Community of Christ
The Community of Christ is a religious organization with roots in the Latter Day Saint movement, originating in the United States as a branch that separated from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) shortly after the death of its founder, Joseph Smith, in 1844. Initially known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), it adopted its current name in 2001 to emphasize its focus on the teachings of Jesus Christ and to distinguish itself from the LDS Church. The Community of Christ has approximately 250,000 members across 1,110 congregations worldwide.
One of its defining beliefs is the ordination of women and acceptance of same-sex marriage, setting it apart from the LDS Church, which maintains more traditional stances on these issues. The Community of Christ also embraces a more inclusive theology regarding the nature of God and has a history of rejecting polygamy and racial discrimination within its clergy. Although both communities revere the Book of Mormon, the Community of Christ does not identify as Mormons and rejects several revisions made by the LDS Church. This organization aims to create a welcoming and progressive environment, emphasizing equality and inclusivity among its members.
Community of Christ
The Community of Christ is a United States-based religious organization formed as an offshoot of the larger Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), also known as the Mormon Church. Both the Mormons and the Community of Christ trace their origins to the teachings of Joseph Smith in the nineteenth century. However, the Community of Christ broke away from the main church shortly after Smith’s death in 1844. For most of its existence, the church was known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (RLDS) until it changed its name to the Community of Christ in 2001. While members of the Community of Christ view the Book of Mormon as its sacred text, they do not refer to themselves as Mormons and differ from the main church on numerous points of belief. For example, the Community of Christ allows the ordination of women priests and recognizes same-sex marriage, while the LDS Church does not.
Background
During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, a wave of Protestant revival movements known as the Second Great Awakening swept across the United States, bringing with them a renewed emphasis on religious devotion. In the 1820s, Joseph Smith, a young man from upstate New York, was seeking guidance as to the religious path he should follow when he was said to have experienced a series of divine visitations. During one of these visitations, an angel told him about ancient golden plates that contained a lost Hebrew text. Smith eventually examined these plates and translated the text as the Book of Mormon. In 1830, Smith published the book and founded the Church of Christ, which would later be renamed the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As the religion began to spread, Smith and his followers moved into Ohio, Indiana, and Missouri, searching for a place to establish a new center for their church community.
Although LDS theology was based on Christian beliefs, it differed radically in many ways. Among the more drastic were the beliefs that the biblical Garden of Eden was located in Missouri and that Jesus appeared to the Indigenous Americans shortly after his resurrection. Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the early LDS Church was its acceptance of polygamy, the practice of having more than one spouse. By 1831, Smith and a group of followers had settled in Independence, Missouri, declaring the town as their “promised land.” However, their controversial beliefs often drew local condemnation, and they were forced to move several times. In 1844, Smith and his brother were arrested and murdered by a mob in a Carthage, Illinois, jail cell.
Overview
Smith’s death created a power struggle and a rift between many of his followers. As the religion splintered, the majority of Mormons followed church leader Brigham Young, who led his group further west to Salt Lake City, Utah. Young’s group would become the main Church of LDS, which claimed more than 17 million followers worldwide in 2023. Smith’s widow, her family, and some of his followers refused to accept Young’s leadership and remained behind in Illinois. Many members of this group had begun to split from Smith’s ideology even before his death over the issue of polygamy.
In 1852, members of the group formed the New Organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and sought Smith’s son, Joseph Smith III, to be its leader. Initially reluctant, Smith III eventually accepted in 1860, and the church was renamed the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (RLDS). The church remained headquartered in Illinois for much of the nineteenth century, as members followed the traditional path of becoming missionaries and spreading church teachings around the world. By the late nineteenth century, some members of the RLDS began returning to Independence, Missouri, and in 1920, the church officially moved its headquarters back to that city. Traditionally, the RLDS had been led by a direct descendant of Joseph Smith, but that changed in 1996 when W. Grant McMurray was named church leader. In 2001, members of the RLDS decided to rename their church as the Community of Christ, both as a way to focus on its connection to the teachings of Jesus Christ and distance itself from the Church of LDS. According to 2024 church statistics, the Community of Christ has over 250,000 members across sixty countries and in about 1,110 congregations.
Members of the Community of Christ and the LDS share many of the same core beliefs, and both adhere to the Book of Mormon as one of their sacred texts. Both are governed by a president and a group of twelve officials known as the Council of the Twelve Apostles. However, the Community of Christ rejects several of the revisions that have been made to the Book of Mormon by the LDS and prefers not to be referred to as Mormons. Another key difference is over the divine nature of God, with the LDS holding that God was once human and became divine, while the Community of Christ believes that God is eternally divine.
Throughout its history, the Community of Christ has also attempted to distance itself from what it sees as outdated policies of the LDS. The Church of LDS officially denounced polygamy in 1890, but the Community of Christ had always rejected the practice. The Community of Christ has never had any restrictions against Black Americans becoming priests, while the LDS did not lift their discriminatory policies until 1978. The Community of Christ began allowing the ordination of women priests in 1985, and in 2013, it gave members of the LGBTQIA+ community the right to join the clergy. That same year, the Community of Christ also approved same-sex marriage. In the mid-2020s, women, gay, and lesbian clergy are still forbidden by the LDS, as is same-sex marriage.
Bibliography
Branch, Rick. “Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Community of Christ).” Watchman Fellowship, www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/rldsprofile.pdf. Accessed 8 Jan. 2025.
Davis, Tal. “The Community of Christ Part 1: The Scope and History of the Community of Christ.” MarketFaith Ministries, 2013, www.marketfaith.org/the-community-of-christ-part-1-the-scope-and-history-of-the-community-of-christ. Accessed 8 Jan. 2025.
Givens, Terryl L., and Philip L. Barlow, eds. The Oxford Handbook of Mormonism. Oxford University Press, 2015.
Henderson, Garnet. “Dissatisfied Liberal Mormons Find Refuge in the Community of Christ.” Guardian, 1 Oct. 2015, www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/01/women-lgbt-mormons-community-of-christ. Accessed 8 Jan. 2025.
“Letter on 2SLGBTQIA+ Advocacy and Full Inclusion in the USA.” Community of Christ, 5 June 2023, cofchrist.org/news/letter-on-2slgbtqia-advocacy-and-full-inclusion-in-the-usa. Accessed 8 Jan. 2025.
McKeever, Bill. “Mormonism and the Community of Christ: Similarities and Differences.” Mormonism Research Ministry, www.mrm.org/rlds. Accessed 8 Jan. 2025.
“Our Beliefs.” Community of Christ, cofchrist.org/our-beliefs. Accessed 8 Jan. 2025.
Smith, Alex. “Community of Christ OKs Gay Marriage and Clergy.” KCUR, 3 May 2013, www.kcur.org/community/2013-05-03/community-of-christ-oks-gay-marriage-and-clergy. Accessed 8 Jan. 2025.