Plano Stone Church, National Register of Historic Places.
The Plano Stone Church was constructed in 1868 to serve as the headquarters for the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS Church, now Community of Christ) under the leadership of Joseph Smith III. Smith moved to Plano, Illinois, in 1866 and in 1867 was appointed head of the Stone Church's building committee. Smith and the committee selected the site, design and builder for the structure. The Plano Stone Church served as the headquarters of the RLDS from its completion in 1868 until Smith, his family, and the church moved to Lamoni, Iowa, in 1881.
The building is constructed in the Greek Revival style with exterior walls of sandstone. The interior consists of two rooms, a vestibule and the main room. The structure underwent a series of changes during the 1940s including the enclosure of two alcoves in the vestibule. Plano Stone Church was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
History
Joseph Smith III became the president and prophet of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS) in 1860, 16 years after the death of his father Joseph Smith. Following the elder Smith's murder in Carthage, Illinois, many of the faithful in the Midwest accepted Brigham Young's leadership and followed him to the Salt Lake Basin. A group of Latter Day Saints did stay behind in the Midwest, believing that the rightful line of succession for church leadership lay with Smith. The younger Smith accepted the leadership role with the newly named "Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" after church leaders attempted several times to persuade him.[2]
Plans for Smith's move commenced in 1865, and by January 1866 Smith and his family had relocated from Nauvoo to Plano, Illinois.[3] Smith was persuaded to make the move by church members and leaders in Kendall County; the headquarters of the RLDS moved from Nauvoo to Plano with the Smith family. Once in Plano, Smith became the editor-in-chief of the Saints Herald, the official publication the RLDS.[2]
In 1867 the congregation in Plano appointed a building committee for the construction of a church building for the congregation, naming Smith as its chairman. Smith and the committee selected the site, design and builders for the project.[2] Work on the building started on March 18, 1868 and by November 15 the completed church was dedicated. The building served as the main house of worship for the Plano RLDS congregation from its completion until 1881, and was the first church building for any congregation of the RLDS.[2] During this period it also served as headquarters for the RLDS church and Smith's base of operations as church leader.[2][4]
Between 1868 and 1881 Smith was active in church leadership and local politics, holding office as village trustee and local justice of the peace. He resigned his position as magistrate in March 1880 after he met with criticism for canceling a court hearing in favor of a church appointment.[2] In 1881 RLDS headquarters, the church's printing house and Joseph Smith III moved from Plano to Lamoni, Iowa, a community established by RLDS members during the 1870s.[5]
The church building is still home to a congregation of the RLDS, renamed Community of Christ in 2001.[6] The original church pews, constructed by congregation members from local lumber, are still in use.[6] The facility offers public tours by appointment.[7]
Architecture
The building is cast in the Greek Revival style, and its foundation and walls are constructed from sandstone.[8] The one-story, symmetrical, rectangular building has a front gabled roof which meets the wall with a slight overhang and wide frieze below; both features are typical of the Greek Revival style. The front (east) facade is built from rock-face sandstone in regular courses, the three remaining walls feature rough-cut stone in irregular courses. Each side wall (north and south) has four windows with round, stone, archedlintels, keystones and stone sills. Each window features a full round arch and a nine over nine sash.[2] Each of the building's four corners is adorned with stone quoins as are all of the windows. The front, double-door has a semi-circular transom window and a stone hood with a keystone above it.[2]
The interior of the Plano Stone Church consists of two rooms, a small 8-foot (2m) by 12-foot (4m)vestibule at the entry way, and the main room. The main room has a cove ceiling and a raised dais at its west (front) end. The interior wainscotting, doors, and window sashes are all original. The original pews feature wrought iron end pieces and other furnishings include a wooden pulpit.
The building has undergone alterations and renovations during its history. The original stone stairs on the exterior were removed and replaced. Most of the structure's alterations occurred during the 1940s and were on its interior.[2] Inside, there were originally two alcoves off the vestibule which contained stoves used for heating. These alcoves have since been enclosed: one serves as the basement stairway access and the other as a closet. Other changes during the 1940s include the addition of a projecting bay behind the pulpit and amber glass panes to the windows.[2]
Significance
The Plano Stone Church is most significant for its years as headquarters for the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, from 1868–1881.[2][4] The building, the oldest church in Plano, was declared a Kendall County Landmark in 1974.[4][6] On November 2, 1990 the structure was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.[9] The church was listed on the National Register for its role as the headquarters of the RLDS and its association with the first RLDS president Joseph Smith III.[2]
See also
Plaque noting that the Plano Stone Church was the first RLDS church building.
↑ Launius, Roger and McKiernan, F. Joseph Smith Jr.'s Red Brick Store, (Google Books), Herald Publishing House, p. 38, ( ISBN0830912088). Retrieved 13 September 2007.
The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), is an American-based international church, and is the second-largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. The church reports 250,000 members in 1,100 congregations in 59 countries. The church traces its origins to Joseph Smith's establishment of the Church of Christ on April 6, 1830. A group of members including his eldest son Joseph Smith III formally established the current church on April 6, 1860 in the aftermath of the 1844 death of Joseph Smith.
Emma Hale Smith Bidamon was the wife of Joseph Smith and a leader in the early days of the Latter Day Saint movement, both during Joseph's lifetime and afterward as a member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. In 1842, when the Ladies' Relief Society of Nauvoo was formed as a women's service organization, she was elected by its members as the organization's first president.
The Latter Day Saint movement is a religious movement within Christianity that arose during the Second Great Awakening in the early 19th century and that led to the set of doctrines, practices, and cultures called Mormonism, and to the existence of numerous Latter Day Saint churches. Its history is characterized by intense controversy and persecution in reaction to some of the movement's doctrines and practices and their relationship to mainstream Christianity. The purpose of this article is to give an overview of the different groups, beliefs, and denominations that began with the influence of Joseph Smith.
Joseph Smith III was the eldest surviving son of Joseph Smith and Emma Hale Smith. Joseph Smith III was the Prophet-President of what became known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, now called the Community of Christ, which considers itself a continuation of the church established by Smith's father in 1830. For fifty-four years until his own death, Smith presided over the church. Smith's moderate ideas and nature set much of the tone for the church's development, earning him the sobriquet of "the pragmatic prophet".
Far West was a settlement of the Latter Day Saint movement in Caldwell County, Missouri, United States, during the late 1830s. It is recognized as a historic site by the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, added to the register in 1970. It is owned and maintained by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Kirtland Temple is a National Historic Landmark in Kirtland, Ohio, United States, on the eastern edge of the Cleveland metropolitan area. Owned and operated by the Community of Christ, formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), the house of worship was the first temple to be built by adherents of the Latter Day Saint movement. The design mixes the Federal, Greek Revival, and Gothic Revival architectural styles.
The Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, usually referred to as the Remnant Church, is a denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. The prophet / president of the church is Terry W. Patience.
William Wallace Smith was a grandson of Joseph Smith Jr. and Prophet-President of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, from October 6, 1958, to April 5, 1978, when he retired to "emeritus" status.
Jason William Briggs was a leader in the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement and was instrumental in bringing about the 1860 "Reorganization" of the church, which resulted in the establishment of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
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.
The Red Brick Store in Nauvoo, Illinois, was a building that was constructed and owned by Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement.
The Temple Lot, located in Independence, Missouri, is the first site to be dedicated for the construction of a temple in the Latter Day Saint movement. The area was dedicated on August 3, 1831, by the movement's founder, Joseph Smith Jr., and purchased on December 19, 1831, by his colleague Edward Partridge to be the center of the New Jerusalem or "City of Zion" after he received a revelation stating that it would be the gathering spot of the Latter Day Saints during the last days.
Elbert Aoriul Smith was an American leader in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He was a member of the church's First Presidency from 1909 to 1938 and the Presiding Patriarch of the church from 1938 to 1958.
Herald is the official periodical of Community of Christ. It is published monthly in English in Independence, Missouri, by Herald House Publishing.
The Nauvoo House in Nauvoo, Illinois, is a boarding house that Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, began constructing in the 1840s. The boarding house was never completed, but the structure was later converted into a residential home and renamed the Riverside Mansion. The Nauvoo House, as it is referred to today, is part of the Nauvoo Historic District, a National Historic Landmark.
The Temple Lot Case was a United States legal case in the 1890s which addressed legal ownership of the Temple Lot, a significant parcel of land in the Latter Day Saint movement. In the case, the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints claimed legal title of the land and asked the court to order the Church of Christ to cease its occupation of the property. The RLDS Church won the case at trial, but the decision was reversed on appeal.
The Kirtland Temple Suit is an 1880 Ohio legal case that is often cited as the case that awarded ownership of the Kirtland Temple to the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Though the case was dismissed by the court, the publication of the court's findings of fact—as if they had been the decision of the court—reinforced the belief by members of the RLDS Church and others that the court had considered the RLDS Church, and not The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the rightful legal successor to the Latter Day Saint church established by Joseph Smith in 1830.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Book of Mormon:
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