Community of Christ
A year ago or so, I received a phone call at the church from a young couple looking to get married. They wanted to rent our church but they would supply their own minister. I asked what church they belonged to and they told me they were a part of the Community of Christ. I thought that sounded like a nice name for a church and asked if they were related to the Church of Christ. They told me that the Community Christ was the new name for what had once been known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints – obviously a vast improvement in terms of popular appeal towards a name! We did not rent our church, although not just because of their tradition.
Since then I have become interested in learning more about this church. This church differs from the Utah based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (commonly known as the Mormons) in a couple of ways. The break took place after Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, was murdered. The majority of Mormons accepted Brigham Young as Smith’s successor, while a smaller group followed Smith’s son Joseph Smith III. The Reorganized group had developed over the years and have moved closer to protestant Christianity than the larger Utah group. Unlike the LDS, the Community of Christ accepts the doctrine of the Trinity. They also reject the Mormon doctrine developed by Brigham Young that “as we are God once was, and as God is we will one day be.” This means that Mormons believe that God was once a man and that faithful Mormons can hope to one day becoming a god over their own planet. The Community of Christ rejects this.
Very often, when determining the status of a religious group as a cult, we look at their Christology. Here is their official Christology taken from their web-site www.cofchrist.org.
- As members of the Community of Christ, we are bound together with Christians in every place and in every time by our confession of Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, author of our salvation, and head of the church.
- Jesus Christ is the Word made flesh, both fully human and fully divine. In him we see ourselves and we see God, whom he tenderly called Abba, the compassionate One, who gave birth to all of creation and declared it to be “very good.” Together with the Holy Spirit, they are one.
- By the mystery of the incarnation, Jesus, born of Mary, came into the world to live and dwell among us to reveal God’s nature and will. He prophetically condemned injustice in the temple and proclaimed the good news of the coming reign of God on earth, preaching liberation to the oppressed and repentance to oppressors. He taught his followers to love God, to love their neighbors, and to love their enemies. By eating with sinners, serving the poor, healing the unclean, blessing children, and welcoming women and men as equals among his disciples, Jesus declared that all persons are of worth in the sight of God.
- Jesus was betrayed by his own friends, accused of blasphemy and treason, and sentenced by Pontius Pilate to die on a cross between two common criminals. By forgiving his murderers and choosing to take on the sin, pain, and suffering of the whole world, he reconciled all of humanity to God.
- On the third day, God raised Jesus from the dead, vindicating his life and ministry, and triumphing over all injustice, even death itself. He ascended into heaven, having entrusted his followers with authority to minister in his name to the ends of the earth. He sent the Holy Spirit to be with them in their witness of the good news of the Resurrection.
- Christ is our peace, breaking down the dividing walls of hostility between us. He promises us the redemption and healing of our relationships with God, one another, and all of creation.
- The church, the body of Christ, is called to proclaim the gospel until Christ comes again. It is he who forgives us in baptism, and feeds us at his table. As disciples of Christ, we are all called to conform our lives to his by living in loving community with others, seeing Jesus in the faces of the least of God’s children, and serving those whom the world has forgotten. It is to Christ and to his gospel that we declare our loyalty and by which we will be judged.
- The promises of God in Jesus Christ are sure—that by the Holy Spirit we will be given grace to do the things we have been asked: courage in the struggle for justice, passion for peace in the midst of violence, forgiveness of our sin, stewardship in place of materialism, healing of body and spirit where there is hurt, and eternal life in the face of death.
- We live and serve in hope that God’s kingdom of justice and peace will indeed come, bringing healing to the whole, groaning creation. Putting our trust in the Risen Christ, present among us by the Holy Spirit, we press on together, giving blessing, honor, and glory to God, now and forevermore. Amen.
Although Christians might find some problems with this (although there are disagreements even withing evangelical Christianity), in general it looks pretty good. If you came across this Christology without knowing the context, it is unlikely that you would respond with: “This must be a cult!”
That is not to say that everything is fine with the Community of Christ. In addition to the Bible, they also accept the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants as Scripture (notice that unlike the LDS they do not include the Pearl of Great Price).
I am certainly not suggesting that people go out and join the Community of Christ. However, there is something encouraging in how far they have come. We have seen in the 20th century the Seventh Day Adventists and World Wide Church of God embrace orthodox theology. Christians should reach out to the Community of Christ in the spirit of Paul’s example at Athens in Acts 17, where he looked for points of contact to build on. We have more points in common with the Community of Christ than the early church had with the Stoics and Epicureans. Perhaps in a spirit of grace and truth we can have a positive impact on the Church of Christ.
Hello. I’m a member of this church and I appreciate what you’ve written about our church. Like most church members, I object to the use of the word “cult” because that loaded word conjures up images of David Koresh or Jim Jones, who were dictatorial and charismatic men who controlled the lives of their followers. Because of this distinction, I don’t consider Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses to be cults, even though they are very authoritarian religions. Scientology comes close to being a cult, but it still doesn’t meet that qualifier (followers living on a commune, completely cut off from non-member families and friends).
What I most love about the Community of Christ is that it is a non-creedal church, meaning that the leadership will not excommunicate or disfellowship members who don’t agree with all of the church’s stated beliefs. It’s a very welcoming church, small in number, and I’ve had many coincidences of meeting church members who know people that I know.
We have come a long way from our roots and have little in common with the Mormon church today. We’re probably closer theologically to Quakers than we are to Mormons, and that’s a good thing in my opinion.
I respect the fact that the Community of Christ has been willing to change. While some change is bad as certain churches have drifted away from the Bible, the Community of Christ seems to have tried to return to biblical doctrines. I am thankful for that. I hear you on the non-creedal aspect as that is the very reason why I am a Baptist. Blessings on you as you seek Christ.
Hi I am a members of Community of Christ. Before I joined the church I was a Methodist in Sri Lanka. What I liked most about the church is the realistic doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit is the spirit of God how helps us to understand the deep things about God. Unlike Pentecostals ,this church teaches to feel the spirit in an intellectual way. If you step into this church no one will go back to another church because its so loving and caring and it helps the people to stay away from sins. Wonderful thing is what ever we do God loves us. It does not mean that we must commit sins but as we all know all of us are committing sins all the day. Basically Jesus loved sinners so we must do the same then we hope that they will change their lives back to God. Hence this church proclaims that if you live the life of Jesus you will be saved. WHICH IS TRUE.
Thanks for your comments. I was wondering if you could expand what it means to feel the Spirit in an intellectual way? Also, how does being saved by living the life of Jesus fit with Ephesians 2:8?
Hello Stephen Bedard
Thank you for reading my comments. It encouraged me.
What I meant by “this church teaches to feel the spirit in an intellectual way” is to be frank with you I had been thought and learned to feel the Holy Spirit in a physical way. Eg: Laughing Revival , Tongues . Please note that we as Community of Christ believe in the gift of tongues but in a different way to pentecostals . This new teaching that is Holy Spirit in 1 Cori 2:10 tells us that The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. This realistic approach (at least for me ) helped me to fasten the relationship with my God further. Another thing the saints in my current church never attempted to question me why I am here? or they never attempted to “”change my faith”. It touched me a lot. They practiced what they preached !
Answer for your second question that is how does being saved by living the life of Jesus fit with Ephesians 2:8? is you cannot be saved if you do not have faith in God that He will forgive you and me. Sign of Ephesians 2:8 is living a life which is similar to Jesus life. Jesus loved the poor and ate with them. Jesus loved the sinner and visited them. He never JUDGED them at that time. This is one of the deep thing about the God which holy spirit thought me. This is one of the example of the Holy Spirit teaching me in an intellectual way. This is very meaning full to me than just laughing (not smiling!) when you receive the Holy Spirit.
I hope these words are not offensive to you or to your faith. This is how I understand OUR Jesus. Jesus of YOU and ME.
On a personal note I do not interprit the Bible literally all the time as it has a more deeper truth than it appears. Please see below
Please refer to (Matthew 5:16). In Christ, we receive God’s grace through our faith and become His work of art. We are God’s workmanship to do His good works. God has saved us to serve. People should be able to see our good works and glorify our heavenly Father.
How would you interpret this then ?
There is nothing offensive in what you have said. I appreciate your comments. As a former Pentecostal, I appreciate some of your concerns about the emphasis on feeling with regard to the Holy Spirit. Yet I am thankful for my Pentecostal heritage as I could easily fall into a strictly intellectual view of the Spirit. We all need a balanced view.
This is not so much about the Community of Christ but Mormonism in general: I have seen some emphasis on emotions over intellect. For example, there are some serious concerns about the Book of Mormon and the lack of archaeological evidence for those civilizations in the Americas. Yet I have heard a number of Mormons say they can overlook those intellectual problems because they feel so welcome in the church and enjoy the family focus. Not meaning to be offensive, how does this fit with the experience in the Community of Christ?
Community of Christ sounds like a great church but it hinders itself by addapting Morman believes You could be so much more effective by basing your believes on the bible only, the book of Morman has nothing to offer that the bible does not love your neighbour , laying on of hands exetra.
When Jesus said “it is finished” he ment it no more prophets required thankyou. Anyway havent you guys heard that the gold tablets have been proven fraud. Please reassess your believes and stop from hindering God for the addvancement of his kingdom
I would like to put out there to all Mormons, whether C of C or LDS, what role does the Book of Mormon play in your faith system other than as an identity marker?
Hello,
I’m glad you asked that question, and as a priest in the Community of Christ, I will do my best to answer it.
The Book of Mormon is considered scripture in the church, but to how it plays in each person’s faith system is up to the individual. I know of some members that LOVE the B of M and others who rarely use it. Its about what speaks to the individual the most.
As for me, I won’t lie. I have struggled with the Book of Mormon, and at times, seriously doubted it. (I’m from the Bible-Belt. The heckling began when I was 15 about my beliefs.) I had to pray, struggle, read and discern. The B of M has a really wonderful promise with it: If you read it and ask with a wanting heart, the Lord will tell you if its true or false.
My answer came as I was reading. You know the feeling you get when you read the Bible (or the Doctrine and Covenants for me, as well) and you can feel your spirit being fed and the warmth and knowledge of God welling up inside you? That’s what I get when I read the Book of Mormon, as well.
I hope that answers your question a little bit. If not, I’m sorry.
Thanks for your honesty. I am sorry people heckled you about your beliefs. While I disagree with much Mormon theology, I believe all people should be treated with respect.
I have read the Book of Mormon and to be honest, my only reaction was boredom. I thought it would be interesting with all the battles but the style of it made me lose interest. I suppose some people have the same feeling about the Bible.
I have another question for you if you don’t mind. I have studied the LDS more than Community of Christ. I was wondering, what role if any does the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible play in the Community of Christ? Do you use other translations than the KJV?
Thanks for your help on this.
No problem about the other question at all, and no worries about the heckling. It just made me question my faith more, so I had to study more. Its only helped my belief.
We use the Inspired Version of the Bible (that’s the Joseph Smith one), but have no limits on what must be used. The NRSV is very popular right now. As for the KJV, its not really used by the church, but individuals are welcome to it.
You also have to realize, that as a whole, we don’t believe the Bible (of any version) to be inerrant, (I might get slammed for this)and since we have no creed, the church doesn’t limit people.
I must admit that I have problems with the Joseph Smith translation. Coming up with a new version that has nothing to do with our early manuscript evidence causes me concern. But perhaps that is just me. I do like the NRSV (it was my first Bible). Thanks for your help on this.
One more question. In your opinion what is the greatest difference between the Community of Christ and protestant Christianity?
To my brothers and sisters -almost everyone who has read “THE BOOK OF MORMON”will tell you of its non-novel boredom.That is mostly because it’s a translation and not a novel,not a “GOLDEN BIBLE”,but rather translated through the power of GOD from plates having the “APPEARENCE” of gold.It’s an account recorded over centuries in short forms.Gold,Silver,etc has in centuries past been used to plate or leaf over documents from contracts too records as the BofM was found.
How do you feel the BofM fits with non-BofM history?
1stly the storeage of the BofM in a stone box,and its description as small metal plates having the appearence of gold,and bound with rings is consistant with current archaeological finds.In Pyrgi north of rome,and in 1926 in Darius gold/silver plates,1933 in Persepolis G/S plates deposited in the corner of a building between 516-515B.C.=2500 years before discovery.Neosumerian kings inscriptions from the19-7th cntryBC.Hittites on lead ,copper scrols.South American metal plates with inscriptions believed to be from the olmec.More than 1 dozen such metal books found from the middle east/south america in the last 24+yrs.Buildings in S.A. with stone work as finer than any in europe BC.People descibed as advanced in cultural ways not believed possible in Smiths time.I look forward to a discussion of current non mormon finds.My hope is to show that more than mormon claims are now being found,but that the americas have been a stopping point for centuries BC.However from recent finds in the middle east such as the land on the arabian peninsula which is green and lush with date trees and other fruit stuffs.It also has metal in the exposed rock ideal for simple smolting,and lumber usable for ship making.In any follow up ?’s if you could be exact I’ll answer with exactness.I live in a cave,and use a computer at another location so I may not get right back to you. Mormons can’t prove Adam/Eve,Abraham,Moses,Job,other prophets,or the miracles in the Bible.However archaeology has made our fore fathers amazing people.Having faith in what has been found in our time to once exist.I’m refuring to non mormon finds in the Holy land.Names,artifacts,old cities,etc.Current S.A.finds have parelled descriptives such as the wheel,use of metals,complex cultures,of both good and bad.As well as a cultures stritching to up state New York with descriptives found in the BofM.Write to you soon Stephen.Enjoyed the chance to convert you.HA-HA.
Good luck on converting me!
Thanks for your response. You seem very confident about the archaeological evidence. I am not so confident. I have serious doubts about the validity of the BofM. I have visited Mayan ruins and have no reason to believe that they are anything other than what historians claim them to be: buildings built by the Mayan people. I also wonder how the natives could be descended from the Jews when the DNA evidence points to Asia rather than Israel. I also wonder about how you reconcile the fact that there were native peoples in North America long before the events described in the BofM.
I’m asking for your forgiveness in “the convertion”statement.You are a very forthright,and excellant example of a Christian.Mayan ruins,Omec ruins,Aztec ruins are all in agreement with “THE BofM”.There in stating people before and after its B.C.-and-A.D. writers.DNA according to DR.Robert Pollack(Pro.Biological Sci./Director of the study for Science@Religion at Columbian Univers.dosn’t have a acceptable standard for “Jewish”DNA.He states there is nothing in the human genome that makes/diagnoses a person as a “JEW.”
No problem about the conversion comment. I respect your passion for your beliefs.
Doesn’t the BofM suggest that there people in the Americas many years ago and they died out and then more came around the time of Isaiah? I believe historians would say that there has been a continuous presence of natives for thousands of years.
Peoples before,and after The BofM prophets writings.Any “suggestion”of the lack of people or no people at all is common in the scriptures.In the story of the flood we read that ALL human life was lost,but for those on the ark,and ofcourse Lot(as we read)impregnated Both of his daughters who also thought this.Archaeology has show a human time line in existance during these times elsewhere on earth.Cultures do die out and splinter etc. You haven’t responded to either answer in the previouse questions,but rather ask another? Is the church you attend now more correct than others you’ve belonged to,and why?You seem to have been inspired to join different Christian belief systems.Isn’t the same spirit that inspired you to join one the same that inspired you to leave it.I hope this time your there to stay.Maybe there is yet another church down the road you’ll feel is more biblically sound?Either way GOD bless you and thanks again for this forum that people of faith can express themselves .
What makes you think that I have left churches because I thought they were biblically unsound? That is not the reason for every move. I would not say that this church is more correct than others but they like many others are open to learn from the Bible. I have no plans to move for a while. Thanks for thinking of me.
Certainly one must have been more correct.If not than those two should join together.They have all the same beliefs or at least enough in common to unite.Do you support the belief that Jesus was GOD or the son of GOD a separate being representing the father who was in heaven when Christ was on earth?Why do you believe Jesus didn’t write anything down himself,if you do?I realize others did,but thats never a good enough answer for those hard to reach non-believers.I’m curious what you say.I tell them that they wouldn’t believe he wrote it anyway.Of course in a less pointed manner.Does your faith teach a rapture even though that word doesn’t exit in the King James Bible?It does speak of being caught up in the air,and I’m curious if you folks sub that for the rapture term made popular in the 17th century.Do you have a paying form of employment outside the church work you perform?I believe you should be paid if possible for your pastorial work.Although many would say (wrongly) that your not earning your keep by the swet of your forehead. However most do not know the pressures of a pastor.
I believe that the Father, Son and Spirit all co-exist in God, they share the unity of being God but have diverse personalities and roles. I don’t believe that Jesus wrote anything as we do not have any evidence of him writing. As for the rapture, I do not like to use that word and prefer the idea of being caught in the air. I am a full-time pastor and that is my primary source of income.
For me, the Community of Christ allows me to focus on being a disciple of Jesus. To often the teachings OF Jesus in his life ministry and sermons got lost in the dust of Pauline theology and beliefs ABOUT Jesus in the church I grew up in. As a matter of fact it sometimes seemed they were disciples of Paul instead of Jesus since Paul was quoted so often and Jesus’s teachings promoted so infrequently.
I applaud your desire to follow Jesus. It is something that we must all strive for. I have just a couple of questions. Does not the Community of Christ use the entire New Testament, including Paul? Also, I am not sure how adding the Book of Mormon, which from my memory does not focus that much on Jesus, brings one closer to a focus on Jesus than churches that use Paul. I follow Paul’s advice where he encourages people to follow him as he follows Jesus. That is the reason why we use his writings so much, he was close to the heart of Christ.
Hi
I am a member of the Community of Christ and I would just like to share my experience with the church. My family had originally been members of the LDS (Mormon) church. After joining the mormon church we experienced a lot of discrimination over the fact that we were low income, and after finding out about some very unsettling teachings we decided to leave. My Mom had our names removed from the church rolls and we were sent very arrogant letters saying that “the Holy Spirit was no longer with us.” We were all feeling depressed and my Mom gathered us all together and we asked God to lead us to the church that he wanted us to join. That night my Mom got a call from the pastor of the Community of Christ church a few towns over. We had only met him once before, 10 years before we joined the mormon church. He told her that as he was reading that he started thinking of us out of the blue and had an overwhelming feeling that he should call us. We ended up joining a year later and we’ve been members ever since. In my particular congregation we use the bible almost exclusively, the book of mormon or the doctrine and covenants are used very sparingly. The congregation has treated us as if we were family even before we joined. We are so much happier in the Community of Christ, than we were in any other church.