In my last post I shared how Mormons and Evangelicals can get along. I read on another blog somewhere about a Baptist preacher a few months ago and thought this was interesting to share. This Baptist Preacher seems to have found a way to still believe in the Evangelical Jesus and the Book of Mormon Jesus. The following links are very interesting:
”The Baptist Version of the Book of Mormon“
Prophesies about the LDS church:
Staunch members of the Church of Jesus Christ may wonder how he can have a witness of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and not become one. On the other hand, Christians may wonder why he could believe in the Book of Mormon and still claim to be a Christian.
I can personally understand how he can opt not to become a member of the LDS church because there are many revelations that came after the Book of Mormon that are not included in the Book of Mormon. Many of the truths found in the Book of Mormon are found in the Bible as well.
This is yet another example of how one can bridge the gap between Mormons and Evangelical Christians.
[...] Baptist Preacher Believes in Book of Mormon I thought this was very interesting. Check this out on my site: Baptist Preacher Believes in Book of Mormon Grace for Grace [...]
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I served a mission in Georgia, and met a lot of very good baptist people. I had the impression there that if baptists were to really read the Book of Mormon that they would love it.
That was fascinating! Thanks for sharing the links.
Many years ago I met a lay member of a Methodist Church in West Virginia who taught a religion class in his church. His lessons came from the Book of Mormon, but he didn’t tell that to his class. About 12 years ago there was a version of the Book of Mormon on the web that was published by a Protestant minister. The text of the BoM is public domain, and he was able to legally have “his” version.
I’m familiar with this Baptist BoM website. I have to tell you I met a man on my mission who said he believed the BoM and D&C were scripture, but couldn’t figure out why Joseph didn’t have a revelation to tell him that worship day was the 7th day. (He was 7th Day Adventist.)
I said, “If I can find in the D&C where it says to worship on Sunday, will you be baptized?” He said he would. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to fill my end of the bargain. It is interesting to note that April 6, 1830 is a Tuesday (a point made in this week’s RS and Priesthood manual, assuming you are on the same schedule as my ward)….
There is some pretty good scriptural evidence confirming that the early Saints met on Sunday (Day of Pentecost, sacrament passed, Jesus always appeared on Sunday after Resurrection), but nothing that explicitly says “Worship on Sunday.”
Anyway, apparently at least 7th Day Adventists doesn’t have a problem with BoM as scripture….
Willow the Whisp (http://www.lds.net/WillowTheWhisp) wrote:
This interests me because years ago I knew a Baptist minister who also believed the Book of Mormon and preached some of its teachings in his sermons. I queried why he remained a Baptist minister and didn’t become LDS and there were lots of reasons. One was that he hoped he could bring his parishioners to understand that the BOM teachings are not incompatible with the Bible, one was that he would lose his job if he became LDS because his livlihood was from preaching in the Baptist church. It would have been a huge step of faith for a man with a family to support and he just didn’t have the nerve to do that.
I don’t know what ever became of him because he left the area. My late husband and I became quite friendly with the pastor who replaced him and although he didn’t accept the BOM as scripture he did accept us as Christians.
Sadly that congregation dwindled to the extent that the church has now closed down and the few that were left have joined with another denomination.
Mannisue (http://www.lds.net/mannisue) wrote:
Oh! Lynn Ridenhour! What an awesome, awesome guy. We got the opportunity to chat with him on the MADB board, and he just loves the BoM–he is very well versed in it. If anyone’s interested, just go to http://www.mormonapologetics.org and do a search for “ridenhour” for a list of threads he’s started or been involved in. They’re well worth the read.
Vanhin (http://www.lds.net/Vanhin) wrote:
Very interesting read. I liked this quote.
“Like the Bible, the central theme of the Book of Mormon is the Lordship of Jesus Christ. There are over 160 passages in the Book of Mormon that speak of the Lord Jesus Christ. There were 22 men named in the Book of Mormon who saw Christ. Some form of Christ’s name is mentioned on an average of every 1.7 verses. The New Testament mentions a form of Christ’s name on an average of every 2.1 verses. The name of the Savior appears nearly 25 percent more frequently in the Book of Mormon than in the New Testament. When we realize that a verse usually consists of one sentence, we cannot on the average read two sentences in the Book of Mormon without seeing some form of Christ’s name.
“He is Lord” rings loud and clear from its pages like a London cathedral choir harmonizing on a Sunday morning. The sound is resonant throughout the book’s pages. The Spirit’s witness is there. That same Jesus I discovered in the Bible is also present in the pages of the Book of Mormon. Praise be to His holy name!” (The Baptist Version of the Book of Mormon – by Lynn ridenhour)
Regards,
Vanhin
Interesting how you all jump on this as if it somehow proves the Book of Mormon is true. I often like to use some of the stories and characters from Les Miserables to illustrate gospel truths, does that make Les Mis true? The interesting thing about the BOM is that there is a lot that is consistent with the biblical text (and I’m not talking about the Isaiah chapters
). King Benjamin’s sermon is a wonderful read, and I would use it as a fictional illustration. Like I tell a lot of my Christian friends who have never read the BOM, it’s a good book that tells of Christ in peoples’ lives. But, in the end, passages such as Ether 15:29-31 make it hard to believe as a true record. Also, it talks about synagogues being built “after the manner of the Jews,” which seems impossible because the synagogue did not come into the Israelite story until the exilic period, and Lehi purportedly fled Jerusalem with his family before the exile. Sometimes, you just can’t get around facts.
Jack, you don’t quite have the facts right. The exile of the Northern Kingdom happened about 700 BC, where the 10 tribes were scattered. Lehi left in 600 BC, after Jeremiah was in jail. Of course he had a vision that the city was captured, with Zedekiah and company also being exiled, so it is consistent with Biblical history.
I’m not sure what you’re getting at with the Ether reference, other than chopping off the head, and struggling for breath. In France, there is a man known to be beheaded who picked up his own head. So while strange, there are stranger things that have happened. Are you familiar with the Bible story of Balaam and his talking donkey?
ama49,
Just want to let you know that I will respect your request from another article’s entry and no longer post on this site.
Can you tell me why my comment is awaiting moderation?
Ama,
What an interesting site!
A handy chart will help you see the similarities between Christianity and mormonism:
http://www.carm.org/lds/compare.htm
Hope this is helpful for you.
Eric
[...] 12, 2008 by Todd Wood Ama over at Grace for Grace brought this man to my attention. He lives in Independence, [...]
#13
I don’t see you as waiting for moderation…did you write something other than what you wrote the other day? Let me know b/c I’d be interested in hearing what you have to say.
My comment has been released, and it now appears as comment #11. Thanks for fixing it.
MH
That’s for the link, it was a good read!
Just wanted to say thanks for this link. It was very interesting to read. I liked reading through his scripture compilations on different themes. It’s also just awesome to hear someone who used to be a vociferous anti-Mormon come to testify of the Book of Mormon and the restoration through Joseph Smith…even if he misses a few things, like authority and ordinances.
m&m,
If you read the Greater Things (watch out, the guy that runs it is a known wacko) article you’ll see the Dr. Ridenour did in fact join the LDS Church but is currently not associated with it. I’m guessing that if he is missing things he’s doing so on purpose.
[...] scripture reminded me of another statement made by the Baptist Preacher who believes in the Book of Mormon, John Ridenour. In this statement, he submits that God is non-denomonational and that God [...]
Please check out my blog:
realmormonism.blogspot.com
I talk about Book of Mormon Evidences and other cool LDS stuff.
what? I am a Born Again Christian/ Baptist former mormon and this is crazy.
#23 Kim,
Why do you think this is crazy?
As a Traditional Baptist I must say there is really no way to “bridge the gap” between mormons and Baptists beliefs. They are too different. Take for example that Baptist believe that Jesus Christ paid for our sins on the cross of Calvary and that our belief in His, death, burial and resurrection through faith ALONE will get us to heaven. We also believe in ONE heaven and One Hell. There are not different levels in our belief. In our belief a person either believes and goes to heaven or suffers eternal damnation. We do not believe in the study of genealogy or baptism of the dead. As a matter of fact our scripture (mine being the King James Version only) teaches against some of those specific things. We do not believe that we can reach “godhood” through good works and that Jesus Christ was perfect because he was God in the flesh. We believe our works are as filthy rags and that we can do nothing good enough to obtain heaven and that is why Christ Jesus was sent here NOT to be an example of how we can obtain “godhood” but to be the last/final sacrifice for our sins (past present and future) so that we can go to heaven. We believe that Saved believers are the Bride of Christ mentioned in the scriptures. We do not believe in the apostasy because Christ promised in the scriptures that he would preserve his word through time. We do not believe that the Baptist were a sect/branch from the Catholic church. The KJV (The King James Version) came from the Textus Receptus (the Recieved Texts) not the Vaticanus or Sinaiticus (Roman Catholic Scriptures are taken from those two) We do not believe in a Heavenly Mother (Catholics and LDS believe in a Heavenly Mother) or that God was ever made of flesh and bones. Other than when he was Manifested in the flesh as Jesus and walked the earth. We do not believe in spirit children or that Jesus Christ was the literal son of God in that there was no Physical union between God and Mary. We believe that she conceived through the Holy Spirit not by a literal Physical encounter. We believe that the Trinity is 3 in the same and not 3 different beings/entities. I would like to mention that I am not “taking Jabs” at your beliefs in anyway at all but just pointing out some major differences in beliefs. I mean no offense and honestly only wanted to comment in a healthy and productive manner. I am a person who does have Mormon friends that I highly respect and care for as individuals. I truly believe that the vast majority of LDS believers are very good people.
#24 Jessica,
Thanks for stopping by. Those are a lot of differences. However, the point of the post was to show what we have in common. From your experience with LDS friends, what would you say are things LDS and baptists have in common?
ama49- I would have to say, Faithfulness and Similar Moral Values are something we have in common.
#27 Jessica,
I’ll agree with you on that. Something else I would say we have in common is the belief that Jesus died for our sins and through Him we are saved. True your definitions of who Jesus is and what salvation is may be different than mine, but we both believe in salvation through Jesus’ atonement nonetheless.
Another thing we both believe in: The Bible, prayer, inspiration through the Holy Spirit, and more. I would say if we really lined up our beliefs side by side we would see much more in common than differences.
Sorry it took me so long to get back with you. I apologize. I have had a busy week this past week and haven’t spent much time on here reading blogs I enjoy frequenting. You make some interesting points. In discussing our similarities I must beg the question: if you’re a Christian just like I am, does this mean that I’m a LDS just like you? If being a Christian does not make me a LDS, then there Must be Significant differences. One of the key Beliefs that many LDS believers say that they have in common with other Christians is Christ. But the Christ the LDS believer follows and the Christ that the Christian believer worships is a very different Christ indeed. The late Prophet Hinckley makes an interesting statement concerning this subject which was in a “Church News” article as follows: “In bearing testimony of Jesus Christ, President Hinckley spoke of those outside the Church who say Latter-day Saints ‘do not believe in the traditional Christ. No, I don’t. The traditional Christ of whom they speak is not the Christ of whom I speak.…’ ”—Church News, June 20, 1998, p. 7 To avoid any spirit of contention in our discussion, I think we can both come to a mutual agreement with the late Prophet’s profound statement.
#29 Jessica,
Hey I understand being busy. I haven’t had a chance to write anything for a week or so.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. There are definitely differences in what we believe about Christ and I appreciate you being diplomatic about the differences.
I feel that our relationships with Jesus are personal and what has caused you to believe what you believe and the answers to your prayers are just as real as mine. That’s the beauty of God is that he’s merciful to all of us and blesses us according to our faith in Him. I believe that we both worship the same Jesus. Even if we believe differently it is the same God who answers our prayers and who blesses us according to His will and our righteous desires.
Jessica,
I noticed you said you were Baptist, but I wanted to ask you about something you said, “our belief in His, death, burial and resurrection through faith ALONE will get us to heaven.”
I don’t claim to be an expert on the Baptist faith, but I always thought that baptism was required to get into heaven. Is this incorrect?
You highlighted several differences, and I do not want to get into any arguments. Regarding your reference to godhood, I posted some interesting quotes from ancient church fathers, especially Eastern Orthodox Fathers, which sound quite similar to the LDS position, and there are some interesting links in the comments too. I’m sure you are aware of the LDS position that certain truths were lost, and then revealed through Joseph Smith.
While you are certainly welcome to believe what you choose to believe, I just want to point out that the LDS position on godhood has some striking similarities of early Christianity from as early as the 1st and 2nd century AD. If you want to check it out, there are some interesting quotes found here.
#31, MH
Thanks for stopping by and for sharing the links!
hi my name is gavin i have done alot of reasearch and reading and the amazing thing is that the early christain church believed in alot of what the lds believe. For instance babtism for the dead for huge and you may not find it in the bible, but a small glimps but we must search deeper into the meaning of the verses, including who the apostle paul was teaching to and why. Read some of the Early church fathers teaching of how they did believe in the pre existence and also how when talking about 1 cor 15 with kinds of ressurected beings. When reading early church father interpretations and believes they believed that paul was using comparing the bodies in ressurection to the kindoms of glory. To find more of this info go to barry bickmores “mormonism and early christianity” site. Sorry i am driffting from the point of this website . And please to critisism lets all love
[...] learning that he isn’t currently a member of the LDS church it reminded me of the Baptist Preacher who believes in the Book of Mormon and preaches it to his [...]