Today I ran across another great letter which someone wrote to his wife and children. It is very long (even longer than the CES letter), but does a very good job articulating many of the issues with the church. I thought it was well written and insightful, and therefore wanted to pass it on in case anyone here might find it helpful.

Unfortunately, the author's intended audience, i.e., his wife, refuses to even look at it.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B18W3AgWXw6zMUllRW85bXc0RWc/view?pref=2&pli=1

What a shame. This gentleman is still waiting for the wife to question why. Just like I am. Thanks for the share. It is a great letter.

My wife, too, lacks the curiosity or desire to pursue the truth beyond what the church says is true...per Packer's warning. She is troubled by some of the things I share with her, but she just brushes them off as "anti-mormon crap" and that is the end of it.

I realize that she is in a quandary; on the one hand she respects my judgment and ability to discern the validity of one claim over another, but on the other hand she has almost blind faith in what the church has been telling her her entire adult life...which is a lot longer than the relatively short time we've been married.

Just skimming through the letter, I think it is another great example of a sincere and devout TBM coming to the truth that the church is not true.

I, too, am living your life.

Ditto.

I hope this ship has a bar, because I'm coming on board too!
I think there's a lot of us in this same boat.

I haven't read through it yet, but I can see that it has been very nicely formatted, even with a table of contents. Very nice!

I didn't intend to read much of it, just scan it, since I had already read the CES letter some time ago. BUT WOW just the first chapter about the first vision is crazy interesting. How long (20 years) it took anyone to hear about it and all the other previous "visions" that others had recorded, which contain language that ol' Joe Smith used. Wow.

That was my first impulse too. I didn't think there was much to add to the CES letter, but I was wrong.

I wish so much this guy could have family that understands how amazing he is, because he deserves to be appreciated for the wonderful soul that he is.

This is the saddest part for me. This guy obviously cares a lot about his family if he put so much into a letter to help them understand why he no longer believes. His wife certainly isn't showing the same level of consideration for him. I hope some day she will read the letter, but if not, I hope at least his kids will.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/28/2016 06:32PM by Elijah Unabel.

Finished reading this today. Even though it is written very matter-of-factly without any sort of mean spirit or hyperbole, I feel like only a member who already had doubts would ALLOW themselves to read very much of it. I fear a TBM would read these uncomfortable facts and right away blame it on Satan.
The letter at the end is very touching and sad.

While I love the ces letter, it does have some sarcasm and condescending comments that a tbm could find offensive. I think this latest letter is largely free of offensive comments. And yet, I'm afraid you are correct - there probably aren't many tbms who would read it objectively. My wife sure wouldn't.

Stupid phone - this post was an accident.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/30/2016 02:32PM by Elijah Unabel.

Fan-damn-tasting letter! So well-researched and written.

However, I wish scriptures and quotations weren't pulled out of original sources so frequently without much context. At least he presents the context in a few places. I realize that if he included context everywhere it would be a book, but we're often criticized for pulling quotations out on their own. The other team does that too, though. (What's that called? It's a poor way of presenting your case.)

Are there any changes, corrections, or additions to the letter that YOU believe should be made? My only observation was that he didn't include the Spaulding info. However it is difficult to summarize quickly and he had other good source material for the BOM.

For me, the tone and style of the letter are perfect! This must go viral! Do others agree?

wondercat

I read the whole thing, and agree that it is terrific. Well written, factual, avoids blame or insult. I'd love to see it go viral, but I'm concerned about consent from it's author. The letter is unsigned. Elijah Unabel, could you tell us where you came across it?

Apologies for the delay in my response, I haven't had a chance to visit this site for a couple days.

With regards to the letter, it was posted publicly on another exmormon site which I understand is not to be named on this site. Incidentally, it is my understanding the CES letter also went public on that site.

I think that in a mixed marriage (mo & non-mo), the ppl shouldn't discuss religion.


am I wrong?

Religion is important and everyone should be willing to discuss.

I'd like to be able about to discuss it, though I've learned from experience with my wife that it is best to just leave it be...unless she wants to discuss it, of course.

I love my wife and I value the mutual respect we have for each other. However, when it comes to mormonism she is free to say whatever she likes ("The church says this...", "Mormons believe that..."). But when I used to point out and provide evidence that what the church says or Mormons believe is wrong, I got "Why does it always have to come down to you're right or I'm right?"

I just let her comments about the church go in one ear and out the other because it's not worth the grief. But I'm always ready to give my honest, straightforward opinion about the church on those rare occasions when she asks for it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/03/2016 12:22PM by surprenant.