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.:MORMON SPLINTER GROUPS

Proponents of the Salt Lake City based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as LDS or Mormons) boast of the alleged “unity” of their 12 million membership. Pointing to multiple denominations of Christian churches, Mormons attribute their "unity" (i.e., uniform church structure and belief) to latter-day revelation and to additional books they regard as Scripture.

They challenge the potential convert to read and pray about the Book of Mormon in order to gain a “testimony” of the truthfulness of the book. This “testimony” (consisting of a “burning in the bosom” sensation) is alleged to be the main test for determining whether the potential convert should become a member of the LDS Church. Given the fact that over 100 splinter groups have developed on the foundation of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, we question the validity of the Mormon “testimony” in solidifying the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the sole possessor of the "restored gospel." Since all of these movements base their authority on the Book of Mormon and the Prophet Joseph Smith, how can a "testimony" gained through praying about the Book of Mormon be sufficient to prove which church of all of these movements one should join? The following list of dissident groups is taken from the book Divergent Paths of Restoration:

FOUNDED BETWEEN 1830 AND 1844

• Pure Church of Christ, Wycam Clark, 1831
• The Independent Church, Hoton, 1832
• Church of Christ, Ezra Booth, 1836
• Church of Christ, Warren Parrish, 1837
• The Church of Jesus Christ, the Bride, The Lamb's Wife, George M. Hinkle, 1840
• Church of Christ, Hyrum Page, 1842
• Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, F. Gladden Bishop
• True Church of Jessu Christ of Latter Day Saints, Law, Foster, Higbee, 1844
• Church of Christ, William Chubby

• Church of Christ / Church of Jesus Christ of the Children of Zion, Sidney Rigdon, 1844
• Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, James Emmett, 1844
• Church of Christ, S. B. Stoddard, Leonard Rich, James Bump, 1845
• Indian Mormon, 1846
• Church of Christ, William McLellin, David Whitmer, 1847
• Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, William Smith, 1847
• Congregation of Jehovah's Presbytery of Zion, Charles B. Thompson, 1848
• Church of Christ, James C. Brewster, 1848
• Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Lyman Wight, 1849
• The Bride, The Lamb's Wife or Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Jacob Syfritt, 1850
• Church of Christ, Hazen Aldrich, 1851

• Church of Christ, Aaron Smith, 1846
• Church of the Messiah, George J. Adams, 1861
• Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite)
• Holy Church of Jesus Christ, Alexandre R. Caffiaux
• House of Ephraim and House of Manasseh of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Jerry Sheppard
• The True Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, David L. Roberts
• Marriage Counseling Group
• Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, John J. Hajicek
• Strangite Believers in Pennsylvania

• Church of Jesus Christ, Clyde Fletcher, 1953
• The Restored Church of Jesus Christ, Eugene O. Walton, 1979

• Church of the Christian Brotherhood, Richard C. Evans, 1917
• The Church of Christ, the Order of Zion, John Zahnd, 1918
• The Church of Jesus Christ, Thomas W. Williams, 1925
• Church of Jesus Christ Restored, Stanley M. King, 1970
• New Jerusalem Church of Jesus Christ, Barney Fuller, 1975
• Church of Christ Restored, Paul Fishel, 1976
• True Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Forrest Toney, 1980
• Church of the Restoration or Churches of Christ in Zion, Robert Chambers, 1981
• Lamanite Ministries for Christ or New Covenant Ministries for Christ, 1984
• Restoration Branches Movement, 1984
• Church of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, A. Lee Abramson, 1985
• Church of Jesus Christ, Zion's Branch, John Cato, 1986
• Church of Christ, David Clark, 1986
• Independent Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Christopher C. Warren, 1986
• Native Indian Church

• Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ, Allen Wright, 1907
• Primitive Church of Jesus Christ, James Caldwell, 1914

• Church of Christ, Independent, Informal, Frank F. Wipper, 1927
• The Church of Christ, Otto Fetting, 1929
• Church of Christ, P.A. Ely, 1929
• Church of Christ, C.W. Humphrey, 1929
• Church of Christ, Samuel Wood, E.J. Trapp, 1930
• Church of Christ (Restored), A.C. DeWolf, 1936
• Church of Christ, E. E. Long, Thomas Nerren, 1936
• Church of Christ, Paul Hilgendorf, 1942
• The Church of Christ With the Elijah Message, W. A. D. Draves, 1943
• Church of Christ, Pauline Hancock, 1946
• Antarctica Development Interests or the New American's Mount Zion, John Leabo, 1955
• Church of Christ at Zion's Retreat, Gerald Hall, 1973
• The Church of Israel, Dan Gayman, 1973
• Break from the Church of Christ (Hancock), Davison, Michigan, 1973
• The Church of Christ, Restored Gospel 1929, 1985