The Primitive Church of Jesus Christ was a schismatic

sect A sect is a subgroup of a religion, religious, politics, political, or philosophy, philosophical belief system, typically emerging as an offshoot of a larger organization. Originally, the term referred specifically to religious groups that had s ...

that was formed in 1914 by and from dissenting members of

The Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite) The Church of Jesus Christ is an international Christian religious denomination with origins in the Latter Day Saint (Mormon) movement that is headquartered in Monongahela, Pennsylvania, United States.

. Like its parent church, the Primitive Church of Jesus Christ was a

Rigdonite A Rigdonite is a member of the Latter Day Saint movement who accepts Sidney Rigdon as the successor in the President of the Church, church presidency to the movement's founder, Joseph Smith Jr. The early history of the Rigdonite movement is shared ...

and Bickertonite organization: it traced its claim of succession to

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 ...

founder

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious and political leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thou ...

through

Sidney Rigdon Sidney Rigdon (February 19, 1793 – July 14, 1876) was a leader during the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement. Biography Early life Rigdon was born in St. Clair Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, on February 19, 1793. He ...

and

William Bickerton William Bickerton (January 15, 1815 – February 17, 1905) 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 Chri ...

History

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

First Presidency Among many churches in the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency (also known as the Quorum of the Presidency of the Church) is the highest presiding or governing body. Present-day denominations of the movement led by a First Presidency ...

and

Quorum of the Twelve In the Latter Day Saint movement, the Quorum of the Twelve (also known as the Council of the Twelve, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Council of the Twelve Apostles, or the Twelve) is one of the governing bodies (or quorums) of the church hie ...

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

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

' original church was simply headed by

twelve apostles In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve), were the primary disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament. During the life and minist ...

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 ...

(1996, 5th ed.). ''Encyclopedia of American Religions'' (Detroit, Mich.: Gale) pp. 583–584. 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. In 1971, the parent church also abolished its First Presidency—referred to as the "Quorum of Three"—and made its

Quorum of Twelve Apostles In the Latter Day Saint movement, the Quorum of the Twelve (also known as the Council of the Twelve, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Council of the Twelve Apostles, or the Twelve) is one of the governing bodies (or Quorum (Latter Day Saints), ...

the senior leadership body of the church: Joseph Calabrese (1991, reprint.) ''Questions and Answers'' (Monongahela, PA: The Church of Jesus Christ) pp. 39–40. Caldwell and the other dissenters also disagreed with Cadman about the truth of Joseph Smith's

First Vision The First Vision (also called the grove experience by members of the Community of Christ) refers to a theophany which Latter Day Saints believe Joseph Smith experienced in the early 1820s, in a wooded area in Manchester (town), New York, Manchest ...

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

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...

and that he was inspired by God to translate the

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, first published in 1830 by Joseph Smith as ''The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi''. The book is one of ...

. Caldwell and his followers referred to members of their parent church as "Cadmanites", because it was led by William Cadman.Lyle O. Wright (1963). "Origins and Development of the Church of the Firstborn of the Fulness of Times." (M.S. thesis: Brigham Young University) p. 21. At the organization of the church in

Washington, Pennsylvania Washington, also known as Little Washington to distinguish it from the District of Columbia, is a city in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The population was 13,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...

, 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 Polygamy (called plural marriage by Latter-day Saints in the 19th century or the Principle by modern fundamentalist practitioners of polygamy) was practiced by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for more ...

, plurality of gods, and

baptism for the dead Baptism for the dead, vicarious baptism or proxy baptism today commonly refers to the religious practice of baptizing a person on behalf of one who is dead—a living person receiving the rite on behalf of a deceased person. Baptism for the dea ...

. The Primitive Church of Jesus Christ eventually merged with the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ, 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 is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pen ...

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

Monongahela, Pennsylvania Monongahela, referred to locally as Mon City, is a Local government in Pennsylvania#Third class cities, third class city in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,149 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Pittsburgh ...

as the only surviving Rigdonite–Bickertonite sect.

Notes

References

*Kate B. Cater (1969). ''Denominations that Base their Beliefs on the Teachings of Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet'' (Salt Lake City, Utah:

Daughters of Utah Pioneers The International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers (ISDUP, DUP) is a women's organization dedicated to preserving the history of the European settlers of the geographic area covered by the State of Deseret and Utah Territory, including Mormon pi ...

) *Russell R. Rich (1967, 2d ed.). ''Those Who Would be Leaders: Offshoots of Mormonism'' (Provo, Utah:

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

) *Steven L. Shields (1990, 4th ed.). ''Divergent Paths of the Restoration'' (Independence, Mo.:

Herald House Herald House or Herald Publishing House is the publishing division of Community of Christ in Independence, Missouri. It publishes books, periodicals and other materials at the direction of the First Presidency. Its history dates to the public ...

) {{LDS sects/Sidney Rigdon Christianity in Pittsburgh Defunct Latter Day Saint denominations Christian organizations established in 1914 Rigdonite–Bickertonite denominations in the Latter Day Saint movement Latter Day Saint movement in Pennsylvania