[Prophets] Detailed Response to the "CES Letter" from a believing Latter-day Saint

 Prophets

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Prophecies from October 2019 General Conference

Every now and again, I'll see a post asking something like, "If we believe in prophets, where are the prophecies?" My answer is always the same-- take a look at the most recent conference, and you will find them there. This answer is usually appreciated by believing Latter-day Saints, but dismissed by those antagonistic to the church.

The primary role of a prophet is to act as God's messenger and make known God's will. He will teach faith in Jesus Christ and repentance. I think lots of times those looking for prophecies are looking for things similar to biblical accounts of prophets warning cities of their impending destruction if they do not repent. These are very dramatic, but only really happen a few times in the Bible and Book of Mormon. However, on a less grandiose scale, these things happen all the time. The day of miracles has not ceased.

Overview of "Letter to a CES Director" from a believing Latter-day Saint

It's been several years since Jeremy Runnells wrote his 84-page document describing his concerns with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and our beliefs. It has since been shared by those opposed to the church in hopes of preventing people from joining, or to get people to leave. These same people get defensive when I call it an anti-Mormon document, but they don't make secret what their goal is, those sharing it are very much against the church. Some say I am being dismissive by giving it that label, but I am not, I am calling it what it is. Others say, "it's not anti-Mormon, it's just stating facts." Well, we'll get to the facts later, but you can be opposed to something without having to lie.

I am also surprised when Christians use it intending to get Latter-day Saints away from our faith.  Had they actually read it, they would also find that it is an anti-Christian document, too.

The letter is a classic example of a Gish Gallop.  It is a lot easier to make complaints to address the concerns brought up.  Even though most the arguments are weak, looking at 84 pages of them can be overwhelming.  I've often thought about writing my own Gish Gallop, except with evidences for the church, just to put things in perspective for those who like Mr. Runnells letter.

There are plenty of other more in-depth criticisms of the CES Letter, most notably from Fair Mormon, Stallion Cornell, and Michael Ash and I think overall they do a great job.  I don't intend to go so far in depth as them, but I still would like to address the points that Mr. Runnells brings up.  For shorter discussions, I recommend Kevin Christiensen's article, and Daniel Petersen's talk, both of which discuss its approach more than its content.

I already know from his responses to the above that he isn't really looking for answers.  This post is instead intended for those who have read the Letter to a CES Director and are wondering how a faithful Latter-day Saint thinks about the concerns he brings up.

Thus Saith the Lord

As Latter-day Saints, we sustain our prophets as prophets, seers and revelators, and as servants of Jesus Christ, their words are His words
 
At the same time, we know prophets are not perfect. They make mistakes. We have had many discussions on how a "prophet is not always a prophet, only when he is acting as such." Indeed, more have been created on the imperfection of prophets in the time it took me to put this together. For this post, I would instead like to look at how to recognize when a prophet is speaking for the Lord.