Community of Christ

QUESTION: What is the Community of Christ?

ANSWER:

Community of Christ traces their roots back to Joseph Smith, just like the Mormons. Formally the group was called the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (RLDS) and separated from the Latter-days Saints (Mormons) in 1844. Following Joseph Smith's death, several leaders claimed to be his successor and began other churches of their own. However, each of these churches claimed to be the only true church of Joseph Smith.

One of the leaders, Brigham Young led several of the followers to Salt Lake City Utah. Other leaders led groups to Michigan and other states. Jason Briggs, Zenos Gurley, and William Marks, who all rejected the acceptance of polygamy, are often credited with starting the RLDS group. They wanted Joseph Smith III to be their new leader since they felt a descendant of Joseph Smith should carry on the organization. He finally consented to become a prophet and on April 6, 1860 the Reorganized Christ of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was born. The organization is now known (since April 2001) as the Community of Christ in order to separate themselves from the Mormons. Community of Christ is headquartered in Independence Missouri.

Community of Christ's doctrine is unique from that of Mormonism. Here are a few differences:

• A majority of Mormons have the view that there are many gods, Community of Christ believes in only one God who has always been God.
• Community of Christ does not baptize for the dead.
• Community of Christ does not accept the Pearl of Great Price as authoritative.

It is important to note that although the Community of Christ disagrees with many Mormon doctrines, they are still a cult. They maintain that Joseph Smith was a prophet, they believe in the Book of Mormon (although they have a slightly different version), hold to baptism for remission of sins, believe that Jesus will return to Independence, MO, and they often use their own experiences as a basis for truth. Therefore, the Community of Christ does not hold to the doctrine of the Bible and are considered a cult.