Comparison of the Community of Christ and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Summary chart

Comparison of the Community of Christ and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Section Title: Summary chart
Table Section Text: None

Community of Christ	LDS Church

Approximate membership	197,000	16,118,169

Headquarters	Independence, Missouri	Salt Lake City, Utah

Open canon	Yes	Yes

Bible	Inspired Version	King James Version in LDS edition or other language-appropriate edition; Inspired Version is respected but not canonized

Book of Mormon	Accepted as scripture	Accepted as scripture

Doctrine and Covenants	166 documents 51 non–Joseph Smith documents	140 documents five non–Joseph Smith documents

Pearl of Great Price	Rejected Accepted as scripture only the parts the LDS Church refers to as the Book of Moses and Joseph Smith–Matthew	Accepted as scripture, including the Book of Moses, Book of Abraham, Joseph Smith–Matthew, Joseph Smith–History, and the Articles of Faith

Presidential tenure and succession	Prophet-President may choose to retire and may appoint successor Succession traditionally based on lineal descent from Joseph Smith; now abandoned in favor of appointment by retiring president or apostolic selection by inspiration	President serves in position until death and does not appoint a successor before death Succession based on apostolic seniority combined with apostolic selection by inspiration

Godhead	Trinitarian	Three distinct personage Gods united in purpose

Exaltation	Rejects	Accepts

Adam–God doctrine	Rejects	Initially accepted by many general authorities accepted, others rejected; by 1902 no longer publicly taught; currently rejected due to never being formally adopted

Polygamy	Rejected	Polygamy in the early days of the Church recognized; not practiced or authorized since 1904.

Priesthood	Open to all races Open to women since 1984 Open to baptized members	Open to all races since 1978 (previous black African descent prohibition) Open to men only Open to boys beginning at age 12

Temples	2 Open to the public Dedicated to peace, spiritual learning, and church administration and history	155 Open only to members in good standing Dedicated to performance of standardized ordinances and covenant-making

Endowment	Rejected	Accepted

Baptism for the dead	Rejected	Accepted

Celestial marriage and family sealing	Rejected	Accepted

Cross as a symbol	Accepted	Rejected (focus is on symbols of his life rather than symbols of his death)

Angel Moroni as a symbol	Rejected	Accepted, but not as an official symbol

Tithing	One-tenth of discretionary income More flexible "Disciples' Generous Response" has been introduced	One-tenth of annual income (member decides how to calculate)

First Vision	Referred to as the "grove experience" No position on historicity Focus on the healing presence of God and the forgiving mercy of Jesus Christ for Joseph Smith	Accepted as a foundational historical event Smith's 1838 account is canonized as part of Joseph Smith–History Focus on its role as the beginning of the restoration of the gospel through a prophet chosen by God

Is it the "one true church"?	Traditionally, yes; more recently, de-emphasized and questioned	Yes

Sentence(s)

The Community of Christ version contains 166 documents.

final_sentence: The Community of Christ version contains 166 documents.