The Church of Israel, led by Dan Gayman, has its roots in the Latter Day Saint Movement. Most of the original members of the Church of Israel were former members of the RLDS Church (now Community of Christ). The Church of Israel is most well-known for being classified by the Anti-Defamation League as a hate group. The Church of Israel denies any affiliation with the Latter Day Saint Movement today.
The Reformed Church of Israel is a relatively new schism from the Church of Israel, and is led in part by ex-Church of Israel member Jerry Gentry. Gentry maintains a number of websites that give the impression of belonging to the Church of Israel (see http://www.watchmanoutreachministries.com and http://www.church-of-israel.org. Apparently after his defection from the Church of Israel, Gentry was able to win the rights to these websites through court proceedings. The Church of Israel no longer has a web presence.
The argument could be made that the Reformed Church of Israel has nothing whatsoever to do with the Latter Day Saint Movement, since it does not teach from the Book of Mormon, nor does it accept Joseph Smith as a prophet. As a schism from the Church of Israel, however, I feel that they should be at least noted.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Restored Church of Jesus Christ - Australia
I received a response to an email I sent to the site registrant for the Restored Church of Jesus Christ - Australia. The site registrant's name is Robert Lakelin, but the response came from a Norman Melling.
Norman confirms that the Restored Church of Jesus Christ - Australia is not one of the Restoration branches, but a unique group within the Latter Day Saint Movement. Though the complete history of the group remains unknown at this time, they broke with the RLDS (now Community of Christ) in 1984 after Wallace B. Smith received the revelation that would become Section 156 of the RLDS Doctrine and Covenants. Section 156 allows women to receive the priesthood and calls for the construction of the Independence Temple.
The RLDS went through numerous schisms due to Section 156 and the gradual liberalization of church doctrine. The Restored Church of Jesus Christ - Australia appears to be yet another "fundamentalist" RLDS group. They do not claim to have a prophet, but do claim to have the priesthood. I am not sure if they claim to exclusively hold the priesthood or if other denominations are accepted by God.
The Restored Church of Jesus Christ - Australia is a registered non-profit business in Australia.
The LDS Wiki entry on the group has updated contact info.
Norman confirms that the Restored Church of Jesus Christ - Australia is not one of the Restoration branches, but a unique group within the Latter Day Saint Movement. Though the complete history of the group remains unknown at this time, they broke with the RLDS (now Community of Christ) in 1984 after Wallace B. Smith received the revelation that would become Section 156 of the RLDS Doctrine and Covenants. Section 156 allows women to receive the priesthood and calls for the construction of the Independence Temple.
The RLDS went through numerous schisms due to Section 156 and the gradual liberalization of church doctrine. The Restored Church of Jesus Christ - Australia appears to be yet another "fundamentalist" RLDS group. They do not claim to have a prophet, but do claim to have the priesthood. I am not sure if they claim to exclusively hold the priesthood or if other denominations are accepted by God.
The Restored Church of Jesus Christ - Australia is a registered non-profit business in Australia.
The LDS Wiki entry on the group has updated contact info.
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