By Bill McKeever
In 1830, Joseph Smith, Jr. founded a new church called the Church of Christ. This organization would later be called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS).
In 1844, Joseph Smith would meet an untimely death when he was killed in a gun battle at Carthage Jail in Carthage, Illinois. His early demise left the fledgling church with a political power struggle. Although numerous splinter groups were formed, a large number of Latter-day Saints decided to pledge their allegiance to Brigham Young. In doing so, Young led his followers to the Salt Lake Valley in what is today known as the state of Utah. Today, the LDS Church is the largest of the Latter-day Saint movements.
Joseph Smith's widow, Emma Smith, chose to remain behind with her three children. Many of those who refused to follow Young felt that a descendant of Joseph Smith must become his successor. In June 1852, the "New Organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" held its first conference. Though encouraged to become the head of the church, Joseph Smith III, the oldest of Emma's three sons, refused to do so until 1860 when The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS) was formed. He held this position for 54 years.
Members who belong to the LDS Church in Utah often refer to themselves as being Mormons, an early nickname attributed to the followers of Joseph Smith. Members of the RLDS Church prefer not to be called by this title.
Upon the death of a prophet/president, the leaders of the LDS Church have always named the senior member of the Council of the Twelve as his successor. Traditionally, the RLDS Church had always chosen a leader who was related to Joseph Smith. This tradition was broken in 1996 when W. Grant McMurray became the first president of the RLDS Church who was not a member of the Smith family.
Both groups accept the Book of Mormon as part of its scripture; however, the LDS Church has made numerous "corrections" to their edition which have not been included in the RLDS edition.
The LDS Church considers the following four books to be scripture: the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price. The RLDS have never recognized the Pearl of Great Price and insists that the Book of Abraham contradicts teachings found in the Bible and Book of Mormon.
The LDS Church teaches that God is a glorified, exalted human being and that there was a time in history when God was not God. The RLDS, however, claim to believe in a deity who was eternally God and "independent of any external or prior cause" (Some Differences Between the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, pg.1).
The LDS Church teaches that there is a multiplicity of Gods on various worlds. The LDS Godhead is composed of three separate and distinct Gods, the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. The RLDS Church holds that "God exists in modes of being which mortals describe as Creator (Father), the Word made flesh (Son), and quickening power (Holy Spirit)" (Some Differences, pg. 1).
Both groups believe men will be judged according to their works.
Both groups believe in an open canon and "present-day revelation."
Only males can hold priesthood authority in the LDS Church. In 1984, the RLDS Church authorized the ordination of women to the priesthood.
The LDS Church claims that men are Gods in embryo and that righteous Mormons can become Gods in the next life. The RLDS Church does not teach that men can become Gods.
Utah Mormons believe that in order to become a God, the faithful member must participate in esoteric temple "endowment" ceremonies. While the RLDS Church owns two buildings called temples (Kirtland, OH and Independence, MO), it "rejects the whole system of temple rituals, secret names, signs, oaths, and handshakes which the Church in Utah proclaims are essential to the ultimate salvation of man" (Fundamental Differences, 1960, pg. 230).
Utah Mormonism teaches that marriages performed in LDS temples can continue after death. The RLDS Church teaches that marriage relationships pertain only to mortal life.
During the 19th century, the LDS Church in Utah strongly emphasized the practice of plural marriage as a requirement for exaltation. Although this requirement was officially abolished in 1890 (as a condition for Utah statehood), it is still taught that polygamy will be practiced in the hereafter. "Obviously the holy practice will commence again after the Second Coming of the Son of Man and the ushering in of the millennium" (Mormon Doctrine, Bruce McConkie, pg. 522,523). The RLDS Church has always denounced polygamy although it has been acknowledged by some RLDS historians that it was practiced. For instance, Robert B. Flanders, on page 209 of his book entitled, "Nauvoo: Kingdom on the Mississippi," wrote, "The Nauvoo Temple was the focus of religious innovations which revolutionized Mormonism. Ordinances for the dead, as well as novel and secret ordinances for the living, including marriage for eternity, plural marriage, and other extraordinary familial arrangements, were introduced by Smith and Young in Nauvoo for temple observance."
The LDS Church teaches that deceased persons can embrace Mormonism in the spirit world through "baptism for the dead." The RLDS Church has never condoned such a teaching and does not practice baptism for the dead.
Until 1978, the LDS Church taught that those with "one drop of Negro blood" could not hold the Mormon priesthood since such people were not valiant enough for the cause of Christ when Lucifer rebelled against God in the "pre-existence." The RLDS Church has never held such a view although Joseph Smith III claimed to have received a revelation which warned the RLDS Church to "not be hasty in ordaining men of the Negro race to offices in my church" since "all are not acceptable unto me as servants ..." (Reorganized Doctrine and Covenants 116:4.)
The LDS Church interprets the tithe as 1/10 of one's income, whereas the RLDS Church bases the tithe on 1/10 of one's increase.
Despite the many differences between the two groups, both the LDS and RLDS claim God ordained their organization as the true restoration of fallen Christianity.