Richard Charles Evans (October 20, 1861 – January 18, 1921) was a Canadian

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 ...

and member of 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 ...

in the

Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), is an American-based international church, and is the second-largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. The churc ...

(RLDS Church, now the Community of Christ) who became the leader of a

schism A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...

atic

sect A sect is a subgroup of a religious, political, or philosophical belief system, usually an offshoot of a larger group. Although the term was originally a classification for religious separated groups, it can now refer to any organization that b ...

that separated from the RLDS Church in 1918.

Biography

Evans was born in St. Andrews in Argenteuil County,

Province of Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British North America, British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham ...

, in present-day

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. On November 5, 1876, at the age of 15, Evans was

baptized Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

in the

Thames River The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

by RLDS Church preacher J. J. Cornish. In 1882, Evans became a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

in the church, and in 1884 and 1886 he became an elder and a

seventy 70 (seventy) is the natural number following 69 and preceding 71. In mathematics 70 is: * a sphenic number because it factors as 3 distinct primes. * a Pell number. * the seventh pentagonal number. * the fourth tridecagonal number. * the fif ...

, respectively. On April 12, 1897, at a general conference of the RLDS Church, Evans was made an apostle and a member of the

Council of Twelve Apostles 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 ...

. On April 20, 1902, Evans became a counselor in the First Presidency to

Joseph Smith III Joseph Smith III (November 6, 1832 – December 10, 1914) was the eldest surviving son of Joseph Smith (founder of the Latter Day Saint movement) and Emma Hale Smith. Joseph Smith III was the Prophet-President of what became the Reorganized Chu ...

, the Prophet–President of the RLDS Church. Evans became distressed when Smith designated his son,

Frederick M. Smith Frederick Madison Smith (January 21, 1874 – March 20, 1946), generally known among his followers as "Fred M.", was an American religious leader and author and the third Prophet-President of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter ...

, as the foreordained successor to the church presidency in 1906.

Roger D. Launius Roger D. Launius (born May 15, 1954) is an American historian and author of Lithuanian descent, a former chief historian of NASA. He retired in 2016 as Associate Director for Collections and Curatorial Affairs for the Smithsonian National Air ...

“Pretender to the Throne? R. C. Evans and the Problem of Presidential Succession in the Reorganization”
'' Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought'' vol. 30, no. 2 (Summer 1997) pp. 81–102. Consequently, in 1909, Evans was released from the First Presidency and was ordained to the office of

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

. As a bishop, Evans was given jurisdiction over the church in Canada. When Joseph Smith III died in 1914 and Frederick Smith took control of the church, Evans' frustration over being overlooked as a worthy successor continued to grow. In 1918, Evans broke with the RLDS Church. Evans had complained about Prophet–President Frederick M. Smith's administrative style and the church's continuing denials that

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 ...

founder

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 ...

had practiced and taught

plural marriage Polygamy (called plural marriage by Latter-day Saints in the 19th century or the Principle by modern fundamentalist practitioners of polygamy) was practiced by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for more tha ...

. A number of RLDS Church members in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

followed Evans, and they began a church they called the Church of the Christian Brotherhood. Evans used some of the RLDS Church's money to fund the new church's activities. In 1919, the RLDS Church sued Evans in the

Supreme Court of Ontario The Supreme Court of Ontario was a superior court of the Canadian province of Ontario. Created in 1881 pursuant to the Ontario Judicature Act (1881), the Supreme Court of Ontario had two branches: the High Court of Justice Division and the Appell ...

to recover these funds; while the case was dismissed at trial, the church's appeal was successful and Evans' church was forced to return the funds to the RLDS Church. Shortly before the trial, Evans was excommunicated from the RLDS Church for

apostasy Apostasy (; grc-gre, ἀποστασία , 'a defection or revolt') is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that i ...

and mismanagement of church funds. In 1920, Evans published a book explaining why he left the RLDS Church. He wrote that while the "Reorganized 'Mormon Church' does not teach or practice polygamy", the "great sin" of the church "is in denying that Joseph Smith, their prophet, seer and revelator, received revelations commanding the church to enter into that God dishonoring and woman debasing doctrine under pain of eternal damnation".R.C. Evans (1920)
''Forty Years in the Mormon Church: Why I Left It!
(Toronto: R.C. Evans) p. 4. Faced with these facts, Evans concluded that he "could no longer believe that God and Christ visited and conversed with Smith" and that he must have been a

false prophet In religion, a false prophet is a person who falsely claims the gift of prophecy or divine inspiration, or to speak for God, or who makes such claims for evil ends. Often, someone who is considered a "true prophet" by some people is simultaneou ...

. Although it was not central to his reasoning, Evans opined that Frederick M. Smith was "neither a prophet, seer, revelator nor God's mouth-piece to the church, but is an autocrat, cruel and tricky, and selfish in his methods."R.C. Evans (1920)
''Forty Years in the Mormon Church: Why I Left It!
(Toronto: R.C. Evans) p. 80. Evans died in Toronto from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

Publications

* R.C. Evans (1909).
Autobiography of Bishop R.C. Evans of the RLDS Church
' (Lamoni, Iowa: Herald Publishing House) * —— (1912). ''Sermons'' (London, Ontario. advertiser job print). 420 pp. Weekly Sunday evening sermons delivered in 1911, some from his Soho Street church and the rest from the Princess Theatre. Originally appeared as columns in the ''Toronto Sunday World'' * —— (1920)
''Forty Years in the Mormon Church: Why I Left It!''
(Toronto: R.C. Evans)

Notes

References

, "R.C. Evans: Boy Orator of the Reorganization" '' JWHA Journal'' 3 (1983): 40–50 * ——
“Pretender to the Throne? R. C. Evans and the Problem of Presidential Succession in the Reorganization”
'' Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought'' vol. 30, no. 2 (Summer 1997) pp. 81–102 *

W. Grant McMurray W. Grant McMurray (born July 12, 1947) was Prophet-President of Community of Christ from 1996 until 2004. He was the first non-descendant of Joseph Smith to head the church, and under his administration, the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of ...

, "'His Reward is Sure': The Search for R.C. Evans", ''Restoration Trail Forum'' vol. 11, no. 2 (May 1985) pp. 5–6 *

Elbert A. Smith Elbert Aoriul Smith (8 March 1871 – 15 May 1959) was an American leader in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS Church). He was a member of the church's First Presidency from 1909 to 1938 and the Presiding Patriarch ...

, "The Death of R.C. Evans", ''Saints' Herald'' vol. 68 (1921-01-26) p. 76 *

, “R.C. Evans Leaves the Church.” ''Saints' Herald'' vol. 65 (1918-06-19) p. 589.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, R. C. 1861 births 1921 deaths Apostles of the Community of Christ Canadian members of the Community of Christ Canadian Christian religious leaders Community of Christ missionaries Converts to Mormonism Canadian Latter Day Saint writers Canadian leaders of the Community of Christ Members of the First Presidency (Community of Christ) People excommunicated by the Community of Christ Doctrine and Covenants people Deaths from pneumonia in Ontario Latter Day Saint missionaries in Canada

Biography

Publications

See also

Notes

References

External links