# List of churches in the Latter Day Saint Reorganization movement

Reorganized Latter Day Saints churches are Latter Day Saint denominations that reject the allegedly apostolic succession of Brigham Young.
Estimated membership of larger denominations in the Reorganization movement and its fellow travelers :
| Community of Christ (RLDS) | 250,301 | over 75% |
| The Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite) | 22,537 | less than 7.5% |
| Church of Jesus Christ with the Elijah Message | 12,500 | less than 5% |
| Restoration Branches | 10,000 | over 2.5% |
| Church of Christ (Temple Lot) | 7,310 | less than 2.5% |
| Fellowships of the remnants | 5,000 | over 1% |
| Church of Christ (Fettingite) | 2,450 | less than 1% |

## List
### Reorganization movement

| | Name | Organized by | Date | Current status | Notes |
| Independence Temple, Community of Christ, Independence, MO | Community of Christ | Joseph Smith III | 1860 | Reorganized from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; some early members came from Strangite church. More than 250,000 members as of 2006 | Second-largest Latter Day Saint denomination. Headquartered in Independence, Missouri. Previously known as the "Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" (RLDS Church); organized by Joseph Smith III in 1860. |
| R. C. Evans, founder of Church of the Christian Brotherhood | Church of the Christian Brotherhood | R. C. Evans | 1918 | Defunct | Split with RLDS Church due to their denial that Joseph Smith practiced plural marriage; Evans published a book documenting evidence that Smith was a polygamist, then went on to reject most of the tenets of Mormonism. |
| | Church of Jesus Christ Restored | Stanley King | 1960s | Headquartered in Ontario, Canada | Fundamentalist church that split from the RLDS Church and instituted polygamy and the United Order; has about 40 members |
| | Church of Jesus Christ (Toneyite) | Forrest Toney | 1980 | Headquartered in Independence, Missouri | Left RLDS Church in 1980; claimed to be "Elijah and only prophet" of his organization. |
| | Independent RLDS / Restoration Branches | Various local leaders of the RLDS church | 1980s | As of 1993, 15,000–30,000 sympathizers who yet retained membership in the RLDS Church (Community of Christ); as of 2011, c. 10,000 members attending several hundred distinct congregations. | Affiliated branches and study groups, with each branch relatively autonomous and the movement as a whole centered in Independence, Missouri. RLDS Church branches became independent of the RLDS Church individually throughout the 1980s, due to opposition to changes in church doctrines and practices. Most priesthood holders of these branches soon became affiliated with the "Conference of Restoration Elders". At a three-day conference in November 2005, the "Joint Conference of Restoration Branches" was formed, which had 6,000 to 7,000 members as of 2010. Members consider themselves members of the [historical] RLDS Church, in a direct line of succession from those who dissented following doctrinal changes roughly coinciding with the church's name change to Community of Christ. |
| | Church of Jesus Christ Restored 1830 | Nolan W. Glauner | Mid-1980s | Members in Missouri and Africa; headquartered in Tarkio, Missouri | Regards Wallace B. Smith as a "fallen prophet" of the RLDS Church for his opening the priesthood to women and for choosing to build the Independence Temple as opposed to the city of Zion. |
| | Church of Christ | David B. Clark | 1985 | Headquartered in Oak Grove, Missouri | Also known as "Lion of God Ministry". Clark broke from the RLDS Church in November 1985. In May 1987, Clark began to issue a newsletter, "The Return". Group adheres closely to the King James Version of the Bible and "The Record of the Nephites" [Book of Mormon], but does not consider other Mormon scripture to be authoritative. They keep annual feasts, including Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles, etc. |
| Meetinghouse, Church of Jesus Christ (Zion's Branch), Independence, Missouri | Church of Jesus Christ (Zion's Branch) | John and Robert Cato, among others | 1986 | 200 or so members; headquartered in Independence, Missouri | Largely composed of former members of the RLDS Church who oppose what they consider to be recent doctrinal innovations, especially the giving of the priesthood to women in 1984. |
| | Lundgren Group | Jeffrey Lundgren | 1988 | Defunct; approximately 20 followers; was located in Kirtland, Ohio | The denomination broke off from the RLDS Church when Lundgren was dismissed from the church on October 10, 1988. Lundgren was executed by the state of Ohio on October 24, 2006, for the murder of Dennis Avery and four of his family members. |
| Meetinghouse, Restoration Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Independence, Missouri | Restoration Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints | Several RLDS entities | 1991 | Headquartered in Independence, Missouri | The church broke off from the Community of Christ because of its belief that women should not hold the priesthood. |
| Headquarters of the Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Independence, Missouri | Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints | Frederick N. Larsen | 2000 | Independent RLDS / Restoration Branches | 1,000–2,000 members; headquartered in Independence, Missouri. Chiefly composed of former members of the RLDS Church who were part of the Independent RLDS / Restoration Branches. They oppose what they consider to be recent doctrinal innovations, especially the passing of the church presidency to someone not descended from Joseph Smith (Larsen is a descendant of Smith through his grandson Frederick Madison Smith). |
* Gallery
* Joseph Smith III (1832–1914)
* Panorama of the Temple Lot in Independence, with (L to R) the Stone Church, the Temple Lot Church, the Independence Temple, and the Auditorium

### Temple Lot-derived

These include:
| | Name | Organized by | Date | Current status | Notes |
| World Headquarters and Independence Branch, Church of Christ (Temple Lot), Independence, Missouri | Church of Christ (Temple Lot) | Granville Hedrick | 1863 | (Some members from Gladdenites.) 5,000 members; headquartered on the Temple Lot in Independence, Missouri | Owns the Temple Lot; adherents commonly referred to as "Hedrickites." |
| Meetinghouse, Church of Christ (Fettingite), Independence, Missouri | Church of Christ (Fettingite) | Otto Fetting | 1929 | Denomination divided into various factions | A denomination which split with the Temple Lot church over reported revelations from John the Baptist to its founder, Otto Fetting; adopted seventh day sabbatarianism under Apostle S.T. Bronson in 1950s. |
| Otto Fetting | Church of Christ at Halley's Bluff | Thomas B. Nerren and E. E. Long | 1932 | Headquartered at Schell City, Missouri; less than 100 members | Members originally believed Otto Fetting's revelations but did not join the Church of Christ (Fettingite). Formally named "Church of Christ at Zion's Retreat" until a 1972 schism in which Dan Gayman led most of its followers away to his Church of Israel. |
| Meetinghouse, Church of Christ (Restored), Independence, Missouri | Church of Christ (Restored) | A.C. DeWolf | ca. 1937 | Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri;approx. 450 members | Split from Fettingite organization in late 1930s when that denomination initially accepted William Draves' "messages"; claims to be the true continuation of Fetting's church. Non-sabbatarian. |
| Headquarters and Independence Branch, Church of Christ with the Elijah Message, Independence, Missouri | Church of Christ with the Elijah Message | Otto Fetting and William Draves | 1943 | c. 12,500 members worldwide as of 1987. Headquartered in Independence, Missouri | Split with the Church of Christ (Fettingite) when that denomination rejected revelations from John the Baptist given to its founder, William Draves, following the death of Otto Fetting. |
| | Church of Christ (Hancock) | Pauline Hancock | 1946 | Defunct as of 1984 | First Latter Day Saint denomination to be established by a woman; accepted KJV Bible and Book of Mormon only; later rejected Book of Mormon and dissolved itself in 1984. Among its former members were Jerald and Sandra Tanner, opponents of the Latter Day Saint movement and founders of the Utah Lighthouse Ministry. |
| | Church of Christ | Howard Leighton-Floyd and H. H. Burt | 1965 | Around 35 members | Leighton-Floyd and Burt split with the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message during the reincorporation of that church under its present name. Leighton-Floyd left shortly after the formation, with Burt assumed leadership of the group. The membership is centered on an agricultural cooperative near Holden, Missouri. |
| | Church of Israel | Dan Gayman | 1972 | Headquartered in Missouri | (From Church of Christ at Halley's Bluff.) Name was "Church of Our Christian Heritage" until incorporation in 1981. The church has been accused of being a Christian Identity church, a charge which is denied by Gayman. Few Latter Day Saint beliefs or practices remain in the church. |
| Church of Christ with the Elijah Message (Assured Way of the Lord), Inc., Independence, Missouri | The Church of Christ With the Elijah Message, The Assured Way of the Lord, Inc. | Leonard Draves | 2004 | Headquartered in Independence, Missouri | Split from the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message, Inc., which in turn split from the Church of Christ With the Elijah Message; founders claim that they are the legitimate continuation of William Draves' organization. |

### Fellow travellers among additional Latter Day Saint lineages

Non-Joseph Smith III-lineaged churches that also reject Brigham Young's succession include:
* Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite), founded in 1844
* "Rigdonites", formed beginning in 1844
* Church of Christ (Wightite), founded in 1844
* Church of Christ (Whitmerite), founded in 1847
* Church of Christ (Brewsterite), founded in 1848
* Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Gladdenite), founded in 1851
* Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite), founded in 1853
* Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite), founded in 1907
* Fellowships of the remnants, founded in 2013

## Background

After the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, Joseph Smith, Jr., was killed, the membership of Smith's church were disputed among themselves over the question of succession. Several individuals emerged with claims to leadership and the church's presidency. This led to the formation of several small factions. The majority of the church's members in Nauvoo, Illinois followed Brigham Young, who led them to the Great Basin area (in what is now Utah) as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church. Also, the term "Mormon" gradually primarily came to refer to members of the LDS Church.) The remaining individuals—who still considered themselves part of Smith's original church—remained; many who were in scattered congregations throughout the American Midwest joined other factions led by such leaders as Sidney Rigdon, James J. Strang, Lyman Wight, Alpheus Cutler, William Smith, and David Whitmer. Others began forming themselves into the a "reorganized" Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Some Latter Day Saints believed that Smith had designated his eldest son, Joseph Smith III, as his successor; some of these individuals waited for young Joseph to take up his father's mantle. However, Smith III was only 11 years old at the time of his father's death; his mother, Emma Hale Smith, and their family remained in Nauvoo rather than moving to join any of the departing groups. In the 1850s, groups of Midwestern Latter Day Saints who were unaffiliated with other Latter Day Saint factions began to come together. Leaders, including Jason W. Briggs and Zenas H. Gurley, Sr., began to call for the creation of a "New Organization" of the Latter Day Saint movement. They invited Smith III to lead their New Organization; he accepted only after he believed he received a personal spiritual confirmation that this was the appropriate course of action. At a conference on April 6, 1860, at Amboy, Illinois, Smith III formally accepted the leadership of what was then known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. William Marks, former stake president of Nauvoo, served as Smith III's counselor in the reorganized First Presidency. The word "Reorganized" was added to the church's official name in 1872, mostly as a means of distinguishing it from the larger LDS Church, which at that time was involved in controversy with the U.S. government over its doctrine of plural marriage. The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was often abbreviated "RLDS Church". Over time, many Mormons, mostly in the Midwest, who had not accompanied Brigham Young and his Latter-Day Saint followers to what is now Utah, began to join the new and growing Church. They included many former followers of James Strang, whose assassination in Wisconsin in 1856 left them disorganized and leaderless.

### Provenance

vteCurrent denominations or sub-groups in the Latter Day Saint Reorganization movement :
Joseph Smith Jr. presided 1830–1844
Community of Christ  250,000 members (2011); Missouri-basedWallace B. Smith presided 1978–1996Joseph Smith III presided 1860–1914
— Less than twenty thousand members  —
The Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite)  19,029 members (Dec. 31, 2012) – Pennsylvania-basedWilliam Bickerton presided 1862–1880Sidney Rigdon presided 1844–1847
Church of Christ With the Elijah Message  over 12,000 members (1998) – Missouri-basedWilliam Draves presided 1943–1994
Restoration branches movement which have created the Joint Conference of Restoration Branches  6,000–7,000 members (2010) – Missouri-based
vteSee Restoration branches movement groupings in addition to one above.
Smaller, founded in the 20th century 
Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Organized by: Frederick Niels Larsen– 1,000–2,000 members
Restoration Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Organized by: Several RLDS entities– 8 congregations
Minuscule, founded in the 20th century 
Church of Jesus Christ (Toneyite) Organized by: Forrest Toney
Church of Jesus Christ Restored 1830 Organized by: Nolan W. Glauner
Church of Christ Organized by: David B. Clark
Church of Jesus Christ (Zion's Branch) Organized by: David B. Clark
Fellowships of the Remnant About 5,000-10,000 participants (2017). Organized 2013 worldwide by adherents of a neo-Latter Day Saint Reorganization movement Restorationism revealed through Denver Snuffer
Church of Christ (Fettingite)  2,000 members (1988); Missouri-basedOtto Fetting presided 1927–1933
Church of Christ (Temple Lot)  7,310 members (2013) – Missouri-basedGranville Hedrick presided 1863–1881
vteSee Temple Lot – derived denominations in addition to pair above.
Church of Christ (Leighton-Floyd/Burt) Organized by: Howard Leighton-Floyd and H. H. Burt approx. 35 membersWilliam Draves presided 1943–1994 Church of Christ with the Elijah Message schismsOtto Fetting presided 1927–1933 Church of Christ (Fettingite) schismsGranville Hedrick presided 1863–1881 Church of Christ (Temple Lot) schisms
Church of Christ with the Elijah Message (The Assured Way of the Lord) Organized by:Leonard DravesChurch of Christ (Restored) Organized by: A. C. DeWolf approx. 450 members
Church of Israel Organized by:Dan GaymanChurch of Christ at Halley's Bluff Organized by: Thomas B. Nerren and E. E. Long less than 100 members
↑ While not considered a schism of the Church of Christ (Fettingite) and its founder Otto Fetting, the Church of Christ at Halley's Bluff accepted Fetting's revelations, but it did not immediately break with the Fettingites in 1929. Nerren and Long instead formed a separate sect in 1932, which was later joined by five other former Temple Lot congregations by 1941.
— Minuscule, founded in the 19th century  —
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite)  300 members (1998) – Wisconsin-basedJames Strang presided 1844–1856
Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite)  approximately 12 members (2010) – Missouri-basedAlpheus Cutler presided 1853–1864
    $_{Note:}$ Membership worldwide; generally church-reported; with an occasional exception    $^†$^ Once larger
↑ Organized the Church of Christ, the Latter Day Saint movement's original organization, of which multiple denominations currently believe themselves the true successor
↑ See Rigdonite.
↑ Members consider themselves as remaining adherents of the (historical) Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. (As of 2011, litigation by the Community of Christ against Restoration Branch individuals and entities generally established CofC's right to both the full and abbreviated RLDS name.) :