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Latter Day Saint movement
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The Latter Day Saint movement is a religious movement that can be said to have been founded primarily by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the early 19th century. The Latter Day Saint movement is one of a number of separate movements, known collectively as Restorationism, intending to transcend Protestant denominationalism. They Restored what they consider to be a form of Christianity more true to the New Testament. The church founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. was first known as the Church of Christ. It eventually divided into several groups dominated today by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Community of Christ.
The Latter Day Saint movement began in 1820 in Palmyra, New York when Joseph Smith, Jr. told about what is now called the First Vision. After a succession crisis many of the Latter Day Saints, led by Brigham Young, emigrated to what was then Mexico (now Utah) to escape persecution. Other, smaller groups stayed behind and established organizations in Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, many of which united around Smith's son Joseph Smith III in 1860 in Missouri. Most Latter Day Saint denominations existing today have some historical relationship with one of these two groups.
Contents
- 1 Brief history
- 1.1 Denominations through 1844
- 1.2 "Prairie Saint" denominations
- 1.3 Latter Day Saint denominations headquartered in the Rocky Mountains
- 1.4 RLDS / Community of Christ denominations (also generally considered "Prairie Saints")
- 2 References
- 3 Notes
- 4 See also
- 5 External links
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Brief history
-
The driving force behind the Latter Day Saint movement was
Joseph Smith, Jr., and to a lesser extent, during the movement's first two years,
Oliver Cowdery. Joseph Smith later wrote of having seen God the Father and Jesus Christ, as two separate beings, who told him that the true church had been lost and would be restored through him, and he would be given the authority to organize and lead the true
Church of Christ. Smith and Cowdery claimed that the
angels John the Baptist,
Peter,
James and
John visited them in
1829 and gave them authority to reestablish the Church of Christ.
The first Latter Day Saint church was formed in April 1830, consisting of a community of believers in the western New York towns of Fayette, Manchester, and Colesville. They called themselves the Church of Christ. On April 6, 1830, this church formally organized into a legal institution under the name Church of Christ. In 1834, the church was referred to as the Church of Latter Day Saints in early church publication, and in 1838 it is believed that a revelation was received by Joseph Smith, Jr. that officially changed the name to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.[1]
In the late 1830's, when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saint's headquarters moved to Nauvoo, Illinois, Mormon apostle Parley P. Pratt became a dynamic writer of religious tracts and theological essays. William Law and several other Mormons in leadership positions publicly accused Joseph Smith of being a false prophet, resulting in some schisms in the church. Many of these people later returned to the church under Smith's leadership. Others formed new churches around other leaders.
Following Smith's martyrdom by a mob in Carthage, Illinois, prominent members of the church claimed to be Smith's legitimate successor resulting in a succession crisis. This crisis resulted in several permanent schisms. The two main branches of the movement are occasionally called "Prairie Saints" (those that remained in the region) and "Rocky Mountain Saints" (those who followed Brigham Young to what would become the state of Utah).
Today, there are many
schism organizations considered to be a part of the Latter Day Saint movement. Most of these organizations are small. Most Latter Day Saints belong to the largest denomination,
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which reports more than 12.5 million members worldwide. The second largest denomination is the more
ecumenical Community of Christ which reports over 250,000 members.
Denominations through 1844
"Prairie Saint" denominations
Latter Day Saint denominations headquartered in the Rocky Mountains
Latter Day Saint denominations headquartered in the Rocky Mountains
| Church Name
| Organized by
| Date Organized
| Split off/Continuation of
| Current Status
| Notes
|
| The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
| Brigham Young
| 1847
| The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
| remains the largest Latter Day Saint denomination, with over 12 million members worldwide (2004).
| After the death of Joseph Smith, Jr. in 1844, the Church fragmented into several groups as a result of a lack of clarity on Smith's intentions for his successor. The largest of these groups aligned with Brigham Young. According to its members, this organization is the original church founded by Joseph Smith, and they commonly believe they are using the correct name for the church (note the difference in spelling).[2] Members of this group are popularly known as "Mormons" (a term not properly applied to other Latter Day Saint denominations), though many prefer the term "Latter-day Saints" (often abbreviated to LDS).
|
| The Church of the First Born
| Joseph Morris
| 1861
| The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
| Probably defunct, remnants of this organization survived into the mid-20th century.
|
|
| The Church of Zion
| William S. Godbe
| 1868
| The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
| Defunct
|
|
| The Apostolic United Brethren
| Lorin C. Woolley
| 1920s
| The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
| Headquarters in Bluffdale, Utah.
|
|
| The Kingston clan
| Thomas R. King
| 1926
| The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
| A large group of Latter Day Saints who practice plural marriage.
|
|
| The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
| John Y. Barlow
| 1935
| The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
| Headquartered in Colorado City, Arizona
| This is the largest group of Latter Day Saints who practice plural marriage.
|
| The Aaronic Order
| Maurice L. Glendenning
| 1942
| The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
| See notes
| Its web site is houseofaaron.org
|
| The Restoration Church of Jesus Christ
| Antonio A. Feliz
| 1985
| The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
| ?
|
|
| The New Covenant Church of God
| Christopher C. Warren
| 1986
| The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
| ?
|
|
| The True and Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days
| James D. Harmston
| 1994
| The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
| Headquartered in Manti, Utah
| This is a relatively small group that practices plural marriage.
|
see also: Polygamous Mormon fundamentalists
Plural marriage is illegal in the United States. Current editions of scriptures published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints include the original revelation endorsing plural marriage;[3] however the Church banned this practice on October 6, 1890, and added this as a revelation from God to its standard scriptures.[4] Today the church excommunicates those who practice it. See also Polygamy
For a discussion of the usage of "Mormon," "Latter Day Saint," "Latter-day Saint," and related terms, see Mormon.
RLDS / Community of Christ denominations (also generally considered "Prairie Saints")
References
- Steven L. Shields, Divergent Paths of the Restoration: A History of the Latter Day Saint Movement Los Angeles: 1990.
- Jon Krakauer, Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith New York: 2003.
Notes
- ^ http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/115/4#4 Doctrine and Covenants 115:4
- ^ Joseph Fielding Smith, Church History and Modern Revelation, vol. 3, 111-116
- ^ http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/132 D&C 132
- ^ http://scriptures.lds.org/en/od/1 D&C "OFFICIAL DECLARATION—1"
See also
