The Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, usually referred to as the Remnant Church, is a denomination in 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 ...

. The prophet / president of the church is Terry W. Patience.

History

In the 1970s and 1980s, 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 ...

(now called Community of Christ) was criticized from within, by its membership, for various changes in policy and leadership. These issues, among other issues, included female priesthood, the ending of the doctrine of Lineal succession, and the construction of the

Independence Temple The Temple in Independence, Missouri, is a house of worship and education "dedicated to the pursuit of peace". It dominates the skyline of Independence and has become the focal point of the headquarters of the Community of Christ (formerly the Re ...

. This led to several branches of the RLDS Church to form groups of independent Restoration Branches. In May 1999, several members of these branches met as the Conference of Restoration Elders, including Frederick Niels Larsen, great-grandson of Joseph Smith Jr. They published the "Proclamation and Invitation to the Faithful", which led to the creation of the ''Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints'' on April 6, 2000. In April 2002, as a descendant of

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 ...

, Larsen was chosen to become the President of the High Priesthood of the Remnant Church, and he was sustained as the prophet and president of the church until his death. Larsen died on April 26, 2019. Following his death, Terry Wayne Patience became President of the High Priesthood/Prophet/President of the church on June 29, 2019 during a special conference of the church.

Doctrine

Through its history with the Reorganized Church, the Remnant Church considers itself to be a remnant of the

Church of Christ Church of Christ may refer to: Church groups * When used in the plural, a New Testament designation for local groups of people following the teachings of Jesus Christ: "...all the churches of Christ greet you", Romans 16:16. * The entire body of Ch ...

organized by Joseph Smith Jr. in 1830, and thus the "one true church". The church has its headquarters near the

Temple Lot The Temple Lot, located in Independence, Missouri, is the first site to be dedicated for the construction of a temple in the Latter Day Saint movement. The area was dedicated on August 3, 1831, by the movement's founder, Joseph Smith Jr., and p ...

, across from the

(headquarters of the Community of Christ), and within the former William Chrisman High School (built in 1918). The Remnant Church maintains belief in a geophysical "Zion", a central belief of the Church during the time of Joseph Smith Jr. Members of the Remnant Church believe that the Inspired Version of the Bible,

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude date ...

and the

Doctrine and Covenants The Doctrine and Covenants (sometimes abbreviated and cited as D&C or D. and C.) is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. Originally published in 1835 as Doctrine and Covenants of the Chur ...

are sacred texts. The Pearl of Great Price of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as a whole, is not part of the Remnant canon of scripture. The Remnant Church's Doctrine and Covenants shares the same sections as that of Community of Christ up to Section 144 (the last revelation from the presidency of Israel A. Smith). As of 2015, there are an additional 17 sections unique to the Remnant Church, all of which were given through Frederick Larsen. A document outlining their foundational beliefs, as written by Joseph Smith Jr. is published on the Remnant Church's website as "Our Epitome of Faith". The Presiding Bishop of the church, W. Kevin Romer, is recognized as a "literal descendent of Aaron" (cf. ''

Kohanim Kohen ( he, , ''kōhēn'', , "priest", pl. , ''kōhănīm'', , "priests") is the Hebrew word for "priest", used in reference to the Aaronic priesthood, also called Aaronites or Aaronides. Levitical priests or ''kohanim'' are traditionally be ...

'') and thus holds the unique office of “Aaronic High Priest”.

References

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 ...

and Linda Thatcher, eds.
''Differing Visions: Dissenters in Mormon History'' (Illinois, 1998)

William D. Russell, “Defenders of the Faith: Varieties of RLDS Dissent,” Sunstone 14, no. 3 (1990): 14-19

External links

The official website of the Remnant Church
{{DEFAULTSORT:Remnant Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints Josephite denominations in the Latter Day Saint movement Christian organizations established in 2000 Organizations based in Missouri Latter Day Saint movement in Missouri 2000 establishments in Missouri