Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite)
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The Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite) is officially titled The Church of Jesus Christ with Headquarters in Monongahela, Pennsylvania. Its members are sometimes referred to as Bickertonites or members of the Bickerton organization, although they generally do not favor this moniker. The Church of Jesus Christ is not affiliated with any other church, and it started in the "Restoration" movement. Generally considered the third largest of the organizations emerging from the 1844 succession crisis, the Church has members in North, Central and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa—for an approximate total of 15,000 worldwide.
The Church of Jesus Christ claims to be the spiritual successor to the "Church of Christ," organized by Joseph Smith, Jr. on April 6, 1830. The Church of Jesus Christ claims that Sidney Rigdon was Joseph Smith's rightful successor in the 1844 succession crisis following the assassination of Joseph Smith Jr. because Rigdon was Smith's first counselor in the First Presidency. Brigham Young, the president of the Church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, also claimed the right of succession and led the majority of Church members in a migration to Utah, where The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is centered.
This church considers Smith to have been a prophet and a seer, but (unlike other Mormon sects) does not view him as the "Choice Seer" predicted by the Book of Mormon. Its members are still awaiting the coming of the Choice Seer whom many in the organization believe will be of Native American heritage (2 Nephi 3:6-7). Many members of the church believe this "Choice Seer" is alive today, though his identity is not yet revealed to the world.[citation needed]
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[edit] History
After the death of Joseph Smith in 1844, the history of The Church of Jesus Christ diverges from the other LDS organizations. After the martyrdom, Sidney Rigdon, the only surviving member of the Church's highest ruling body, the First Presidency, was the First Counselor of the Church with Brigham Young standing as the president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. In 1845 Sidney Rigdon gathered a group of members around him in Pennsylvania and established distinctive points of doctrine such as rejection of polygamy, and finally formed a "new" church, called the Church of Christ. In 1846, an immigrant coal miner named William Bickerton converted to the faith. Later in 1846, Rigdon led his Church to a new location near Greencastle in Pennsylvania's Cumberland Valley. From there his Church slowly dwindled until it was gone. Before the move, however, William Bickerton disagreed with Rigdon's decision and broke his affiliation with him. Bickerton was an ordained elder who believed that, under God's revelation, he was to continue preaching the gospel and baptize many new converts into The Church of Jesus Christ. The church he formed in 1849 denounced many prominent Mormon doctrines such as polygamy, celestial marriage, baptism for the dead, the belief that Joseph Smith was the Choice Seer, and many others that they claimed had entered into the different restoration groups after the death of Joseph Smith and the succession crisis.
At a conference in Green Oak, Pennsylvania in July of 1862, leaders of several branches in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia came together and formally organized what they called The Church of Jesus Christ. William Bickerton presided over the conference. Bickerton's two counselors were George Barnes and Charles Brown who were ordained Apostles. The members of the Quorum of the Twelve of this new sect (ordered by seniority) were Arthur Bickerton, Thomas Bickerton, Alexander Bickerton, James Brown, Cummings Cherry, Benjamin Meadowcroft, Joseph Astin, Joseph Knox, William Cadman, James Nichols, John Neish and John Dixon. At the conference George Barnes reported receiving the "word of the Lord," which he related:
| Hear the word of the Lord; Ye are my Sons and Daughters, and I have committed unto you the Keys of the Kingdom, therefore be ye faithful. |
The Church was incorporated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in June of 1865 with the legal name, "Church of Jesus Christ of Green Oak, Pennsylvania." In 1875, William Bickerton accompanied by approximately thirty-five to forty families moved to Kansas to found the Zion Valley Colony, which later became the town of St. John, Kansas. In 1880, William Cadman succeeded Bickerton as president over the Church. In order to operate legally outside the United States, the Church filed a new incorporation on April 5, 1941 with the legal name, "The Church of Jesus Christ with headquarters at Monongahela, Pennsylvania."
[edit] Organization of the Church
The Church of Jesus Christ does not view the prophetic office as limited to a "Prophet" or to the President of the Church. Rather, members believe that it encompasses the Quorum of Twelve Apostles together and that revelations can be given to individual members of the Church. The President of the church, and his two counselors, are elected by the general priesthood in conference and selected from amongst the Quorum of the Twelve apostles. The President of the church, while being an ordained apostle, functions as the chief operating officer, overseeing the general operations of the church. In contrast, The Quorum of Twelve apostles has its own president and officers elected amongst themselves, independent of the general priesthood. The Quorum of Twelve are primarily responsible for guiding the spiritual growth and development of the Church in general, acting as advisors to key operating committees. Other officers of the Church include the Quorum of Seventy Evangelists. Apostles are usually called from among the Evangelists.
The Church maintains a publishing house in Bridgewater, Michigan, and prints its own edition of the Book of Mormon. The edition follows the chapter and versification found in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' edition, but the headers and notes are distinct. This organization claims to be the first Latter Day Saint group to publish an edition of the Book of Mormon translated into Italian.[citation needed] (Many members in the United States are of Italian descent.)
The Church records revelations that are deemed valid by the Apostles, and publishes them where believed appropriate, but these are not bound together in a single volume. These revelations may come from the Quorum of the Twelve singly or together. They also may come from individual members of the Church, and will only be published if they are approved by the Quorum.
The Church does not accept any edition of the Doctrine and Covenants as entirely valid, but does consider many revelations within it to be true. Generally, versions of these revelations found in the Book of Commandments are preferred to the versions found in the later book. The Church especially considers purported revelations relating to plural marriage, baptism for the dead and other Nauvoo-era practices to be spurious. In addition to the Book of Mormon, the Church accepts the King James Version of the Bible as scripture.
Today, the Church of Jesus Christ has a worldwide membership of about 15,000, with nearly 3,000 located in the United States. The Church continues to experience significant growth in comparison to some of the other smaller Latter Day Saint organizations, though the number is substantially much less than the 250,000 converts each year to the largest LDS denomination, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They have been engaged in the construction of new church buildings throughout the United States, specifically in the Detroit area, eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, Florida, California, and Mesa, Arizona within the last decade, along with buildings in many foreign countries.
The Church publishes a monthly periodical called The Gospel News.
[edit] Doctrines and Practices
The Church of Jesus Christ has a good relationship with the smaller Church of Christ (Temple Lot). Both churches are distinct organizations, however, and independent of any other Latter Day Saint denominations, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) (which has its headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah). The Church of Jesus Christ has long rejected plural marriage (as has the LDS Church since 1890) and many other doctrines taught by the LDS church and believes that many of the doctrines of the LDS church were not taught by Joseph Smith Jr. and did not exist before he was martyred. The Church of Jesus Christ views the nature of God as explained in the Bible and Book of Mormon, which differs from the views on the nature of God derived from these texts by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Members refer to each other as "Brother" and "Sister." The church counsels members to be moderate in all things including their dress and appearance.
In worship services, members of the priesthood generally do not prepare written sermons prior to the meeting. Instead, the priesthood strives to speak under the inspiration of Jesus Christ, claiming that the Holy Spirit directs their words. Each week, church services begin with preaching from the priesthood and generally followed by a testimony portion of the meeting, during which time members of the congregation (and visitors) are given the opportunity to "praise God for what He has done for them."
This church, like many other Restoration sects, believes that serving God and following Jesus is a "365 day per year activity", not just a Sunday activity. Chapels of the church contain neither altars nor crosses nor even pictures, as they believe scripture forbids any type of "graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth" (Exodus 20:4).
The offices of the church are:
Apostle, Evangelist (or "Seventy"), Elder (or "Minister"), Teacher, Deacon, and Deaconess.
Although women may serve as deaconesses in the church, only men may become elders according to their interpretation of the scriptures. Deaconesses do not have priesthood authority, but prepare the communion tables. Deacons set up chairs and prepare the chapel for meetings, as well care for the Saints in general and visit the sick in particular. Elders in turn are responsible for the spiritual well-being of the church. As with most Restoration denominations, elders are never referred to as "Father" or "Reverend"; likewise, Elders and all church officials (including the Church Presidency and Quorum of Apostles) are volunteers and are not compensated for their activities monetarily. Elders perform administration to the sick through the "laying on of hands," using oil if the illness is physical. According to the doctrine of the church, Elders are called to their positions by revelation.
Like many Christian sects, the church uses bread and wine for the "sacrament" or "communion", representing the body and blood of Christ which they believe was sacrificed for the sins of humankind. The prayers for the Sacrament are not read verbatim from the Book of Mormon (Moroni 4 and Moroni 5), but are left to "inspiration of the Holy Spirit." A first prayer is given prior to passing the bread and then another is offered prior to passing the wine. The communion is administered only to active, baptized members of the church. The wine is served in a communal cup. The ministers serve the congregation by walking around to each person in their seats, first with plate of bread and then with the cup of wine. The bread is not wafers or crackers, but leavened bread that has been broken into small pieces by the ministry during the ordinance. The ministers are the last to partake of the bread and the wine after the congregation has been served.
Church members follow the ordinance of feet washing (John 13:5) four times a year as a demonstration of personal humility. The church believes that this is a very important ordinace, citing Jesus' statement to Peter: "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me." Church members greet one another with a "holy kiss" on the cheek (following the description given in the King James Version of the New Testament).
The Church practices baptism by immersion in open, natural bodies of water, such as lakes, rivers, oceans, etc. After baptism, the laying on of hands is performed by the elders for the receipt of the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit. Like many Restoration denominations, the church does not baptize infants. They believe that one should become baptized at the "age of accountability", when the person can be aware of their sins and can repent, citing examples from the New Testament where persons were ordered to repent prior to baptism.
Members of the church believe in the gifts of the Spirit, as described in their scriptures. These include but are not limited to: the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, healing, prophecy, discernment, witnessing of angels, speaking in tongues, and "speaking in the word of the lord."
The Church of Jesus Christ believes that hymns are often revealed through divine inspiration for the edification of the church. They use many different songbooks, but mainly two: The Saints Hymnal and The Songs of Zion. The latter is a collection of songs "given by revelation" to a member of the church ostensibly with no musical ability or training. She claimed that she often heard the lyrics and the melody of a song and would work alongside someone with musical training to put down on paper what she heard. After a silent period of a few years, she reported that she began to receive more revealed songs again in 2004. Many members of the church believe these songs to be "filled with the Spirit of God."
The group has a strong Millennialism belief system.
Many in the organization believe that this is the only true Christian faith on the face of the earth.
[edit] References
- W. H. Cadman, A History of the Church of Jesus Christ, Monongahela, PA: 1945.
- Jerry Valenti, "Welcome to The Church of Jesus Christ," The Gospel News, Vol. 56, No. 9, Sept. 2000.
- Gary R. Entz, "Zion Valley: The Mormon Origins of St. John, Kansas," Kansas History 24 (summer 2001): 98-117. (This article covers William Bickerton's early career in founding the Church of Jesus Christ and his 1875 move to Zion Valley, Kansas).
