In a series on the topic of “cults,” Craig Ledbetter, pastor of Ballincollig Baptist Church, produced two lectures and documents on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As with his (pathetic) attempts to support sola scriptura (see here and here), Ledbetter shows his lack of intellectual integrity and honesty all throughout. It appears he spent the best part of an evening googling “anti-Mormonism” and copying-and-pasting information without checking sources. Regardless, here are just three claims he makes which reflect his lack of knowledge on “Mormonism” (at least he is consistent—he is just as grossly ignorant of the Bible as he is of the Latter-day Saint faith) found in this document:
Not one city has ever been found, not one river or sea, not one artefact
False. The River of Laman and its Valley of Lemuel, the burial site Nahom, and the garden spot Bountiful in the Arabian Peninsula have all been found and verified. These are all non-biblical sites, and in the case of the River of Laman and Bountiful, continue to be mocked as impossible by many critics of the Book of Mormon. In the case of Nahom, altars have been found attesting to its name pre-dating the Book of Mormon (it is referenced in the passive voice in 1 Nephi 16:34) as well as its function as a burial spot. Furthermore, the seal of Mulek, the son of Zedekiah has been recently discovered, too. While Ledbetter is clearly unaware of such, the evidence for Book of Mormon historicity continues to grow in leaps and bounds. As for the New World, readers should pick up a copy of John L’ Sorenson’s volume, Mormon’s Codex: An Ancient American Books (Deseret and the Neal A. Maxwell Institute, 2013) and Brant Gardner’s book examining the text as history, Traditions of the Fathers: The Book of Mormon as History (Greg Kofford Books, 2015). A good summary of the evidences from various aspects of the book can be seen in Echoes and Evidences of the Book of Mormon, ed. Parry et al (FARMS, 2002). This also refutes the lie by Ledbetter than Mormon scholars are “admitting” that the Book of Mormon is not historical.
Joseph Smith’s murder while he was in jail at the time is referred to as the proof that HE had saved the world, like Jesus – BY HIS OWN BLOOD!
This is a lie. Latter-day Saints attach no salvific importance to the (1) blood and/or (2) death of the prophet Joseph Smith. I openly challenge Ledbetter to support this false claim.
In 1828, eight years after he says he had been told by God himself to join no church, Joseph Smith applied for membership in a local Methodist church.
This only shows Ledbetter’s lack of intellectual abilities and research skills. Joseph Smith never joined the Methodist faith in 1828, so this is another non sequitur. Joseph did join a debating club hosted by the Methodists, but membership of the Methodist faith was not a pre-requisite to joining the club.
Anti-Mormons such as the Tanners are forced to rely on an article penned by Joshua McKune in a newspaper called the Amboy journal from April 30, 1879, 35(!) years after the death of Joseph Smith and 51(!) years after the purported events! A later issue of the same publication is dated June 11, 1879, from Michael Morse, a brother-in-law and critic of Joseph Smith's. To say that this is utter hearsay is to put it nicely, especially as this was during the height of anti-Mormon sentiment over the polygamy issue. There is no credible evidence (e.g., primary historical sources) supporting this claim.
These are just representative examples of the lies Ledbetter told his congregants against the LDS faith (others would include the claim LDS theology teaches God had sex with Mary and his yellow journalism about Jesus and Satan being “brothers”). Such a lack of honesty and intellectual integrity is to be found among the members of Ledbetter's church (see here for my exchange with Barry Keating, one of his congregants).
Craig Ledbetter had the opportunity to accurately portray the theology, history, and Scriptures of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and offer an informed critique thereof. He failed on all counts. Furthermore, he failed miserably to support his own epistemology (sola scriptura) and other theological presuppositions in his presentations without resorting to eisegesis.The man heretical theology is as bogus as his false claims against the Latter-day Saint faith, and falls under the condemnations of Gal 1:6-9 and Rev 21:8.
