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On [[January 1]], [[1990]], a member of the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) who had recently joined the LDS Church set fire to the unoccupied church building on the Temple Lot,<ref name=KCTimes>{{cite news |first=Karen and Beverly Potter |last=Blakeman |title=Ex-church member dances as vintage sanctuary burns |work=[[Kansas City Times]] |page=A-1, A-7 |date=1990-01-02}}</ref><ref>"Missouri Man Charged in Arson and Burglary of Historic Building", ''[[Deseret News]]'', [[1990-01-04]], p. B5.</ref><ref name="watchman">James Walker, [http://www.watchman.org/lds/fire.htm "Former Member Burns 'Temple Lot' Church After Joining Mormons"], ''Watchman Expositor'', vol. 7, no. 2 (1990).</ref> claiming that his actions were part of a political [[protest]] and a [[prophecy]] that war was coming to America.<ref name="watchman" /> The fire caused significant damage to the second [[story]] of the building, although the first floor containing church records and documents remained intact. On [[February 1]], [[1990]], the remainder of the building (originally built in 1905) was razed. Construction of a new headquarters building began in August 1990. The man was convicted by a jury of second-degree [[arson]] and [[Burglary|breaking and entering]] on [[January 16]], [[1991]].<ref>"Missouri Man Convicted in Temple Lot Fire", ''[[Deseret News]]'', [[1991-01-19]], p. A7.</ref> |
On [[January 1]], [[1990]], a member of the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) who had recently joined the LDS Church set fire to the unoccupied church building on the Temple Lot,<ref name=KCTimes>{{cite news |first=Karen and Beverly Potter |last=Blakeman |title=Ex-church member dances as vintage sanctuary burns |work=[[Kansas City Times]] |page=A-1, A-7 |date=1990-01-02}}</ref><ref>"Missouri Man Charged in Arson and Burglary of Historic Building", ''[[Deseret News]]'', [[1990-01-04]], p. B5.</ref><ref name="watchman">James Walker, [http://www.watchman.org/lds/fire.htm "Former Member Burns 'Temple Lot' Church After Joining Mormons"], ''Watchman Expositor'', vol. 7, no. 2 (1990).</ref> claiming that his actions were part of a political [[protest]] and a [[prophecy]] that war was coming to America.<ref name="watchman" /> The fire caused significant damage to the second [[story]] of the building, although the first floor containing church records and documents remained intact. On [[February 1]], [[1990]], the remainder of the building (originally built in 1905) was razed. Construction of a new headquarters building began in August 1990. The man was convicted by a jury of second-degree [[arson]] and [[Burglary|breaking and entering]] on [[January 16]], [[1991]].<ref>"Missouri Man Convicted in Temple Lot Fire", ''[[Deseret News]]'', [[1991-01-19]], p. A7.</ref> |
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The New Year's Day 1990 incident was the second time the Temple Lot church headquarters building had been damaged by a fire set by |
The New Year's Day 1990 incident was the second time the Temple Lot church headquarters building had been damaged by a fire set by a disgruntled congregant. In 1898, W. D. C. Pattison/Pattyson/Patterson, reportedly a "[[Suspension_(punishment)|suspended]]" member of the LDS Church from [[Boston, Massachusetts]],<ref name = Pattison>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F00E4DE1F39E433A25752C0A9649D94699ED7CF "Fanatic Burns a Mormon Church"], ''[[New York Times]]''. [[1898-12-01]], p. 5.</ref> was arrested and briefly detained in late July 1898 after reportedly attempting to remove a fence placed around the Temple Lot.<ref name = Pattyson>[http://picasaweb.google.com/Thrill.Maestro/MormonStrangeness#5339973818463522882"SET AFIRE BY A FANATIC...An Attempt to Burn the Mormon Temple Lot Church at Independence"], ''[[Kansas City Star]]''. [[1898-09-05]], p. 3.</ref> He had been baptized into the church shortly before then, as attested by the [[President]] of the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) in court testimony in late November, 1898: " |
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''"...The first witness was Richard Hill, the presiding elder and trustee of the Church of Christ. He is 73 years old. Mr. Hill said that Pattyson was a member of the church, and one day last August astonished everybody by claiming to be the [[One Mighty and Strong|one "mighty and strong]]."'' <ref>[http://picasaweb.google.com/Thrill.Maestro/MormonStrangeness#5339982589643762226"IS PATTYSON A LUNATIC? THE MAN WHO BURNED A MORMON CHURCH BEFORE A JURY"],''[[Kansas City Star]]''. [[1898-11-30]], p. 1.</ref><ref >[http://picasaweb.google.com/Thrill.Maestro/MormonStrangeness#5339983843338948482"IS PATTYSON A LUNATIC? THE MAN WHO BURNED A MORMON CHURCH BEFORE A JURY"],''[[Kansas City Star]]''. [[1898-11-30]], p. 1 (cont'd)</ref> During the same confrontation, Pattison/Pattyson demanded that church officials sign ownership of the Temple Lot over to him. Shortly after midnight on [[September 5]], [[1898]], he set fire to the tiny headquarters building, walked to the police station, and turned himself in.<ref name = Pattyson>[http://picasaweb.google.com/Thrill.Maestro/MormonStrangeness#5339973818463522882"SET AFIRE BY A FANATIC...An Attempt to Burn the Mormon Temple Lot Church at Independence"], ''[[Kansas City Star]]''. [[1898-09-015]], p. 3.</ref> After he testified in court in late November and early December, 1898<ref>[http://picasaweb.google.com/Thrill.Maestro/MormonStrangeness#5340217393660296466 "PATTYSON TRIED.]] (Part 1 of 2) ''[[Independence Sentinel]]''. [[1898-12-08]], p. 3. </ref> |
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Pattison was deemed [[Competence_(law)|mentally unfit]] and sentenced to a stay in a [[mental institution]].''"After a few short arguments on the part of the attorneys, during which the [[Insanity_defense|defense took the ground of insanity]] for the client, the case was placed in the hands of the jury. After an hour's absence from the court room, the jury returned a verdict that the man was not responsible for his actions.<ref>[http://picasaweb.google.com/Thrill.Maestro/MormonStrangeness#5340221259625380866 "PATTYSON TRIED.]] (Part 2 of 2) ''[[Independence Sentinel]]''. [[1898-12-08]], p. 3. (cont'd) </ref> |
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==Doctrines== |
==Doctrines== |
Revision as of 03:53, 28 May 2009
Church of Christ (Temple Lot) | |
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Classification | Latter Day Saint movement |
Orientation | Latter Day Saints |
Polity | Quorum of the Twelve |
Moderator | Eldest member of the Quorum of the Twelve |
Region | World |
Founder | Granville Hedrick, John E. Page and others |
Origin | Winter 1852 (date of withdrawal from LDS); July 18, 1863 (elevation of Hedrick to first president)[1] Illinois |
Separated from | Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints) |
Congregations | 32[2] |
Members | 2,400[2] |
The Church of Christ is a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement and is headquartered in Independence, Missouri on what is known as the Temple Lot. Members of the church have been known colloquially as Hedrickites, after Granville Hedrick, who was ordained the first leader of the faction in July 1863. The church no longer has any official dialogue with any other organization. Current church membership is about 6000 with members in 11 or 12 countries.
History
The church shares its early history with the larger Latter Day Saint denominations, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and the Community of Christ (formerly RLDS Church). After the assassination of the movement's founder, Joseph Smith, Jr. on June 27, 1844, several leaders vied for control of the movement and established rival organizations. By the 1860s, five early Mormon branches found themselves unaffiliated with any larger Latter Day Saint Group. Located in Bloomington, Illinois, Crow Creek, Illinois, Half Moon Prairie, Illinois, Eagle Creek, Illinois, and Vermillion, Indiana, these branches united under the leadership of Granville Hedrick in May 1863[3] and on July 18, 1863 Hedrick was ordained "President, Prophet, Seer and Revelator" of the group, which at the time was also named "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints".
The name was soon shortened to "Church of Christ" in order to distinguish it from the LDS Church (whose members the Temple Lot church refer to as "Utah Mormons" or "Brighamites", because they followed Brigham Young to Utah Territory in 1847). Participating in the ordination of Hedrick was John E. Page[3] who had been an Apostle in the Latter Day Saint movement before Joseph Smith, Jr.'s death in 1844,[4] and therefore was regarded as providing an undiluted link to the highest levels of authority in the church as it existed before 1844.[citation needed] Both the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) and the LDS Church affirm a founding date of April 6, 1830, in Fayette, New York. Hedrick later distanced himself from the title "President, Prophet, Seer and Revelator," in order to further distinguish the church from followers of Brigham Young.
Doctrines of the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) are heavily influenced by the writings of David Whitmer, who was declared an apostate by Joseph Smith, Jr. prior to Smith's death. In 1887, Whitmer published a pamphlet deeply critical of Sidney Rigdon and Smith. The pamphlet is today widely read and promoted among membership of the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) and is on sale in the lobby of its headquarters building. In it, Whitmer repeatedly claims Smith had "fallen"—or began to "fall"—from his Divine calling almost as soon as the church was established in 1830—or even before then. Reasons for Whitmer believing so include a charge that Smith was to have "pretended to no other gift" except the translation of the Book of Mormon, and was never to be more than a "first elder" among "fellow elders" in the fledgling church.[citation needed]
The church currently occupies a property in Independence, Missouri considered by Latter Day Saints to be the "Temple Lot" designated by Smith to be the site for the temple of the New Jerusalem, a sacred city to be built preparatory to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ that is spoken of in the Book of Revelation. The Hedrickites returned to Independence in 1867 to purchase lots for the temple in the name of the "Church of Christ" and have been headquartered there since then. In 1891, the church was sued by the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS Church) for title to the property; the RLDS Church won at trial but lost the Temple Lot church's appeal. In the 1930s, the Temple Lot church excavated the site in an attempt to build a temple on the location, but the effort was stalled because of the Great Depression, and the excavation was filled.
Since the 1920s, the church has splintered into at least four other factions, including the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message, which separated in the 1930s.
Church burnings
On January 1, 1990, a member of the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) who had recently joined the LDS Church set fire to the unoccupied church building on the Temple Lot,[5][6][7] claiming that his actions were part of a political protest and a prophecy that war was coming to America.[7] The fire caused significant damage to the second story of the building, although the first floor containing church records and documents remained intact. On February 1, 1990, the remainder of the building (originally built in 1905) was razed. Construction of a new headquarters building began in August 1990. The man was convicted by a jury of second-degree arson and breaking and entering on January 16, 1991.[8]
The New Year's Day 1990 incident was the second time the Temple Lot church headquarters building had been damaged by a fire set by a disgruntled congregant. In 1898, W. D. C. Pattison/Pattyson/Patterson, reportedly a "suspended" member of the LDS Church from Boston, Massachusetts,[9] was arrested and briefly detained in late July 1898 after reportedly attempting to remove a fence placed around the Temple Lot.[10] He had been baptized into the church shortly before then, as attested by the President of the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) in court testimony in late November, 1898: " "...The first witness was Richard Hill, the presiding elder and trustee of the Church of Christ. He is 73 years old. Mr. Hill said that Pattyson was a member of the church, and one day last August astonished everybody by claiming to be the one "mighty and strong." [11][12] During the same confrontation, Pattison/Pattyson demanded that church officials sign ownership of the Temple Lot over to him. Shortly after midnight on September 5, 1898, he set fire to the tiny headquarters building, walked to the police station, and turned himself in.[10] After he testified in court in late November and early December, 1898[13] Pattison was deemed mentally unfit and sentenced to a stay in a mental institution."After a few short arguments on the part of the attorneys, during which the defense took the ground of insanity for the client, the case was placed in the hands of the jury. After an hour's absence from the court room, the jury returned a verdict that the man was not responsible for his actions.[14]
Doctrines
Though the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) initially accepted the leadership and doctrines of the Latter Day Saint movement's founding prophet, Joseph Smith, Jr., in the 1920s they changed their policy regarding which of his revelations they would accept. The church thereafter asserted that revelations recorded after the publication of the Book of Commandments in 1833 were not divinely inspired, claiming that Smith "fell" from his calling with such doctrines as plural marriage and the introduction of church hierarchical offices (including the office of high priest in June of 1831). For this reason, unlike some other Latter Day Saint denominations, the church does not have a prophet or a First Presidency. Instead the church declares that it is headed directly by Jesus Christ through a Quorum of Twelve Apostles. The council responds officially through its secretary.
The church's official "standards of faith" are the Bible and the Book of Mormon.
References
- ^ GRANVILLE HEDRICK AND THE CROW CREEK BRANCH - centerplace.org - Retrieved January 20, 2008
- ^ a b adherents.com - Retrieved January 20, 2008
- ^ a b "History of the Church of Christ", churchofchrist-tl.org, accessed 2008-11-21.
- ^ "Grampa Bill's G.A. Pages: John E. Page", gapages.com, accessed 2008-11-21.
- ^ Blakeman, Karen and Beverly Potter (1990-01-02). "Ex-church member dances as vintage sanctuary burns". Kansas City Times. p. A-1, A-7.
- ^ "Missouri Man Charged in Arson and Burglary of Historic Building", Deseret News, 1990-01-04, p. B5.
- ^ a b James Walker, "Former Member Burns 'Temple Lot' Church After Joining Mormons", Watchman Expositor, vol. 7, no. 2 (1990).
- ^ "Missouri Man Convicted in Temple Lot Fire", Deseret News, 1991-01-19, p. A7.
- ^ "Fanatic Burns a Mormon Church", New York Times. 1898-12-01, p. 5.
- ^ a b "SET AFIRE BY A FANATIC...An Attempt to Burn the Mormon Temple Lot Church at Independence", Kansas City Star. 1898-09-05, p. 3. Cite error: The named reference "Pattyson" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ "IS PATTYSON A LUNATIC? THE MAN WHO BURNED A MORMON CHURCH BEFORE A JURY",Kansas City Star. 1898-11-30, p. 1.
- ^ "IS PATTYSON A LUNATIC? THE MAN WHO BURNED A MORMON CHURCH BEFORE A JURY",Kansas City Star. 1898-11-30, p. 1 (cont'd)
- ^ "PATTYSON TRIED.] (Part 1 of 2) Independence Sentinel. 1898-12-08, p. 3.
- ^ "PATTYSON TRIED.] (Part 2 of 2) Independence Sentinel. 1898-12-08, p. 3. (cont'd)