When was the CES letter written?

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Todd Noall

Todd Noall

Source Expert

Todd Noall is an author and religious scholar at Mormonism Explained with a focus on the history and theology of religion.

Fact Checked by Kevin Prince

(Image source: BookofMormonCentral.org)

After discovering what the CES Letter is, one of the other significant questions surrounding it is when was the CES Letter written? In March 2013, Jeremy Runnells began drafting a letter at the invitation of a CES director and friend of Runnell’s grandfather. Runnells letter outlined his issues with the Mormon Church. He shared a draft of the document on the ex-Mormon Reddit asking for feedback and advice, apparently on how to make his arguments irrefutable. 

In April 2013, Runnells completed his letter, which he titled, CES Letter: Why I Lost My Testimony. Early in April, Runnells posted his letter on Reddit and invited fellow members of the ex-Mormon forum to “personalize it to yourselves to give to your TBM [True Believing Mormon] loved ones.” Later in April, Runnells sent his letter to the CES director, who was a friend of his grandfather. He never received a response. In August 2013, Runnells posted the CES Letter on a new website cesletter.com.

On February 11, 2015, Runnells wrote on the ex-Mormon Reddit that he thought the subtitle of the CES Letter, “Why I Lost My Testimony,” was “too scary or off-putting” to the people who were considering reading the letter. He asked the ex-Mormon forum members if they had any better subtitle suggestions. Runnells ended up dropping the subtitle entirely.

A new version of the CES Letter, which Runnells called the CES Letter 2.0, was released on the CES Letter website on December 3, 2017. According to the website, the major change was a new, softened tone. Readers have compared the first version of the CES Letter to the 2.0 version and found that many of the original CES Letter’s sources, which have been debunked, were removed, and new sources, whether they fit the argument or not, have replaced them.
So, when was the CES Letter written? It was written from March 2013 to December 2017.

By Todd Noall, Source Expert

Todd Noall is an author and religious scholar at Mormonism Explained with a focus on the history and theology of religion.

Fact Checked by Mr. Kevin Prince, Source Expert

Kevin Prince is a religious scholar and host of the Gospel Learning Youtube channel. His channel has garnered over 41,000 subscribers and accumulated over 4.5 million views. Mr. Prince also created the Gospel Learning App, a reliable platform where individuals seeking truth can access trustworthy answers to religious questions from top educators worldwide.

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