According to Mormon Wasp, Stephen Veazey, president of the Council of the Twelve Apostles of the Community of Christ (formerly known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) has been appointed prophet. That is, unless delegates throughout the Church vote down the decision of the Twelve.
When Grant McMurray resigned as president last year due to personal problem, it left an opening, and Veazey is to fill it.
Which is fine and all, but if the creation of the church revolved around Joseph Smith's successor being a descendant and not the president of the Twelve, why are they still separated from the main body of the Saints?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
why are they still separated from the main body of the Saints?
Because, they simply do not consider themselves "Mormon".
The RLDS church is a far cry from the original church, bearing little or no resemblance as it relates to the doctrinal foundations laid by Joseph Smith.
They rarely, if ever speak of the 1st Vision as anything other than a 'spiritual experience' or 'spiritual manifestation.' Moreover, former President, G. McMurrary stated he was uncomfortable being called a prophet, seer and revelator.
The RLDS church is a prime example of what happens when revelation does not exist, even when the correct principles lay before you!
My understanding is that there are significant doctrinal differences. There have been ever since the schism, which shows in part how much of Mormonism really postdates Joseph Smith.
The post-schism RLDS church never accepted polygamy. Joseph's polygamy was sufficiently shadowy and hidden that they more or less denied it ever happened, and blamed Brigham Young for introducing that crazy idea.
The RLDS church never accepted temples as anything other than a unique and special worship places. Joseph Smith's use of the endowment is not well documented and is pretty shadowy itself (in part because much of his temple use was related to plural marriages he was keeping under the radar screen). So the entire culture of temples, eternal families, endowments, is not part of the RLDS belief system.
The RLDS church remained in Zion as they saw it (Nauvoo and Missouri) and refused to leave Zion to go to Utah, a place which Joseph Smith had never once mentioned. Joseph Smith clearly said that Independence Missouri and Nauvoo were the places God wanted His people. The RLDS tended to think that Brigham was nuts to ignore Joseph's statements about Zion and instead go out to the middle of the desert.
Recently, the RLDS church has taken further steps, downplaying the Book of Mormon and the First Vision. But even fifty or a hundred years ago, there were significant enough doctrinal differences that it is unlikely any reunification would have been successful.
In fact Joseph did say that the church would move to the Rock Mountains. Another point is that the Majority of the Saints Followed Brigham Young is because of the experience that happened and you can find the account in many journals of those who were present where when BY was speaking he appeard and sounded like JS.
Post a Comment