The Church of Jesus Christ is an international Christian religious denomination that is headquartered in Monongahela, Pennsylvania, United States. The church is a Christian Restorationist church with origins in the Latter Day Saint movement and accepts the Book of Mormon as scripture. The church considers itself the gospel restored, or the original church and good news as established by Jesus Christ in the New Testament, restored upon the earth. It also claims to be the spiritual successor to the Church of Christ, organized by Joseph Smith on April 6, 1830. The church sees Sidney Rigdon as Smith's rightful successor following the assassination of Smith because Rigdon was Smith's first counselor in the First Presidency. The church is not officially affiliated with any other church, organization or denomination.
As of August 2023, church membership totaled 22,992. The Church of Jesus Christ is considered "the third largest Restoration church to have resulted from the 1844 succession crisis", describing Joseph Smith's death that year without a clear line of succession. It has sometimes been referred to as a "Bickertonite church" or "Rigdonite organization" based upon the church's historical succession through William Bickerton and Sidney Rigdon. However, the church does not use these terms in referring to itself as it believes it must be named after Jesus Christ alone.
The stated purpose of the church is "to share the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, His promises and His redeeming love with all nations and races throughout the world and to carry out God’s plans in the latter days."
right|framed|The Church of Jesus Christ's historic chapel in Monongahela, Pennsylvania
Mission and purpose
Stated mission:
- "The Church of Jesus Christ will teach the Gospel to all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things commanded by Jesus Christ, while working to draw Israel to Christ through efforts focused on the indigenous peoples of North, Central, and South America."
Stated purpose:
- "To fulfill the plan of God by bringing salvation through Christ to all people."
History
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thumb|Sidney Rigdon|140px
The Church of Jesus Christ sees itself as a continuation of the Church of Christ, which was the original church organization established by Joseph Smith informally in 1829 and then as a legal entity on April 6, 1830 in northwestern New York. On April 6, 1830, Smith, Oliver Cowdery, and a group of approximately 30 believers met to formally organize the Church of Christ into a legal institution. Traditionally, this is said to have occurred at the home of Peter Whitmer Sr. in Fayette, New York, but some early accounts place it in Manchester. Soon after this formal organization, small branches were formally established in Fayette, Manchester and Colesville.
Smith and his associates intended that the Church of Christ would be a restoration of the 1st-century Christian church, which Smith taught had fallen from God's favor and authority because of a Great Apostasy. In late 1830, Smith envisioned a "city of Zion" in Native American lands near Independence, Missouri. In October 1830, he sent his second-in-command Oliver Cowdery and others on a mission to the area. Passing through Kirtland, Ohio, the missionaries converted a congregation of Disciples of Christ led by Sidney Rigdon, and in 1831, Smith decided to temporarily move his followers to Kirtland until the Missouri area could be colonized. The church headquarters remained in Kirtland from 1831 to 1838.
Many of Smith's followers attempted to colonize Missouri throughout the 1830s, and Smith himself moved there in 1838. The church faced political and military opposition by other Missouri settlers. After the Mormon War of 1838, the religion was expelled from Missouri under an Extermination Order signed by the governor. The church then established its new headquarters in Nauvoo, Illinois, a city they built on drained swampland by the Mississippi River, where Smith served as mayor. There, the church thrived until Smith and his brother Hyrum were killed by a mob in 1844. They were in prison awaiting trial for crimes related to the destruction of the printing press of the Nauvoo Expositor. At the time, Smith was a minor candidate for President of the United States with Rigdon as his running mate.
After Smith was killed in 1844, there was confusion about who should succeed him in leading the church. Many of the leaders of the church were absent from Nauvoo at the time of his death, serving as missionaries or working on Smith's presidential campaign. Rigdon was in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, when he heard of Smith's death, and hurried back to Nauvoo, becoming one of the first church leaders to return. He quickly announced that he had the right to lead the church as its "guardian" until proper proceedings could decide the next church president, and that the Quorum of the Twelve did not have the right to lead the church.
The Latter Day Saints who followed Rigdon separated themselves from the majority of the members, who followed Brigham Young and the Quorum of the Twelve. Rigdon and his followers settled in Monongahela, Pennsylvania. On April 6, 1845, Rigdon presided over a conference of the Church of Christ, which he saw as the rightful continuation of the church founded by Smith. William Bickerton was among those converted by Rigdon's preaching, and was baptized at Monongahela in 1845. Later that same year, Bickerton was ordained an elder and shortly after an evangelist in the church. Rigdon's organization disbanded shortly afterwards.
Bickerton continued to preach and by May 1851 a branch of the church was organized under Bickerton's leadership in West Elizabeth, Pennsylvania. At a conference on July 9, 1861, it was recorded that twelve of their number were chosen and called by the Holy Spirit to be apostles. The church was incorporated in Pittsburgh in June 1865 with the legal name, "Church of Jesus Christ of Green Oak, Pennsylvania." On April 5, 1941, the church was granted the name of "The Church of Jesus Christ" by Washington County, Pennsylvania.
- God the Father: God the Father, or God Almighty, is believed to be a personage of Glory.
Principles of the gospel
right|framed|Minister baptizing in Mexico
- Faith – Members must believe in Jesus Christ, that He died and was resurrected.
- Repentance – A feeling of sorrow for sin and desire to sin no more.
- Baptism (Water) – Done by immersion in water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost for the remission of sins. Immersion is considered being buried in likeness of the death of Christ and arising in newness of life. The church teaches that baptism must be in a natural body of water such as a river or lake, and not in a pool or other artificial structure.
One of the key reasons why The Church of Jesus Christ believes Smith received many revelations contrary to the word of God was described by one of the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon, David Whitmer. A revelation received by Smith to go to Toronto for business turned into a bankrupt expedition. Smith then was reportedly given a revelation clarifying that, "Some revelations are of God: some revelations are of men: and some revelations are of the devil." On this matter, church leader William Cadman wrote:
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There has been much said about Joseph Smith... [A]ll people who manifest faith in the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, which includes the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, do acknowledge him to be inspired of God when but a youth... He has been a much accused man, whether truly or falsely, eternity will reveal. If he taught plural marriage... plural Gods, baptism for the dead, the Book of Mormon does not sustain him, neither does the teachings of our Savior in the New Testament... The Church of Jesus Christ does not believe such teachings."
Like many Christian denominations, the church uses bread and wine for the Lord's Supper/Communion, which represents the body and blood of Christ, which it believes was sacrificed for the sins of humankind. Although the Book of Mormon provides an example of an appropriate prayer for communion ( and ), the ministry does not recite them verbatim and instead follows the "inspiration of the Holy Spirit" for the communion prayers. A first prayer is given prior to passing the bread and then another is offered prior to passing the wine. The communion is administered only to active, baptized members of the church. The wine is served in a communal cup. The ministers serve the congregation by walking around to each person in their seats, first with plate of bread and then with the cup of wine. The bread is not wafers or crackers, but leavened bread that has been broken into small pieces by the ministry during the ordinance. The ministers are the last to partake of the bread and the wine after the congregation has been served.
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Church members follow the ordinance of feet washing () four times a year as a demonstration of personal humility. The church believes that this is a very important ordinance, citing Jesus' statement to Peter: "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me." not just a Sunday activity. Chapels of the church do not contain altars or crosses.
The Church of Jesus Christ teaches that hymns are often revealed through divine inspiration for the edification of the church. The hymnal The Songs of Zion consists of hymns that were given to a church member, Arlene Lea Buffington, through divine inspiration. The church also uses The Saints Hymnal, which contains many hymns sung in traditional Christian churches as well as hymns of the restoration. Many congregations also use additional hymnals from other Christian organizations.
The church maintains a publishing house in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, and prints its own edition of the Book of Mormon. The church publishes a monthly periodical called The Gospel News.
Racial integration
The Church of Jesus Christ has advocated full racial integration throughout all aspects of the church since its organization in 1862. While North America disputed over civil liberties and racial segregation, the church directed its message towards all races. In 1905, the church suspended an elder for opposing the full integration of all races.
At a time when racial segregation or discrimination was commonplace in most institutions throughout North America, two of the most prominent leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ were African American. Apostle John Penn, member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles from 1910 to 1955, conducted missionary work with many Italian Americans, and was often referred to as "the Italians' Doctor".