CES Letter is one Latter-Day Saint's honest quest to get official answers from the LDS Church on its troubling origins, history, and practices. Jeremy Runnells was offered an opportunity to discuss his own doubts with a director of the Church Educational System (CES) and was assured that his doubts could be resolved. After reading Jeremy's letter, the director promised him a response.
No response ever came.
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April 21, 2019
CES Letter has been coded into HTML to make it easier for readers to research links and to quickly find and link to information within the letter. Additionally, HTML CES Letter makes the letter more mobile-friendly.
Click to read CES Letter in HTML
HTML CES Letter
December 3, 2017
New tone, new design, new paperback book, new PDF, new ePub and more. We will be adding more goodies such as HTML/Audio/Kindle and more in the future.
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August 10, 2017
Two new pages added to website to clarify and defend CES Letter and Jeremy Runnells from false claims and attacks:
Frequently Asked Questions
Common Attacks Against CES Letter and Jeremy Runnells
See Links
July 29, 2017
Rebuttal to Amateur Mormon Apologist Blogger's Lies and Slander of Jeremy Runnells and CES Letter.
Read Debunking
April 17, 2016
See Recording and Details
view all updates
“Runnells’ CES Letter presents many historical issues concerning LDS history, which for many members has been a wake-up call. The letter deserves to be read, both in and out of the LDS community. Read with an open mind and you will understand why many members are asking questions.”
“Jeremy Runnells’ CES Letter is an excellent summary of the foundational problems of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Given the generous amount of time, energy, and money donated to the LDS Church, members owe it to themselves to take a serious look beyond what is taught in Church meetings. I would begin with CES Letter.”
“Meticulously researched, this book represents Jeremy’s sincere, heartfelt, and herculean effort to gather and discern the basic evidence regarding LDS church origins. It is an incredible labor of love ... for truth. Mormon apologists have tried—and failed—to discredit CES Letter. If you want to quickly learn the main historical and scientific issues with LDS church truth claims, I know of no other resource—on the Internet or in print—that is more accurate, concise, and yet comprehensive. I highly recommend this book.”
Born and raised in Southern California, Jeremy is a seventh generation Mormon of Pioneer heritage who reached every Mormon youth milestone. An Eagle Scout, Returned Missionary, BYU alumnus, Jeremy was married in the San Diego Temple with expectations and plans of living Mormonism for the rest of his life.
In February 2012, Jeremy experienced an awakening to the LDS Church's truth crisis, which subsequently led to a faith transition that summer. In the spring of 2013, Jeremy was approached and asked by a CES Director to share his questions and concerns about the LDS Church's origins, history, and current practices. In response, Jeremy wrote what later became publicly known as the CES Letter (originally titled Letter to a CES Director).
The CES Director responded that he read the "very well written" letter and that he would provide Jeremy with a response. No response ever came.
Several unofficial Mormon apologists, including FairMormon, have provided responses to CES Letter:
Jeremy's response to FairMormon:
The only official response, to date, is the series of recent essays by the LDS Church, which is available on the Church’s own lds.org website.
A comprehensive critique of each essay is available here on MormonThink.com.
Jeremy’s rebuttals to other Mormon apologist arguments:
A Zombie’s Reflections on That Mormon Apologist’s Reflections
Jeremy’s rebuttal to Daniel C. Peterson’s FairMormon Some Reflections on That Letter to a CES Director presentation.
The Book of Abraham: “Except for Those Willfully Blind, the Case is Closed”
Jeremy’s rebuttal to Brian M. Hauglid’s Jeremy Runnells and the Book of Abraham essay.
Jeremy’s rebuttal to FairMormon’s Kevin Christensen’s Eye of the Beholder essay.
It takes a lot of time, effort, and money to provide quality information in a quality way. It also takes a lot of resources to help those who have questions and who are trying to liberate themselves and their loved ones, while keeping their dignities intact. We want to be in the position to help, and you can help make that possible.
Your generous donations are tax deductible and will go a long way in helping us to continue to help the honest-in-heart seekers.
CES Letter Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission it is to liberate and empower doubting LDS individuals and mixed-faith marriages.
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