The Church of Christ was a schismatic sect from the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...

that was founded in 1848 by James C. Brewster and

Hazen Aldrich Hazen Aldrich (January 10, 1797 – 1873) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. After the death of Joseph Smith, Aldrich went on to lead a small denomination of Latter Day Saints known as the '' Brewsterites''. Biography Aldrich ...

. Because of the church's belief that Brewster was a

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...

, the group is often called the Brewsterites.

History

After the

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...

apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

William E. McLellin William Earl McLellin (January 18, 1806 – April 24, 1883) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. One of the original members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, McLellin later broke with church founder Joseph Smith. Biograph ...

and other early church leaders returned to

Kirtland, Ohio Kirtland is a city in Lake County, Ohio, United States. The population was 6,937 at the 2020 census. Kirtland is known for being the early headquarters of the Latter Day Saint movement from 1831 to 1837 and is the site of the movement's first t ...

, to pick up the remnants of the church there. The group adopted the original name of the Latter Day Saint church, the "Church of Christ". Two principles of the movement were to (1) accept

David Whitmer David Whitmer (January 7, 1805 – January 25, 1888) was an American Mormon leader who eventually became the most interviewed of the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon's golden plates. Early life Whitmer was born near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania ...

as leader, and (2) declare Kirtland as the proper center of the church. At the organization of the church in

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...

was selected as the organization's first president. He selected James C. Brewster and James Goodale as his counselors in the

First Presidency Among many churches in the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency (also known as the Quorum of the Presidency of the Church) is the highest presiding or governing body. Present-day denominations of the movement led by a First Presidency ...

. The church published a periodical known as the ''Olive Branch'', which often contained

revelation In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities. Background Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...

s that Brewster had obtained. Notable adherents included

John E. Page John Edward Page (February 25, 1799 – October 14, 1867) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. Born in Trenton, New York, Page was the son of Ebenezer and Rachel Page. He was baptized into the Church of Christ on August 18, 1833 ...

, one of the original members of the

Quorum of the Twelve In the Latter Day Saint movement, the Quorum of the Twelve (also known as the Council of the Twelve, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Council of the Twelve Apostles, or the Twelve) is one of the governing bodies or ( quorums) of the church hie ...

. Because Brewster lived in Springfield, the newspaper eventually moved operation to Illinois. In October 1849, a newspaper article indicated that Kirtland was a temporary headquarters, and they planned to move to California. On June 23, 1849, the group held a General Assembly in the

Kirtland Temple The Kirtland Temple is a National Historic Landmark in Kirtland, Ohio, United States, on the eastern edge of the Cleveland metropolitan area. Owned and operated by the Community of Christ, formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of La ...

. Six members accepted Brewster's revelation to move to California. In 1850, Brewster declared that there was a land called "Bashan" in the

Rio Grande Valley The Lower Rio Grande Valley ( es, Valle del Río Grande), commonly known as the Rio Grande Valley or locally as the Valley or RGV, is a region spanning the border of Texas and Mexico located in a floodplain of the Rio Grande near its mouth. The ...

that God had selected as the new gathering place for the church. In 1851, Brewster and Goodale led a wagon train of followers to find Bashan, while Aldrich—who had begun to doubt Brewster's prophetic abilities—remained behind in Kirtland. There were disagreements between Brewster and Goodale and the other members of the church on the journey to Bashan, and most of Brewster's followers, including

Olive Oatman Olive Ann Oatman (September 7, 1837March 21, 1903) was an American woman celebrated in her time for her captivity and later release by Native Americans in the Mojave Desert region when she was a teenager. She later lectured about her experienc ...

and her family, deserted Brewster and headed for

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Brewster also settled in California and the church was never reorganized.

Notes

References

* ''History of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints'' 3:67–73 *

J. Gordon Melton John Gordon Melton (born September 19, 1942) is an American religious scholar who was the founding director of the Institute for the Study of American Religion and is currently the Distinguished Professor of American Religious History with the Ins ...

(1996, 5th ed.) ''Encyclopedia of American Religions'' (Detroit, Mich.: Gale) pp. 561–62 * Steven L. Shields (1990). ''Divergent Paths of the Restoration'' p. 336 *

Davis Bitton Ronald Davis Bitton (February 22, 1930 – April 13, 2007) was a charter member and president of the Mormon History Association, professor of history at the University of Utah, and official Assistant Church Historian in the Church of Jesus Chri ...

"The Waning of Mormon Kirtland''
''

BYU Studies ''BYU Studies Quarterly'' is an academic journal covering a broad array of topics related to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ( Mormon studies). It is published by the church-owned Brigham Young University. The journal is abstracted ...

'' (1972) {{Authority control Defunct Latter Day Saint denominations Religious organizations established in 1848 1851 disestablishments in the United States Latter Day Saint movement in Illinois Latter Day Saint movement in Ohio Prairie Saints denominations in the Latter Day Saint movement 1848 establishments in Illinois

History

See also

Notes

References