The Righteous Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as The Righteous Branch, The Branch Church, The Peterson Group and Christ's Church, is a fundamentalist Mormon sect of 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 ...

. It is based in Iron County,

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. The Righteous Branch has approximately 100 to 200 members, most near

Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...

Utah State Route 56 State Route 56 (SR-56) is a state highway completely within Iron County in southwestern Utah. SR-56 runs from the Utah/Nevada border to SR-130 in Cedar City. Route description From its western terminus on the Nevada border near Modena, the ...

in Iron County, west of

Beryl Beryl ( ) is a mineral composed of beryllium aluminium silicate with the chemical formula Be3Al2Si6O18. Well-known varieties of beryl include emerald and aquamarine. Naturally occurring, hexagonal crystals of beryl can be up to several mete ...

. The church's property was originally part of its founder's property outside of

Cedar City Cedar City is the largest city in Iron County, Utah, United States. It is located south of Salt Lake City, and north of Las Vegas on Interstate 15. It is the home of Southern Utah University, the Utah Shakespeare Festival, the Utah Summer Gam ...

, and is not part of the incorporated city.. Some sect members live near Tonopah in

Nye County, Nevada Nye County is a county in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,591. Its county seat is Tonopah. At , Nye is Nevada's largest county by area and the third-largest county in the contiguous United States, behi ...

History

The Righteous Branch was organized on April 6, 1978, by Gerald Wilbur Peterson Sr. (born October 8, 1917 in

Lusk, Wyoming Lusk is a high-plains town in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Wyoming. The town is the seat of Niobrara County. The town was founded in July 1886, by Frank S. Lusk, a renowned Wyoming rancher, partner in the Western Live Stock Company, an ...

, died January 1981).Shields, Steven L. (1990) ''Divergent Paths of the Restoration'', 4 edition. Herald Pub House. Peterson claimed that after

Rulon C. Allred Rulon Clark Allred (March 29, 1906 – May 10, 1977) was a homeopath and chiropractor in Salt Lake City and the leader of what is now the Apostolic United Brethren, a breakaway sect of polygamous Mormon fundamentalists in Utah, Colorado, and ...

, the President of the Priesthood of the

Apostolic United Brethren The Apostolic United Brethren (AUB) is a Mormon fundamentalist group that practices polygamy. The AUB has had a temple in Mexico, since at least the 1990s, an endowment house in Utah since the early 1980s and several other locations of worship ...

, was murdered in May 1977 by followers of

Ervil LeBaron Ervil Morrell LeBaron (February 22, 1925 – August 15, 1981) was the leader of a polygamous Mormon fundamentalist group who ordered the killings of many of his opponents, using the religious doctrine of blood atonement to justify the murders ...

, Allred appeared to him and instructed him to preside over the keys of the priesthood. Peterson organized a new church body with a new Mormon temple on April 6, 1978, two months before the LDS Church's 1978 revelation, which allowed priesthood ordination to black people. Peterson claimed he foresaw this "apostasy" through revelation. The Righteous Branch is organized similarly to the LDS Church with a

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 ...

Quorum of Twelve Apostles A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to ''Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...

, Presiding Bishopric and other priesthood and auxiliary organizations. The Righteous Branch also actively proselytizes and performs proxy

baptism for the dead Baptism for the dead, vicarious baptism or proxy baptism today commonly refers to the religious practice of baptizing a person on behalf of one who is dead—a living person receiving the rite on behalf of a deceased person. Baptism for the dead ...

. As with other Mormon fundamentalist groups, the Righteous Branch believed a priesthood organization and council existed outside of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church), which passed from John Woolley to

Joseph Musser Joseph White Musser (March 8, 1872 – March 29, 1954) was a Mormon fundamentalist leader. Musser was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Amos Milton Musser (an assistant LDS Church historian) and Mary E. White. He is known for his Mormon fundamen ...

, then Rulon Allred, next to Gerald Peterson Sr., next to his son, Gerald W. Peterson Jr., who moved their headquarters to

St. George, Utah St. George is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Utah, United States. Located in southwestern Utah on the Arizona border, it is the principal city of the St. George Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The city lies in the northe ...

, and finally to his son Michael Peterson.

Doctrines and practices

In addition to standard Mormon

doctrines Doctrine (from la, doctrina, meaning "teaching, instruction") is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief system ...

, ordinances, and practices, the Righteous Branch also practices

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 ...

, teaches the

Adam–God doctrine The Adam–God doctrine (or Adam–God theory) was a theological idea taught in mid-19th century Mormonism by Brigham Young, a president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Although the doctrine is rejected by the LDS Ch ...

, the

Curse of Cain The curse of Cain and the mark of Cain are phrases that originated in the story of Cain and Abel in the Book of Genesis. In the stories, if someone harmed Cain, the damage would come back sevenfold. Some interpretations view this as a physica ...

doctrine, and lives the

United Order In the Latter Day Saint movement, the United Order (also called the United Order of Enoch) was one of several 19th-century church collectivist programs. Early versions of the Order beginning in 1831 attempted to fully implement the law of consecr ...

.Moore-Emmett, Andrea. (2004) ''God's Brothel''. Pince-Nez Press. Adherents wear modern dress and do not allow women under 18 to be

sealed Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...

into plural marriages. The sect uses a pyramid-shaped

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

near

in Iron County, thus one of seven Latter Day Saint denominations to have built a temple. They also have a temple in the area (they call it "Lower Smokey") they have settled outside of Tonopah,

, they call it "the Building" or "the Blue Building." It is a series of mobile homes that have been converted into a large structure that contains a chapel or meeting hall, a relief society room, a cultural hall, a baptistry and other temple rooms similar to the LDS Church. The Building also contains a commercial kitchen where the sisters get together The Righteous Branch, in addition to plural marriage practices Placement marriage, similar to the FLDS. The women, as young as 18, "put their name in" to the prophet (Michael Peterson) who then decides to whom the sister will be married. In the event that a sister is unhappy in her marriage, she can petition to be reassigned, however her new spouse must hold a higher priesthood authority than that of her current spouse. There is a large focus on the "will of God" in all things that they do, if it is not the "will of God" according to Michael Peterson and you choose to do it anyway or choose not to do something that is the "will of God" you face consequences that are eternal in nature.

Prominent members

Sect founder Gerald Peterson Sr. practiced homeopathic medicine. His son Gerald Peterson Jr., who led the group after his father, was also a doctor of

osteopathic medicine Osteopathy () is a type of alternative medicine that emphasizes physical manipulation of the body's muscle tissue and bones. Practitioners of osteopathy are referred to as osteopaths. Osteopathic manipulation is the core set of techniques in ...

, practicing

homeopathy Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths, believe that a substance that causes symptoms of a dis ...

in Tonopah,

. Peterson first studied and served as a medical officer in the United States Army. He died on May 25, 2018. Mormon fundamentalist and polygamist

Tom Green Michael Thomas Green (born July 30, 1971) is a Canadian-American comedian, show host, actor, filmmaker, podcaster, and rapper. After pursuing stand-up comedy and music as a young adult, Green created and hosted ''The Tom Green Show'', which a ...

was a member for a short time.Hales, Brian C. (2009
"Tom Green"
Benjamin Shaffer, who has a strong public presence on the internet, is also a member of the group. He joined from mainstream LDS Church.

References

Notes

External links