Top Mormon Historian Admits CES Letter has Validity - Richard Bushman v. Sandra Tanner | Ep. 1934

When the church’s most respected living historian admits a critic’s document is fundamentally accurate, the ground shifts beneath fifty years of apologetics. Richard Bushman, author of "Rough Stone Rolling" and the dean of faithful Mormon scholarship, recently conceded that the CES Letter contains valid historical claims about the Book of Mormon translation process. This admission, discussed in detail on Mormon Stories Podcast Episode 1934, places Bushman in direct agreement with Sandra Tanner, the veteran researcher long dismissed by church defenders as merely antagonistic.

Background: The CES Letter and the Apologetic Wall

The CES Letter, written by Jeremy Runnells in 2013, compiles questions about Book of Mormon historicity, translation methods, and prophetic reliability. For years, apologists at organizations like FAIR and Meridian Magazine have framed the letter as hostile, misleading, and authored by someone who simply consulted the wrong sources. Yet Bushman’s recent interview on the CES Letter YouTube channel validates the document’s central historical assertions.

Sandra Tanner, appearing on the podcast alongside researcher Julia Hunter, noted that apologetic strategies remain frozen in time. Church defenders still insist that questioners consult official channels, gospel topic essays, or Deseret News columns. The pattern persists: when members encounter troubling history, leaders point them to approved sources that sanitize or obscure the record.

Key Claims: What Bushman Actually Confirmed

Bushman acknowledged what critics have documented for decades. The church historically portrayed Joseph Smith translating the Book of Mormon by reading golden plates through the Urim and Thummim spectacles. Bushman confirmed this narrative misrepresents the actual process. Smith placed his seer stone into a hat, pressed his face against the brim, and dictated text while the plates sat covered or absent from the room entirely.