CES Letter — Theology

Jeremy Runnells wanted an explanation, not an excommunication. In February 2012, the seventh-generation Mormon (Eagle Scout, returned missionary, BYU alumnus, temple-married) experienced what he describes as an awakening to the LDS Church's truth crisis. By March 2013, he had compiled his theological doubts into a document intended for one reader: a CES director who promised answers. That response never arrived. Instead, the CES Letter metastasized into a global phenomenon, translated into Portuguese, Japanese, German, and Swedish, read by hundreds of thousands wrestling with the same question Runnells posed. If the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints possesses eternal, unchanging doctrine, why does its theological history read like a record of constant revision?

Background: A Homework Assignment That Went Public

Runnells wrote the original document in three weeks between March 22 and April 13, 2013. He posted a draft to Reddit seeking feedback before sending it to the CES director, intending only to clarify his own position before the meeting. When the director failed to respond despite multiple follow-ups, and when FairMormon began publishing attacks against him months later, Runnells released the letter publicly.

The document emerged from authentic Mormon credentials. Runnells served an ASL mission, achieved the President's Mastery Program, studied at BYU Jerusalem, and received a patriarchal blessing affirming his faithfulness. He was not an outsider sniping at the faith but an insider who discovered that the theological furniture had been rearranged while he was away on his mission.

Key Theological Claims and Historical Contradictions

The CES Letter does not invent theological problems. It catalogs them. Runnells organizes his critique around several pillars that challenge the LDS narrative of restoration and continuity.