spotlight
a witness of the r estoration by Keith J. Wilson
Keith J. Wilson (keith_wilson@byu.edu) is an associate professor of ancient scripture at BYU.
Lynn and Linda Ridenhour. Photo by Keith J. Wilson.
O
n a cold, wintry Friday this
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storm in decades, resulting in the
most unusual about this meeting was
past January, Religious Education
cancellation of most incoming flights
the disposition of Ridenhour toward
faculty gathered to hear a guest
at the SLC airport (Dr. Ridenhour’s
Mormonism and more specifically
lecturer, Dr. Lynn Ridenhour, address
flight among those). So with impro-
toward the Book of Mormon. For
them. It was an unusual meeting
vised tickets, Lynn and his wife, Linda,
about an hour that morning, this
for a number of reasons. For start-
headed for the Kansas City airport
Baptist preacher recounted his
ers, Dr. Ridenhour was perhaps the
at 3 a.m. on Friday morning, hoping
conversion to the Book of Mormon
first ordained Baptist minister to
to find a place on a red-eye special
and explained why he preaches in
address Religious Education faculty
bound for Salt Lake City. Not only
his Baptist congregations from both
on our campus. Also unusual was the
did they catch one, but they arrived
the Bible and the Book of Mormon.
weather that morning. The day before,
in SLC at 8:20, and by 9:15 they were
Needless to say, he was warmly
Provo had experienced the worst ice
addressing our faculty. But what was
received that cold morning by a
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