The Primitive Church of Jesus Christ was a schismatic

Schism (religion)

A schism , from Greek σχίσμα, skhísma , is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization or movement religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a break of communion between two sections of Christianity that were previously a single body, or to a division within...

 sect

Sect

A sect is a group with distinctive religious, political or philosophical beliefs. Although in past it was mostly used to refer to religious groups, it has since expanded and in modern culture can refer to any organization that breaks away from a larger one to follow a different set of rules and...

 that was created in 1914 from dissenting members of The Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite). Like its parent church, the Primitive Church of Jesus Christ was a Rigdonite

Rigdonite

Rigdonite is a name given to members of the Latter Day Saint movement who accept Sidney Rigdon as the successor in the church presidency to movement founder, Joseph Smith, Jr. The early history of the Rigdonite movement is shared with the history of the Latter Day Saint movement, but as of the...

 and Bickertonite organization: it traced the claim of succession to Latter Day Saint movement

Latter Day Saint movement

The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...

 founder Joseph Smith, Jr. through Sidney Rigdon

Sidney Rigdon

Sidney Rigdon was a leader during the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Baptist background:...

 and William Bickerton

William Bickerton

William Bickerton was a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement after the 1844 succession crisis. In 1862, Bickerton became the founding president of the church now known as The Church of Jesus Christ , which is one of many churches that claim to be a continuation of the Church of Christ founded...

.

In 1914, a dispute emerged in the Bickertonite church as to the proper leadership structure of the church. Some members, led by William Cadman, argued that the church should be led by a First Presidency

First Presidency

In the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency was the highest governing body in the Latter Day Saint church established by Joseph Smith, Jr. in 1832, and is the highest governing body of several modern Latter Day Saint denominations...

 and Quorum of the Twelve

Quorum of the Twelve

In the Latter Day Saint movement, the Quorum of the Twelve was one of the governing bodies of the church hierarchy organized by the movement's founder Joseph Smith, Jr., and patterned after the twelve apostles of Christ In the Latter Day Saint movement, the Quorum of the Twelve (also known as the...

, while others maintained that there should be no First Presidency in the church because Jesus

Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

' original church was simply headed by twelve apostles. Church apostle James Caldwell and other dissenters who felt that the First Presidency was a deviation from Christ's original church left the church and established the Primitive Church of Jesus Christ. Caldwell and the other dissenters also disagreed with Cadman about the truth of Joseph Smith's First Vision

First Vision

The First Vision refers to a vision that Joseph Smith, Jr. said he received as a youth in a wooded area in Manchester, New York, which his followers call the Sacred Grove. Smith described it as a personal theophany in which he received a forgiveness of sins...

. Caldwell and his followers did not believe that the First Vision took place, although they did believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet

Prophet

In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...

 and that he was inspired by God to translate the Book of Mormon

Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...

.

Caldwell and his followers referred to members of their parent church as "Cadmanites", because it was led by William Cadman.

At the organization of the church in Washington, Pennsylvania

Washington, Pennsylvania

Washington is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States, within the Pittsburgh Metro Area in the southwestern part of the state...

, Caldwell was elected as the first president of the church, and he was succeeded by his nephew, Lawrence Dias. The church was strongly opposed to plural marriage

Plural marriage

Polygamy was taught by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890.The Church's practice of polygamy has been highly controversial, both within...

, plurality of gods

Plurality of gods

Plurality of gods usually refers to a unique concept taught by Joseph Smith and several other leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is believed to be based on interpretations of the Bible, the Book of Abraham, the teachings of Joseph Smith, Jr...

, and baptism for the dead

Baptism for the dead

Baptism for the dead, vicarious baptism or proxy baptism is the religious practice of baptizing a living person on behalf of one who is dead, with the living person acting as the deceased person's proxy...

.

The Primitive Church of Jesus Christ eventually merged with the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ

Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite)

The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ was a schismatic sect that was created in 1907 from dissenting members of The Church of Jesus Christ . Like its parent church, the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ was a Rigdonite and Bickertonite organization: it traced the claim of succession to Latter Day...

, another schismatic Bickertonite sect that had been created in 1907. By the 1970s, the combined church had dwindled to a single congregation in Erie, Pennsylvania

Erie, Pennsylvania

Erie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000...

. The church is believed to be defunct, leaving the Church of Jesus Christ in Monongahela, Pennsylvania

Monongahela, Pennsylvania

Monongahela, colloquially called "Mon City," is a Third Class City in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States and is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area, located approximately south of the city proper. The population was 4,761 at the 2000 census...

as the only surviving Rigdonite–Bickertonite sect.