Family of David

I've recently been trying to find out some information about the Family of David, which was founded by the infamous Bruce David Longo, also known as Immanuel David by his followers. The group was founded by Longo in the mid to late 1960s after Longo began receiving revelation. Family of David members believe Longo to be none other than God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost all in one.

The group became known to the public in 1978 when Longo's wife committed suicide by jumping from an 11-story hotel window in downtown Salt Lake City. Before her own suicide, several children of the group were either thrown or jumped to their own deaths. The only survivor from the fall, Rachael David, is mentally disabled from her injuries. This horrible event was precipitated by Bruce Longo's own suicide just days earlier. The group was being investigated by the FBI for improper fundraising at the time of these suicides.

Several relatives of Longo remain faithful to his message and teachings, and the group has recently sent out a letter to the LDS Church in Salt Lake City, proclaiming Longo to be God. Matthias David, who may be living in Salt Lake City, and Jacob David, who lives in Aurora, Colorado, lead small congregations of believers.

The only unique doctrine that I am aware of with this group is the belief that Joseph Smith, Jr.'s death was necessary in order to atone for sins Smith had committed previously. The group also apparently believes in some form of reincarnation or multiple mortal probations, in that Jacob David proclaims himself to be the reincarnation of Abraham and Matthias David claims to be Moses reincarnated. I am attempting to gain more information and will post it on the wiki when I have it.

Nephite Church of Christ

Here is a review of The Nephite Order, the book which contains the doctrines of the Nephite Church of Christ and sounds like a good read if you want to familiarize yourself with this new group within the Latter Day Saint Movement. The book can be purchased here.

The book is authored by the prophet of the group, Patrick R. Saucer, who also claims to be the One Mighty and Strong, prophesied in D&C 85 to come forth in the last days. Saucer claims to be the second prophet of the restoration and successor of Joseph Smith, though he maintains his authority is drawn from a line of Apostolic succession leading back to the 15th century and the Catholic Bishop of Winchester, Henry Beaufort.

I'm unaware of how many followers Saucer has attracted to his group at this time. Here are some links to church sites:

Official Homepage

Prayer Group

Bookstore

Blog

Discussion Group

Prayer Group

Society of Elect Ladies

Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon

I've recently been doing a little bit of research into Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon, also known as the New Covenant Church of God (NCCG). The group is led by a man named Christopher Warren, who has produced a work of scripture titled The Olive Branch, which consists of revelations received by Warren. Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon is headquartered in Arvika, Sweden, but does proselyte and gain converts worldwide through internet chatrooms and message boards.

The group goes by a variety of names: Messianic Evangelicals, One House Josephite Messianic Isreal, Union of Two House Messianic Israelites and Evangelicals, Guds Nya Förbunds Kyrka, and B'rit Chadashah Assembly of Yahweh.

Warren joined the LDS Church in the late 1970s, but in 1984 Warren claims he received divine direction to form his own church. Warren later formed the Independent Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is the predecessor of what is now known as Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon.

A listing of group beliefs can be found here.

Kolob Order

Here's an interesting article I recently found about the Kolob Order, which is a group located in France:

http://religion.info/english/articles/article_412.shtml

The group is led by a man known as Adama. More information can be found on the wiki or in a couple of posts by John Dawson on the LDSgroups yahoo discussion board:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LDSgroups/message/1585
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LDSgroups/message/1717

Reformed Church of Israel

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.

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.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite) (West)

Samuel E. West is the leader of a Strangite church that claims the name "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints," sometimes adding (Strangite) to the ending. Due to the fact that there is already an incorporated group that goes by the name "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite)" as well as a Strangite group led by John Hajicek that goes by "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints," I am going to add the "(West)" ending to differentiate. For the sake of consistency, I have done the same with Hajicek's group.

West claims to hold the highest remaining office of the priesthood on Earth at this time (elder in the Melchisedec Priesthood), and asserts his authority through a chain of ordinations leading back to James J. Strang himself. John Hajicek also claims a similar chain of ordinations, but West rejects Hajicek's chain because one of the elders in the chain (Wingfield Watson) had been cut off (according to West) because he had claimed he became the president of the church at the time of his own ordination as elder.

Therefore, West's line of authority remains the sole legitimate priesthood line remaining. West has ordained others to the office of elder; however, he is still regarded "as the senior elder in Zion," though there is no official head of the church. There are no congregations, but the group claims thousands of members throughout the United States and Africa.

The wiki has been updated with additional contact information for this group.