Copy of My Letter to Baptist Preacher Kent Hovind on the Mormons 2025
(I admire Hovind’s teachings on biblical creationism and science supporting the scriptures. In his seminars there was some bashing on Mormons, and I responded to such as follows. I delivered this letter to him in person when I met him in 2025, and he was very congenial. He made a few friendly jokes about me becoming a Baptist. The letter wasn’t to change his mind so much as to perhaps give a few more reasonable perspectives and pieces of information about my faith. I consider us friends and we recognize lots of common ground.)
To Dr. Kent Hovind from Nate Richardson, Questions and Answers about the Latter-day Saints – 2.22.25
Seeing as we are coming to visit you I wanted to share a basic response to some of the points you bring up about the Latter-day Saints. This is not to fight, it’s just to give a very basic explanation of our point of view so that perhaps we can see each other a little more clearly. This will be short and sweet, not going into a lot of specific references and evidences – neither of us have time for an extensive study of this right now. Neither of us expects the other to convert anytime soon, so I hope you see this as a friendly gesture by someone who wants to be understood, even if disagreed with. So here’s my take on things, which is fairly conservative.
Question Why wear a magic garment with Freemason symbols? 2
Question Why does the Book of Mormon have so many editing changes? 2
Question Why do book Mormon passages read very similar to some New Testament passages? 2
Question Why teach that we can become Gods?. 3
Question Why do you say Lucifer is Jesus’s brother?. 3
Question Why did Joseph get a vision in the woods and claim to see God? Why did he see 2 beings? 4
Question Why have the Saints God is married and procreated with woman to make us? 4
Question The Book of Mormon teaches salvation by grace, why have church leaders Talk works? 4
Question Why does the church school BYU teach evolution?. 5
Question Why did some early church leaders teach Adam as God? 5
Question Why do we add to the Bible when the Book of Revelation says don’t add to the Bible? 5
Question: How was Alma ordained?. 6
Question Why did Joseph and Brigham have so many wives?. 6
Question Why were blacks “denied heaven” before the 1900s?. 6
Question Why did Joseph Smith teach people live on the moon? 7
Question Why did Brigham say if we go to hell we will make it a heaven? 7
Question Why are there reports of the Smith family being magical treasure seekers? 7
Question Why golden plates?. 8
Question Did Brigham order the murder of a wagon train of 100 immigrants? 8
Question Why did Joseph try to join methodist church in 1828?. 8
Question How did Nephites had Urim and Thumim when they were still being used in Jerusalem? 8
Question If there’s only 2 churches, is LDS the good, and the rest of the devil? 8
Question Why does a record say Nephi visited Joseph when others say it was Moroni? 9
Question Why is it a ‘sin’ to drink coffee?. 9
Question Why did Joseph get a revelation to avoid strong drink, yet construct a bar? 10
Question Why do church leaders speak of eternal progression if God is unchangeable? 10
Question What about failed prophecies of Joseph Smith?. 11
Question Why wear a magic garment with Freemason symbols?
Answer 1. The Old Testament tells us to wear a garment. It also echoes back to the garment God gave to Adam and Eve; there’s certainly scriptural precedent.
Answer 2. Ancient Christians have similar marks on their temple veils (and on their garments as I recall.) The garment is meant to be a reminder of the temple veil / Christ.
Answer 3. Similar marks are caused by the nails of the crucifixion; it is also reminders of Christ and of promises we make to Christ to live righteously.
Answer 4. The prophet Joseph Smith said the Freemasons were an apostate group, but they still had several correct symbols from antiquity. Early Christian churches share many rituals and signs in common with the latter-day Saints. We consider ourselves a restoration of ancient lost truth, gathering all in one in Christ.
Answer 5. Sometimes God uses various items as manifestations of his power, like the rod Aaron had, etc.
Answer 6. Your slide showing the development of the garment has at the present day some strange purple shorts, those might be used by some break-off group but the main church does not use those, we still have the white garment with the priesthood symbols.
Question Why does the Book of Mormon have so many editing changes?
Answer 1. The Book of Mormon is a translation and it’s okay to edit the translation to better reflect the intended meeting meaning
Answer 2. Joseph Smith as a translator of an ancient document can use various words to explain himself and these can be modified as he sees fit as translator of the work, and inspired revisions may occur based on the ability of the people to receive it.
Answer 3. Many of the changes are mere punctuations added later.
Question Why do book Mormon passages read very similar to some New Testament passages?
Answer 1. God can tell two different prophets to write something very similar at two different times.
Question How would the Book of Mormon be a record that existed hundreds of years before the New testament and still refer to Jesus Christ?
Answer 1. We Believe knowledge similar to what is found in the New testament was known to the ancient world.
Question We know where the Bible happened, why can’t they figure out where the Book of Mormon happened?
Answer 1. Joseph Smith said it happened in North America, and many artifacts, locations fitting perfectly with the book and linguistic connections demonstrate that to be true.
Visit BookofMormonEvidence.org to see thousands of evidences.
Answer 2. Secular members of the church in recent times have claimed, contrary to Joseph’s teachings, that the Book of Mormon happened in Central America but if we stick to what Joseph said and what the church taught for some 150 years, it’s North America.
Answer 3. The Book of Mormon hasn’t been around as long as the Bible, it will yet become a well-established book with all of this information. Now is a time of trial of faith where these facts are less known to many (though known to some).
Question Why teach that we can become Gods?
Answer 1. When Lucifer talked about becoming God it was in a spirit of rebellion of kicking out God and doing things his own way. When we speak of becoming God we speak of joining the family business and helping and ever expanding business to be managed on different levels.
Answer 2. The early Christians taught this as well as you know.
Answer 3. The Bible says we become joint heirs with Christ.
Answer 4. The grace of Christ is sufficient to help us overcome everything that separates us between everything that separates us and God.
Answer 5. We are the children of God therefore we are the heirs of God, just like how the Bible says.
Question Why do you say Lucifer is Jesus’s brother?
Answer 1. Who else would he be? God created everyone.
Answer 2. Because of Lucifer’s rebellion it would not be very appropriate to refer to him as brother now. He has left the family.
Answer 3. Many scriptures talk about how we are all children of God but many other scriptures talk about how we need to be born again into the family of god. So it’s true that everyone was created by God and therefore everyone is God’s child but the choices people make determine whether they will belong to the family of God or the family/organization of the devil.
Question Why does the Book of Mormon say God is a spirit yet church leaders have taught God has a body? God lives by Kolob?
Answer 1. The Book of Mormon is the basic production and some Revelations to Joseph were teaching calculus.
Answer 2. God teaches people in a way they understand.
Answer 3. God can be everywhere by receptors programmed into every atom so he knows everything sees everything has all power etc.
Answer 4. We are the children of God, so it would make sense that he has a body, though more advanced than ours.
Answer 5. Saying God is a spirit is to teach people who are on that level, as it is true when you consider the Holy Ghost is a spirit, and when you consider that God’s influence and so forth is everywhere, beyond his physical location.
Answer 6. Concerning Kolob, since we believe God has a body, he has got to be somewhere.
Question Why did Joseph get a vision in the woods and claim to see God? Why did he see 2 beings?
Answer 1. There are Biblical accounts of prophets speaking with God face to face.
Answer 2. As for God the Father and Jesus being separate beings, many scriptures can support this. It’s two ways of seeing things – The Godhead / trinity is one in their mission and purpose, but they are separate beings. The Father upholds justice, the Son offers mercy, without breaking justice.
Question Why have the Saints God is married and procreated with woman to make us?
Answer 1. That’s just how nature works.
Answer 2. This is a sacred knowledge not talked about very much that we believe had been lost through the ages.
Question The Book of Mormon teaches salvation by grace, why have church leaders Talk works?
Answer 1. They are two sides of the same coin.
Answer 2. Without grace no amount of works matters.
Answer 3. The New testament says “I will show you my faith by my works.”
Answer 4. The works versus Grace debate between the LDS and Protestants has been over-inflated, I think we have more of a similar than different view on this. But there are some looneys that think they can live wickedly and go to heaven because they say “Lord, Lord,” so the Book of Mormon clarifies the point (and that’s a main purpose of the Book of Mormon: to show the intended meaning of the Bible; it’s a second witness.)
Answer 5. God gives us the piano but he expects us to learn how to play (with His help).
Question Why does the church school BYU teach evolution?
Answer 1. Church leaders have had a hands-off approach to allowing people to teach various things at that school.
Answer 2. There’s a lot of wicked members of the church who have rejected truth, the wheat is growing up with the tears. There are Revelations about how the church will need to be cleansed of some of these ungodly elements.
Answer 3. Church leaders have battled secular evolutionists amongst our membership for many decades. If you go back the early teachings of the church there are hundreds of pages of church teachers teaching against evolution. The Book of Mormon also teaches against evolution in second Nephi to verse 22 where it says if it weren’t for the fall of Adam nothing would have been able to have children and everything would have remained forever in the state it was created.
Question Why did some early church leaders teach Adam as God?
Answer 1. This is controversial many of those same early leaders especially Brigham Young also made statements clearly separating Adam and God is two different people.
Answer 2. Many of our Revelations clearly separate the two and clearly teach that Adam needs the grace of Christ to be saved and that Adam prays to God the Father just like that. We believe Adam is the Ancient of Days, but that the Ancient of Days is not God, but a righteous judge who works with God.
Answer 3 We hold Adam in high esteem and view the fall as a necessary step forward and a part of God’s plan. We Believe Adam was a righteous prophet and as the great great great grandfather of the whole human race someone to hold in high respect.
Answer 4. Historically sometimes we have used the term God lightly meaning someone who resides over you and teaches you similar to how a parent can be called a God to a child.
Question Why do we add to the Bible when the Book of Revelation says don’t add to the Bible?
Answer 1. The book of Deuteronomy also says don’t add to this book so clearly these are references to the specific books not the Bible itself which is simply a collection of books.
Answer 2. We Believe The Bible has been manipulated by some corrupt scribes etc. so an inspired profit with priesthood keys has the right to make modifications as God directs.
Question The Book of Mormon was very heavy how could Joseph run with it and how could Emma move it?
Answer 1. Type of metal could be such that it wasn’t as heavy as you’ve calculated.
Answer 2. If the plates were heavy running with them and His highest speed would have been a lower than running lower speed than running without them and Emma would have had difficulty moving them but surely could have done it.
Either way this is a minor point, and I’m not an expert on the plates.
Go to bookofmormonevidence.org for information on this.
Question: How was Alma ordained?
Answer 1. God can ordain whoever he wants.
Question Why did Joseph and Brigham have so many wives?
Answer 1. Old testament prophets did too . If it’s inherently wrong God wouldn’t have worked through these ancient men. God works most particularly through the righteous.
Answer 2. When the Book of Mormon speaks against plural marriage the context and audience is a wicked society whom God wouldn’t trust with a delicate situation like plural marriage. Today church members have been directed have only one wife, which seems very appropriate for how things are culturally politically etc.
Answer 3. God can direct his people to practice certain things at certain times and not at others. For example in the Old Testament sometimes God says thou shalt not kill other times he says thou shalt utterly destroy. The key is to do whatever God says.
Answer 4. Polygamy is often a system that helps widows and helps children have family and helps raise seed to build God’s Kingdom. God would rather have children growing up in righteous polygamous families than in wicked gentile families.
Answer 5. You might consider how many kids God has, it’s a lot.
Question Why were blacks “denied heaven” before the 1900s?
Answer 1. They were never denied heaven; they were only denied priesthood authority. Blacks have been allowed baptism from the earliest times in church history. A few blacks were even ordained in early church history.
Answer 2. It’s not just blacks who didn’t have traced with authority for a while it was everyone. For nearly 2,000 years there’s a state of apostasy for God’s Church authority and keys were not on the Earth. This is why the restoration came with Peter James John and John the Baptist and Moses and Elijah all came to personally ordain by laying on of hands Joseph Smith to restore these authorities.
Answer 3. Perhaps society wasn’t ready to get rid of racial bias back in those days.
Answer 4. Perhaps God has his reasons that we can’t understand. Some have speculated that the priesthood restriction was a curse on a certain lineage that had to run its course. God is no respecter of persons and if there was a curse it was for a reason.
Answer 5. Brigham spoke of a time in the future of the church where blacks would have this authority and that time has come. Despite opinions of some past leaders the church official position which is frequently repeated is that all people are children of God regardless of color. You put it well when you said there’s no race other than the human race.
Question Why did Joseph Smith teach people live on the moon?
Answer 1. A prophet isn’t always speaking as a prophet.
Answer 2: A prophet doesn’t have to be perfect.
Answer 3: We know resurrected beings can be invisible, as Christ sometimes is. Therefore, it remains a possibility that these people are there, but we can’t see them. I’ve heard some interesting theories and claims.
Question Why did Brigham say if we go to hell we will make it a heaven?
Answer 1. Brigham focused on building God’s kingdom, and this was a light hearted statement saying we will build it wherever we are.
Answer 2. As evidenced by his other teachings, Brigham knew there are laws that govern God’s kingdom – he wasn’t making his own gospel, he was saying he will use Christ’s gospel to build good things no matter what.
Question Why did Joseph say God would make him God to the people, like Aaron was a mouth piece for Israel?
Answer 1. The term God is used loosely, referring to someone who is a leader.
Answer 2. This is similar to how Moses was called a God to Pharaoh.
Answer 3. He is saying God will make him like Aaron of old, a mouthpiece for God. It’s the Biblical pattern playing out in modern times.
Question Why are there reports of the Smith family being magical treasure seekers?
Answer 1. Just like how people say bad things about Jesus, people say bad things about Joseph Smith, a messenger of Jesus.
Answer 2. Howe and Hurlbut (anti-Mormons) went around collecting fabricated stories by people who hated and often didn’t even know the Smith family. These reports can’t be taken seriously.
Answer 3. Firsthand accounts attest that the Smiths were hard working and rejected folk magic.
Answer 4. Joseph used the ancient Urim & Thummim to translate the Book of Mormon, not seer stones.
For more on this see Book of Mormon Translation on Trial by James Stoddard, or I could send you my summary of it.
Question Why golden plates?
Answer 1. There are various ancient accounts kept on metal plates in various civilizations.
Question Did Brigham order the murder of a wagon train of 100 immigrants?
Answer 1. No, this is a rumor.
Question Why did Joseph try to join methodist church in 1828?
Answer 1. I’ve never heard this and doubt it.
Answer 2. Either way, his church wasn’t established until 1830.
Question Why didn’t the 3 witnesses of the plates actually see the plates physically rather than just in vision?
Answer 1. They saw and held the plates physically, as attested in their witness account in the Book of Mormon introductory pages. They said they had both “seen and hefted” the plates.
Question How did Nephites had Urim and Thumim when they were still being used in Jerusalem?
Answer 1. Perhaps more than one set of U&T.
Question If there’s only 2 churches, is LDS the good, and the rest of the devil?
Answer 1. While the Latter-day Saints claim to be the only organization with priesthood authority, they don’t view themselves as the only ones that go to heaven. They are a group God set up to help others.
Answer 2. Most church members view the two churches only in a more broad sense, namely that one side is for freedom, the other for captivity (like communism). It’s about a fight for good vs evil in general. We would see all good people as on the side of the church of God.
Answer 3. You mentioned the RLDS, for the record, that’s considered a break-off group, not the main LDS church of Jesus Christ.
Question How does Moses have a glorious future if he murdered which Joseph Smith said is unpardonable?
Answer 1. Moses killed to defend someone, it wasn’t premeditated and vindictive like Cain. Hebrew even has separate words for kill and murder.
Answer 2. God has repeatedly commanded his people to slay others. His ways are higher than ours, hard to understand.
Answer 3. The Book of Mormon speaks of people who had murdered who get forgiveness (Lamanite King Lamoni, as I recall).
Answer 4. Joseph’s statement needs to be qualified by context etc. The obvious truth is that murder is serious, and many opportunities will be lost for those who do that.
Question Why does a record say Nephi visited Joseph when others say it was Moroni?
Answer 1. The fact of Moroni visiting Joseph in 1823 is repeated in several canonized Latter-day Saint scriptures.
Answer 2. The record saying Nephi not Moroni in one place, if such is the case, could be a recording error, etc.
Answer 3. Interestingly, Nephi and about a dozen other angels, prophets from the past, visited and tutored Joseph.
Question how is Alma of Joseph/Manasseh a high priest when the Bible calls for these to be Levites?
Answer 1. Moses says ‘would to god that all were prophets.’ We ordain all worthy men to this office, particularly as needed to fill leadership positions.
Answer 2. We live by ongoing revelation. Sometimes the way God’s kingdom is governed in one age changes in other ages. For example, circumcision ending, and dietary restrictions being lifted, and the gospel going to all not just Israel, etc.
Question Why is it a ‘sin’ to drink coffee?
Answer 1. D&C 89, our revelation on health, was originally given as a warning to the wise.
Answer 2. Today it has become a cultural standard for the saints to not use coffee, and perhaps it’s to help us be a distinct peculiar people, sometimes that helps to setup a group that can bond together.
Answer 3. Ultimately coffee won’t keep a person out of heaven, but an unwillingness to follow instructions might. When God says jump, we say how high. Heaven is about loving and serving God, not doing things our own way. Coffee may be bad for health, it may be expensive, who knows – what we focus on is following instructions, more so than questioning the prophets who guide the church under the direction of Christ. Church leaders aren’t perfect, neither is anyone, but we try to work together.
Question Why did Joseph get a revelation to avoid strong drink, yet construct a bar?
Answer 1. No one is perfect.
Answer 2. The revelation to avoid wine etc. was specifically given as wise advice, not as a strict commandment (though today the church has made this a high priority).
Question Why do we baptize for the dead when the Book of Mormon says there’s no repentence after death?
Answer 1. The Book of Mormon is warning people to not procrastinate their repentance, since doing so hardens one’s heart to not want to accept the offer to change.
Answer 2. The New Testament refers to baptism for the dead, that practice has now been restored.
Answer 3. Baptism for the dead isn’t for those who reject God in life. It is for those who didn’t have the opportunity to get authorized baptism while in life.
For example, if you learned that you were lied to about the LDS being false, you, an inherently good fellow whose heart is directed toward Christ, might be interested in getting baptism from them, if Jesus told you it was necessary.
Answer 4. Again, the Book of Mormon is the introductory text giving general messages, it’s purpose isn’t to detail every point of doctrine and every mystery of God.
Answer 5. Christians who reject baptism for the dead are in a very tight spot – good people around the world have never heard of Jesus, and God wants them in his kingdom, and baptism ‘the gate’ people must enter that kingdom by.
Answer 6. Baptism for the dead is part of God’s plan to gather together all things in one in Christ. Good people of all faiths have opportunities to be with Christ, despite the injustices of life. God is just, and ALL will have equal opportunity to accept or reject God’s kingdom, without the obstructions of life.
Answer 7. God will not be mocked – people can’t toy with God here and expect baptism for the dead will jump them into heaven. One of the tests of life is to see if our spirits will be sensitive enough to pick up on quiet truths God sends. Ultimately, God sends messages to all people to do good (some call it conscience, we call it The Light of Christ). If people respond positively to whisperings of conscience to be good (and repent), and they don’t have the opportunity for baptism, these are they who will benefit from baptism for the dead.
Question Why do church leaders speak of eternal progression if God is unchangeable?
Answer 1. Eternal progression refers to mankind’s potential to become like God. We recognize that God knows all, sees all, and is in all places (through the power of his spirit).
Answer 2. From one perspective, you could say that as God has more generations of children (His work has no end), more glory comes to Him, because there are more people glorifying His name. In this sense, God is always growing.
Answer 3. Speculations on this and related subjects are not part of our canon. When looking at what our core and binding beliefs are, the “standard works” are the answer. Teachings which go beyond the authorized church scriptures are inherently speculative and non-binding upon the saints. Everyone should be able to admit that there are many mysteries of God we don’t know yet. Sometimes God gives people a peek at higher things, and describing those things have often been done imperfectly, incompletely, and have given mistaken ideas about eternal truths. This is why God is careful about revealing too much before we are ready.
Answer 4. We can have confidence that there is no higher power than God. Despite our teaching of generations of Gods, we understand that the God we pray to is the most high, there’s nothing He doesn’t know, He doesn’t make mistakes. You might say a person doesn’t qualify to have the title “God” until they attain unto these perfections. Protestants admit they don’t know where God came from, and perhaps the answer will simply be ‘from his parents.’ You might say, there’s more than one person out there who knows how to play the piano, but to us, there’s only 1 piano teacher, and that is our Heavenly Father.
Answer 5. This is spiritual calculus. It isn’t something our missionaries teach because it isn’t necesary for salvation – we focus on Christ crucified and being born again to live holy lives for God. Controversial and poorly understood doctrines can get in the way of hearing God’s more important basic messages of salvation, so beware ‘getting lost in the weeds,’ which can be a temptation to reject the plain and precious truths and ordinances our church offers.
Question What about failed prophecies of Joseph Smith?
Answer 1. There are many fulfilled prophecies of Joseph Smith, entire books on the subject documenting this fact.
Answer 2. People have agency. God gives warnings through his servants and people can chose which outcome they want.
Answer 3. The prophecy about the Lord coming when Joseph would be in his 80s or so, Joseph didn’t get that old, we don’t know what would have happened if he did. Under his inspired leadership, it is likely that a Zion society could have been built which enjoyed the physical presence of Jesus Christ.
Conclusion
Point 1. Are there fruits you will know them – consider how there have been many righteous members of the church who have done many good things in the world who have raised righteous families, the church is known for being a family centered Church, our missionary fleet is unparalleled, etc.
Point 2. We can focus on common ground like teaching against evolution and Jesus as creator and savior.. It’ll be hard to find two people on this planet that agree on everything, yet we must work together.
Point 3. There are an endless list of questions for the latter-day saints. Many have answered many of these. Lots of things claimed to be ‘never found’ etc., are just ignored by those uninterested in seeing the evidence. Similarly to how science has an agenda to prop up evolution, Christians today are committed to rejecting the latter-day saints.
My friends and I admire all the great work you do promoting Christianity and true science that supports it!
Your brother,
Nate Richardson
