manu/mldr-zoomed-100char-total-queries-documents

chunk_id stringlengths 3 9	chunk stringlengths 1 100
9827_274	Rigdon, Young and Marks were later joined by a fourth claimant, James J. Strang of Voree,
9827_275	Wisconsin, who claimed that Smith had sent him a letter designating him as his successor. However,
9827_276	Strang had only recently joined the church, and lacked name-recognition among the rank-and-file
9827_277	Mormons in Nauvoo. Though he would manage to attract a sizable following, his assassination in
9827_278	1856 all but extinguished his sect.
9827_279	Further schisms and the "Mormon War in Illinois"
9827_280	With Rigdon's flight, Young and most of the Twelve Apostles assumed control of church headquarters
9827_281	in Nauvoo. A conflict with Joseph Smith's last surviving brother, William, was a factor that led
9827_282	the remaining members of the Smith family to break with the Twelve. Many (though not all)
9827_283	initially followed Strang, though all later left Strang's organization and joined themselves to the
9827_284	nascent Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which coalesced in the early 1860s
9827_285	around Joseph Smith's eldest son, Joseph Smith III.
9827_286	Meanwhile, at Nauvoo, the conflict between Mormons and non-Mormons escalated into what is sometimes
9827_287	called the "Mormon War in Illinois." Latter Day Saints in outlying areas were driven from their
9827_288	homes and gathered to Nauvoo for protection. The Illinois state legislature voted to revoke
9827_289	Nauvoo's charter and the city began to operate extra-legally. At about this time, Nauvoo's
9827_290	population peaked; it may have had as many as 12,000 inhabitants (and several nearly as large
9827_291	suburbs), rivaling Chicago, Illinois, whose 1845 population was about 15,000, and its suburbs.
9827_292	However, by the end of 1845, it became clear that no peace was possible, and Young and the Twelve
9827_293	negotiated a truce so that the Latter Day Saints could prepare to abandon the city. The winter of
9827_294	1845-46 saw the enormous preparations for the Mormon Exodus across the Great Plains.
9827_295	Major divisions
9827_296	The largest group of Latter Day Saints followed nine of the Twelve Apostles west, establishing a
9827_297	way station at Winter Quarters, Nebraska in 1846, and entering Salt Lake Valley in 1847. Having
9827_298	planted this initial colony in the Great Basin, Young returned to Winter Quarters and in December
9827_299	1847 reorganized his faction of the church, establishing himself as the head of a new First
9827_300	Presidency. This reorganization led to additional schisms, including the break with Alpheus Cutler
9827_301	and what became the Church of Christ (Cutlerite) as well as Lyman Wight's group in Zodiac, Texas.
9827_302	Young's organization today, the LDS Church, is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. (See History
9827_303	of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.)
9827_304	The bulk of Sidney Rigdon's church had dissolved by 1847, but some loyalists reorganized as The
9827_305	Church of Jesus Christ under the leadership of William Bickerton in 1862. James J. Strang's church
9827_306	in Voree suffered a significant schism in 1849, led by former follower Aaron Smith. After Strang's
9827_307	1856 assassination, much of the remaining membership fell away from the Church of Jesus Christ of
9827_308	Latter Day Saints (Strangite), but a small following remained loyal. Other leaders, including
9827_309	David Whitmer, James Collin Brewster, James Emmett, Gladden Bishop, William Smith, and Charles B.
9827_310	Thompson also established church organizations that had limited followings.
9827_311	Joseph Smith's family — including his widow, Emma Hale Smith, and her children — continued to live
9827_312	in Nauvoo after the departure of the majority of the Latter Day Saints. In 1860, the eldest of the
9827_313	Smith sons, Joseph Smith III, said he received a revelation to take his place as Prophet/President
9827_314	of a "New Organization" of the Latter Day Saint church. This group had gathered together many of
9827_315	the remnants of the various Midwestern Latter Day Saint groups into the Reorganized Church of Jesus
9827_316	Christ of Latter Day Saints, now called the Community of Christ. This has continued to be the
9827_317	second largest Latter Day Saint group, with headquarters on a portion of the original Temple Lot in
9827_318	Independence, Missouri.
9827_319	Others remained unaffiliated, however, and in 1863 a group of Latter Day Saints from Illinois and
9827_320	Indiana united under the leadership of Granville Hedrick and reclaimed the name of the movement's
9827_321	original organization, the "Church of Christ." This group was the first group of Latter Day Saints
9827_322	to return to Independence, Missouri, to "redeem Zion." They are now headquartered on portion of
9827_323	the original Temple Lot there and are known as the Church of Christ (Temple Lot).
9827_324	The Latter Day Saint movement today Denominations
9827_325	While it would be impractical to include an in-depth discussion of every church in the Latter Day
9827_326	Saint movement, the two largest and most prominent sects are included here, together with a brief
9827_327	listing of some of the more prominent smaller sects.
9827_328	The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
9827_329	By far the largest of the sects, with membership in the millions, the LDS Church continues to be
9827_330	led by Brigham Young's successors. Young reorganized the First Presidency in 1847, and the First
9827_331	Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles have continued the same succession pattern: when
9827_332	the Prophet dies, the senior Apostle becomes the head of the LDS Church. As of January 2018,
9827_333	Russell M. Nelson is the church president. Among other things, the LDS Church has become known for
9827_334	its proselyting and humanitarian work worldwide.
9827_335	Community of Christ
9827_336	The Community of Christ, known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
9827_337	(RLDS) until 2001, is the second largest group, with over 250,000 members. Joseph Smith's
9827_338	descendants continued to serve as Prophet and President until the retirement of Wallace B. Smith in
9827_339	the early twenty-first century. Today the church is led by President/Prophet Stephen M. Veazey,
9827_340	who is no relation to Joseph Smith. While the Community of Christ is somewhat more in line
9827_341	doctrinally with mainline Protestantism, they also believe in the Book of Mormon and an open
9827_342	scriptural canon, and place great emphasis upon peacemaking and similar pursuits. The Community of
9827_343	Christ has ordained women to priesthood since 1985 and dedicated a temple in Independence, Mo., in
9827_344	1994.
9827_345	Minor factions
9827_346	Other notable minor factions of the Latter Day Saint movement include: the Church of Christ (Temple
9827_347	Lot), which owns the Temple Lot in Independence, Missouri; the Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite),
9827_348	founded by a member of Joseph Smith's Council of Fifty; the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
9827_349	Saints (Strangite), founded by James J. Strang in 1844; the Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite),
9827_350	founded by a follower of Sidney Rigdon in the early 1860s (and now the third-largest Latter Day
9827_351	Saint denomination); the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message, founded in the 1940s by a man
9827_352	who claimed to be receiving revelations from John the Baptist; and the Restoration Branches, which
9827_353	broke with the Community of Christ in 1984 when that church began ordaining women. In addition,
9827_354	several other Latter Day Saint factions continue to exist, some of which still practice polygamy.
9827_355	Important beliefs Jesus Christ
9827_356	Latter Day Saints share a central belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the Savior and
9827_357	Redeemer of the world. They accept his sacrifice as the only way to be saved. According to this
9827_358	movement's theology, that is the central message of the scriptures.
9827_359	Revelation and scripture
9827_360	Latter Day Saints generally share an open canon. While different sects believe in different
9827_361	revelations, a central theme of the Latter Day Saint movement is that God always has more to say to
9827_362	the church, because the church's situation is always changing.
9827_363	Latter Day Saints believe in the Bible and other ancient scripture. However, the modern prophet is
9827_364	usually considered to be a more important source of revelation, because he receives contemporary
9827_365	(and, thus, more relevant) instructions from God.
9827_366	Priesthood authority
9827_367	Most Latter Day Saint sects believe that authority from Jesus Christ is necessary in order to
9827_368	baptize, give the gift of the Holy Ghost, or administer the Lord's Supper (or the sacrament). This
9827_369	Priesthood authority can be traced to the day that Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery received the
9827_370	Melchizedek Priesthood from Peter, James, and John, who received the Priesthood from Jesus himself.
9827_371	Zion
9827_372	Many of Joseph Smith's early revelations prophesied that the Latter Day Saints would build Zion, a
9827_373	new Jerusalem, a religious utopia centered in Jackson County, MO. The Prophet urged his followers

9827_274

Rigdon, Young and Marks were later joined by a fourth claimant, James J. Strang of Voree,

9827_275

Wisconsin, who claimed that Smith had sent him a letter designating him as his successor. However,

9827_276

Strang had only recently joined the church, and lacked name-recognition among the rank-and-file

9827_277

Mormons in Nauvoo. Though he would manage to attract a sizable following, his assassination in

9827_278

1856 all but extinguished his sect.

9827_279

Further schisms and the "Mormon War in Illinois"

9827_280

With Rigdon's flight, Young and most of the Twelve Apostles assumed control of church headquarters

9827_281

in Nauvoo. A conflict with Joseph Smith's last surviving brother, William, was a factor that led

9827_282

the remaining members of the Smith family to break with the Twelve. Many (though not all)

9827_283

initially followed Strang, though all later left Strang's organization and joined themselves to the

9827_284

nascent Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which coalesced in the early 1860s

9827_285

around Joseph Smith's eldest son, Joseph Smith III.

9827_286

Meanwhile, at Nauvoo, the conflict between Mormons and non-Mormons escalated into what is sometimes

9827_287

called the "Mormon War in Illinois." Latter Day Saints in outlying areas were driven from their

9827_288

homes and gathered to Nauvoo for protection. The Illinois state legislature voted to revoke

9827_289

Nauvoo's charter and the city began to operate extra-legally. At about this time, Nauvoo's

9827_290

population peaked; it may have had as many as 12,000 inhabitants (and several nearly as large

9827_291

suburbs), rivaling Chicago, Illinois, whose 1845 population was about 15,000, and its suburbs.

9827_292

However, by the end of 1845, it became clear that no peace was possible, and Young and the Twelve

9827_293

negotiated a truce so that the Latter Day Saints could prepare to abandon the city. The winter of

9827_294

1845-46 saw the enormous preparations for the Mormon Exodus across the Great Plains.

9827_295

Major divisions

9827_296

The largest group of Latter Day Saints followed nine of the Twelve Apostles west, establishing a

9827_297

way station at Winter Quarters, Nebraska in 1846, and entering Salt Lake Valley in 1847. Having

9827_298

planted this initial colony in the Great Basin, Young returned to Winter Quarters and in December

9827_299

1847 reorganized his faction of the church, establishing himself as the head of a new First

9827_300

Presidency. This reorganization led to additional schisms, including the break with Alpheus Cutler

9827_301

and what became the Church of Christ (Cutlerite) as well as Lyman Wight's group in Zodiac, Texas.

9827_302

Young's organization today, the LDS Church, is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. (See History

9827_303

of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.)

9827_304

The bulk of Sidney Rigdon's church had dissolved by 1847, but some loyalists reorganized as The

9827_305

Church of Jesus Christ under the leadership of William Bickerton in 1862. James J. Strang's church

9827_306

in Voree suffered a significant schism in 1849, led by former follower Aaron Smith. After Strang's

9827_307

1856 assassination, much of the remaining membership fell away from the Church of Jesus Christ of

9827_308

Latter Day Saints (Strangite), but a small following remained loyal. Other leaders, including

9827_309

David Whitmer, James Collin Brewster, James Emmett, Gladden Bishop, William Smith, and Charles B.

9827_310

Thompson also established church organizations that had limited followings.

9827_311

Joseph Smith's family — including his widow, Emma Hale Smith, and her children — continued to live

9827_312

in Nauvoo after the departure of the majority of the Latter Day Saints. In 1860, the eldest of the

9827_313

Smith sons, Joseph Smith III, said he received a revelation to take his place as Prophet/President

9827_314

of a "New Organization" of the Latter Day Saint church. This group had gathered together many of

9827_315

the remnants of the various Midwestern Latter Day Saint groups into the Reorganized Church of Jesus

9827_316

Christ of Latter Day Saints, now called the Community of Christ. This has continued to be the

9827_317

second largest Latter Day Saint group, with headquarters on a portion of the original Temple Lot in

9827_318

Independence, Missouri.

9827_319

Others remained unaffiliated, however, and in 1863 a group of Latter Day Saints from Illinois and

9827_320

Indiana united under the leadership of Granville Hedrick and reclaimed the name of the movement's

9827_321

original organization, the "Church of Christ." This group was the first group of Latter Day Saints

9827_322

to return to Independence, Missouri, to "redeem Zion." They are now headquartered on portion of

9827_323

the original Temple Lot there and are known as the Church of Christ (Temple Lot).

9827_324

The Latter Day Saint movement today Denominations

9827_325

While it would be impractical to include an in-depth discussion of every church in the Latter Day

9827_326

Saint movement, the two largest and most prominent sects are included here, together with a brief

9827_327

listing of some of the more prominent smaller sects.

9827_328

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

9827_329

By far the largest of the sects, with membership in the millions, the LDS Church continues to be

9827_330

led by Brigham Young's successors. Young reorganized the First Presidency in 1847, and the First

9827_331

Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles have continued the same succession pattern: when

9827_332

the Prophet dies, the senior Apostle becomes the head of the LDS Church. As of January 2018,

9827_333

Russell M. Nelson is the church president. Among other things, the LDS Church has become known for

9827_334

its proselyting and humanitarian work worldwide.

9827_335

Community of Christ

9827_336

The Community of Christ, known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

9827_337

(RLDS) until 2001, is the second largest group, with over 250,000 members. Joseph Smith's

9827_338

descendants continued to serve as Prophet and President until the retirement of Wallace B. Smith in

9827_339

the early twenty-first century. Today the church is led by President/Prophet Stephen M. Veazey,

9827_340

who is no relation to Joseph Smith. While the Community of Christ is somewhat more in line

9827_341

doctrinally with mainline Protestantism, they also believe in the Book of Mormon and an open

9827_342

scriptural canon, and place great emphasis upon peacemaking and similar pursuits. The Community of

9827_343

Christ has ordained women to priesthood since 1985 and dedicated a temple in Independence, Mo., in

9827_344

1994.

9827_345

Minor factions

9827_346

Other notable minor factions of the Latter Day Saint movement include: the Church of Christ (Temple

9827_347

Lot), which owns the Temple Lot in Independence, Missouri; the Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite),

9827_348

founded by a member of Joseph Smith's Council of Fifty; the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day

9827_349

Saints (Strangite), founded by James J. Strang in 1844; the Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite),

9827_350

founded by a follower of Sidney Rigdon in the early 1860s (and now the third-largest Latter Day

9827_351

Saint denomination); the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message, founded in the 1940s by a man

9827_352

who claimed to be receiving revelations from John the Baptist; and the Restoration Branches, which

9827_353

broke with the Community of Christ in 1984 when that church began ordaining women. In addition,

9827_354

several other Latter Day Saint factions continue to exist, some of which still practice polygamy.

9827_355

Important beliefs Jesus Christ

9827_356

Latter Day Saints share a central belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the Savior and

9827_357

Redeemer of the world. They accept his sacrifice as the only way to be saved. According to this

9827_358

movement's theology, that is the central message of the scriptures.

9827_359

Revelation and scripture

9827_360

Latter Day Saints generally share an open canon. While different sects believe in different

9827_361

revelations, a central theme of the Latter Day Saint movement is that God always has more to say to

9827_362

the church, because the church's situation is always changing.

9827_363

Latter Day Saints believe in the Bible and other ancient scripture. However, the modern prophet is

9827_364

usually considered to be a more important source of revelation, because he receives contemporary

9827_365

(and, thus, more relevant) instructions from God.

9827_366

Priesthood authority

9827_367

Most Latter Day Saint sects believe that authority from Jesus Christ is necessary in order to

9827_368

baptize, give the gift of the Holy Ghost, or administer the Lord's Supper (or the sacrament). This

9827_369

Priesthood authority can be traced to the day that Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery received the

9827_370

Melchizedek Priesthood from Peter, James, and John, who received the Priesthood from Jesus himself.

9827_371

Zion

9827_372

Many of Joseph Smith's early revelations prophesied that the Latter Day Saints would build Zion, a

9827_373

new Jerusalem, a religious utopia centered in Jackson County, MO. The Prophet urged his followers