While most of the CES Letter relies on selective framing, the “Testimony and Spiritual Witnesses” section goes further by attempting to redefine spiritual experience altogether. This is where it turns to altogether deny the power of God.
It reduces spiritual witnesses to nothing more than emotion, then dismisses them on that basis. But that framing ignores what people actually report. Spiritual experiences often involve direction, timing, clarity, and lasting change, not just feelings. They include guidance that was not anticipated, moments that align across individuals, and conviction that persists beyond temporary emotion.
It also treats spiritual experiences in other religions as a contradiction, even though Latter-day Saint doctrine teaches that God gives light and truth to all people, not just one group.
By narrowing spiritual experience to its weakest form, the CES Letter avoids engaging with its full reality. The conclusion only holds if that reduction is accepted.
Here are my questions for the CES Letter regarding Testimony and Spiritual Witnesses:
What if the Problem Isn’t the Spirit, But Us for Stopping to Seek Revelation?
Answering the CES Letters Questions on Testimony and Spiritual Witnesses
For the first part of this section, Jeremy focuses on emotional responses during movies, so, as promised, we will answer those questions for Him.
Does this mean The Lion King is true?
Does The Lion King teach a true message that you are born to be a king, that you as a child of God have divine potential?
Absolutely. That is an eternal truth restored to us through the Restoration of the Gospel. That is exactly what God revealed to Moses, and because Moses knew that he was a son of God, because he saw the power and glory of God, he knew that he could overcome the lies of Satan.
In the restored gospel, as covenant children, we are anointed to become kings and priests of the Most High God. But we must remember our true identity. Like Simba, we must live up to our potential, keep our covenants, and stay on that path.
Was this a spiritual manifestation that the Lord gave to you when you watched The Lion King? I cannot say that, but because The Lion King teaches such an important truth, it may well have been.
Does this mean Mufasa is real and true?
That question misses the point of what is actually being discussed.
No one is claiming that a fictional character is historically real. The presence of a meaningful message in a story is not the same as a claim about the literal existence of every character in that story.
Scripture itself uses this same pattern. It contains history, but it also contains parables, symbolic language, and teaching narratives that are meant to convey eternal truths. The power of those teachings is not dependent on every detail being a literal, modern-style historical account. It comes from the truth being communicated.
When people feel something during a story like The Lion King, it is often because the story reflects real principles:
- Identity
- Redemption
- Responsibility
- Returning to what is right
Those principles are true, regardless of the fictional setting.
And when truth is presented, people can feel it.
That does not mean Mufasa is real. It means the message about who we are and who we can become reflects something real, and that is what resonates.
Does this mean Forrest Gump is real and actually happened?
Of course nobody believes that. The question is being framed that way on purpose, trying to force a connection between something obviously fictional and spiritual experiences in order to make those experiences look unreasonable. It is not a serious comparison. It is a rhetorical move designed to create doubt.
No one is claiming that the events in Forrest Gump literally happened. The real question is whether the story teaches something true.
And it does.
Forrest Gump shows someone who, despite limitations and challenges, does not quit. He keeps going. He does what is right. He loves people, even when they treat him poorly. He values family. He shows up when it matters.
Those are real principles.
As children of God, we believe we are capable of doing good, loving others, and making a difference. The important thing is about consistency, love, and choosing to do what is right.
That is why people respond to stories like this. Maybe it’s the spirit, but maybe it’s just emotions.
Not because they believe the events literally happened, but because the truths they reflect are real.
Why did I feel the Spirit while listening to people say Mormonism is not true?
So when you weren’t sure what the Spirit was and what it wasn’t, now suddenly you’re confident that you did feel the Spirit in that moment?
Or is the question being framed that way to create doubt?
This assumes something that has not been established. It assumes that any strong feeling in a critical setting must be the same as a true spiritual witness. That is not how spiritual experience is understood.
Not every emotional response is the Spirit.
People can feel strong reactions for many reasons:
- Persuasive language
- Emotional storytelling
- A sense of validation
- Hearing something that aligns with what they already want to believe
At the same time, the presence of some truth in a message does not mean the entire message is true. The Spirit can respond to truth wherever it is found, even in imperfect settings, but that is not the same as confirming the conclusions being presented.
Spiritual witnesses that come from God are described as:
- Consistent over time
- Clear rather than confusing
- Aligned with prior truth
- Leading toward faith, growth, and covenant commitment
A single moment in a critical setting does not override a lifetime of consistent spiritual experiences.
So the issue is not whether something was felt.
It is whether that experience was correctly understood.
In this case the spirit, the Holy Ghost, the third member of the Gospel will not be present. The scriptures teach:
Moroni 10:5
“By the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.”
The Spirit is given to reveal truth, not just create emotion.
John 16:13
“When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.”
The Spirit teaches and guides. It is directional and ongoing, not a single emotional moment.
Galatians 5:22–23
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance…”
The evidence of the Spirit is lasting change in who we become, not just what we feel in a moment.
Why is this Spirit so unreliable and inconsistent?
Are you sure it is the Spirit that is inconsistent, or is it your own faith, attention, and devotion to God that is inconsistent?
This question assumes the conclusion before examining the variables.
Scripture consistently teaches that the Spirit operates in a patterned way:
- It teaches truth
- It brings clarity and peace
- It invites good
- It guides over time
What is not consistent is human behavior.
People:
- Pray inconsistently
- Study inconsistently
- Act inconsistently on promptings
- Bring different desires, biases, and expectations into each situation
When the connection is weak or irregular, the results will also appear inconsistent.
The Spirit is not described as random or unreliable. It is described as something that requires:
- Sincerity
- Real intent
- Willingness to act
- Ongoing seeking
When those conditions are present, the pattern becomes much more stable.
So the issue is not that the Spirit is unreliable.
The issue is that spiritual communication is not passive. It is responsive, and it depends on the consistency of the one seeking it.
How can I trust such an inconsistent and contradictory source for something I’m supposed to base my life on?
Why are you framing it as something you are “supposed to base your life on”?
That is not the doctrine of the gospel.
The doctrine of the gospel is clear and simple:
- Faith in Jesus Christ
- Repentance
- Baptism
- Receiving the Holy Ghost
- Following the commandments and enduring to the end
The Holy Ghost is a gift that helps along that path, but it is not the gospel itself.
The gospel requires faith.
Faith means moving forward with trust in God, even while learning, growing, and sometimes not having perfect understanding. It was never meant to be a system where a single feeling determines everything.
The Spirit is not given as a one-time, all-or-nothing proof that replaces faith. It is given as a companion:
- To teach
- To guide
- To warn
- To confirm truth over time
If someone expects constant, perfectly consistent, undeniable signals in every moment, that expectation does not match how spiritual growth is described in scripture.
The question also assumes the Spirit is contradictory. But what is often inconsistent is:
- How people interpret their experiences
- How often they seek spiritual experiences
- Whether they act on what they receive
Over time, as faith, obedience, and consistency increase, so does the ability to recognize and trust spiritual impressions. Spiritual conversion is built line upon line, here a little and there a little. But if we stop trying, if we stop studying the scriptures and communing with God, we cut ourselves off from those experiences.
So the issue is not whether the Spirit can be trusted.
The issue is whether it is being understood within the framework the gospel actually teaches.
How are faith and feelings reliable pathways to truth?
That question assumes that faith and feelings are the entire system.
They are not.
That is why we have prophets. That is why we have scripture. It is through these sources that we learn eternal truth. They provide a stable, consistent foundation that does not change based on individual emotion or circumstance.
Faith is not blind belief. It is trust in God, grounded in what He has already revealed. Feelings alone are not the standard of truth. The Spirit works with both the mind and the heart to confirm what has been taught through prophets and recorded in scripture.
The promise of God is clear. We are offered exaltation and eternal life if we remain true to the covenants we make. The reliability is not in human feeling. The reliability is in what God has promised to do.
Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we are assured that despite our trials and shortcomings, there is a path forward. Faith is what keeps us on that path, and the Spirit helps guide and confirm it along the way.
And if we stay on the path, if we endure to the end, we are promised eternal blessings.
Is there anything one couldn’t believe based on faith and feelings?
While you can choose to believe in anything, gospel faith is belief in things that are unseen but true. Believing in something that is not true is not scriptural faith.
The Spirit is not the foundation of the gospel. The foundation is Jesus Christ, His teachings, the prophets, and the scriptures. We must first anchor our faith in these core doctrines.
Feelings alone are not the standard for truth. They must be measured against what God has already revealed. If something is contrary to the teachings of Christ, the words of prophets, or the doctrine found in scripture, then it should not be accepted as truth, no matter how it feels.
Faith is not meant to be placed in just anything. It is meant to be placed in God and in what He has established as true.
So no, not everything can be justified by faith and feelings. If something opposes the will of God or contradicts revealed truth, then it is not something we should believe or place faith in.
If faith and feelings can lead people to believe in many contradictory religions and gods, how can they be trusted as a method for discovering truth?
This assumes that all religions are using the same method in the same way. They are not.
Most Christian traditions do not teach people to seek personal revelation in the way the restored gospel does. When asked how they know something is true, the answer is usually, “because it says so in the Bible.” Practice is often shaped by tradition, culture, and inheritance rather than personal spiritual confirmation, even though the Bible itself invites individuals to seek God directly.
Latter-day Saints approach this differently.
We believe that truth is not limited to one place. Many religions contain real light and truth. They teach people to believe in God, to do good, to love others, and to live moral lives. That is real. That is good. That is from God. As long as these things are not contrary to eternal truths, this makes the world better.
So the existence of different religions is not evidence that spiritual experience is broken. It is evidence that God is working with all of His children, according to the light and knowledge they are willing and able to receive.
Joseph Smith taught that people are judged according to the light and knowledge they have. Not everyone has the same opportunities, and God does not hold people accountable for what they never received.
For Latter-day Saints, this removes the contradiction entirely.
We believe:
- There is one true God
- There is one path to salvation, through Jesus Christ
- But there are many circumstances and timelines through which individuals come to accept Him
God’s work is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. That includes all of His children, not just those who happen to find the fullness of the gospel in this life.
Because agency is real, because opposition exists, and because history includes periods of apostasy, most of God’s children live without the fullness of the gospel during mortality. That is not a failure of God’s plan. It is part of it. He has His ways and His reasons.
For some, their best opportunity to fully accept Christ and enter into covenant with Him may come later, when they have greater understanding and are more prepared to receive it. And maybe that reason is because the consequences for making covenants and not keeping them is more severe than never making them in mortal life at all.
So the presence of many religions does not show that faith and spiritual experience are unreliable.
It shows that God is patient, just, and actively working with all of His children, wherever they are.
His plan is great. It is real. And according to Latter-day Saint doctrine, it is good.
More Resources for Answering Questions Raised in the CES Letter
- Light and Truth Letter: Testimony and Spiritual Witnesses
- Debunking CES Letter – Testimony & Spiritual Witnesses
- Study and Faith – Testimony & Spiritual Witnesses
- Fair: Testimony and Neuroscience or Psychology
- Sarah Allen Response