Church of Christ at Halley's Bluff (formerly known as the Church of Christ at Zion's Retreat) is a small denomination within 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 ...

. It was formed in 1932 by former members of the

Church of Christ (Temple Lot) The Church of Christ, informally called Hedrickites and the Church of Christ (Temple Lot), is a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement headquartered in Independence, Missouri, on what is known as the Temple Lot. The nickname for members ...

, and in 1972 it lost most of its members to the leadership of Dan Gayman, who left the church and established the

Church of Israel The Church of Israel (formerly the Church of Our Christian Heritage) is an Anglo-Israelite church that emerged from the Church of Christ (Temple Lot), itself a sect of the Restorationist Latter Day Saint movement.J. Gordon Melton, ''Encycloped ...

. The Church of Christ at Halley's Bluff split from the Temple Lot church over disagreements about the validity of revelations received by Otto Fetting. In 1929, most of Fetting's followers had left the Temple Lot church and established the Church of Christ (Fettingite), which later split into factions including The Church of Christ (Restored) and the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message. However, one congregation in

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

that accepted Fetting's revelations did not immediately break with the Temple Lot church. This congregation was led by Thomas B. Nerren (b. May 16, 1878 - d. April 1, 1967

) and Elmer E. ("E.E.") Long (b. January 4, 1872

Westerville, Ohio Westerville is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, Franklin and Delaware County, Ohio, Delaware counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. A northeastern suburb of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus as well as the home of Otterbein University, the population was 39 ...

, d. September 27, 1952

Lee's Summit, Missouri Lee's Summit is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri and a suburb of the Kansas City metropolitan area. It resides in Jackson County (predominantly) as well as Cass County. As of the 2020 census, its population was 101,108, making it the 6th ...

). By 1932, Nerren was receiving his own revelations and the church had abandoned the Church of Christ (Temple Lot). Initially, the congregation called itself the ''Church of Christ''. In 1941, Nerren received a revelation that the church—which had since been joined by five other former Temple Lot congregations in the United States—should relocate to northeast

Vernon County, Missouri Vernon County is a County (United States), county located in the western region of the U.S. state of Missouri, on the border with Kansas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 19,707. Its county seat is Nevada, Mi ...

. They built their church building on a hill called ''Halley's Bluff''; the adherents called their tract ''Zion's Retreat'' and incorporated their church as the ''Church of Christ at Zion's Retreat''. In the 1960s, Dan Gayman became the editor of the church's periodical. In the magazine, Gayman began to advocate

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

and anti-black sentiments that were more prevalent following the death of Joseph Smith. These attitudes were not supported by the leaders of the church, though they gained popularity among its members. At a 1972 meeting of the church, Gayman deposed the leaders of the church and had himself elected leader of the church. Although most of the church members followed Gayman, the deposed leaders sued Gayman and the courts ordered that the church's property and name be returned to the deposed leaders, Gerald Hall and Duane Gayman. Hall and Duane Gayman reincorporated their church under the name "Church of Christ at Halley's Bluff", and in 1981 Dan Gayman incorporated his church as the

. The Church of Christ at Halley's Bluff now is composed of fewer than 100 members. The church is headquartered in

Schell City, Missouri Schell City is a city in northeast Vernon County, Missouri, United States. The population was 249 at the 2010 census. History Schell City was laid out in 1871. The city was named for one of its original proprietors, Augustus Schell of New York ...

References

External links

*Max McCoy
"Separatist by faith: Church of Israel's patriarch rebuts claims of racism"
''Joplin Globe'', January 28, 2001. *

J. Gordon Melton John Gordon Melton (born September 19, 1942) is an American religious scholar who was the founding director of the Institute for the Study of American Religion and is currently the Distinguished Professor of American Religious History with the I ...

(1993, 5th ed.). ''Encyclopedia of American Religions'' (Detroit: Gale, ) p. 573. {{LDS sects/Granville Hedrick Christian organizations established in 1932 Organizations based in Missouri Vernon County, Missouri Latter Day Saint movement in Missouri Hedrickite denominations in the Latter Day Saint movement

See also

References

External links