Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

Coordinates: 39°05′33″N 94°25′27″W / 39.092384°N 94.42424°W / 39.092384; -94.42424 (Headquarters building Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints)

Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
Headquarters of the Remnant Church. Located next to the Independence Temple grounds.
(Formerly the William Chrisman High School)
Classification Latter Day Saint movement
Orientation Latter Day Saints
Polity Church conference
President Frederick Niels Larsen
Region United States
Origin April 6, 2000[1]
Independence, Missouri
Separated from Restoration Branches[1]

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 president of the church is Frederick Niels Larsen, a direct descendant of Joseph Smith.

History

In the 1970s and 1980s,[1] the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (now called the Community of Christ) was criticized from within its membership for various changes in policy and leadership. This included including female priesthood, ending the doctrine of Lineal succession, and the construction of the Independence Temple.[2][3]

This led to several branches of the RLDS Church to form a group of independent Restoration Branches.[1] In May 1999, several members of this group met as the Conference of Restoration Elders, including Frederick Niels Larsen. They published the "Proclamation and Invitation to the Faithful", which led to the creation of the Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on April 6, 2000.[1]

In April 2002, as a descendant of Joseph Smith, Larsen was chosen to become the President of the High Priesthood of the Remnant Church.

Doctrine

Conference center and meetinghouse in Independence, Missouri

Through its history with the Reorganized Church, the Remnant Church considers itself to be a remnant of the Church of Christ organized by Joseph Smith in 1830, and thus the "one true church".[1]

The church has its headquarters near the Temple Lot, across from the Independence Temple and headquarters of the Community of Christ. The Remnant Church maintains belief in a geophysical "Zion", a central belief of the Church during the time of Joseph Smith Jr. The Remnant Church teaches the doctrine of lineal succession, where certain key church positions, such as President of the Church and the Presiding Patriarch, are held by right of lineal inheritance.

Members of the Remnant Church believe that the Inspired Version of the Bible, Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants are sacred texts. The Remnant Church's Doctrine and Covenants shares the same sections as that of Community of Christ up to Section 144 (the last revelation from the presidency of Israel A. Smith). As of 2015, there are an additional 17 sections unique to the Remnant Church, all of which were given through Frederick Larsen. The Pearl of Great Price as a whole is not part of the Remnant canon of scripture, although two of its constituent parts (The Book of Moses and Joseph Smith–Matthew) are excerpts from the Inspired Version of the Bible, and another part, the Articles of Faith, is published on the Remnant Church's website as "Our Epitome of Faith".

The Presiding Bishop of the church, W. Kevin Romer, is recognized as a "literal descendent of Aaron"[4] (cf. Kohanim) and thus holds the unique office of “Aaronic High Priest”.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Russell, William D. (Winter 2005). "An RLDS Schismatic Group Finds a Prophet of Joseph's Seed" (PDF). Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. 38 (3).
  2. ↑ Howard, Richard P. (1992), "Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS Church)", in Ludlow, Daniel H, Encyclopedia of Mormonism, New York: Macmillan Publishing, pp. 1211–1216, ISBN 0-02-879602-0, OCLC 24502140
  3. ↑ Doctrine and Covenants, Section 156 D&C Section 156
  4. ↑ "Remnant Doctrine and Covenants section R-161".
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