For obvious reasons the only Mormon church here in Sweden is the one based in Utah -- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Jesu Kristi kyrka av sista dagars heliga). So I've never been acquainted with the other denominations of Mormonism.

OK, that's a lie. I've heard of the fundamentalists, but as I read on the non-official history of the church, I came across the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (RLDS Church).

It appears that this was the church that Emma Smith chose, Joseph Smith's children, too.

I read more on the RLDS church and, surely, it is a lot better than the Utah-based one. It is less misogynistic (I think they have women apostles "even"), never has been racist, and its temple in Independence is "dedicated to the pursuit of peace".

Every day, there is a daily prayer for peace in the Independence Temple. It is public, too.

The RLDS Church changed its name a couple of years ago to the Community of Christ. It still believes in the Bible, in the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants. The D and C is dfiferent from the Utah church. It also uses Joseph Smith's Inspired version of the Bible.

The Community of Christ has some three hundred thousand members worldwide and is largely ignored. But...what does the Utah church think of them? How else do they differ from the Utah church? Are they as dogmatic and brainwashy as the Utah church?

She said the reorganized church was preferable in some ways to the SLC branch. However, the members can be as fanatical and intolerant as those in any cult.

The reorganized church is in denial and claims that polygamy never happened until Brigham Young followers left Missouri.

The larger and better known mormon church hates them of course.

I forget the name of the new denomination

The big questions is will the Utah based LDS church following the path taken by the RDLS church (main-streaming). I think the LDS church is in a bind, they have strict doctrine on one end and their hidden history on the other. How do you move the church forward? I am sure the GAs fear active membership dropping if they make a move to main-stream.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/03/2011 09:07AM by joelaban.

This is where I point out that the mormon church, in only 180 years, has had more splintering per capita than the "mainstream christian church" has in 2,000 years.

OK, I don't have the numbers at had, but for The One True Finally Getting It Right Church As Revealed To The Prophet Joseph Smith, it's embarrasing.

There are two really good podcasts on mormon stories org regarding the RLDS. One of them was from an address by one of their apostles at BYU. Anyway, the stuff was fantastically interesting. Highly recommended. Like watching Star Trek reimagined.

Their church is much more progressive but that cost them members--i think when they changed from "the one and only way" and accepted women in the Phood, there was a pretty big schism.

They have bee deemphasising JS, BOM, etc for a while. They realize he was a polyg and try to emhpasize JC now. Sound familiar? My other favorite part is that they never accepted the BoA. See? They really were inspired.

IMO, LDS will make the same changes but they will be slow and rather than a sudden schism it will continue to bleed members like us as they go which is less noticeable but I'm not sure any less traumatic when it is all added up.

Of course none of that makes any difference to my participation. Don't care how you change, it is all Santa Clause for me.