Crossing the Divide: Baptist Pastor's Journey with the Church

For over thirty years, Southern Baptist pastor Bryan Ready studied The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a fascinated critic, convinced Joseph Smith was a fraud. Then a decades-long correspondence with a BYU professor, repeated pilgrimages to Nauvoo, and persistent spiritual promptings led him across the theological divide. This candid, warm memoir traces his journey from encountering Christ at fourteen to leaving his pulpit, weathering his 'dark night of the soul,' and finally being baptized—while striving to build bridges between two faiths.

• A trained Southern Baptist pastor who spent 30 years 'proving' the LDS church false—then joined it.
• Featured on the 'All In' podcast; endorsed by BYU religion scholars Millet and Gaskill.
• A rare, respectful bridge between Evangelical and Latter-day Saint theology, written by someone fluent in both.
• The dramatic 'Jesus, Jennifer, and a job' story of obstacles and God's timing.

“I was a critic of the Church. I believed it was a cult and that Joseph Smith was a false prophet. Second, I was an ordained Southern Baptist pastor with a formal theological education.”

Perfect for a Latter-day Saint fascinated by convert stories and interfaith dialogue, or an Evangelical Christian curious about how a trained Baptist pastor could join the LDS church.