The True Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or True Mormon Church was a denomination of the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by J ...

. It was founded in the spring of 1844 in Nauvoo, Illinois, by leaders dissenting from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The True Church's president was

William Law William Law (16869 April 1761) was a Church of England priest who lost his position at Emmanuel College, Cambridge when his conscience would not allow him to take the required oath of allegiance to the first Hanoverian monarch, King George I. P ...

, a former

counselor Counselor or counsellor may refer to: A professional In diplomacy and government * Counsellor of State, senior member of the British royal family to whom the Monarch can delegate some functions in case of unavailability * Counselor (di ...

to the movement's founder,

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, ...

(then

President of the Church In the Latter Day Saint movement, the President of the Church is generally considered to be the highest office of the church. It was the office held by Joseph Smith, founder of the movement, and the office assumed by many of Smith's claimed succe ...

). Law was joined by his brother,

Wilson Law Wilson Law (26 February 1806 – 15 October 1876) was an early Latter Day Saint. Life He was born in Ireland and emigrated with his family to the United States in 1820. He joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the late 1830 ...

, along with Robert D. Foster,

Charles A. Foster Charles Foster (born 1962) is an English writer, traveller, veterinarian, taxidermist, barrister and philosopher. He is known for his books and articles on Natural History, travel (particularly in Africa and the Middle East), theology, law and m ...

, Francis M. Higbee, Chauncey L. Higbee and

Charles Ivins Charles Ivins (April 16, 1799 – January 29, 1875) was an early member of the Latter Day Saint movement and a publisher of the ''Nauvoo Expositor''. Early life Ivins was born to Israel Ivins and Margaret Woodward in Burlington County, New Jersey. ...

. Members of the True Church believed that "

Mormonism Mormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to various aspects of ...

" as it had been originally practiced was true, but that the practice of plural marriage in particular was a corruption. William Law did not claim to be a prophet, but merely the president of the church. The church taught that Smith was a "fallen prophet". This group was responsible for printing the '' Nauvoo Expositor'', which was also critical of Smith and polygamy, leading to his

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

and contributing to the expulsion of the Latter Day Saints from Nauvoo.

References

*Steven L. Shields, ''Divergent Paths of the Restoration: A History of the Latter Day Saint Movement'', Restoration Research, Los Angeles: 1990, p. 29. *''Nauvoo llinoisExpositor'', vol. 1, no. 1, June 7, 1844, Publishers: William Law et alia. ''See'
text and facsimile

External links

* 1844 establishments in Illinois Christian denominations established in the 19th century Defunct Latter Day Saint denominations Latter Day Saint movement in Illinois Organizations based in Illinois Pre–succession crisis denominations in the Latter Day Saint movement Religious organizations established in 1844 {{LDS-stub