.:MORMON SPLINTER GROUPS

– Sects that broke away from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Proponents of the Salt Lake City based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as LDS or Mormons) boast of the alleged “unity” of their 12 million membership. Pointing to multiple denominations of Christian churches, Mormons attribute their “unity” (i.e., uniform church structure and belief) to latter-day revelation and to additional books they regard as Scripture.They challenge the potential convert to read and pray about the Book of Mormon in order to gain a “testimony” of the truthfulness of the book. This “testimony” (consisting of a “burning in the bosom” sensation) is alleged to be the main test for determining whether the potential convert should become a member of the LDS Church. Given the fact that over 100 splinter groups have developed on the foundation of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, we question the validity of the Mormon “testimony” in solidifying the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the sole possessor of the “restored gospel.” Since all of these movements base their authority on the Book of Mormon and the Prophet Joseph Smith, how can a “testimony” gained through praying about the Book of Mormon be sufficient to prove which church of all of these movements one should join? The following list of dissident groups is taken from the book Divergent Paths of Restoration:

FOUNDED BETWEEN 1830 AND 1844

Pure Church of Christ, Wycam Clark, 1831

The Independent Church, Hoton, 1832

Church of Christ, Ezra Booth, 1836

Church of Christ, Warren Parrish, 1837

The Church of Jesus Christ, the Bride, The Lamb’s Wife, George M. Hinkle, 1840

Church of Christ, Hyrum Page, 1842

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, F. Gladden Bishop

True Church of Jessu Christ of Latter Day Saints, Law, Foster, Higbee, 1844

Church of Christ, William Chubby

NON-EXTANT MOVEMENTS FOUNDED 1844-1860

Church of Christ / Church of Jesus Christ of the Children of Zion, Sidney Rigdon, 1844

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, James Emmett, 1844

Church of Christ, S. B. Stoddard, Leonard Rich, James Bump, 1845

Indian Mormon, 1846

Church of Christ, William McLellin, David Whitmer, 1847

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, William Smith, 1847

Congregation of Jehovah’s Presbytery of Zion, Charles B. Thompson, 1848

Church of Christ, James C. Brewster, 1848

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Lyman Wight, 1849

The Bride, The Lamb’s Wife or Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Jacob Syfritt, 1850

Church of Christ, Hazen Aldrich, 1851

EXTANT MOVEMENTS Splinter Groups and Sub-movements of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, James J. Strang, 1844

Church of Christ, Aaron Smith, 1846

Church of the Messiah, George J. Adams, 1861

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite)

Holy Church of Jesus Christ, Alexandre R. Caffiaux

House of Ephraim and House of Manasseh of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Jerry Sheppard

The True Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, David L. Roberts

Marriage Counseling Group

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, John J. Hajicek

Strangite Believers in Pennsylvania

Splinter Groups and Sub-movements of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Brigham Young, 1847 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or Church of the First Born, Joseph Morris, 1861

The Prophet Cainan or Church of Jesus Christ of the Saints of the Most High God, George Williams, 1862

Morrisite Group, John Livingston, 1864

Church of Zion, William S. Godbe, 1868

Church of the First Born, George S. Dove, 1874

Priesthood Groups (Fundamentalists), 1890

United Order of Equality, Ephraim Peterson, 1909

The Church of Jesus Christ of Israel, J. H. Sherwood

Order of Aaron, Maurice L. Glendenning

Church of Freedom of Latter Day Saints, 1950s

Zion’s Order of the Sons of Levi, Marl V. Kilgore, 1951

The Church of the Firstborn of the Fulness of Times, Joel F. LeBaron

The Church of the Firstborn, Ross W. LeBaron, 1955

Perfected Church of Jesus Christ of Immaculate Latter Day Saints, William C. Conway, 1958

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, John Forsgren, 1960

Church of Jesus Christ, William Goldman, 1960

LDS Scripture Researchers/Believe God Society, Sherman Russell Lloyd, 1965

The Church of the Body and of the Spirit of Jessu Christ, Max Powers, 1965

United Order of the Saints of Guadeloupe, Michel Gamiette, 1966

United Order of the Family of Christ, David E. Desmond, 1966

Split from Zion’s Order of the Sons of Levi, Eldon Taylor, 1969

Homosexual Church of Jesus Christ, Denver, Colorado, 1972

Latter Day Saints Church, N.S. Park, 1972

The Church of the Lamb of God, Ervil M. LeBaron, 1972

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Mikhail Krupenia, 1972

The New Jerusalem Group, Kathryn Carter, 1972

The Watchmen on the Towers of Latter Day Israel, Miltenberg, Braun, 1973

Church of Jesus Christ in Solemn Assembly, Alexnader Joseph, 1974

Evangelical Church of Christ, Church of the New Covenant in Christ, John W. Bryant, 1974

Split form Zion’s Order of the Sons of Levi, Barton Kilgore, 1975

Affirmation, 1975

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Robert Simons, 1975

Church of the Firstborn of the Fulness of Times, Bruce Wakeham, 1975

Aaronic Order Break-off, 1977

Christ’s Church, Inc., Gerald Peterson, 1978

Church of Jesus Christ, Art Bulla, 1978

The Restorers or School of the Prophets, Robert C. Crossfield, 1979

Zion’s First International Church, LeeAnn Walker, 1980

The Free Will Mormon Church, Franklin Lee Coleman, 1980

Church of Jesus Christ, Jorge Mora, 1981

Sons Ahman Israel, Davied Israel, 1981

Samoan LDS Church, New Zealand, 1981

The Millennial Church of Jesus Christ, Leo P. Evoniuk, 1981

Peyote Way Church of God, Immanuel P. Trujillo, 1981

The Chruch of Jesus Christ of the Saints in Zion, Ken Asay, 1984

Break from the Church of Jesus Christ in Solemn Assembly, 1984

Church of Jesus Christ of All Latter-day Saints or Restoration Church of Jesus Christ, Antonio A. Feliz, 1985

Church of Christ of Latter-day Saints, Robert P. Madison, 1985

Church of Christ the Firstborn of the Fulness of Times, Siegfried J. Widmar, 1985

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Fundamentalists, Wight Family, 1985

Mormon Fundamentalists, England, Alan and Marian Munn, 1986

Churchof Jesus Christ Omnipotent, 1987

Community of Zion, Central Utah Division

Church of the First Born, General Assembly Splinter Groups and Sub-movements of The Church of Jesus Christ, Alpheus Cutler, 1853

Church of Jesus Christ, Clyde Fletcher, 1953

The Restored Church of Jesus Christ, Eugene O. Walton, 1979

Splinter Groups and Sub-movements of The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 1851-1860

Church of the Christian Brotherhood, Richard C. Evans, 1917

The Church of Christ, the Order of Zion, John Zahnd, 1918

The Church of Jesus Christ, Thomas W. Williams, 1925

Church of Jesus Christ Restored, Stanley M. King, 1970

New Jerusalem Church of Jesus Christ, Barney Fuller, 1975

Church of Christ Restored, Paul Fishel, 1976

True Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Forrest Toney, 1980

Church of the Restoration or Churches of Christ in Zion, Robert Chambers, 1981

Lamanite Ministries for Christ or New Covenant Ministries for Christ, 1984

Restoration Branches Movement, 1984

Church of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, A. Lee Abramson, 1985

Church of Jesus Christ, Zion’s Branch, John Cato, 1986

Church of Christ, David Clark, 1986

Independent Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Christopher C. Warren, 1986

Native Indian Church

Splinter Groups and Sub-movements of The Church of Jesus Christ, William Bickerton, 1862

Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ, Allen Wright, 1907

Primitive Church of Jesus Christ, James Caldwell, 1914

Splinter Groups and Sub-movements of Church of Christ (Temple Lot), Granville Hedrick, 1863