Episode 60

BYU Professor Brings CES Letter To Life

Original Air Date: 2025-01-21 • Duration: 2h 36m

CES LetterAnthony SweatBYU Art

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This video is an episode of the Mormon Stories Podcast (LDS Discussions Edition) featuring host John Dehlin alongside contributors Julia ("Analyzing Mormonism") and Nemo the Mormon 1, 2. The episode focuses on the artwork of Anthony Sweat, a BYU Professor of Church History and Doctrine, whose paintings depict controversial historical events that the LDS Church previously ignored, denied, or hid 1, 3. The central premise of the discussion is that Sweat’s academic and artistic work effectively validates the critical claims made by Jeremy Runnells in the CES Letter, a document for which Runnells was previously attacked and excommunicated 1, 4, 5.

Historical Context and artistic Evolution

The hosts begin by establishing that for decades, the LDS Church commissioned and displayed artwork that presented a sanitized, historically inaccurate version of its origins, such as Joseph Smith translating with his finger on gold plates 6, 7. Accurate depictions of history—such as Joseph Smith using a stone in a hat—were previously the domain of critics, such as Grant Palmer, or satirical portrayals like the 2003 South Park episode on Mormonism 8, 9. Julia notes that while the CES Letter was published in 2013, Anthony Sweat began publishing his corrective artwork around 2014, suggesting the Church was forced to address these historical issues due to the pressure created by truthful internet discourse 10.

Comparison: Anthony Sweat’s Art vs. The CES Letter

The bulk of the video compares specific paintings by Sweat against excerpts from the CES Letter, showing a direct correlation between Runnells' accusations and Sweat’s faithful admissions.

  • 1. The Translation Process
  • CES Letter Claim: Runnells criticized the Church for teaching that Joseph translated ancient plates, when in reality he used a rock in a hat while the plates were often covered or not even in the room 11.
  • Sweat’s Depiction: Sweat paints Joseph Smith looking into a hat to translate, acknowledging that the plates were not directly used in the way traditional art depicts 11. Sweat admits that the Church previously asked artists to remove depictions of the "spectacles" or Urim and Thummim because they were deemed "too sacred," leading to the inaccurate "finger on the plates" imagery 7.
  • 2. Folk Magic and Treasure Digging
  • CES Letter Claim: Runnells highlighted that Joseph Smith used the same "peep stone" for translating scripture that he had previously used for illegal treasure-hunting scams 11, 12.
  • Sweat’s Depiction: Sweat paints "The Harmony Treasure Searcher," showing Joseph Smith on a treasure dig holding his seer stone 13. He also paints "Gazlem," depicting Joseph finding his chocolate-colored seer stone while digging a well for Willard Chase 14.
  • Oliver Cowdery: Sweat also produced a painting titled "Oliver Cowdery and the Gift of the Rod," which depicts Oliver using a divining rod 15. This confirms the CES Letter's assertion that early Church revelations relied on folk magic, specifically acknowledging that the Doctrine and Covenants changed the wording from "gift of the sprout" to "gift of Aaron" to obscure this history 16.
  • 3. Polygamy and Coercion
  • CES Letter Claim: Runnells argued that Joseph Smith’s polygamy was coercive, involving threats that an angel with a drawn sword would kill him if he did not marry young women and other men's wives 17.
  • Sweat’s Depiction: Sweat paints "An Angel with a Drawn Sword," depicting the figure threatening Joseph Smith 18. The hosts note that while Sweat acknowledges the threat to Joseph's "position," the historical record explicitly includes threats against Joseph's life 19.
  • Impact on Emma Smith: Sweat paints a piece titled "Purgatory," showing a tense standoff between Joseph and Emma Smith regarding the revelation on polygamy (D&C 132) 20. This aligns with the CES Letter's narrative that Joseph kept polygamy secret from Emma for years and that the revelation was used to manipulate her 21.

    • 4. Race and the Priesthood

  • CES Letter Claim: Runnells pointed out that Joseph Smith ordained Black men to the priesthood, proving the ban was not doctrinal from the beginning but instituted by Brigham Young 22.
  • Sweat’s Depiction: Sweat paints "The Ordination of Q. Walker Lewis," showing a Black man receiving the priesthood during Joseph Smith's era, thereby acknowledging the ban was not original to the restoration 23, 24.

    • 5. The Nauvoo Expositor

  • CES Letter Claim: Runnells asserted that Joseph Smith’s death was a direct result of his illegal order to destroy the Nauvoo Expositor printing press, which had exposed his secret polygamy 25.
  • Sweat’s Depiction: Sweat paints the destruction of the press, acknowledging that plural marriage and the destruction of the press were directly involved in the events leading to Joseph’s death 25.

    • The "Victim Blaming" Critique

    A recurring theme in the video is the hosts' frustration with how Anthony Sweat frames these revelations. Sweat argues that these images look "odd" or "strange" to modern eyes due to "presentism," suggesting the difficulty lies in the cultural gap between the 19th and 21st centuries 26. The hosts reject this, noting that treasure digging and polygamy were illegal and considered "odd" even in the 1800s 27.

    Furthermore, the hosts criticize Sweat for suggesting that students struggle with this art because their perceptions were altered by previous art, effectively blaming the members for being deceived 28. Nemo argues that the Church bears the responsibility for commissioning and publishing deceptive art for decades, not the members for believing it 29.

    Conclusion and Vindication

    The video concludes with a sense of vindication for the CES Letter. The hosts find it outrageous that Jeremy Runnells was labeled an apostate for publishing historical facts that a faithful BYU professor is now celebrated for depicting in art 5. They argue that the Church has been forced to "come clean" solely because truthful information on the internet made the old, sanitized narrative unsustainable 30.

    Additionally, John Dehlin reveals that the apologetic website "cesletters.org"—which had mimicked Runnells' domain to divert traffic to apologetic content—has capitulated and rebranded to "Study in Faith," signaling a victory for the visibility and credibility of the CES Letter 31.

    To put it in perspective, the video suggests the LDS Church is currently in a position similar to a company that fired a whistleblower for exposing safety violations, only to later hire a consultant to fix those exact violations while pretending the whistleblower never existed.

    Episode Info

    Guests: Mike (LDS Discussions), Nemo the Mormon

    Related Article: LDS Discussions