In the Latter Day Saint movement, the President of the Church is generally considered to be the highest office of the church. It was the office held by Joseph Smith, founder of the movement, and the office assumed by many of Smith's claimed successors, such as Brigham Young, Joseph Smith III, Sidney Rigdon, and James Strang. Several other titles have been associated with this office, including First Elder of the church, Presiding High Priest, President of the High Priesthood, Trustee-in-Trust for the church, Prophet, Seer, Revelator, and Translator. Joseph Smith was known by all of these titles in his lifetime.
The Church of Christ, informally called Hedrickites and the Church of Christ (Temple Lot), is a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement headquartered in Independence, Missouri, on what is known as the Temple Lot. The nickname for members of the church comes from the surname of Granville Hedrick, who was ordained as the church's leader in July 1863. Unlike the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and Community of Christ, the Temple Lot church rejects the office of prophet or president, being instead led by its Quorum of Twelve Apostles. The church also rejects the doctrines of baptism for the dead and celestial marriage promulgated by the Utah-based LDS Church, as well as the Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price. While once avidly engaged in dialogue with other Latter Day Saint factions, the church no longer has any official contact with any other organization. It is notable for its sole ownership of the Temple Lot, which it has held for nearly 150 years. As of 2013, membership is 7,310 members in 11 countries. Most of the members live in the United States, but there are parishes in Canada, Mexico, Honduras, Nigeria, Kenya, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Tanzania, India, Ethiopia, and the Philippines.
The Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite) is a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement headquartered in Independence, Missouri, United States. The church derives its epithet from its founder, Alpheus Cutler, a member of the Nauvoo High Council and of Joseph Smith's Council of Fifty. Cutler justified his establishment of an independent church organization by asserting that God had "rejected" Smith's organization—but not his priesthood—following Smith's death, but that Smith had named Cutler to a singular "Quorum of Seven" in anticipation of this event, with a unique prerogative to reorganize the church that no one beyond this group possessed. Hence, Cutler's organization claims to be the only legitimate Latter Day Saint church in the world today. Currently, it has only one branch, located in Independence. The Cutlerite church retains an endowment ceremony believed to date to the Nauvoo period, practices the United Order of Enoch, and accepts baptism for the dead, but not eternal marriage or polygamy.
Otto Fetting was an American realtor and editor from Port Huron, Michigan who served first as a pastor and evangelist in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and then later as an apostle in the Church of Christ, commonly referred to as the "Hedrickites". Fetting claimed to have been visited by John the Baptist thirty or more times between February 4, 1927 and his death on January 30, 1933. Fetting was reportedly given instruction concerning the doctrine and practices of Hedrickites and other factions of Christianity, together with directives to begin construction of a temple on the Temple Lot, including its exact dimensions.
John Alpheus Cutler was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement who founded the Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite) in 1853. He had previously served in several church positions under Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, as well as captain of Smith's personal bodyguard and "Master Builder and Workman on all God's Holy Houses." Following the death of Joseph Smith in June 1844, Cutler at first followed the Twelve Apostles under Brigham Young, but later left Young's church to reorganize the Church of Jesus Christ, with himself serving as its first president. Cutler claimed that this was the sole legitimate continuation of Smith's organization, and he served as its leader until his death.
In the Latter Day Saint movement, a temple is a building dedicated to being a house of God and is reserved for special forms of worship. A temple differs from a church meetinghouse, which is used for weekly worship services. Temples have been a significant part of the Latter Day Saint movement since early in its inception. Today, temples are operated by several Latter Day Saint denominations. The most prolific builder of temples of the Latter Day Saint movement is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The LDS Church has 367 temples in various phases, which includes 202 dedicated temples, 3 scheduled for dedication, 51 under construction, 2 scheduled for groundbreaking, and 112 others announced. Several others within the movement have built or attempted to build temples. The Community of Christ operates one temple in the United States, which is open to the public and used for worship services, performances, and religious education. Other denominations with temples are the Apostolic United Brethren, the Church of Christ, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and the Righteous Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Church of Jesus Christ may refer to:
The history of Community of Christ, formerly known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, covers a period of approximately 200 years. The church's early history traces to the "grove experience" of Joseph Smith, who prayed in the woods near his home in Palmyra, New York, in the early-19th century. Several accounts of this experience have surfaced over the years. Most of the accounts share a common narrative indicating that when he went to the woods to pray, he experienced a period of encountering evil or despair, but then experienced an epiphany or vision in which he came to know and understand God's goodness. Later, as an adult, Smith founded the Church of Christ on April 6, 1830.
Cutler's Park was a temporary town established in the Indian Territory across the Missouri River from Kanesville, Iowa in 1846. It was the first town in the future state of Nebraska.
Manti, Iowa is an unincorporated community in Fremont County, in the U.S. state of Iowa. Manti was founded in 1852 by Alpheus Cutler and Edmund Fisher, both of whom were prominent members of the newly founded Mormon religion, and led the formation of the Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite). Manti originally received its name in reference to a city mentioned in the Book of Mormon.
The Church of Christ (Restored) is a denomination within the Latter Day Saint movement that split from the Church of Christ (Fettingite) in the late 1930s under the leadership of Elder A. C. DeWolf. This schism was provoked by a difference in opinion regarding a series of claimed "messages" received by William Draves, an elder in that church, following the death of founder Otto Fetting. Whereas the main Fettingite church initially chose to grant cautious acceptance to these missives, several Fettingite branches in Louisiana and Mississippi did not, and split from the main organization to form the Church of Christ (Restored). Even after the main Fettingite church chose to reject Draves and his messages in 1943 (leading Draves to leave and found his own sect, the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message), the DeWolf faction refused to reconcile with the main body, considering itself to be the sole legitimate continuation of the Fettingite church, and the only true church on earth today. Its membership is currently concentrated mostly in the American South, and stands at about 450 members.
The True Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite) was a small Latter Day Saint faction which split from the Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite) in 1953 under its founder, Clyde Fletcher, and continued to exist until Fletcher's death in 1969. It was situated in Clitherall, Minnesota—the location of its one and only branch—and remained identical to its parent organization in all respects save leadership. Following Fletcher's death, his few remaining adherents elected to reunite with the main Cutlerite body, and this sect ceased to exist.
Chancey Whiting, Sr. was a Latter Day Saint leader who served as the second president of The Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite) from 1864 to 1902, following the death of Cutlerite founder Alpheus Cutler. During his tenure, the Cutlerites relocated from Manti, Iowa to Clitherall, Minnesota in response to an alleged vision seen by Cutler prior to his death.
Isaac Morley Whiting was a Latter Day Saint leader who served as the third president of The Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite), from 1902 to 1922. During Whiting's tenure, the Cutlerites successfully established an Order of Enoch, as advocated by founding prophet Joseph Smith during the early years of his movement. This Order, which emphasizes communal ownership of property, still functions in the church today.
Emery George Fletcher was a Latter Day Saint leader who served as the fourth president of The Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite), succeeding Isaac Whiting in that office after Whiting died in 1922. During his tenure, the Cutlerites fulfilled a long-cherished dream of their founder, Alpheus Cutler, by relocating their church headquarters from Clitherall, Minnesota to Independence, Missouri, within sight of the Temple Lot. However, this move had the unintended consequence of commencing a division between the Minnesota and Missouri branches of the church, which led to a short-lived schism after Fletcher's death.
Ivan Erle Whiting, Sr. was the fifth president of The Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite), a branch of the Latter Day Saint movement. His short tenure in office was marred by a dispute between the Independence, Missouri congregation of the church, where he and the church headquarters were located, and the branch at Clitherall, Minnesota, which rejected his election to office and chose Clyde Fletcher from their own congregation as president of the church. When the Independence branch refused to accept this unlawful development, the Minnesota branch broke away under Clyde's leadership as the True Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite). A battle between the two branches for church properties and leadership was resolved in the Independence branch's favor by a Minnesota court, and Clyde Fletcher's schismatic sect ceased to exist with his death, when both congregations were reunited under Erle's successor, Rupert Fletcher.
Rupert J. Fletcher was a Latter Day Saint leader who served as the sixth president of The Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite) from 1958 to 1974. As church president, he ended the schism between the church's Missouri congregation and its Minnesota branch, which had seceded from the church in 1955 and called itself the True Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite). He also authored, in company with his wife Daisy, a compendium of Cutlerite history and doctrine, entitled Alpheus Cutler and The Church of Jesus Christ.
Julian Everson Whiting was a Latter Day Saint leader who served as the seventh president of The Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite) from 1974 to 1997. During his tenure, the Cutlerites endured the second schism in their history when Eugene O. Walton, a convert to the church, proclaimed himself to be the "One Mighty and Strong" in 1980. Walton's attempt to have the Cutlerite church recognize his claim was foiled when the vast majority of Cutlerites, led by Whiting, rejected Walton's purported revelation authorizing his alleged new title.