Community of Christ (differentiation from Latter-day saints)
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The Community of Christ and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are two separate denominations that share a common heritage in the “Church of Christ” founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. on April 6, 1830 in western New York, through its first 14 years until 1844. They have evolved separately in belief and practices ever since. While the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints claims more than twelve million members worldwide, Community of Christ claims approximately 250,000 members.
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[edit] Recent transformation in Community of Christ
Significant doctrinal, organizational, and attitudinal changes in the Community of Christ since 1960 have further reduced similarities that remained with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While the doctrine and belief system of the LDS church is highly centralized and systematic, the Community of Christ has demonstrated an adaptive and decentralized approach to doctrine. In 1997, the Community of Christ initiated a three-year formal period of transformation entitled “Transformation 2000,” that was seen by then President of the Community of Christ, W. Grant McMurray as the culmination of a series of changes dating back to 1960. [1] McMurray identified these changes as a movement away from a belief that the denomination was “the restored church” and towards a position within mainstream Christianity. By a vote of 1,979 to 561, at the Community of Christ World Conference of 2000, the name of the church was changed from the “Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints” to Community of Christ. The church was attempting to distance itself from comparisons with Mormonism and in the process transform itself into a unique position among mainstream Christian denominations.
As the first president of the Community of Christ since 1830 that was not a direct descendant of Joseph Smith, Jr., McMurray sought to formalize changes in thinking about prophetic leadership, the historical basis of the Book of Mormon, and the concept that priesthood authority had been restored in the 1830’s after centuries of apostasy. [2] During his presidency, the church moved from close communion to open communion and McMurray even began to open the door to priesthood ordination for practicing homosexuals, something which he acknowledged was already occurring. Negative response to this issue forced McMurray to reaffirm the official policy prohibiting ordination of sexually active gays and lesbians. However, the church allows those who were ordained against policy, to continue in priesthood office.
Prior to 1960 the church’s identity was often tied to its differences with the much larger Latter-day saint church. McMurray cited a 1960 world tour by former president W. Wallace Smith as a pivotal event impacting the evolution of church beliefs. Leaders such as Roy Cheville had already been teaching a new generation of church members a more ecumenical and open-minded system of beliefs. But it was the church’s proselytizing of cultures in countries outside North America that knew little about Christianity, much less Mormonism, that forced reassessment of denominational practices and beliefs. Apostle Charles Neff, a leading church missionary, pushed fellow leaders and field ministers towards a relativistic doctrinal viewpoint motivated by a combination of practical missionary concerns and an attitude of theological openness. These significant moves of the Community of Christ towards alignment with liberal Protestant doctrine were influenced in part by many in church leadership who pursued theological studies at St. Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, Missouri, and elsewhere. While the Community of Christ had long been known for its anti-polygamy doctrine, its outreach efforts amongst the Sora people in India brought a re-examination even on this issue.
Former church president Wallace B. Smith’s call for the ordination of women to the priesthood in 1984 was a milestone in the doctrinal evolution of the church away from traditional doctrines and towards progressive Christianity. During his term in office, greater attention was brought to peace and justice issues. The call to dedicate the Independence Temple to “the pursuit of peace” is regarded as both a symbolic and practical evidence of the differences between the two denominations. While the Latter-day Saint church has a set of highly developed temple rituals and sees temples as sacred space for the sealing of covenants related to its celestial doctrine, the Community of Christ transformed the temple concept to that of a center for spirituality, ministerial education and church administration.
These and other changes comprised a fundamental shift in thinking from restorationism to mainline Protestant liberalism. They have been identified as a deconstructionist trend in the theology of the Community of Christ as well as an obvious set of differences with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. These recent differences only added to the list of long-standing doctrinal differences between the two groups. Nearly all of the traditional differences between the two groups also can be seen as aligning the Community of Christ more closely with traditional Christian teaching and neo-orthodoxy. A minority of members within the Community of Christ have not fully adapted to the newer attitudes expressed by church leadership.
[edit] Historical differences between the churches
The Community of Christ was founded by the confederation of a number of smaller groups that declined to migrate with Brigham Young to Utah or follow any of the others vying to become the successor to Joseph Smith, Jr. Prior to the reorganization conference of 1860, numerous doctrinal differences were espoused by the leaders of the various splinter groups. Following the reorganization, these differences were formalized into a litany of what might now be called wedge issues. [3]
The differences enumerated below characterize the major differences between the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and the Community of Christ. [4]
[edit] Scripture
The Inspired Version of the Bible is part of the Community of Christ canon of scripture. The LDS church generally prefers the King James Version, but also publishes the Inspired Version, known as the Joseph Smith Translation. Community of Christ holds the Book of Mormon as a second canon of scripture, but the descriptive term "Mormon" is not used by the church to refer to itself or its members, because of the word's close association with the LDS church. Both churches publish a book called the Doctrine and Covenants. The LDS church has made only a few additions since the 1844 edition while the Community of Christ has removed several early sections and regularly adds new “inspired documents” to the book. Unlike the LDS church, the Community of Christ has never published or considered the Pearl of Great Price to be scripture.
[edit] Leadership succession
The first five of the seven presidents of the Community of Christ since 1860 were direct descendants of Joseph Smith, Jr. While never formally accepting a principle of lineal succession, the denomination originally taught that Joseph Smith, Jr. had designated his son, Joseph Smith III, as his successor. By contrast, the LDS church believes the right of determining a successor lies with the Council of Twelve Apostles. By tradition, the most senior member of the apostolic quorum succeeded as president of the LDS church.
While this is an area that marked a traditional difference between the two denominations, a recent succession crisis in the Community of Christ ironically forced the smaller group to utilize a procedure similar to that of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Current President Stephen M. Veazey was selected as successor by the Community of Christ’s Council of Twelve due to Grant McMurray’s failure to name a successor.
[edit] Adam-God doctrine and exaltation
Adam-God doctrine has never been a part of Community of Christ teachings. While LDS leaders traditionally taught that God was once a man, the LDS Church now deprecates the doctrine. But the LDS do teach the principle of exaltation, which has no counterpart in the Community of Christ.
[edit] Godhead
The Community of Christ now teaches trinitarian principles. The LDS church sees the Godhead as comprised of three physically distinct personages.
[edit] Faith versus works
The LDS church teaches that persons will be judged by their works, while the Community of Christ makes a deliberately ambiguous nod to a doctrine of grace by suggesting that persons will be judged according to “how we respond to God’s call.”
[edit] Priesthood eligibility
Community of Christ priesthood has always been open to persons of all races, and was opened to women in 1984. The LDS priesthood is open to males only and until 1978 was partially closed to blacks and others sometimes viewed as "descendants of Cain".
[edit] Temple rites
The Community of Christ does not practice and has traditionally objected to secret temple ceremonies or rituals. The uniquely LDS beliefs in celestial marriage, baptism for the dead and polygamy have never been embraced by the Community of Christ. Most members of the Community of Christ have accepted the viewpoint of historians that these were indeed taught by Joseph Smith Jr, but that like some of the prophets of ancient Israel, Joseph Smith Jr had a time when he followed a wrong path. Therefore most members reject these doctrinal developments.
[edit] Stewardship
Traditionally, the Community of Christ taught that tithing should be calculated as one-tenth of a member’s discretionary income while the LDS tithe on total income. Recently, however, the Community of Christ has adopted a program known as Disciples’ Generous Response which encourages generosity as a response to God rather than as a calculated obligation.
[edit] Apostasy and Restoration
The LDS church teaches that Joseph Smith, Jr. restored the fullness of the gospel after a centuries long period known as the great apostasy. The LDS church is seen as a restoration of fallen Christianity. By contrast, the Community of Christ has abandoned its traditional tenet that it is the “one true church” and adopted a viewpoint that all faith traditions can offer a pathway to spiritual enlightenment. In a recent article on the Faith and Beliefs of the Community of Christ, Barbara McFarlane Higdon called the Community of Christ a "unique member of the body of Christ, the universal community of believers."[5] Higdon's article also suggests that prior claims that the church had been "restored" were tantamount to idoloatry. The Community of Christ has moved towards ecumenism and inter-faith dialogue. Nevertheless, the Community of Christ "steadfastly affirms the primacy of continuing revelation instead of creedal rigidity..."
[edit] Notes
- ^ Transforming the Church, 1998 leadership address accessed July 28, 2006. (PDF file)
- ^ 1996 Salt Lake Tribune news article, website cache accessed July 29, 2006. McMurray is quoted as stating that the Book of Mormon: “falls outside the traditional standards of historical documentation and veracity.”
- ^ Differences that Persist: between the LDS and RLDS Churches, by Elbert A. Smith (1950), website accessed July 29, 2006.
- ^ LDS - RLDS: Differences & Similarities, website accessed July 28, 2006.
- ^ Higdon, Barbara McFarlane, "Faith and Beliefs: The Church," HERALD, September 2006, p. 22-23.
