Our Church’s Heritage & Continued Commitment

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has stated that they will not convert the Kirtland temple into a functioning Latter -day Saint temple, reported the The Salt Lake Tribune. The Kirtland Temple and Nauvoo sites including the Smith Family Farmstead, the Mansion House and the Red Brick Store will reopen on March 25th for year-round public tours.

In 1831, the community of saints in Kirtland, Ohio took on a tremendous undertaking. These people had just moved to Kirtland from New York and had started to set up their community with housing and service buildings such as a blacksmith, a sawmill, and a market. The people didn’t have much -- a lot of their belongings were sold prior to the long trip to pay for their needs along the journey. Many workers had to leave their large tools behind or sell them before travelling due to the burden of traveling with a heavy (or large) load.

Despite their conditions, many of the saints were alive with the knowledge of God in their lives. The events from the building of the Kirtland Temple (The House of the Lord) describes a people who made sacrifices and showed faith, obedience, courage, and dedication of all for their God.

The community of Kirtland had to experiment with working together for the task of building the House of the Lord, a temple.

In the history of every stone of the Kirtland Temple, in the pages of the Inspired Version of the Holy Scriptures, in the echo of Joseph Smith's revelations, lies the soul of our faith. As we face the unsettling news of the transfer of many sacred sites and documents of the Restoration, our souls cry out with anguish and trepidation.

We, the Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, stand as guardians of a legacy that stretches back to the dawn of the Restoration. The essence of our faith, the very bedrock upon which we stand, remains untainted by the shifting tides of culture and society. In a world where principles are compromised and truths diluted, we hold fast to the rod of iron and the unchanging doctrines of Christ's original gospel.

Have you ever wondered what men and women are supposed to do when the church they belong to no longer follows the proper structure set up by God? We believe that happened.  A little history might be helpful. We affirm that in 1830, the Church of Jesus Christ was established once again on the earth. However, after Joseph Smith, Jr., was martyred, the church was pulled in many directions which lead to the need for a renewal of the church. We believe that the Reorganized Church, now Community of Christ, was at that time, directed by the Lord to reorganize in 1853 and was given the pattern by Him as  how this should be accomplished, culminating in the ordination of the prophet, Joseph Smith III, in 1860.

In the 1980’s through the 1990’s, believers in the fullness of the gospel found themselves in need of God’s guidance. Many members in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints were heartbroken and pained when the leadership of the church chose to turn away from the original doctrine of Jesus Christ.

This caused the need for another renewal of the church in order to keep the church as it was originally organized.

In April of 2000, a council of high priest were convinced that our heritage church had strayed so far in doctrine and practice that such an action was necessary. They were able to discern from reading church history, what the distinct pattern had been before. This started the process of renewal.  We affirm that the Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints followed the proper pattern as follows:

The first requirement given to the conference of 1853, which was given under inspiration, was to respect authority.  There were two high priests and one senior president of seventy from which to choose someone to preside over the organizing conference.  High Priest Jason Briggs, one of the two high priests, was chosen to preside at the conference.

Second, they were directed to form a committee to select a majority of the quorum of twelve, or in other words, seven apostles, which they did.  After these men were ordained, they led the church until a prophet was ordained.  There are several scriptures which support their leadership.  For example, 1 Cor. 12:28 reads,

“And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets.”

Also, Doctrine and Covenants 104:30 is as follows:

“It is the duty of the Twelve, also, to ordain and set in order all the other officers of the church.”  

At this conference, the Standing High Council was also formed, consisting of twelve high priests.

Although there are were many other details involved in the Reorganization, suffice it to say that the final part of this process was the ordination of Joseph Smith III, who accepted the leadership of the church as prophet and was confirmed by vote at the Amboy conference seven years later in April 1860.

Likewise, the Remnant Church began by following the counsel contained in Section 122:10a as given through Joseph Smith III, which I read in part:

“Should the church fall into disorder…it is the duty of the several quorums of the church, or any one of them, to take measures to correct such disorder; through the advice and direction of the Presidency, the Twelve, the Seventy, or a council of high priests, in case of emergency.”  

Although many members of the Reorganized Church were disillusioned and searching for answers, the Lord worked with a council of high priests who had recognized the need to so act.  Accordingly, 24 high priests met on July 17, 1999, and recommended a Melchisedec conference be held on October 30, 1999.  This was followed by the organizing general conference five-plus months later in April 2000.  Both conferences were presided over by High Priest Lee Killpack, the conferences respecting authority in both cases.  Recognizing the authority of the council of 24 high priests to begin the process of renewing the church was also a key element in respecting authority as the Lord had previously directed.

A document through inspiration was presented to the April 2000 conference through High Priest Lee Killpack, which recommended three patriarchs be selected to seek inspiration as to who the seven apostles should be.  The names presented to the September 23, 2000, conference for men to be called into the Twelve, were identical from each of the three patriarchs. These names were even in the same order on their lists.  The new apostles in turn identified twelve men to serve on the Standing High Council, and they were ordained at the April 2001 conference.  In selecting seven apostles and 12 men for the Standing High Council, step two of the pattern was followed.

The third step of the pattern was fulfilled in April 2002 when Frederick Niels Larsen, grandson of President Frederick M. Smith, was confirmed by the conference and ordained prophet of the church.  The pattern had been followed and authority had been respected.  Of those twenty-four high priests that began this process, most were leaders in the heritage church. Their vast experiences, knowledge of the scriptures, and relationships with God, proved invaluable as they continued to guide the saints in the formative days of the Remnant Church and beyond.

Section 43 of the Doctrine and Covenants gives the right and responsibility of selecting a successor to the incumbent prophet.  Lineage has been an important factor in doing so, but not the most important one.  For example, the successor to Moses was not Gershom, his son, but Joshua.  Moses was of the tribe of Levi, but Joshua was of the tribe of Ephraim.  It is therefore not a difficulty that President Larsen appointed Terry W. Patience as his successor, who shares common ancestry with Joseph Smith, Jr., but is not a direct descendant.  The RLDS Saints Herald ran a “Question Time” column for many years, and later these questions were compiled into three books of the same name.  From Question Time, Volume One, (#346) published in 1955, Harold Velt indicated four factors as being more important than lineage.  

Paraphrasing, he said that first, the successor must be appointed through revelation.  Second, the revelation must come through the incumbent.  Third, the candidate must be approved by the conference.  Fourth, the man must be ordained.   He concluded by writing:

“If the Lord and the church should see fit in harmony with all the foregoing provisions, one not a descendant of Joseph Smith might be chosen president of the church.”

The Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints seeks to establish the Kingdom of God on earth, and to do so by following God’s established patterns as indicated in the scriptures as to how His Kingdom should be accomplished.  Now is the time to choose. The Lord is working with those who feel His call to work side by side, shoulder to shoulder in these latter days.

May the Lord bless us all as together we work and pray, that His will, will be done on earth as well as it is in heaven.

We invite you to read more about Our History here.