Appearance
CES Letter Background
The CES Letter is a privately authored document by Jeremy T. Runnells that compiles criticisms of the truth claims of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[1]
Most people encounter it as a forwarded PDF or website.
INFO
This page is orientation, not rebuttal. The detailed responses start in the topic pages that follow.
What does "CES" mean?
"CES" stands for the Church Educational System — the Church organization responsible for Seminaries and Institutes and related religious education programs.[2]
The CES Letter is called that because it was addressed to a CES employee. It is not a publication from CES, and it is not an official Church document.
A "CES Director" is not the same thing as "the Church"
It's easy to hear "CES Director" and imagine the letter was sent to Church headquarters or to a general authority.
The sources don't support that. The recipient is not named anywhere in the PDF — the letter is addressed to "[Name of CES Director Removed]."[3] What we know is that he was a family acquaintance of Runnells' grandfather who worked for CES.[4] But working for CES does not give someone authority to issue official doctrine or policy on behalf of the Church.
| What a reader might assume | What the origin story describes |
|---|---|
| A formal, institutional review | An informal outreach to a family acquaintance |
| An official Church response | A personal reply from one CES employee |
| A closed correspondence | A document shared publicly online within weeks |
WARNING
Nothing about the CES Letter is "CES-produced." It isn't a Church Educational System publication, curriculum, or official statement.
Who wrote it?
Jeremy T. Runnells authored the CES Letter. He describes it as "one Latter-day Saint's honest quest to get official answers from the LDS Church on its troubling origins, history, and practices."[1:1]
Runnells is a seventh-generation Latter-day Saint with pioneer heritage tracing back to Nauvoo.[5] He grew up in Southern California, served a mission in New York City, and graduated from BYU with a degree in marketing in 2006. His professional career has been in digital marketing and conversion rate optimization.[5:1]
A compilation, not a solo investigation
In his earliest Reddit post about the letter, Runnells described what he'd done as "compiled" and wrote: "I stand on the shoulders of giants."[4:1] Years later, when others called the letter "crowd-sourced," he pushed back: "I wrote that entire document myself."[6]
Both things can be true. The writing is his. Most of the arguments are not — they were assembled from existing critical writings about the Church into a single, shareable package.[7]
This doesn't make any individual claim false. But it explains why the letter ranges so widely: it's less like one person's research and more like a greatest-hits compilation of criticisms.
The Origin Story
What the CES Letter says
The CES Letter's own introduction frames things this way: Runnells was a lifelong believer who began having doubts in 2012 after reading about members "leaving in droves" over Church history. His grandfather connected him with a CES director who offered to answer his questions. He compiled his concerns and sent them as a letter in April 2013. The CES director never responded.[3:1]
The introduction is direct about where he stood:
"I'm just going to be straightforward in sharing my concerns. Obviously, I'm a disaffected member who lost his testimony so it's no secret which side I'm on at the moment. All this information is a result of over a year of intense research and an absolute rabid obsession with Joseph Smith and Church history."[3:2]
That framing — honest, upfront, not hiding anything — is part of what makes the CES Letter effective. Readers feel they're hearing from someone like them.
But the document's own history tells a more complicated story.
What the record shows
The earliest public trail of the CES Letter is a pair of Reddit threads — posted by Runnells under the username "Kolobot" — that predate the letter being sent to the CES director.
| Date | What's publicly documented |
|---|---|
| Mar 26, 2013 | Runnells posts a "rough draft" PDF to r/exmormon asking for "feedback/advice."[4:2] |
| Apr 12, 2013 | Posts a "final draft" and invites users to "personalize it for yourselves to give to your TBM loved ones."[8] |
| Late Apr 2013 | Runnells later states he emailed the PDF to the CES director "in late April 2013."[9] |
The rough draft was workshopped on an ex-Mormon forum before it was sent to its stated recipient. And it was offered as a shareable template almost immediately — not the behavior of someone waiting for private answers.
A 2024 analysis by Michael W. Peterson and Jacob Z. Hess documents a broader pattern: Runnells was an active, public critic of the Church for months before the letter was written, posting under the "Kolobot" account on r/exmormon as early as July 2012.[7:1]
None of this makes the questions themselves invalid — many are worth taking seriously, which is what this site does. But the "just asking questions" framing should be taken with a grain of salt.
Bottom line: From the beginning, the CES Letter lived in two modes at once: a personal letter and a public, shareable document drafted with input from an ex-Mormon forum.[4:3][8:1]
Did the CES Director ever respond?
In the PDF's "About the Author" section, Runnells states that the CES director said he would respond, but "no response ever came."[10]
The recipient is not named in the PDF, and the CES Letter itself does not include any written reply from him.[3:3] If a response exists privately, it has not been widely published in a way that can be independently verified.
How the CES Letter Has Evolved
The CES Letter is not a static document. It has been revised, rebranded, and expanded over more than a decade.
CES Letter 2.0
In December 2017, Runnells released version 2.0. The biggest stated change: tone. He described going through the entire document with a "fine-tooth comb" to remove snarky or hostile language, saying "there are no longer any tonal issues in the CES Letter."[11]
The document expanded from roughly 84 pages to roughly 130. Arguments have been added, removed, and softened. The version you're reading may not be the version someone else read five years ago.
INFO
On this site, CES Letter citations like "Runnells, CES Letter (2017), 'Book of Abraham,' p. 36" always refer to the April 2013 / Updated October 2017 PDF edition.
A full-time operation
The CES Letter Foundation is a registered U.S. nonprofit (tax-exempt since June 2015).[12]
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Legal name | Ces Letter Foundation |
| EIN | 47-4179614 |
| Tax-exempt since | June 2015[12:1] |
The project now includes a dedicated website, a paperback edition, podcast appearances, and continuous revisions. Whatever you think of the CES Letter, it's a sustained publishing effort — not a private email that leaked online.
A shifting stated purpose
Runnells has described the CES Letter's purpose differently at different times:
| Year | Stated purpose |
|---|---|
| 2013 | "I wrote this for my kids who one day are going to ask their dad why he left the faith."[13] |
| 2015 | The "target audience are the fence sitters" and "doubters" — "TBMs are not my target audience because they're not ready for it."[14] |
| Late 2015 | "I'm obsessed with alleviating suffering and helping to liberate the minds of human beings from a cult."[15] |
The framing evolved to match the growing audience.
Why This Matters
None of this means Runnells is insincere. People can genuinely believe in what they're doing and still present their work in a way that's more persuasive than honest. But a document that:
- was drafted on an ex-Mormon forum before being sent to its stated recipient,
- was written by someone already months into public criticism of the Church,
- is maintained as a full-time nonprofit,
- and whose own author describes its audience as "fence sitters" and "doubters" —
reads differently once you know that.
The claims still deserve honest answers. That's what the rest of this site provides.
Bottom line: "Sincere questions from a struggling believer" is a marketing choice, not an accurate description of how the document was created.[7:2]
"Church Educational System," The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church-education?lang=eng ↩︎
Runnells, CES Letter (2017), "Introduction," pp. 5–7 (addressed to "[Name of CES Director Removed]"). ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
Kolobot (Jeremy Runnells), "Need Feedback! My TBM grandpa asked me to speak to his CES Director friend about my concerns…," r/exmormon (Reddit), March 26, 2013; archived at the Wayback Machine (capture April 25, 2016). https://web.archive.org/web/20160425195653/https://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/1b12sr/need_feedback_my_tbm_grandpa_asked_me_to_speak_to/ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
Jeremy Runnells, personal bio on cesletter.org; archived at B. H. Roberts Foundation. https://bhroberts.org/records/qKBLnb-JcfBub/jeremy_runnells_personal_bio_on_cesletter_org ↩︎ ↩︎
"Jeremy Runnells affirms he wrote the CES Letter and it was not crowd-sourced," B. H. Roberts Foundation, referencing a Reddit comment dated April 14, 2021. https://bhroberts.org/records/qKBLnb-cbd9dc/jeremy_runnells_affirms_he_wrote_the_ces_letter_and_it_was_not_crowd_sourced ↩︎
Michael W. Peterson & Jacob Z. Hess, "Were these ever the sincere questions of an earnest truth seeker? Ten lines of evidence that document the true origins and purpose of the 'CES Letter,'" Publish Peace (Substack), Aug. 6, 2024. https://www.publishpeace.net/p/were-these-ever-the-sincere-questions ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
Kolobot (Jeremy Runnells), "Follow-up from TBM Grandpa's CES Director friend…Final draft of letter is done!…," r/exmormon (Reddit), April 12, 2013; archived at the Wayback Machine (capture June 24, 2015). https://web.archive.org/web/20150624152744/https://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/1c6dyx/followup_from_tbm_grandpas_ces_director_friend/ ↩︎ ↩︎
Jeremy Runnells, comment (Reddit), quoted/transcribed at B. H. Roberts Foundation, "Jeremy Runnells recalls the circumstances and timing…" https://bhroberts.org/records/qKBLnb-H6hn7b/jeremy_runnells_recalls_the_circumstances_and_timing_surrounding_the_creation_of_the_ces_letter_and_the_fair_debunking_content_in_a_comment_on_reddit ↩︎
Runnells, CES Letter (2017), "About the Author," p. 135 ("Unfortunately, no response ever came."). ↩︎
"CES Letter 2.0 announcement," B. H. Roberts Foundation, Dec. 3, 2017. https://bhroberts.org/records/qKBLnb-wyyaVb/ces_letter_2_0_launches_on_cesletter_org ↩︎
"Ces Letter Foundation," ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer (EIN 47-4179614; tax-exempt since June 2015). https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/474179614 ↩︎ ↩︎
Kolobot (Jeremy Runnells), comment on "Excellent letter to a CES Director setting out major issues," r/exmormon (Reddit), April 23, 2013; archived at B. H. Roberts Foundation. https://bhroberts.org/records/qKBLnb-6MTb1b/jeremy_runnells_states_he_wrote_ces_letter_for_my_kids_who_one_day_are_going_to_ask_their_dad_why_he_left_the_faith ↩︎
Kolobot (Jeremy Runnells), comment on "My Mom agreed to read CES letter and then didn't bother bc first page on site was asking for money," r/exmormon (Reddit), July 26, 2015; archived at B. H. Roberts Foundation. https://bhroberts.org/records/qKBLnb-NILXAc/runnells_identifies_the_target_audience_of_the_ces_letter_as_doubting_members_or_tbms_who_have_accepted_the_possibility_that_the_church_is_not_true ↩︎
Kolobot (Jeremy Runnells), comment on "Someone I know published this…," r/exmormon (Reddit), October 26, 2015; archived at B. H. Roberts Foundation. https://bhroberts.org/records/qKBLnb-ulR8ic/jeremy_runnells_explains_why_he_went_full_time_with_the_ces_letter_project_and_that_he_is_obsessed_with_alleviating_suffering_and_helping_to_liberate_the_minds_of_human_beings_from_a_cult_in_a_comment_on_reddit ↩︎