The CES Letter: Honest Inquiry or Harmful Rhetoric?

The CES Letter is one of the most frequently discussed documents associated with faith crises among members and critics of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Written by Jeremy Runnells, the Letter compiles a long list of historical, doctrinal, and cultural criticisms of the Church. It has been a reason many people cite for leaving the faith. 

Because of this response, the question naturally arises: Was the CES Letter truly written as a good-faith critique as the author claims, or is it a piece of persuasive rhetoric designed to destroy readers’ beliefs?

Runnells’ Narrative: “Just Asking Questions”

What is the CES Letter Mormon about? Jeremy Runnells frames the CES Letter as a heartfelt attempt to get answers during a painful faith crisis. According to Saints Unscripted, Runnells began to experience a crisis of faith in early 2012 after encountering information about Church history that challenged his testimony. By the summer of that year, he no longer believed the Church was true.

In early 2013, a Church Education System (CES) director who knew Runnells’ grandfather invited Runnells to send a list of concerns so he could attempt to help. Runnells responded with an 84-page list of criticisms. Later, Runnells published the Letter online, eventually expanding it to 138 pages and updating it for a public audience.

If this were the whole story, one might reasonably conclude that the CES Letter could represent a sincere attempt by a struggling believer to regain footing, lending more credibility to Runnells’ arguments. However, other statements by Runnells complicate that picture substantially, revealing dishonest and manipulative intentions.

The Timeline: A Different Motivation Emerges

Mormonr.org provides a detailed chronology that sheds light on what Runnells’ intentions were before the Mormon CES Letter became public.

• February 2012: Runnells experiences a faith crisis.
  
• Summer 2012: He states he no longer believes.
  
• October 9, 2012: He publishes a satirical open letter to Apostle Quentin L. Cook stating Runnells’ testimony was “destroyed by falsehoods I found on the evil internetz.”
  
• November 15, 2012: On an ex-Mormon subreddit forum, Runnells asks for advice on how to “save” his wife and children from Mormonism.
  

This is significant: months before writing the CES letter, Runnells was already openly planning to lead his family away from the Church. This directly contradicts the idea that he created the Letter while seeking to repair his own testimony.

Crowdsourcing and Rhetorical Construction

The timeline shows further evidence that the CES Letter was strategically produced for maximum influence, making its plea-for-help narrative intentionally deceptive.

• March 26, 2013: Runnells posts an early draft of the Mormon CES Letter summary on the ex-Mormon subreddit asking for feedback.
  
• April 12, 2013: He publicly invites users on the ex-Mormon subreddit to “personalize” the Letter to give to their “TBM [True Believing Mormon] loved ones.”
  
• August 2013: He launches cesletter.org to spread the document.
  
• July 2015: He states the “target audience” for the Letter is “the fence sitters,” people who are already having doubts about their faith.
  

From the beginning, Runnells involved others who had left the Church in refining the Letter and strategizing about how best to use it. As Sarah Allen notes in her CES Letter Rebuttal series on FAIR Latter-day Saints, Runnells openly discussed the structure of the document as a rhetorical strategy in these conversations. Runnells explained that he placed Book of Mormon issues first because they “hook” readers, acknowledging that starting with Joseph Smith would “doom” the Letter’s effectiveness on believers. This is the language of manipulation, not the behavior of someone seeking answers.

Manipulation, Overwhelm, and the Problem of Intent

The Letter’s long length and solely negative focus are clearly meant to overwhelm readers. The FAIR article connects the Letter’s structure to a well-known rhetorical tactic called a gish-gallop: bombarding someone with rapid-fire questions to break down their confidence. 

These techniques are explicitly described as coercive and emotionally abusive. They reveal Runnells’ deliberate intent to influence and destabilize others’ faith, all while publicly claiming he does not want to harm the Church or its members.

The Public Narrative vs. Reality

Publicly, Runnells claims that the CES Letter is not meant to attack members or destroy testimonies. He frames it as honest questions from a conflicted truth-seeker. But according to his own online statements, he:

• No longer believed months before writing the Letter
  
• Wanted advice on “saving” his family from the Church
  
• Strategically organized the Letter to “hook” hesitant readers
  
• Specifically targeted vulnerable “fence sitters”
  
• Crowdsourced its development specifically in ex-Mormon forums
  
• Coached others on how to use the Letter to draw their believing loved ones away from their faith through deceptive framing
  

These facts demonstrate a sharp contrast between the public claim of honest inquiry and the documented intention to influence, persuade, and guide others out of the Church.

This does not make Runnells a villain—he should deserve as much compassion and respect as any other human being. But compassion does not require naïveté. If the real intention of documents like the Mormon CES Letter isn’t properly understood, it leaves readers open to being manipulated.

An Honest Critique?

Is the CES Letter fair, honest criticism? Not really. The Letter was written after Runnells no longer believed, refined by ex-Mormon communities, and deliberately structured to be as persuasive as possible. Its stated purpose—seeking answers—does not align with Runnells’ own documented words and actions.

Does this mean people who read the CES Letter or struggle with it are foolish? Not at all. But it does mean that readers should understand the Letter in context. It is not a neutral document or a genuine search for clarity. It is a rhetorically engineered work created by someone who had already deconstructed, and wanted as many others as possible to do the same.

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Mormonism Explained is a resource that was designed to provide objective and factual information about Mormonism, its history, doctrines, and policies. Our team of researchers consults experts and primary sources to present factual information on a variety of topics relevant to the Mormon Church.

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