Church released a response to that decision. 

I originally was confused and offended by the Church’s statement, so I totally understand why other people are upset by it too. But after considering it with an open mind (instead of going with my knee-jerk reaction), I think I understand now.

This is my two and a half cents:

I am personally not bothered by the BSA's decision to allow gay men to be scout masters. I know that gay men aren't any more likely to be pedophiles than straight men and I think they can contribute well to the Boy Scouts' mission.

But I also understand the Church's reaction. 

The BSA's decision means that it now it expresses approval (at least implicitly) of being in homosexual relationships (and I think that’s what’s understood by “openly gay” here, and not just having same-sex attraction). For a Church that teaches that homosexual relationships are sinful, that decision indeed goes against Church doctrine, and goes against what the BSA has taught until recently. 

I can also see why the Church is upset about its schedule request (presumably to have more of its leadership weigh in) being ignored, especially since it's so heavily involved in the BSA and is the BSA’s largest single sponsor.

I think it's a toss-up whether the Church will officially stick with the BSA. It has the resources to create its own scouting-like program, and that would have many benefits, which includes running the program the way the Church sees fit. The BSA has a lot of internal politics (not just about this issue) that can muddy the waters for Church involvement. If the Church wants to be able to ensure that it can have scouting run 100% in accordance with its goals and philosophies, then splitting with the BSA and doing its own thing is its best bet.

"I'll always have a place in my heart for the BSA."

Regardless of the Church's decision, I'll always have a place in my heart for the BSA and remain involved somehow, even if the church officially withdraws from it. Once a scout, always a scout.

That’s essentially my reaction. If you’re interested in reading my additional thoughts, continue reading. 

I’ve dissected the Church’s statement below (the original statement is available here).

“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is deeply troubled by today’s vote by the Boy Scouts of America National Executive Board.” 

My initial reaction was “Why? Gays aren't necessarily pedophiles.” 

But some synonyms for “troubled” include concerned, worried, uneasy (not necessarily angry). I think some people are imagining that the Church is going on a homophobic tirade (like this lady after the Supreme Court ruling). But I don’t think that’s what the Church is doing. I think they are “troubled” about such a fundamental change in the Boy Scout policy without sufficient regard to the voice of the Church, and how it bodes for future policies the BSA will consider for church-sponsored troops.

“In spite of a request to delay the vote, it was scheduled at a time in July when members of the Church’s governing councils are out of their offices and do not meet.” 

The Church and the Boy Scouts have been like peas in a pod for over 100 years. The Church is heavily involved and is the BSA’s largest single sponsor. The BSA had good reason to respect the Church’s schedule request.

“When the leadership of the Church resumes its regular schedule of meetings in August, the century-long association with Scouting will need to be examined. The Church has always welcomed all boys to its Scouting units regardless of sexual orientation.” 

My initial reaction was “Even before the lift on the ban against gay scouts?” Apparently, the answer  is yes, according to this press release. That seems consistent with the “having same-sex attraction is not bad but homosexual relationships are” stance. I can’t find anything that says in writing what the specific policy was for Boy Scouts who had same sex attraction.

As far as I can tell, it booted you out if you were in a gay relationship, and that stood before and after that particular policy change. I know there’s debate about what the  Church’s policy actually was (and its fairness) before then. But the Church reacted 

positively to the BSA policy change of allowing gay boys to participate in scouts, so I think that should count for something.

“However, the admission of openly gay leaders is inconsistent with the doctrines of the Church and what have traditionally been the values of the Boy Scouts of America.”

My initial reaction was “But Church doctrine doesn't say anything about gay men not being scout leaders.” And that’s true, nothing in our doctrines would specifically say gay men can’t be scout leaders. However, the LDS church does teach that homosexual relationships are a sin. And I think that’s the issue for the Church. As I said above, the BSA's decision means that it now it endorses (at least implicitly) being in homosexual relationships (and I think that’s what’s understood by “openly gay” here, and not just having same-sex attraction). That decision indeed goes against Church doctrine, and it indeed goes against what the BSA has taught until recently.

“As a global organization with members in 170 countries, the Church has long been evaluating the limitations that fully one-half of its youth face where Scouting is not available.”

I admit, that’s kind of vague, so I wonder what solutions they're thinking of. 

“Those worldwide needs combined with this vote by the BSA National Executive Board will be carefully reviewed by the leaders of the Church in the weeks ahead.” 

I'm interested in hearing their decision.

One question I asked was “What's the big deal? The Church will still be allowed to restrict gay men from being scout masters in their local, sponsored troops.” I’m not entirely sure, but I do know this is one of the reasons why it’s possible that the Church may end up sticking with the BSA.

I do like the idea of the Church switching to its own Scouting-like program, Duty to God. It's been in the works for several years. I think it was wise for the Church to prepare itself that way. The Church has been doing the Young Women program for even longer, which is a terrific program. That's what the church will have to do if it wants scouting the way it wants it. The BSA and the LDS church simply aren't the same organization, so it's natural that their goals and approaches aren't always the same.

I think it was smart for the Church to embrace scouting, especially a hundred years ago when the Church was much smaller and probably didn't have the resources for its own program like that. Now it's big enough to do its own thing if it wants.

One drawback to withdrawing is that I think it might limit opportunities for young men to interact with people of other faiths and share their beliefs. But maybe the Duty to God program would find a way to make that happen anyway.

My initial impression from the Church was that they weren’t allowed to say their piece. The Church statement didn’t indicate exactly how much of the leadership was out of office. But, according to ksl.com, the Church did have a chance to participate, even if it wasn’t as much as it liked:

"Hawkins told KSL on Monday that church leaders Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, of the church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, General Young Men's President Stephen Owen and General Primary President Rosemary Wixom, all of whom belong to the BSA National Board, voted against the new policy."

Here’s another factor in the concern: it seems that the LDS church is concerned that Boy Scouts may cave to further political pressure and require religiously sponsored troops to allow scoutmasters who are in gay relationships:

“The Human Rights Campaign, a national LGBT-rights organization, said the Boy Scouts should not allow church-sponsored units to continue excluding gays.

“‘Discrimination should have no place in the Boy Scouts, period,’ said the HRC's president, Chad Griffin. ‘BSA officials should now demonstrate true leadership and begin the process of considering a full national policy of inclusion.’

“The BSA's top leaders pledged to defend the right of any church-sponsored units to continue excluding gays as adult volunteers. But that assurance has not satisfied some conservative church leaders.”

Here’s some more information for the context on the Church’s reaction (also from the ksl article):

“The BSA's right to exclude gays was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2000. But since then, the policy has prompted numerous major corporations to suspend charitable donations to the Scouts and strained relations with some municipalities.

“More recently, the BSA faced a civil rights investigation in New York and lawsuits in other states over the ban.

“Kenneth Upton, a lawyer for the LGBT-rights group Lambda Legal, questioned whether the BSA's new policy to let church-sponsored units continue to exclude gay adults would be sustainable.

“‘There will be a period of time where they'll have some legal protection,’ Upton said. ‘But that doesn't mean the lawsuits won't keep coming. ... They will become increasingly marginalized from the direction society is going.’”

So it looks like another reason the Church is troubled is that it’s concerned about the domino effect this change may have on other policies which the Boy Scouts will require the Church to make in the future.

These are just some of my thoughts that I wanted to add to the discussion. I love both the LDS Church and the Boy Scouts and am interested in seeing how things unfold.

Parallels between Islam and Mormonism

I recently read a book called “In the Footsteps of the Prophet: Lessons from the Life of Muhammad” by Tariq Ramadan.

I am Mormon, and as I read this biography of Mohammed, I couldn’t help but notice the similarities between Islam and Mormonism (as well as few parallels to Christianity in general). In particular, Mohammad and Joseph Smith, (the founder of Mormonism) seem to have a lot in common. So I wrote this blog post to point out the similarities I see.

All quotes, unless otherwise noted, come from that book. All biblical quotes come from the King James version. Even though I have tried explaining Islam the best I understand it, I apologize to my Muslim friends if I accidentally misrepresent their religion in any way.

• For one thing, both groups are often misunderstood and are often the object of ridicule and animosity.

• Both believe that God speaks to prophets. “Muslims consider him to have restored the unaltered original monotheistic faith of Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad)

• Mormons believe Joseph Smith restored the "fulness of the gospel" as taught by ancient prophets, including Adam, Abraham, and Moses. Mormons believe Jesus is the Savior and not merely a prophet.

• One key difference is that Muslims believe Mohammed was the last prophet. Mormons, however, believe Joseph Smith is the first prophet of a new era (or “dispensation”), and the chain of prophets that started with him will continue until the second coming of Jesus Christ.

• Joseph and Mohammed have controversial aspects of their lives that believers reconcile in different ways. Both revere the founding prophet of their faith, to the extent it may seem like worship to outsiders.

• One key difference between Mormon reverence for Joseph and Muslim reverence for Mohammed is that Muslims do not make any images of Mohammed in order to avoid turning him into an idol. Mormons, on the other hand, have tons of images of Joseph Smith because they don't feel it is idol worship to have pictures of him.

• Both Joseph and Mohammed grew up in poor families and experience hardship in their youth.

• Mohammed's father died before he was born. “At the age of eight, young Muhammad had experienced fatherlessness, poverty, solitude, and the death of his mother and then of his grandfather.”
• Joseph had both parents, but endured an excruciating surgery on his leg when he was a little boy (without the aid of anesthetics, and he refused to drink liquor to numb the pain). He lost his brother Alvin.

• Mohammed's name was given to his mother by revelation. Mary received Jesus' name by revelation from the angel Gabriel (the same angel that Mohammed would receive revelations from).

• Mohammed received revelations that constitute a Holy Book (the Qur'an) for a faith from an angel (Gabriel). 
• Joseph received revelations from an angel (Moroni) that led to a Holy Book (the Book of Mormon); he received additional revelations that became additional Holy Books (Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price).

• Mohammed had trials that prepared him for his assignment as a prophet. Ditto for Joseph. (including his painful surgery as a child).

• “The Prophet [Mohammed] also strove to teach them how to put their instincts to sleep, so to speak, and how to resort to diversion to escape evil temptations.” 
• In the LDS church, we believe in reducing our exposure to temptation by being engaged in worthwhile endeavors (as taught by the song for children “Hum your Favorite Hymn”)

• Of Mohammed, “At the age of twelve, everybody was told that the human beings around him would later oppose him; while he could already feel that his uniqueness caused people to love him, now he knew that in the future it would give rise to hatred.” And later in Mohammad’s life: "The announcement of good tidings [from the angel Gabriel] was also accompanied by a warning about others’ future opposition to Muhammad, for never did a person of truth appear on earth without giving rise to a fury of hatred, lies, and calumny.”
• This is similar to Joseph being told by the angel Moroni that “[his] name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people.” (Joseph Smith—History 1:33)

• "In fact Islam and its message came to confirm the substance of a treaty that human conscience had already independently formulated.”
• Mormons believe that their message is not new, but that we knew about it before birth, which is why it rings true to many people.

• Of Mohammed: people were often "attesting that he was like no other man." 
• People could also tell Joseph was like nobody else. Both his detractors and his followers saw something different in him. Both were clever leaders.
• Both were dissatisfied with local religions, yet yearned for answers to spiritual questions. Both withdrew to a place in nature to meditate and seek those answers.
• Joseph was 14 and prayed in a forest, Mohammed was 40 and meditated in a cave.

• Mohammed was protected from temptations. 
• This is different from LDS theology. We believe the Lord lets us be tempted and that it is up to us to use our free will to choose to avoid or reject temptations. Jesus' experience showed this: “He suffered temptations but gave no heed unto them” (Doctrine & Covenants 20:22).

• Both were the political leaders of their religious groups.
• Mohammed rose to political prominence among his people and *then* became a religious leader. And the city he settled became impressive: “In the space of eight years, [Islam] had not only settled in a new city, Medina, but had secured unparalleled status and regional prestige.”
• Joseph was unknown before becoming a religious leader. His political power in Kirtland, Ohio and Nauvoo, Illinois came after he started the religion. Nevertheless, Joseph and “by 1844 Nauvoo's population had swollen to 12,000, rivaling the size of Chicago at the time.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nauvoo,_Illinois)
• Both raised up armies to protect their people.
• Smith had the Nauvoo legion.
• "There were to be insults, adversity, hatred, and even banishment by Mohammed's own people." 
• Joseph was backstabbed by many former friends.
• "During the following months Revelation stopped. This period of silence (al-fatra), which lasted between six months and two and a half years, depending on the tradition cited, caused the Prophet Mohammed great doubt and suffering." 
• Joseph sometimes went for long periods without receiving any revelation from God.  In one instance, the Book of Mormon translation had to be stopped because Joseph let his friend Martin borrow the manuscript of the translation up to that point. Martin ended up losing the manuscript and the Lord forbade Joseph from translating further. This caused Joseph much anguish.
• Mohammed was supported by his first wife Kadijah. Joseph was supported by his first wife Emma. Both wives endured persecution alongside their husbands. Both men loved their wife deeply, even though they both were polygamists.
• Both men lost children in infancy.
• Both had loyal and ever-growing groups of followers.

• The Qur'an teaches: "everything points to remembrance of the Creator.”
• The Book of Mormon teaches: "All things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator.” (Alma 30:44)
• Muslims learn from Mohammed's weaknesses, which are illustrated in the Qur’an. 
• Mormons also learn from Joseph's weakness, which are illustrated in the Doctrine and Covenants.
• From the Qur’an: “For every [spiritual] community there is an object of discord, tension, and disorder [fitnah], and for my community, this object is money.”
• This is like this Bible passage: “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” 1 Timothy 6:10
• Both faced fierce hostility immediately upon making their revelations public. Both continue to have nasty vitriol raised against them.  Some accusations are totally true, some are partially true and some are entirely false.

• "The text of the Qur'an is actually Mohammed's spiritual and intellectual weapon against aggression.” 
• This is like a Mormon song for children called “Scripture power”: “Scripture power keeps me safe from sin. Scripture power is the power to win. Scripture power! Ev’ryday I need The power that I get each time I read.”
• Mohammed said: "I am not a worshiper of that which you worship, nor are you worshipers of what I worship. To you be your religion, and to me mine.” 
• This is like a statement of belief written by Joseph Smith: “We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.” (12th Article of Faith)
• Both escaped from places where they were currently living to a place where they could live in peace. 
• The Mormons relocated several times, from New York to Ohio, then Missouri, then Illinois, then ultimately to the Salt Lake Valley. Muslims relocated from Mecca to Medina. 
• One key difference is that the Salt Lake Valley was uninhabited. Medina was inhabited, but they were welcomed by the leader there: “If you went to the land of the Abyssinians, you would find there a king under whose command nobody suffers injustice. It is a land of sincerity in religion. You would remain there until God delivered you from what you suffer at present.”
• “At the close of his mission, in the plain lying at the foot of the Mount of Mercy (Jabal ar-Rahmah), men and women of all races, cultures, and colors, rich and poor, were present and listened to this message, which stressed that the best among people are so through their hearts, which are determined neither by class nor by color or culture.”
• The Book of Mormon teaches that the Lord “denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile.” (2 Nephi 26:33)
• Mohammed “loved children, with their innocence, gentleness, and ability to be present in the moment. Close to God, close to his own heart, he remained attentive to those who primarily understood the heart’s language. He kissed them, carried them on his shoulders, and played with them, reaching toward their innocence, which is in its essence the expression of a permanent prayer to God. Children, like angels, wholly belong to God. They are signs.”
• The book of Mormon that “little children are alive in Christ, even from the foundation of the world” (Moroni 8:11) and should therefore not be baptized. That is why Mormons do not baptize infants.
• Also, Jesus said, "But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:14)
• The Prophet Mohammed carried a universal message, not just for Muslims. 
• The Mormon prophet carries a universal message. It’s not just for Mormons, but it’s for the whole world to hear.
• “For some individuals, conversion was a long process that required years of questioning, doubt, and steps forward and backward, while for others conversion was instantaneous, immediately following the reading of a text or responding to a particular gesture or behavior. The conversions that took longest were not necessarily the most solid, and the reverse was not true either: when it comes to conversion, the heart’s dispositions, faith, and love, there is no logic, and all that remains is the extraordinary power of the divine.”
• There is a similarity variety in conversions to Mormonism.
• Both saw ancient biblical prophets, including Moses.

• Mohammed experienced a revelatory experienced called the “night journey” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isra_and_Mi%27raj). “Muslim scholars have, from the outset, pondered the question of whether the Night Journey was of a purely spiritual nature or whether it was also physical. The majority of scholars consider that the journey was both physical and spiritual. All things considered, however, this question is not essential in the light of the teachings that can be drawn from this extraordinary experience undergone by the Messenger.”
• Mormon believe there are literal and spiritual aspects to the stories found in holy writ, and scholars often debate the historicity and literalness of those events. In any case, such events are rich with lessons to learn.
• The Quran teaches “To those who leave their homes in the cause of God, after suffering oppression, we will assuredly give a goodly home in this world; but truly the reward of the Hereafter will be greater, if they only realized [this]! Those who persevere in patience, and put their trust in their Lord.”
• The Book of Mormon teaches: “Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.” (Ether 12:4)
• Jesus taught: “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:10)
• “The Companions [of Mohammad] made a distinction between Revelations the Prophet received, which they obeyed without a second thought, and the opinions of Muhammad the man, which could be debated, improved on, or even rejected outright.”
• In Mormonism, there is a similar belief, and an apocryphal story that illustrates it: “during the excitement incident to the coming of [Johnston’s] Army, Brother Brigham preached to the people in a morning meeting a sermon vibrant with defiance to the approaching army, and declaring an intention to oppose and drive them back. In the afternoon meeting he arose and said that Brigham Young had been talking in the morning, but the Lord was going to talk now. He then delivered an address, the tempo of which was the opposite from the morning talk The Church will know by the testimony of the Holy Ghost in the body of the members, whether the brethren in voicing their views are ‘moved upon by the Holy Ghost’; and in due time that knowledge will be made manifest.” (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/04/the-doctrine-of-christ?lang=eng#6-10485_000_45chris)

• “More than the physical path of a life, this was the initiatory journey of a heart and conscience going through the stages of the great jihad that takes people from the natural tension of passions to the peace of spiritual education. He had come back different in the intensity of his efforts and patience, and yet similar to himself in his faithfulness to the message.”
• Like Joseph Smith described himself thus: “I am like a huge, rough stone rolling down from a high mountain; and the only polishing I get is when some corner gets rubbed off by coming in contact with something else, striking with accelerated force against religious bigotry, priestcraft, lawyer-craft, doctor-craft, lying editors, suborned judges and jurors, and the authority of perjured executives, backed by mobs, blasphemers, licentious and corrupt men and women—all hell knocking off a corner here and a corner there. Thus I will become a smooth and polished shaft in the quiver of the Almighty, who will give me dominion over all and every one of them, when their refuge of lies shall fail, and their hiding place shall be destroyed, while these smooth-polished stones with which I come in contact become marred.” (Discourse to Saints, May 1843; DHC 5:389.)
• “The implementation of those ethical principles and the response to new situations about which scriptural sources had remained vague or silent required answers adapted to particular circumstances. The Prophet’s Companions had understood this, and he had imparted to them both the knowledge and the confidence required to go ahead and observe the world and its vicissitudes, certain that they now had the spiritual and intellectual means to remain faithful to their Creator’s message.”
• In another declaration of belief, Joseph Smith stated that “We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.” Thus, they believe in “continual revelation” (9th article of faith). They also believe that implementing those believes requires changes in practice (“policy”) from time to time.
• In bath cases, their followers experienced immense grief when their founding prophet died. In addition to the grief, there was a succession crisis. 
• For Muslims, the split led to the Sunni (85-90% of Muslims) and Shia (10-15% of Muslims) sects (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shia–Sunni_relations).
• The vast majority of Mormons sided with Brigham Young as Joseph’s successor, but  there were some who though others should take his place, and broke off from the main body of Mormons, creating new sects. The biggest of those sects is the Community of Christ (formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), whose followers believe that Joseph Smith’s son, Joseph Smith III, succeeded Joseph. They currently number about 250,000 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_of_Christ), and Mormons currently number 15 million.

I hope this post was interesting and enlightening. I welcome constructive criticism, so if I made any mistakes, please let me know. Thanks!

My thoughts on the dissenting votes

There’s been a buzz among my LDS friends about the dissenting votes at conference over the weekend, so I’d like to chime in: It doesn’t bother me that those people dissented. The opportunity to express a dissenting vote shouldn’t be a mere formality; people should feel free to take the brethren up on the chance to show “by the same sign” that they oppose.

Those people should still feel welcome at church and they should feel no hesitation to be frank about their grievances. So harsh words, jumping to the conclusion that they're apostates bent on destroying the Church (maybe they are, but we don’t know that), etc. is inappropriate.

If there’s one good thing that came of it, it was the opportunity to reflect on the fact that I myself do sustain the prophet, and I feel more motivated to sustain him and the apostles. "Sustain" is synonymous with "support." It's possible to support a person while acknowledging their imperfections. There's no need to pretend that he knows everything or that he can do no wrong.

To the credit of the dissenters, they didn’t do any rabble-rousing or instigate a violent protest (although I can see why some people would think it’s obnoxious that they yelled).

To the Church’s credit, security didn’t kick those people out (showing that merely not sustaining the prophet isn’t grounds for getting kicked out of conference). Also, Uchtdorf took it in stride with “the vote has been noted” and proceeded with the meeting.

Final thought: don’t let that moment define this conference. So many ideas were shared that were meant to increase our faith and motivate us to be better people. Let’s spend more time focusing on those messages than on the debate of whether the dissenting votes were good or bad. With all the thought and preparation that goes into each conference talk, it would be a shame to neglect what the leaders had to say.

With so many good messages worth thinking about, let's not make a mountain out of a molehill.

Gays and the LDS Church

I am a heterosexual male. I have never questioned my sexual orientation, so I'm not going to pretend like I know what homosexuals experience in general.

In particular, I'm not going to pretend to know what dilemmas homosexuals face if they are members of the LDS Church (or are considering becoming LDS). I do know that many of them choose to be LDS and still have fulfilling lives. There are homosexuals who have found ways to reconcile their religious beliefs with their attractions. I think the media should do more to broadcast the voices of such people.

Some homosexuals enter into heterosexual marriages, some don't. Some "change" their sexual orientation (although I know there's controversy as to whether that's possible), some don't.

One thing the media has downplayed is the LDS Church's teaching to reach out in kindness towards homosexuals, even the ones who leave the Church. The media seems to be eager to portray the bad apples in the LDS church who are genuinely guilty of intolerance. The media seems to have neglected stories of Latter-day Saints who are compassionate in reaching out to the LGBT community.

In my opinion, an LDS homosexual who abstains from sex outside of marriage is similar to an LDS heterosexual who abstains from sex outside of marriage. That's because they know that there's more to life than sex, and even if they don't yet have the romantic relationships they long for, they can still find joy in life.

The main difference, of course, is the religious approval of one type of relationship over the other, which is one of the dilemmas that LDS homosexuals face.  So it’s important to be compassionate towards people who either are in the LDS church who have same-sex attraction, or who have left the Church in order to have a same-sex relationship. Those of us that don’t have same-sex attraction don’t know what it’s like. Most importantly, being homosexual and/or not being LDS does not make anyone a bad person.

On the legal side, I actually think it's okay for gay marriage to be legalized. In the past I was opposed to its legalization mainly on religious grounds, but I changed my opinion when I realized I didn't know of very many compelling secular reasons to oppose it.

However, I still think it's okay for religions to prohibit gay marriage among their followers. This is because, legally speaking, association with a religion (and thereby abiding by its policies) is voluntary. The law cannot mandate association with any religion, nor can it prohibit dissociation. 

I also feel that legally requiring religions to allow gay marriage within their religion is a violation of the first amendment.

It's important to remember that the first amendment allows people the legal freedom to voice their opinion. Thus, people (religious or otherwise) who are opposed to gay marriage are allowed to voice their opinion and vote accordingly. People who support gay marriage are also allowed to voice their opinion and vote accordingly. Both groups are also allowed to disagree with each other.

That said, if I were friends with a same sex couple that were going to be married, I'd be happy to be invited to their wedding.

One last note: The Book of Mormon doesn't say much about sex (a little, but not much), but it does say a TON about how destructive pride is. So if you think that homosexuality is grounds for withdrawing love from a loved one, your pride is more damaging than any sin you think your loved one engages in.

The benefits (i.e. blessings) of being Mormon

I don't care what the naysayers say, church is a haven from the cares of daily life. It's nice that once a week I can give my mind a break from what's going on the other six days a week. I usually take naps on Sunday, so my body gets a break, too :)

It's a great way to spend time as a family. It provides a community of friends to call on for help (i.e. for moving, meals for pregnant wife, helping pay for a missionary, etc.) or just fulfill the basic human need for friendship (i.e. people to do fun stuff with).

My wife and I can get free marriage counseling from our pastor. If we're referred to a professional marriage counselor, we can still have that free of charge, courtesy of our congregation (we ourselves contribute to those funds regularly).

The teenagers (including myself when I was one) get to learn practical life skills that are useful. The boys have boy scouts and the girls have young women.

I have the peace of mind that comes from having supplies and knowledge that will see me through a disaster safely. i.e. emergency preparedness.

I care for my family more than I ever would if I hadn't been instructed to. This also includes my ancestors. I likely wouldn't have gotten into genealogy as a hobby if I hadn't been instructed to. But since I'm familiar with my forebears, I know myself better. Their awesome stories are appreciated and not forgotten.

I have easy access to literature (i.e. the Bible, the Book of Mormon, words of living prophets) that gives me solace and answers during genuinely tough life events. And during times of ease, too.

These are the result of the bizarre (unique) beliefs and practices of the Mormons.

These are the benefits (i.e. blessings) of church.

I'm not sure if I'll share these publicly, because these might be trampled on by people who don't appreciate stuff like this.

Ya know what, they can have at it. Their ad hominem attacks that have no basis in intelligent argument can fly. Their rude comments won't alter how awesome church is. At least they'll boost my page views (and therefore my earnings). So the more they toss this around and belittle it, the more money I'll make. Is that what they want?

So thank you, naysayers, for opening my eyes to the positive side of church, and for helping me make money off your negative attitude.

Response to First Vision challenges

This is the second blog post I write in response to “Letter to a CES Director: Why I lost My Testimony” by Jeremy T. Runnell. This post deals with the challenges to the First Vision. You can read my first post, where I respond to challenges to the Book of Mormon, here.

The author of this letter is troubled by apparent discrepancies in the record of the First Vision.

First off, I'm going to share a personal story and my record of it, and compare it to the accounts of the First Vision.

I will never forget the day when I was 13 and my family saw my brother Grant off at the airport for his mission to Germany. I briefly mentioned it in my journal (in cursive handwriting that's even uglier than my handwriting now):

"Monday, 10-18-99 At the airport, we said by to Grant with wet eyes as he left to Utah and on his mission."

Here's what I said in 9 years later in 2008 (it took me a whole decade to make another written record of that day):

"I can still remember the day Grant left for his mission. The entry I wrote on that day (Mon, Oct 18, 1999) is an overwhelming understatement. We were at the terminal (airport security wasn't as tight back then). Dad put his around Grant and embraced him. Grant and I looked at each other and a tear dropped swiftly down his cheek. We all came unglued (except for Mark and Spencer, they don't like to cry; neither did Seth-he was only two years old). Dad, Mom, Janet, Brian, Mark and Spencer and Seth all individually hugged him several times. The tears were streaming uncontrollably. Janet (and/or Mom) told Seth to hug Grant one last before he got on the plane, but Seth chose not too. When Grant got on the plane, Seth wanted another hug but it was too late (when Grant neared the completion of his mission, Seth told us that he remembered that Grant was nice to him). We looked out the window and we could even see him (he had a window seat). As Brian cried, Dad said to him, "It's like taking away a part of you." I'll never forget that day. Grant's example inspired me to serve a mission as well. ¡Y qué bueno que sirviera una misión! No paso ningún día sin pensar en mi misión [And how great it is that I served a mission! Not a day goes by that I don't think about my mission]."

You can see that as significant as that day was, I totally omitted huge aspects of it in my first obscure journal entry. For one thing, my parents, my brother Brian, my sister Janet, and me bawled our eyes out. My younger brothers Mark and Spencer didn't cry because they don't really show emotion, and my nephew Seth was only 2, too young to understand.

I had also completely neglected to mention that that day reaffirmed my resolve to one day become a missionary (this is the first time I could remember a genuinely voluntary desire to do it).

Another detail I omitted from both of my journal entries: my brother serving his mission in Germany made me think that Germany was the coolest country and that German was the coolest language (but now as a linguist I think all languages are equally fascinating).

My record of that crucial day was spotty. And that's allowing for the fact that I kept a journal at all. I didn't keep a daily journal until about 3 years ago.

I wasn't inconsistent in the first journal entry. I merely omitted huge details. The first is not as complete as the second journal entry, yet the information is still consistent. I never made claims that contradicted what I said earlier. And all that's despite the fact that this is a historically verifiable event (between his journal, plane ticket, church records, etc.)

How is that like Joseph Smith's varying accounts of the First Vision?

Like my journal entries, none of the First Vision accounts contradict each other. They simply don't share all the same details. Here's how they easily mesh and are therefore consistent:

Jesus Christ is an angel. The conversation was primarily with Jesus Christ, the host of angels could have easily been present but he didn't appear to converse with them, and the 1838 account says Christ told him many more things besides just that all the churches were wrong, which could have easily included a remission of his sins.

It's not unreasonable to assume that Joseph wanted forgiveness for his sins AND wanted to know which Church was right. Let's also remember that Joseph reports in each account that he appealed to the Bible.

The 1832 account talks about forgiveness for Joseph's sins, but Jesus Christ still discusses the falsehood of other churches. The 1835 account mentions an unidentified personage introducing Jesus Christ. That could easily be God the Father. And again, the Father and the Son fit the bill as angels. This account also mentions the part pf the story where he was impeded from praying. Further consistency. This link makes it clear that even when Joseph started recording history, he was pretty incomplete at it.

As far as the claim that Joseph already knew that all the churches were wrong, let's look carefully at the wording of the 1832 account: “by searching the scriptures I found  that mand<mankind> did not come unto the Lord but that  they had apostatised from the true and liveing  faith and there was no society or denomination  that built upon the gospel of Jesus Christ as recorded in the new testament”

And the wording of the 1838 account: “My object in going to enquire of the Lord was to know  which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join...(for at this time it had never  entered into my heart that all were wrong)”

The 1832 account shows that Joseph was disillusioned with society as a whole (probably non-religious as well as religious) for not actually drawing unto God. It also shows that Joseph was frustrated with the religions he had contact with, in that they didn't appear to base their teachings on the New Testament. Even the full 1838 account reveals this frustration and confusion. Both are consistent in showing his disillusionment and yearning for real answers. But the 1832 account does not say specifically that Joseph Smith though that all of the churches were totally wrong; it says specifically that that none of the churches (at least the ones he knew of) “built upon the gospel of Jesus Christ as recorded in the new testament.” In other words, he felt that none of the churches truly adhered to that specific part of the Bible. He doesn't say anything like “and therefore it was obvious that all were (completely) wrong.” The 1842 account indicates that Joseph had at least a sliver of hope that one denomination might have been (at least partially) correct.

Have you ever noticed that the biographies of Joseph Smith have to rely mostly on what OTHER people said about him? That's because he never got the hang of being a thorough record keeper, not even about his own life. He had to rely on other people to be official church historians.

Plus, what teenager makes a habit of keeping records? Especially one that lives in a time and place where keeping a life record is probably the last thing on his mind. I mean, the average teenager might witness their school burning down, but if you ask them how their day went, they'd say, "Good." Then go back to whatever it is teenagers do.

Even in the 1838 account, what did Joseph say that he told his mother first? That he figured out the Presbyterian church was not for him. Talk about the biggest understatement! According to that, he made no hint that he had a prophetic experience talking to God and learned way more than just the fact that one church was not true. See what I mean about adolescents and their underwhelming descriptions of earth shattering events?

Rough Stone Rolling indicates that Joseph's understanding of the vision evolved over time. He didn't feel the need to share it the way missionaries do now. He viewed it as a personal experience, although he privately approached a minister to ask what he thought. Perhaps he feared ridicule? And given that Joseph had to be commanded by Moroni himself to tell Joseph, Sr. about Moroni's visit, it's not surprising to find out that Joseph didn't talk much about the First Vision at first. But let's not forget, Joseph did talk about the First Vision to his mother (albeit in an indirect and incomplete way, as stated previously).

The author says, “the historical record shows that there was no revival in Palmyra in 1820.” Which historical record?

In any case, the LDS church stated: “Documentary evidence, however, supports Joseph Smith’s statements regarding the revivals. The region where he lived became famous for its religious fervor and was unquestionably one of the hotbeds of religious revivals. Historians refer to the region as “the burned-over district” because preachers wore out the land holding camp revivals and seeking converts during the early 1800s.6 In June 1818, for example, a Methodist camp meeting took place in Palmyra, and the following summer, Methodists assembled again at Vienna (now Phelps), New York, 15 miles from the Smith family farm. The journals of an itinerant Methodist preacher document much religious excitement in Joseph’s geographic area in 1819 and 1820. They report that Reverend George Lane, a revivalist Methodist minister, was in that region in both years, speaking “on Gods method in bringing about Reformations.”7 This historical evidence is consistent with Joseph’s description."

Another concern he has: “Why did Joseph hold a Trinitarian view of the Godhead, as shown

previously with the Book of Mormon, if he clearly saw that the Father and Son were separate

embodied beings in the official First Vision?” It's not like Joseph Smith clearly had a trinitarian view that permeated his work (as the author claims happened with the Book of Mormon). I don't know of any historical evidence where Joseph lays out on the table that he believes in a trinitarian view of the godhead.

Additionally, Runnell is the only person I know of who arrived at that conclusion. That's also keeping in mind that he's not a historian.

So it's unfair to build upon a hypothesis that he has which is shaky.

“Like the rock in the hat story, I did not know there were multiple First Vision accounts.” I'm sorry to hear that. But I did know about the multiple First Vision accounts, actually. Even before my mission: the first time I heard about it was when I saw God's Army at age 13 (incidentally, that was shortly after Grant left for Germany). It's not like the Church keeps those accounts in the dark, or disciplines anyone who asks for them. They're there. See for yourself. Granted, this website is new, but the availability and knowledge of the information is not.

The 1838 account has the most detail relevant to the message of the Restoration, which is why it was chosen to be the one publicized more than the others.

Apparently there's discrepancy in the date in the historical record (by a year or two). It's obvious that Joseph didn't keep meticulous records of that event. So is it any wonder that the exact date is fuzzy?  Even the 1838 account doesn't say what day in 1820 that it happened. So what if it's off by a year or two? Don't tell me you've never told a story about yourself that happened when you were 8, but you were actually 7, or something like that; either way, you're still consistent in referring to the approximate stage of life you're in. Either way, the First Vision can be placed in Joseph's adolescence. It would be different if he were contradictory about the stage of life he were in (i.e. claiming in one occasion it happened in his childhood then claiming it happened in adulthood on another occasion).

By the way, I've often told people that I was 12 1/2, 13, or 14 when I tell the above story. I have to refer to my journal to get my own age right.

Thus concludes my rebuttal to this portion of the letter. More responses will likely be forthcoming.

Response to Book of Mormon challenges

I write this post in response to “Letter to a CES Director: Why I lost My Testimony” by Jeremy T. Runnell, submitted April 2013. This post just deals with the Book of Mormon challenges, although I may write responses to other portions of the letter.

Errors in the Book of Mormon

Runnell asks why the Book of Mormon has errors from the Bible (specifically the edition of the King James version that Joseph Smith would have had).

This website indicates that Joseph Smith wasn't necessarily shown the precise words to write in English. One of his scribes, Oliver Cowdery, tried translating like Joseph did, probably assuming that the words would pop out at him, nice and easy. But it turned out to be more complicated than that (D&C 9). So while it's clear from the history that Joseph could claim divine guidance, it's also clear God made Joseph struggle and work for the translation, at least to a degree.

I myself am a professional translator, so I know what it's like to be presented with an idea in a foreign language. Usually I know of equivalent English expressions right off the bat. Other times I have to do some research in order to find a satisfactory equivalent. And once in a blue moon, there is absolutely no equivalent in English. Then I have to make a decision: do I give a literal but awkward sounding translation? Do I copy the word from the original language and make a translator's note explaining the meaning of the word or phrase?

Back to the point: why are those errors from the Bible in the Book of Mormon? Perhaps Joseph was given an idea and had to turn to the Bible in order to figure out the best way to put those ideas into words. I'm not going so far as to say that he definitely did, but I'm not dismissing the idea either.

To be fair, most of the passages in the Book of Mormon that almost totally coincide with Bible passages are attributed as such. For example, Nephi quoted extensively from Isaiah, and straight up says within the text that he is copying the words of Isaiah.

Another point: above I said almost totally coincide. Many of those passages have significant differences from what's in the Bible. For example, use this list to find the aforementioned Book of Mormon passages and compare them to Isaiah.

So one cannot make the claim that Joseph flat out copied and pasted from the Bible he had on hand.

Another concern the letter expresses is that if the Book of Mormon is "the most correct book," then why are the passages in the Book of Mormon passes that are similar to the Bible significantly different from the Joseph Smith translation of the Bible?

The Joseph Smith translation of the Bible was a continual work in progress. He worked on it off and on for many years. He wasn't completely done even when he died. There's no claim that it didn't need any further revision; and therefore it was imperfect.

Another thing: Are you defining "most correct" as "flawless"? If so, the problem with that is even the Book of Mormon text itself acknowledges that it is imperfect:

Mormon 8:12  "And whoso receiveth this record, and shall not condemn it because of the imperfections which are in it, the same shall know of greater things than these. Behold, I am Moroni; and were it possible, I would make all things known unto you."

Mormon 9:31-32 Condemn me not because of mine imperfection, neither my father, because of his imperfection, neither them who have written before him; but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been. And now, behold, we have written this record according to our knowledge, in the characters which are called among us the reformed Egyptian, being handed down and altered by us, according to our manner of speech.

And on the title page of the Book of Mormon, written by Moroni: "And now, if there are faults they are the mistakes of men; wherefore, condemn not the things of God, that ye may be found spotless at the judgment-seat of Christ."

So what does "most correct" mean? It would imply that any other book is less correct in some degree. Or that if there is other literature out there that is also supremely correct, it would be on equal footing but not more correct than the Book of Mormon (there's no reason to say they can't share such a distinction). 

So if Joseph Smith were to be asked if the Book of Mormon were more correct than his translation of the Bible, I think he would have said that either the Book of Mormon is still more correct, or they are equally correct.

Further reference: http://en.fairmormon.org/Book_of_Mormon/As_the_most_correct_book

Apparent Trinitarian views in the Book of Mormon

The apparent discrepancies of Trinitarian doctrine in the Book of Mormon can be addressed by the Book of Mormon itself, Mosiah 15. Abinadi, before being killed, explains how Christ is both the father and the son. It explains how Christ can simultaneously have the title of "Father" and "Son," yet be a different person from Heavenly Father. Furthermore, the Book of Mormon never once asserts that Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father share the same body (which is central to the doctrine of the Trinity according to the Nicene and Athanesian creed).

DNA and linguistic evidence

It seems like science is constantly coming out with new evidence for the ultimate origin of Native Americans. There is no scientific consesus on where they all originally came from. Further, DNA studies seem to be an inexact science, especially when dealing with ancient history. Further, cultural intermingling (which would have inevitably happened among the descendants of Lehi) can easily muddy the genetic waters.

But let's assume that scientists have irrefutably proven that no modern Native Americans have a single drop of Middle Eastern blood. That would not trouble me. Why?

Consider this:

The peoples who are recorded in the Book of Mormon must have been a fraction (a small one at that) of all the peoples living in the Americas. Anthropologists and historians can attest to the disappearance entire tribes of people.

Even the peoples who were counted as descendants of Lehi could not all possibly have been his literal descendants. Are all Americans (even those of European descent) literal descendants of the Mayflower pilgrims or of George Washington? Yet all Americans can be counted as figurative descendants of those people because we have inherited their cultural legacy.

And if the Book of Mormon itself has “mistakes of men,” then certainly supplementary information added to it certainly may have “mistakes of men,” too. That's why there is the change in the intro from “the principal ancestors” to “among the ancestors” of the American Indians.

The lack of linguistic influence among modern Native American languages from Hebrew is easily accounted for: linguists know of languages that disappear completely. And since the peoples of the Book of Mormon were probably in a geographically limited area (more on that later), it's reasonable to assume the language of the descendants of Lehi would have only influenced a fraction of the dozens of the indigenous languages spoken in the Americas. Of the indigenous languages that haven't disappeared, the European legacy of discouraging natives from speaking those languages and their tendency to neglect a thorough linguistic study of all those languages means we still don't know everything about surviving indigenous languages.

Hebrew influence may yet be found, or it may have disappeared with the dozens of indigenous languages that have disappeared.

Archeological evidence

I am not disturbed that no archeological evidence has been found that indisputably proves the existence of the descendants of Lehi. It's not like every square inch of the earth's crust has been excavated, and groundbreaking discoveries concerning ancient peoples are made all the time.

Also, consider that in ancient times:

-Communications technology was primitive.

-Transportation technology was primitive

This means that any record made in those times could not have been supplemented by information from means that we take for granted in modern times: travel, telephone, newspaper, television, internet, etc.

Thus, most of the events of the Book of Mormon likely took place within a radius of a few hundred miles, and maybe not even that far. Just think of all the stories that can be told in the past 100 years in just the town you live in.

Many records of the past were destroyed by the invading Europeans. Who knows what kinds of questions (related and unrelated to the Book of Mormon) we could have answered had those records and artifacts been preserved?

And let's be honest, even if archeologists found definitive proof of the existence of the descendants of Lehi, that still wouldn't be enough to convince the naysayers. How many people know they can find Jerusalem on a map yet don't believe in Jesus?

Concerning the Hill Cumorah

Have archeological excavations been done at the hill in New York? If so, please tell me. I'd be intrigued to hear who did it and what they found.

"This is in direct contradiction to what Joseph Smith and other prophets have taught.” What did Joseph Smith teach? What did the other prophets teach? Which prophets? I'd like to see sources cited for this so I can provide an adequate response.

In the account in the Pearl of Great Price that Joseph Smith gives about the origins of the Book of Mormon, he never calls the hill in New York where the plates are deposited “Cumorah.” It would appear that name was given later by someone other than Joseph Smith.

Also, in the text of the Book of Mormon, Mormon 6, there is a battle that is to take place in the “land Cumorah” (verse 5). Mormon urges his son Moroni to hide the Book of Mormon, such as it was, in the “hill Cumorah” (verse 6). This indicates that the hill where the record was hidden was not necessarily in the exact same location as the battle field. I mean, would you want to hide a one-of-a-kind collection, one that you know your enemies want to destroy, right where your enemies might stumble upon it?

We know that after Mormon's death at the battle of Cumorah, his son Moroni compiled the Book of Ether and the book of Moroni and added them to the Book of Mormon. This means that eventually Moroni went back to the hiding place that Mormon had picked out. Did he leave the record in the hill Cumorah for good? It's not clear from the text. The beginning of the Book of Moroni indicates that Moroni was on the run, so it's not unreasonable to surmise that, for his personal safety and the safety of the record, the last hiding place for the Book of Mormon may not have been the same as the hiding place described in Mormon 6:6.

I don't understand why the author has this concern: ”Nevermind that the Church has a visitor's center there in New York and holds annual Hill Cumorah pageants.”

Regardless of the location of the battle of Cumorah, the hill in Palmyra that we now call Cumorah is unquestionably historically significant to Mormons. Why not make it a tourist attraction (for lack of a better term)? And in any case, the church can build a visitor's center and perform a play anywhere it wants. The location doesn't necessarily mean anything.

Anachronisms

It has been noted that the Book of Mormon mentions materials and animals which modern historians assert did not exist in pre-Columbian times. Let's ignore the fact that our understanding of the past is always evolving (history can be even murkier than science), and assume that those historical assertions are 100% correct.

I mentioned before that it's likely that Joseph Smith was not handed a word-for-word translation. What's more likely is that he was given an idea and had to work hard to find an equivalent in English. So it's not unreasonable to think that Joseph gave one word when another word would have captured the idea better. Or, as I noted whenever I do translation, perhaps there was absolutely no English equivalent for certain concepts, and a rough approximation was the best he could come up with.

Geography

The Book of Mormon is hazy on exact dimensions, distances, and sizes of landmarks. Remember, cartography was primitive, and distances were measured in phrases like “day's journey.”

Thus, I find it highly unlikely that an artist would create a sketch that happens to look like the Great Lakes area. There are no measurements that happen to lead one to coincidentally create an approximate map that parallels the Great Lakes area.

Who created the map that this author uses? What was the artist's method? How did that person come up with the sizes of the bodies of water and the distances of landmarks in relation to each other?

Similarity of Book of Mormon to other literature; similarity of place names

If one does not believe that Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon with divine assistance, then some other argument has to be put forth in order to account for the existence of the Book of Mormon. One would have to believe that Joseph Smith was a copycat and/or a clever writer of fiction.

I don't know of any historical evidence that shows that Joseph Smith ever wrote novels, short stories, or even poetry. You know, the kind of literature that the author confirms are works of fiction meant for entertainment. Even if you believe all of his revelations were made up, none of them is as sophisticated as the Book of Mormon. So the case that he had the imagination to invent all or part of the Book of Mormon is pretty weak.

Now on to the argument that he was a copycat.

What evidence is there that Joseph Smith had access to The First Book of Napoleon? Or to View of the Hebrews? What evidence is there that Joseph Smith had access to atlases to copy place names? And what about the longer list of place names and proper names in the Book of Mormon that don't coincidentally sound like names used outside of the Book of Mormon?

This is acknowledging the fact that The First Book of Napoleon has a similar writing style, even though the ultimate premise of the two books are different (testifying of Jesus Christ versus the history of Napoleon), and they discuss entirely different groups of people. This is also acknowledging the possibility that Oliver Cowdery (who supposedly read The View of the Hebrews) might have been scribe at the time Joseph translated Helaman 13-16.

I should mention the part of The View of the Hebrews where this author compares to Samuel the Lamanite in Helaman 13-16 has only one similarity: a prophet scaling a wall to prophesy. In the former, the prophet is struck dead after prophesying destruction. In the latter, the prophet's life is spared after prophesying of destruction, AND preaching repentance, and foretlling the signs of Jesus Christ's birth. Among other differences...

Remember, the work of translation took place within a few months. Was it possible that Joseph Smith did extensive research, creative collaboration, learned perfectly how to emulate multiple authors' styles, then used his imagination to fill in the rest? I have been writing as a hobby for years, and I know that if I were to undertake such a venture described above, it would take me years to do so, and I certainly would not be able to flesh out a well-formed story on the first go. That's ignoring the fact that I have the advantage of a bachelor's degree and years worth of writing instruction.

You could say that Joseph Smith, on the other hand, was “not smarter than a 5th grader.” Seriously, though, historians know Joseph Smith learned just the basics of his ABCs and 123s. Very uneducated (but not stupid).

Based on the historical evidence, I think it's actually more of a stretch to argue that Joseph Smith made it up and/or copied from other sources. The principle of Occam's razor, which favors the simplest explanation, would point toward the validity of Joseph's claim. Granted, Occam's razor is not a hard-and-fast rule because sometimes the more complicated answer is correct. But I think in this case critics are more hard-pressed to come up with a definitive, believable, plausable, water-tight, and most importantly, simple, alternative to explain the existence of the Book of Mormon.

The exact method of translation

The Church publishes a lot of paintings that are historically inaccurate. So? The paintings arent's scripture. The Arnold Friberg painting of body-builder Moroni talking to despondent old Mormon is inaccurate, too. Even though it's a cool painting: the sky is red, Moroni is sporting Roman-esque weapons.

Painters of LDS stories are capturing the essence of the story, what their personal image of the story is, but aren't pretending to create a life-like photograph.

If you read the Pearl of Great Price account of the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith talks about the seer stones being used in translation. So I always knew that the pictures of him translating with just the plates and no seer stones weren't totally accurate (or perhaps complete would be a better word). And where are the plates in those paintings of Joseph looking into a hat (which makes those pictures incomplete, too)?

In any case, if Joseph Smith truly translated the Book of Mormon by the gift and power of God, does the precise methods and instruments he use in translation change that fact?

The Church isn't lying about how Joseph Smith translated. If anything, the Church simply doesn't have some of the information (Joseph was still a kid in his early twenties when he translated the book of Mormon; what college-age adult makes a habit of keeping precise records?).

Conclusion  

I can see the wisdom of praying to know the Book of Mormon is true (a directive given in the Book of Mormon itself; Moroni 10:3-5). It can be overwhelming and confusing to read and analyze the entire history, then weigh everything the critics have to say against everything the apologists have to say—and the literature in both camps grows every year. From an intellectual perspective, It can be difficult to prove or disprove the Book of Mormon.

Appealing to God for the truth is actually a fairly rational thing to do. If there is a personage out there who knows EVERYTHING, woulnd't it be smart to take that being's word for it? Instead of trying to figure out on your own whether the critics or apologists are right? And the critics or apologists may be right about some things, wrong about others, and they may be totally objective, or they may be biased by an agenda.

Wouldn't it be simpler if an omniscient being personally told you if it were true or false? Wouldn't that trump any intellectual argument for or against it?

It has been my experience that people who believe deep down that the Book of Mormon is false will never be convinced that it is true even if they are presented with an overwhelming amount of well-researched and well-reasoned defenses. It has also been my experience that people who believe deep down that the Book of Mormon is true will never be convinced that it is false even if they are presented with an overwhelming amount of well-researched and well-reasoned criticisms.

So at the end of the day, you really do have to ask yourself—and God—is this book for real? Therein lies the answer.

If you believe deep down that it's false, then it's easy to see how it falls apart under scrutiny. If you believe deep down that it's true, it's easy to see how it stands up to scrutiny.

The only way a person really can be swayed is if they allow themselves to doubt what they already believe deep down.

“Letter to a CES Director” is long and I may or may not get around to providing my own responses to the rest of it. I'm positive that apologists, like the people at fairmormon.org, have or will come up with responses that are equally well-researched and well-reasoned. This is neither the beginning nor the end of the intellectual debate.

For my part, I have allowed myself to doubt that the Book of Mormon is true. Every time I do so, without fail, its truthfulness speaks to me for itself. My belief is made that much stronger because I genuinely believe instead of forcing myself to believe.