Baptist minister embraces Book of Mormon

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Lynn Ridenhour’s a Baptist minister who claims to believe the Book of Mormon is true:
I’m a licensed Southern Baptist minister and I embrace the Book of Mormon.
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That is, I believe the truths recorded in it. No, I’m not a convert to the Mormon faith, nor am I a member of any particular “spin-off” restoration group such as the RLDS (Reorganized Latter-day Saints), Hedrikites, or Strangites. I’m still a Baptist minister. To be exact, I’m “charismatic Baptist.” That is, I still embrace the “born again” experience. I still believe you’re saved by grace. By the shed blood of Christ. Salvation is by faith alone in His finished work on Calvary. I still believe in the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit. I believe and embrace those cardinal doctrines of Protestantism.
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And you know what?…
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I still believe the Book of Mormon too!
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I know. I can hear you now. “…A charismatic Baptist minister who believes the Book of Mormon?! Impossible. That’s like a Protestant Pope…” No, it’s not. It’s not a contradiction.
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The two go hand in hand, really–Protestant doctrine and the Book of Mormon. They’re not at odds. The Book of Mormon is filled with Protestant cardinal doctrines, believe it or not. In fact, I discovered, the Book of Mormon is more “Baptist” than the Baptist hymnal in places. I know that’s hard to believe, but it’s so. I read the Book from cover to cover and found as a Baptist minister, there is absolutely nothing in it that contradicts the Bible.
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Here’s the site:

centerplace.org/library/bofm/baptistversionofbofm.htm

He continues as a Protestant even though he believes the Book of Mormon. I don’t think that he embraces any of the rest of Mormonism. I can’t imagine a Catholic could believe in the Book of Mormon and remain Catholic.
 
hi. does the article state how his congregation feels about his views? 🙂
 
It doesn’t surprise me that an American Protestant would find such a book agreeable to his beliefs.
 
RebeccaJ said:
It doesn’t surprise me that an American Protestant would find such a book agreeable to his beliefs.
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Yes, I know this website where this extract is from.

I have read the whole article.

And actually, I have to agree this Baptist pastor: The BoM (as I have also read it) does really in no single point contradict the bible and is a very “protestant book” with lots of parts in it that are in the Baptist doctrine, but not explicitly in the bible (like the prohibition of the child-baptism in Moroni 8:11-12)

Although I of course don’t think that it describes the real history of the ancestors of the present day Native Americans. 😉
But I really value the BoM for it’s theology.

Esdra
 
BartBurk said:
Lynn Ridenhour’s a Baptist minister who claims to believe the Book of Mormon is true:

Here’s the site:

centerplace.org/library/bofm/baptistversionofbofm.htm

He continues as a Protestant even though he believes the Book of Mormon. I don’t think that he embraces any of the rest of Mormonism. I can’t imagine a Catholic could believe in the Book of Mormon and remain Catholic.
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I wonder if any of the commenters have read the Book of Mormon? It’s not all that disagreeable, besides being historically false, it’s rather innocuous. Most of the disagreeable doctrines in Mormonism come from Pearl of Great Price, Doctrine and Covenants, and The Articles of Faith, as well as the teachings of their supposedly inspired leaders.

What this particular minister seems to be saying is that he agrees with the moral/ethical teachings found or inferred in the Book of Mormon, which is not all that surprising, as it reads much like the Old Testament histories and prophets. The reason, of course, is that Smith ripped off stories from the Bible, changed the names and applied his overactive imagination to create fantastic scenarios.

I think this is still irresponsible to say for any Christian minister, because there is no historical accuracy to the Book of Mormon.
 
BartBurk said:
Lynn Ridenhour’s a Baptist minister who claims to believe the Book of Mormon is true:

Here’s the site:

centerplace.org/library/bofm/baptistversionofbofm.htm

He continues as a Protestant even though he believes the Book of Mormon. I don’t think that he embraces any of the rest of Mormonism. I can’t imagine a Catholic could believe in the Book of Mormon and remain Catholic.
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If I remember correctly, he never said that he believed in the BoM.

I mean, I also don’t believe in it to be an inspired part of scripture (except the parts which JS has copied word for word from the Holy Bible) but I value it because of its theology. 😉
And I guess said Baptist pastor thinks the same…

Esdra
 
ckempston said:
I wonder if any of the commenters have read the Book of Mormon? It’s not all that disagreeable, besides being historically false, it’s rather innocuous. Most of the disagreeable doctrines in Mormonism come from Pearl of Great Price, Doctrine and Covenants, and The Articles of Faith, as well as the teachings of their supposedly inspired leaders.

What this particular minister seems to be saying is that he agrees with the moral/ethical teachings found or inferred in the Book of Mormon, which is not all that surprising, as it reads much like the Old Testament histories and prophets. The reason, of course, is that Smith ripped off stories from the Bible, changed the names and applied his overactive imagination to create fantastic scenarios.

I think this is still irresponsible to say for any Christian minister, because there is no historical accuracy to the Book of Mormon.
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Read it? I used to teach it in Sunday School when I was LDS living in Provo, Ut. Some of us are former Mormons ckemptson. So we know of what we are talking about.

I had friends who were part of BYU’s “Lamanite Generation” performance group (Similar to the Young Ambassadors but with the cultural emphasis on Latin, Native American and Polynesian music and dance)

They were members of the Lamanite Ward at BYU. (For those who dont understand LDS terminology a ward is the LDS equivelant of a parish)

👍
 
Present-day Lamanites will thank him.
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Does that mean no-one? 😃 The best of the BoM describes the apostasy of the LDS church.

The Jewish origins theory was invented to make Naives fully human according to a literal reading of Genesis. The BoM again dehumanized them by declaring them responsible for the genocide of the original white inhabitants of the Americas. And Mormons believe that people are responsible (and should suffer) for the sins of their ancestors. (Why else do they practice baptism for the dead?)
 
LongJourney said:
Does that mean no-one? 😃 The best of the BoM describes the apostasy of the LDS church.

The Jewish origins theory was invented to make Naives fully human according to a literal reading of Genesis. The BoM again dehumanized them by declaring them responsible for the genocide of the original white inhabitants of the Americas. And Mormons believe that people are responsible (and should suffer) for the sins of their ancestors. (Why else do they practice baptism for the dead?)
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When I read the Book I understood it to say that it was a second witness to Jesus Christ; that he was the promised Messiah, the Son of God. As I read the book I did not find anything that really contradicted those truths. We may disagree with it from a historical position, but what it teaches is very Christian.

Mormons do not believe that we are punished for the sins of our ancestors. They believe that we are only punished for our own sins. It is my understanding that they baptize for the dead because they believe that baptism is required to enter heaven. They seek to have all their ancestors baptized in order for them to be able to enter heaven. It is not a belief that is practiced by the vast majority of Christianity, but I certainly never degrade it. I equate it to me praying for the souls of those who have died. Would that all could enter heaven and dwell with God. Just as Catholics have practices that are not spelled out clearly in the Bible, so the Mormons do too. I find beauty in all things that strive to bring people to Christ.

Let’s make sure we know about the beliefs of others before we begin to criticize or belittle them. When we criticize from a position of ignorance, we begin to look less than we are.
 
The Old Testament has instances of the faith of the devout few upholding the majority that is not devout…and that it is good to pray for the dead.

I also think the Mormons should drop the whole accusation that we are apostate…because there is no substance to such a claim…

If the Mormons could stop defining the rest of us as apostate, and drop the lost Jewish tribe in America…as well as all the other outlandish claims by Smith------after all, to help the common good we want to share solid thinking and aspirations with others…it would facilitate better interfaith relations.

Not all creeds are equal. We don’t want to support certain ideas…I think of what happened to fundamentalist Christianity in the South and the racism and religious bigotry in the past using the Bible…Joseph Smith did the same. they are now whitewashing alot within Mormonism…

It goes both ways.
 
Mormons do not believe that we are punished for the sins of our ancestors. We believe that we are only punished for our own sins…
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You need to be more honest in who you are.
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Once people become Mormons, they are no longer held responsible for the sins of their ancestors. Proxy baptism of their ancestors reinforces this.
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Point three-- Mormons are expected to have multiple contradictory beliefs. What is said in one source is often contradicted in another source. Therefore missionaries can quote from the source that most reflects the beliefs of the pigeon.
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Let’s make sure we know about the beliefs of others before we begin to criticize or belittle them. When we criticize from a position of ignorance, we begin to look less than we are.
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Can Mormons do the same in their criticism of Catholicism?

Maybe you ought to reference this comment to those who made life uncomfortable for me because I am Catholic, have an exceptional (LOL) son, refuse to participate in racist activities, and am a descendant of a person who carried a gun to the Carthage Jail on June 27, 1844?

Perhaps Mormons are less than they claim to be.
 
KathleenGee said:
The Old Testament has instances of the faith of the devout few upholding the majority that is not devout…and that it is good to pray for the dead.

I also think the Mormons should drop the whole accusation that we are apostate…because there is no substance to such a claim…

If the Mormons could stop defining the rest of us as apostate, and drop the lost Jewish tribe in America…as well as all the other outlandish claims by Smith------after all, to help the common good we want to share solid thinking and aspirations with others…it would facilitate better interfaith relations.

Not all creeds are equal. We don’t want to support certain ideas…I think of what happened to fundamentalist Christianity in the South and the racism and religious bigotry in the past using the Bible…Joseph Smith did the same. they are now whitewashing alot within Mormonism…

It goes both ways.
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If they did this they would essentially cease to exist as any kind of religious force. Their exceptionalism is what makes them viable. The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of LDS followed this track, became the Community of Christ and is in danger of imploding completely.
 
I read something about the gentleman years ago…this has been circulating for about 5-8 years…he is also an “esotericist” of sorts…very much into visions, “enochian keys” and much esoteric speculation and channeled works such as the.“Aquarian Gospel of Jesus Christ”…etc.
 
Every thinking person knows BoM is a fabrication but hey, it’s a free world. He might like to read Ron Hubbard’s stuff as well.
 
tobbias88 said:
Every thinking person knows BoM is a fabrication but hey, it’s a free world. He might like to read Ron Hubbard’s stuff as well.
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Also RL Hubbard has some truth in his books!

Although I think you can’t compare “Dianetics” with the “Book of Mormon”.

Of course is the BoM a fabrication! But a good one…
And I value it because of it’s theology and wisdom.

Hey, guess what, there are even “fabrications” in the Holy Bible:

I’ve read once, don’t know where, that the Book of Job is a “fabrication” meaning that the story around Job never occurred but that it is simply a made-up story as it is often the case with wisdom-literature to illustrate “wisdom” (which has a much broader sense among the ancient Jews, and in fact the whole ancient orient, than it has now!)
… And it’s nevertheless great to read. Ever read it?

Esdra
 
BartBurk said:
Lynn Ridenhour’s a Baptist minister who claims to believe the Book of Mormon is true:

Here’s the site:

centerplace.org/library/bofm/baptistversionofbofm.htm

He continues as a Protestant even though he believes the Book of Mormon. I don’t think that he embraces any of the rest of Mormonism. I can’t imagine a Catholic could believe in the Book of Mormon and remain Catholic.
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Wonder how he feels about the whole thing about Native Americans recieving dark skin as “punishment”. :eek:
 
SnakeMauler said:
Wonder how he feels about the whole thing about Native Americans recieving dark skin as “punishment”. :eek:
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Actually, the said Baptist minister never claimed to believe the entire BoM like LDS and other Mormon groups do!

He was more referring to theology. Please consider the other posts in this thread (on page 1!).

Why should anybody believe that JS’s made-up story is historically true? (Although, as historical research wasn’t that far in the 19th century than it is nowaday I do understand why people believed JS then…)
I guess only Mormons (with all their splitter-groups) do so…

Esdra
 
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