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Symonds Ryder

A significant event occurred in church history that’s instructive to us all. A man by the name of Symonds Ryder had joined the church near Hiram, Ohio and then he was extended a call by the Almighty. In writing that call to him, Sidney Rigdon happened to misspell Symonds Ryder’s name, spelling it r-i-d-e-r instead of r-y-d-e-r.

According to the history, Ryder became offended at the misspelling of this word, reasoning that if God could make a mistake in misspelling his name, then God could make a mistake in calling him to serve in the ministry. Well, that and other things combined, Symonds Ryder apostatized. In his apostasy it turned to anger and to bitterness. Symonds Ryder was among those who organized into a mob on the week of March 24, 1832, and attacked the Prophet Joseph Smith and he was tarred and feathered. Not only was Joseph terribly brutalized in that attack but so too was his young son Joseph Murdoch left exposed to the bitter elements of March 1832 Hiram, Ohio and died as a result of that becoming, some have said the first martyr of this dispensation and all of that from a man who got offended, not the least of which because his name was misspelled.

There’s a lesson there for all of us. If you’re ever offended especially at church leadership, church practice, church doctrine or church history, tread lightly, walk softly, do not act rashly. How many foolish irrevocable unforgivable deeds have been carried out in the heat of the moment in anger because someone’s offended?

Incidentally, I wonder about this. Symonds Ryder’s gravestone in Hiram, Ohio. Take a look at it. It’s on Instagram. It’s misspelled – both in his first name and in his church affiliation. Just a thought for you. That was 190 years ago this coming week.

Sources:

https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/memories/LCF6-Y7W