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In 2001, members and non-members alike witnessed an historic event as the RLDS church changed its name to Community of Christ. Some church members appeared anxious to shed the 19th century image of their church and embraced the name change with statements like, “today, the church’s mission is to build communities of joy, hope, love and peace and that mission is not dependent on our nineteenth century history” and “I trust in Jesus for my salvation and all that Joseph Smith ‘stuff’ doesn’t matter to me.” Other members have expressed skepticism regarding the name change, concerned that the church is giving up its historic distinctives. They still believe that Joseph Smith received revelations from God to establish and build up the “only true church” on earth. It appears that the church leadership is attempting to placate both groups, giving up their historic name for the first group, while reassuring the second group that, “We’re not giving up our past, our distinctive beliefs, practices, and tradition.” The fact that the church proclaims its mission for the future by referring to the “sacred story” of its past seems to underscore that claim. As they watched the transition, many concerned Christians wondered if the name change meant the RLDS church had rejected Smith’s teachings and was seeking to become a legitimate Christian denomination. While it is true that the RLDS church has recently made several changes — the acceptance of homosexuals, the ordination of women, a prophet who is not a descendant of Joseph Smith, acknowledgment of past historical inaccuracies — none of these actions have brought them any closer to becoming a true Christian denomination. If a Community of Christ member were to ask why not, the short answer would be because their church continues to promote the unbiblical teachings of Joseph Smith and not the gospel as found in the Bible. Continued claims that Smith was a prophet of God and was called to restore the fullness of the gospel to the earth ring hollow to born again Christians. Instead, they uphold that the Bible promises and history affirms that the gospel never was taken from the earth. Independent archeology sustains Christian belief that the Bible is reliable and stands as the inspired word of God. This is unlike the three books of scripture Smith produced and claimed were divinely inspired. They are not supported by any independent archeology and not only do they contradict the Bible, but each other as well. Lastly, Smith’s form of priesthood repels the knowledgeable Christian. In essence, participation in the Aaronic order denies the finished work of Christ on the cross while men and women ordained to the Melchisedec priesthood take upon themselves a priesthood which the Bible plainly states belongs only to Jesus Christ. Furthermore, the Jesus of the RLDS/CoC bears little resemblance to the Jesus of the Bible. Various church writings have described their Jesus as 1) a saved being rather than God the Savior, 2) the Son of God, but rarely if ever, God the Son, 3) an example of how to live rather than the Redeemer who came to die for our sins, 4) killing the unrighteous instead of dying for them. With all this in mind, it would seem out of place that an organization holding such beliefs would call itself a Community of Christ. The juggling act the church leadership is attempting — holding on to its past with one hand while letting go of it with the other, is a classic example of cognitive dissonance, a situation where a person believes two mutually exclusive ideas at the same time. This double-minded thinking explains the confusion the church finds itself in, confusion which originated with Smith’s rejection of the Bible as the authoritative Word of God. This confusion was compounded by the introduction of new “scriptures” which totally obscured the Biblical gospel of salvation and resulted in a false gospel of works, void of the cross and the blood of Christ. The Bible says clearly, “… it is by grace you have been saved through faith … not by works….” (Ephesians 2: 8,9). Because the Community of Christ is not willing to renounce Smith’s gospel and his Restoration Movement, but instead claims it is as their “sacred story,” it continues to be considered a pseudo Christian cult by the greater Christian community. Well-known Christian leaders agree that the aberrant teachings of Joseph Smith place all factions of Mormonism, including the Community of Christ, outside genuine Christianity. An Open Letter to Community of Christ Members Dear Friend, The overwhelming evidence is that the Community of Christ does not advocate Biblical Christianity. Instead, it continues to promote many of the unbiblical concepts that Joseph Smith introduced. To remain in the church which continues to advance his false teachings, is to put your eternal life in jeopardy. Jesus warned those following false teachers, “Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit” (Matt. 15:14.) If you will sincerely seek the truth, God promises you will find the truth, and the truth will set you free. But, you must be willing to reject the errors of Joseph Smith and turn to the Biblical gospel of faith in Christ alone. You will then be able to heed Jesus’ admonition. You will be able to say with the apostle Paul, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation.” You will concur with his confession, “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ…not having a righteousness of my own …but that which is through faith in Christ….” (Phil. 3:7-9.) This is our prayer for you.
What Christian Leaders Say “We believe that the characteristics of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are cultic in nature. A cult is any group which teaches doctrines or beliefs that deviate from the Biblical message of the Christian faith. Cults often teach some Christian truth, mixed with error, which may be difficult to detect. They do not adhere solely to the sixty-six books of the bible as the inspired Word of God. They add their ‘special revelations’ to the Bible as equally authoritative. They do not accept that our relationship to Jesus Christ is a reality ‘by grace through faith alone,’ but practice instead a salvation by works.” Billy Graham Evangelistic Association “The evidence of both history and theology … rules out the Reorganized Church as Christian and rightly classifies them as a non-Christian cultic system.” Dr. Walter Martin “Contrary to Scripture, the Reorganized Church believes that Christianity was completely overrun by apostasy. (Matt. 16:18, 1 Tim. 4:l.) They also maintain that Joseph Smith was a prophet — that he was sent by God to restore the church; that he had to re-institute the apostolic and prophetic offices, along with the Old Testament priesthoods, and that he also had to convey additional revelation from God…. Both Biblical and historical evidence directly controvert these positions which, of course, makes Christian fellowship with members of the Reorganized Church virtually impossible. … we can only classify the Reorganized Church as heretical.” Hank Hanegraaff, “The Bible Answer Man” and president of Christian Research Institute “Mormonism in all its forms departs radically from the faith of the New Testament…Joseph Smith, as well as those who followed him, were actively making up their religion as they went along, and were obligated to change doctrines, change history and change documents to cover their tracks. Mormonism’s history announces clearly that it is false and should be rejected.” Chuck Swindoll, Insight for Living Ministry  |
