Mormon Missionary Reads the CES Letter - Kolby Sorensen - 1561

When a Missionary Reads the CES Letter: One Young Latter-day Saint's Crisis of Faith

Every year, dozens of active missionaries serving for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints encounter materials that challenge the faith narrative they've been taught since childhood. The CES Letter, a 84-page detailed critique of LDS historical claims compiled by Jeremy Runnells, has become one of the most consequential documents in contemporary Mormon faith transitions. But what happens when a young missionary, fully committed and in the field, encounters this document? The story of Kolby Sorensen, featured on the Mormon Stories Podcast, offers a rare window into how doctrinal contradictions and historical omissions can unravel a lifetime of religious conditioning during one of the most vulnerable periods of a young Latter-day Saint's life.

Background: Preparation for a Mission That Never Fully Began

Kolby Sorensen grew up in Utah, the demographic heartland of Mormonism, in a conventionally faithful household. His upbringing included daily scripture reading, regular church attendance, and participation in the Church Educational System's seminary program during high school. According to the Mormon Stories Podcast episode, Sorensen's religious education followed the standard LDS template: he learned church history in carefully curated doses, with controversial topics like polygamy presented as settled matters requiring little explanation.

Seminary, the release-time religious education program unique to Utah and a handful of other states, played a formative role. Unlike Sunday worship, seminary integrated Church doctrine into public high school education, a practice that raised few eyebrows in Utah but would face constitutional challenges elsewhere. Sorensen described his seminary experience as positive, yet his recollection reveals the instructional strategies employed: teachers would avoid direct statements about difficult historical topics, instead guiding students to arrive at approved conclusions independently.

The Inoculation Strategy: Preparing Youth for Doubt