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Missouri Mob Descendant Apologizes to Mormons
For Immediate Release
Jan. 24, 2005
By Greater Things News Service
(Not officially affiliated with Ezekiel Conference)
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Lynn Ridenhour addresses
the Ezekiel Conference at the
Unitarian Church on Highland
Drive in Salt Lake City,
January 22, 2005
click
for high-res
Lynn Ridenhour with Sterling
Allan a Mormon descendant,
who put his arm around
Ridenhour while he was
seeking to regain his
composure while tearfully
reading the Statement of
Repentance..
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SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- Southern Baptist Minister, Lynn Ridenhour, issued a
tearful public apology Saturday to the Mormons for the actions of his ancestors
in persecuting and driving the Mormons from Missouri in the 1800's. Speaking at
the invitation of the Ezekiel Seminar in Salt Lake City on Jan. 22, 2005,
Ridenhour read a prepared statement which was warmly received by the audience of
160 predominantly Mormon participants, who embraced him and offered their
forgiveness in turn.
Ridenhour's statement said that though he was raised and trained to speak
against the Mormons as a cult, he came to see that while their beliefs are
different, they are not a cult.
Having discovered in his family history that his Missouri ancestors "were
involved in the Mormon War, running the Mormons out of the state," he took
occasion in his speaking engagement to offer the apology on behalf of his
ancestors and to ask for forgiveness.
Ridenhour presently resides in Independence, Missouri, where he leads a
charismatic revival that includes an honored place for the Book of Mormon.
The "Statement of Repentance" was read in the course of a lecture
titled, "I'm looking for a church," in which he itemized five aspects
which all turned out to be features of the LDS Church at the time of Joseph
Smith: Manifest presence of God, taking God out of the "box",
prophetic, welcomes signs and wonders, worshippers.
Ridenhour told of going through accounts of Mormon History and documenting the
number of manifestations of the various gifts of the spirit, from speaking in
tongues, to raising the dead, healing the sick and appearances of angels. He
also told of his experience reading the Book of Mormon for the first time.
"It was like being born again -- again!" "The Book of Mormon is
more Baptist than the Baptist hymnal," he said, referencing the core
Baptists doctrines propounded there.
He was recently contacted by a key leader figure in the Pentecostal church who
asked him if he really believed in the Book of Mormon, and then confessed that
he too has been a believer for many years, but has not been able to come out of
the closet because of his position in the Pentecostal church. Ridenhour has
scheduled a time not long from now to have this minister come to Independence
and go on record publicly as a Book of Mormon believer. Being over some 168
congregations, his confession ought to turn some heads.
At the end of the conference, Ridenhour ministered to
the group assembled, performing several miracles of healing and giving "a
word of knowledge" to numerous people who were astonished at the accuracy
of the words of inspired wisdom being spoken to them that were so specific and
timely for their unique situations. One LDS woman spoke in tongues as she was
filled with the Holy Ghost, which was then interpreted to her great joy and
weeping. Not all who sought healings were healed on the spot, but were promised
they could be healed.
This was around the 18th Ezekiel Conference to be held, and the first time they
had this kind of open manifestation of such miracles in their midst. The
conferences commenced about three years ago because of many people being touched
by an account of a ten-year-old girl who died from a diabetic coma and returned
from death without the veil, who apparently has continued to have near daily
encounters with Jesus on a level of familiarity surpassing what most people have
in a best friend or parent. The purpose of the ongoing conferences is to teach
about the gifts of the spirit and foster their identification and development in
the lives of people for the blessing of mankind.
This was the first conference that Ridenhour attended, having been introduced
to conference founder and director, Doug Mendenhall.
Ridenhour said that the "two sticks" prophecy in Ezekiel is not just
about the Bible and the Book of Mormon becoming one in the hand, but that the
people of the Bible and the people of the Book of Mormon will become one as
well.
"In Old Testament times, God manifest his glory in the cloud, but not his
person. In New Testament times, God manifest his person but not his
glory. In our day, he is going to manifest both his glory and his
person."
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REFERENCE MATERIAL
Full "Statement of Repentance" by Lynn Ridenhour
http://www.greaterthings.com/Ridenhour/Statement_of_Repentance/
Lynn Ridenhour's Winepress Ministries
http://www.greaterthings.com/Ridenhour/
Ezekiel Conference -- independent coverage
http://www.greaterthings.com/EzekielConference/
Denise Mendenhall -- Recovers from Coma with No Veil - Ten-year-old
girl dies from a diabetic coma. She chooses to come back, but has no veil
upon returning. She converses freely with Jesus, sees auras, travels in
the spirit, sees departed and pre-born spirits.
http://www.greaterthings.com/NDE/Denise_Mendenhall/
The Mormon Purge - Documenting the plague of Excommunications in the early
1990's of hundreds of conservative Mormons.
http://www.greaterthings.com/Books/MormonPurge/
CONTACTS
Jesus Christ -- get a personal connection!
Doug Mendenhall <halmendenhal@aol.com>
Ezekiel Conference founder and director
435-462-2543
Sterling D. Allan --
GreaterThings.com
Newsletter
Page Created January 24, 2005
Page last updated February 27, 2009
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