Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Kingdom of God
Encyclopedia
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Kingdom of God is a fundamentalist church in the Latter-day Saint movement. The sect was founded by Frank Naylor and Ivan Nielsen, who split from the Centennial Park group
, another fundamentalist church. The church is estimated to have 200-300 members, most of whom reside in the Salt Lake Valley
. The group is also known as the Third Ward or the Naylor group, after Frank Naylor.
, Lorin Calvin Woolley
and others, of a meeting in September 1886 between LDS Church President John Taylor, the Woolleys, and others. Prior to the meeting, Taylor is said to have met with Jesus Christ and the deceased church founder, Joseph Smith Jr., and to have received a revelation commanding that plural marriage should not cease, but be kept alive by a group separate from the LDS Church. The following day, the Woolleys, as well as Taylor's counselor, George Q. Cannon
, and others, were said to have been set apart to keep "the principle" alive.
. This group is itself a split from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS). The Centennial Park group refers to itself as the ‘Second Ward’ while it continues to regard the FLDS as the ‘First Ward’. When Alma A. Timpson became leader of the Second Ward in 1988 he appointed Frank Naylor as apostle and Ivan Nielsen as high priest and later as Bishop. Naylor and Nielsen disagreed with Timpson’s leadership and they split from the Second Ward in 1990 to form the ‘Third Ward’ with Naylor as leader.
where they have built a meeting house. They continue to practice polygamy as well as other fundamentalist doctrines such as the Law of Consecration
and the Adam-God doctrine. The church has also formed a close relationship with the Bountiful
community of polygamists.
Centennial Park group
The Centennial Park group is a Fundamentalist Mormon group, with approximately 1,500 members, who broke with Leroy S. Johnson, the senior member of the "Priesthood Council" and leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. However, there is no formal relationship...
, another fundamentalist church. The church is estimated to have 200-300 members, most of whom reside in the Salt Lake Valley
Salt Lake Valley
Salt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably West Valley City, Murray, Sandy, and West Jordan; its total population is 1,029,655 as of 2010...
. The group is also known as the Third Ward or the Naylor group, after Frank Naylor.
Polygamist roots
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Kingdom of God's claims of authority are based around the accounts of John Wickersham WoolleyJohn Wickersham Woolley
John Wickersham Woolley was an American Latter Day Saint and one of the founders of the Mormon fundamentalism movement.-Early life:...
, Lorin Calvin Woolley
Lorin Calvin Woolley
Lorin Calvin Woolley was a Mormon fundamentalist leader and a proponent of plural marriage.-Early life:Woolley was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was the son of John Wickersham Woolley and Julia Searles Ensign...
and others, of a meeting in September 1886 between LDS Church President John Taylor, the Woolleys, and others. Prior to the meeting, Taylor is said to have met with Jesus Christ and the deceased church founder, Joseph Smith Jr., and to have received a revelation commanding that plural marriage should not cease, but be kept alive by a group separate from the LDS Church. The following day, the Woolleys, as well as Taylor's counselor, George Q. Cannon
George Q. Cannon
George Quayle Cannon was an early member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and served in the First Presidency under four successive presidents of the church: Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, and Lorenzo Snow...
, and others, were said to have been set apart to keep "the principle" alive.
Split from the Centennial Park group
The Centennial Park group is a polygamist sect based in the Arizona StripArizona Strip
The Arizona Strip is the part of the U.S. state of Arizona lying north of the Colorado River. The difficulty of crossing the Grand Canyon causes this region to have more natural connections with southern Utah and Nevada than with the rest of Arizona....
. This group is itself a split from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS). The Centennial Park group refers to itself as the ‘Second Ward’ while it continues to regard the FLDS as the ‘First Ward’. When Alma A. Timpson became leader of the Second Ward in 1988 he appointed Frank Naylor as apostle and Ivan Nielsen as high priest and later as Bishop. Naylor and Nielsen disagreed with Timpson’s leadership and they split from the Second Ward in 1990 to form the ‘Third Ward’ with Naylor as leader.
The new church
Naylor and Nielsen were able to gather a number of followers from both the Centennial Park group and the FLDS. Most of the members of the new group migrated north to the Salt Lake Valley in UtahUtah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
where they have built a meeting house. They continue to practice polygamy as well as other fundamentalist doctrines such as the Law of Consecration
Law of Consecration
In the Latter Day Saint movement , the term law of consecration was first used in 1831 by Joseph Smith, it was a doctrine of covenanted Christian communalism....
and the Adam-God doctrine. The church has also formed a close relationship with the Bountiful
Bountiful, British Columbia
Bountiful is a settlement located in the Creston Valley of southeastern British Columbia, Canada, near Cranbrook and Creston. The closest community is Lister, British Columbia....
community of polygamists.
See also
- Factional breakdown: Mormon fundamentalist sects
- Mormon fundamentalism
- Mormonism and polygamy
- List of fundamentalist sects in the Latter Day Saint movement
- Big LoveBig LoveBig Love is an American television drama that aired on HBO between March 2006 and March 2011. The show is about a fictional fundamentalist Mormon family in Utah that practices polygamy...
HBO series about a fictional independent polygamous Mormon fundamentalist family.
Further reading
- Hales, Brian C. (2007). Modern Polygamy and Mormon Fundamentalism: The Generations After the Manifesto(Salt Lake City, Utah: Greg Kofford Books).
- Quinn, D. Michael "Plural Marriage and Mormon Fundamentalism", Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon ThoughtDialogue: A Journal of Mormon ThoughtDialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought is an independent quarterly journal of "Mormon thought" that addresses a wide range of issues on Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint Movement....
31(2) (Summer 1998). - "The Primer" - Helping Victims of Domestic Violence and Child Abuse in Polygamous Communities. A joint report from the offices of the Attorney Generals of Arizona and Utah.
- Van Wagoner, Richard S.Richard S. Van WagonerRichard S. Van Wagoner was an amateur historian who published works on the history of Utah and the history of the Latter Day Saint movement....
(1999). Mormon Polygamy: A History. UK: Prometheus Books. ISBN 0941214796.