🠈 Branches of Mormonism 🠊
Branches of Mormonism
This page will look at some of the branches of the LDS Church in Utah and what they own.
- Brigham Young moved to Salt Lake City in 1847. This organization is the largest LDS Group. (See LDS Meeting Houses and LDS Businesses.)
- The True and Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days is a polygamist sect established by The Prophet James Harmston
- The Kingston Clan is headquartered in Salt Lake and has property throughout the Mountain West.
A History of the Schisms
The LDS Church was founded by Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805 – June 27, 1844). Mr Smith claims to have received a revelation from God in in 1823 and then was given golden tablets to translate. In 1827 he lent the 126 page manuscript to Martin Harris. This first manuscript was stolen or lost.
In 1829 he worked with Oliver Cowdery. They produced a new manuscript called The Book of Mormon. Smith and Cowdery baptized each other to start the church and published the manuscript in 1830. The book had several thousand errors and is different from the book that is distributed today.
In 1833, Smith published a compilation of revelations he called The Book of Commandments. Revelations included plural marriage and communal society called United Order of Enoch. This order commanded that Saints surrender all their property to the church which would take from each according to their ability and give to each according to their need.
Smith's followers rejected this idea. Smith rewrote the Book of Commandments as the Doctrine and Covenants in 1835.
Smith was killed while trying to escape from prison in 1844. This left the LDS Church in a secession crisis.
Brigham Young led a group to Salt Lake City. This is the largest and wealthiest of the factions and is considered by many to be mainstream Mormonism.
The United States demanded that the LDS Church give up polygamy as a condition for statehood.