The Church of Christ is a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement and is headquartered in Independence, Missouri on what is known as the Temple Lot. Members of the church have been known colloquially as Hedrickites, after Granville Hedrick, who was ordained the first leader of the faction in July 1863. The Church no longer has any official dialogue with any other organization. Current church membership is about 5000 with members in several countries.[citation needed]
History
- See also: Succession crisis
The church shares its early history with the larger Latter Day Saint denominations, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and the Community of Christ (formerly RLDS Church). After the assassination of the movement's founder, Joseph Smith, Jr. on June 27, 1844, several leaders vied for control of the movement and established rival organizations. By the 1860s, five early Mormon branches found themselves unaffiliated with any larger Latter Day Saint Group. Located in Bloomington, Illinois, Crow Creek, Illinois, Half Moon Prairie, Illinois, Eagle Creek, Illinois, and Vermillion, Indiana, these branches united under the leadership of Granville Hedrick in May of 1863[1], and on July 18, 1863 Hedrick was ordained "President, Prophet, Seer and Revelator" of the group, which at the time was also named "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints".
The name was soon shortened to "Church of Christ" in order to distinguish from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which members of the Temple Lot church refer to as "Utah Mormons," or "Brighamites". Participating in the ordination of Hedrick was John E. Page [2][3], who had been an Apostle in the LDS church before Joseph Smith, Jr.'s death in 1844, and therefore was regarded as providing an undiluted link to the highest levels of authority in the church as it existed before 1844. Both the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints affirm a founding date of April 6, 1830, in Fayette, New York. Hedrick later distanced himself from the title "President, Prophet, Seer and Revelator," in order to further distinguish the church from followers of Brigham Young.
Doctrines of The Church of Christ (Temple Lot) are heavily influenced by the writings of David Whitmer, who was declared an apostate by the LDS church during the lifetime of Joseph Smith, Jr. and who published a pamphlet in 1887 deeply critical of Sidney Rigdon and Joseph Smith. The pamphlet containing Whitmer's anti-Mormon rant, is today widely read and promoted among membership of the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) and is on sale in the lobby of its headquarters building.[4]. In it, Whitmer repeatedly claims Smith had 'fallen'--or began to 'fall'--from his Divine calling almost as soon as the church was established on April 6, 1830--or even before then. Reasons for Whitmer believing so include a charge that Smith was to have "pretended to no other gift" except the translation of the Book of Mormon, and was never to be more than a "first elder" among "fellow elders" in the fledgling church.
The church currently occupies a property in Independence, Missouri considered by Latter Day Saints to be the "Temple Lot" designated by Joseph Smith, Jr. to be the site for the temple of the New Jerusalem, a sacred city to be built preparatory to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ that is spoken of in the Book of Revelation. The Hedrickites returned to Independence in 1867 to purchase lots for the temple in the name of the "Church of Christ" and have been headquartered there since then. In the 1930s, the church excavated the site in an attempt to build a temple on the location, but the effort was stalled because of the Great Depression, and the excavation was filled.
Since the 1920s, the church has splintered into at least four other factions, including the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message which separated in the 1930s and has since grown to about 12,000 members.[citation needed]
On January 1, 1990, a former member of the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) who had recently joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, set fire to the church building.[1] The fire caused significant damage to the second story of the building, although the first floor containing church records and documents remained intact. On February 1, 1990, the remainder of the building (built in 1905) was razed at the urging of Church leadership, which, before January 1990, had already discussed destroying the building and constructing a newer, safer building. Construction of a new headquarters building began in August 1990.
Doctrines
Though the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) initially accepted the leadership and doctrines of the Latter Day Saint movement's founding prophet, Joseph Smith, Jr., in the 1920s they changed their policy regarding which of his revelations they would accept. The church thereafter asserted that revelations recorded after the publication of the Book of Commandments in 1833 were not divinely inspired, claiming that Smith "fell" from his calling with such doctrines as plural marriage and the introduction of church hierarchical offices (including the office of High Priest in June of 1831). For this reason, unlike other Latter Day Saint denominations, the church does not have a prophet or a First Presidency. Instead the church declares that it is headed directly by Jesus Christ through a Quorum of Twelve Apostles. The council responds officially through its secretary.
The Church's official "standards of faith" are the Bible and the Book of Mormon.
Miscellanea
The missionary representative in the visitors center is William A. Sheldon (as of 2007).
References
- ^ Blakeman, Karen and Beverly Potter. "Ex-church member dances as vintage sanctuary burns", Kansas City Times, 1990-01-02, p. A-1, A-7.
External links
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| See also Latter Day Saints Portal – Category Mormonism | ||
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