This project did not start with the CES Letter in mind. It actually started following a chance conversation with an LDS Institute Director, the tail end of which involved discussing my pursuit of spiritual rather than religious truths. I intended to follow up that conversation with a letter in the fall of 2025 but kept adding to it. I finally sent it May, 2026 and subsequently created and put it’s contents up on this site.
While not written with the CES Letter in mind, the ID Letter is however an answer to the CES Letter. It proposes a solution to the effects of the CES Letter (namely disaffection), by offering a usable spiritual framework for Latter Day Saints who have deconstructed (right or wrong) following the CES Letter.
This site and the letter take no position on the issues raised in the CES Letter one way or the other simply because I don’t want to be in the middle of arguments about those issues which generate a lot of unproductive negative emotion. Instead this letter strikes at a deeper spiritual level.
The ID Letter has broad application. Regardless of your status with any particular religion (in or out, believing or not) the spiritual framework described can change your life for the better.
Why is it called the ID Letter? In part because people are familiar with the CES Letter, and I quite frankly thought that might help with Search Engine Optimization. It seemed a logical name all things considered. There isn’t much of a backstory, and it’s not pertinent to the intent of the letter, which is to give insights on the spirituality underlying most Christian religions with a possible path forward.
Nothing contained in the letter or on this site should be construed as church doctrine of any church. It’s just my analysis of the Christian religious landscape, the deeper aspects of which I hope may be helpful.
The concepts in the Letter can be practiced while still remaining a member of the church. In fact I encourage study and practice while still remaining a member, because all earthly religions are external to you and to God. The real work must be done inwardly.
For official doctrine and spiritual direction it’s essential that you visit your church leaders because they have insights I may (likely) have overlooked, and they know you personally.