(Entire letter is found at http://www.alphamin.org/LETTERS/MAINPAGE.htm I will try to keep as much relevent material from James as possible but remove filler stuff to keep reading as short as possible but one can go to the link cited to get all of James comments so nobody can say I am taking things out of context nor not giving access to read the entire context--Something few LDS critics do.)
"I remember speaking with an acquaintance of mine who was once a Mormon but left the LDS Church when he accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior."Mormons do accept Christ as Lord and Savior. Perhaps this person had not for some weird reason (if this person actually existed since James is talking to a fictious Mormon) but all the Mormons who go to my ward including myself have.
"While he was on his mission (it was over in England) he encountered people who "rocked his boat" with questions that he could not answer."Is there a person on this planet who knows the answer to every question that exists? Most missionaries who go out on missions do so when they are 19. Most have a strong testimony of the restored gospel but they don't know every idle issue that exists. I am still learning things all the time and I will continue to in the future. I know many non-LDS christians of the James White type who have had their "boats rocked" with questions they could not answer not only from LDS but from atheists as well. I see it daily in chat rooms that I go to.
"But, he was counseled to "pray about it" and simply to seek a "stronger testimony." During his mission one of the apostles (as I recall it was Mark E. Peterson) came over and met with the missionaries in the area. He was considered a real theologian--one of those who could answer the tough questions and was great as a speaker. After his presentation a young missionary in the back stood up to ask one of the very same questions that had been thrown at my friend. The answer was quick and sharp: "You needn't worry about those things--talking about them will not help you on your mission. Next!" The missionary sat down rather dazed and bewildered, and everyone else took the cue that asking such questions might not be a good idea."And James White was there to witness the missionar sitting down dazed and bewildered? I don't see any credibility in the story. The fact is James whats to present LDS as being dumb and naive and he is on his white horse to save us stupid Mormons from our heathen state. To the point though does James have a problem with prayer to finding answers and gaining an testimony? As we saw in letter 1, he does and he is in direct opposition to what the scriptures say about the issue as was demonstrated there. Its good to ask questions and its fine not to understand everything all at once. Answers don't always come when we want them. Knowledge comes over time.
Just today I listened to a man who left a message on our answering machine (we have a phone message for Mormons). I had been here when he called the first time, and when he began accusing us of being stupid and unaware of LDS beliefs, I picked up the phone and began to talk to him. We spoke for about half an hour. I kept bringing up this fact or that, and all he could say in response was, "Well, you are deceived." At first he berated us for not knowing what we were talking about, but by the end of the conversation, when I was inviting him to meet with me to talk about these things, all he could say was, "Well, you've obviously done your homework, so I'm not going to meet with you." As I said, he called back and tried to respond to just one item I had raised with him when we originally spoke. He started off by saying, "Please don't pick up the phone." He must have called when there was no one here anyway, so he went on. He replied to what I had said and then closed with these rather chilling words (and this is a direct quote of what he said): "I'm not supposed to be in contact with people such as yourself because of the things that you try to make us believe. I am sorry you believe the way you do and have been so misled." Here is a man with whom I attempted to reason--I pointed out to him the fact that it seems much more likely to me that a person who refuses to examine the issues, refuses to face the tough questions, will be "deceived" and misled than a person who is willing to openly discuss and examine the facts. But he wouldn't listen.More worthless garbage. James has many imaginary friends in his head it seems as none of these people he has proved existed and even if they did exist they hardly reflect LDS as a whole. There are about 12 million LDS and its nuts for James to assert that we are all like this. Also notice once again that its the Mormons that are stupid while James is the genius.
"Brigham Young once said something that is actually rather wise: I say to the whole world, receive the truth, no matter who presents it to you. Take up the Bible, and compare the religion of the Latter-day Saints with it, and see if it will stand the test. (Journal of Discourses, 16:46) That is what I am challenging you to do, Elder Hahn. I have expressed to you the respect that I have for someone such as you--few people are willing to give of even the barest amount of time, let alone two years of their lives. But what you do brings with it great responsibilities. You are telling people that what you preach is true-- yet, if you do not examine these things, and continue to "prove all things, hold fast that which is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21), you are shirking your responsibilities, and may end up being responsible for leading others into error.Has James ever considered that he is the one leading people into error? This entire letter was a waste. Hardly nothing of value was presented here other than James having an opportunity to express is ego and claims to superiority and us poor Mormons just need to recognize that we are all idiots compared to James. The title of this letter was "Come, Let us reason together" when it actually should have been called "Come you stupid Mormons, I James White am your intellectual superior and I will lead you to the truth."