The True Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite) was a small

Latter Day Saint 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 b ...

faction which split from the

Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite) The Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite) is a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement headquartered in Independence, Missouri, Independence, Missouri, United States. The church derives its epithet from its founder, Alpheus Cutler, a membe ...

in 1953 under its founder, Clyde Fletcher, and continued to exist until Fletcher's death in 1969. It was situated in

Clitherall, Minnesota Clitherall ( ) is a city in Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 62 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land. Minnesota State Highway 210 ...

—the location of its one and only branch—and remained identical to its parent organization in all respects save leadership. Following Fletcher's death, his few remaining adherents elected to reunite with the main Cutlerite body, and this sect ceased to exist.

History

The True Church of Jesus Christ originated from a

schism A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...

between the two existing congregations of the Church of Jesus Christ in 1953, following the death of church president Emery Fletcher. Though precipitated by a dispute over who should succeed Fletcher in the presidential office, the division was exacerbated by the differing conditions under which each congregation had operated during the first half of the twentieth century. Prior to 1920, there had only been one Cutlerite congregation, located in Clitherall. However, during the early 1920s, a majority of the Cutlerite congregation elected to relocate to

Independence, Missouri Independence is a city in and one of two county seats of Jackson County, Missouri, United States. It is a satellite city of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the largest suburb on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metropolitan area. In 2020 Unite ...

near the

Temple Lot The Temple Lot, located in Independence, Missouri, is the first site to be dedicated for the construction of a Temple (Latter Day Saints), temple in the Latter Day Saint movement. The area was dedicated on August 3, 1831, by the movement's found ...

, where they purchased land and erected a building which became their new church headquarters. Independence was an urban environment, in sharp contrast to rural Clitherall. According to Rupert Fletcher, president of the Cutlerite church from 1958 to 1974 and author of ''Alpheus Cutler and the Church of Jesus Christ'', the schism that led to the founding of Clyde Fletcher's church was precipitated by what he called "the lack of communication and a wide difference in environment." Whereas the Minnesota congregation were primarily "members of a rural society, engaged in agrarian pursuits," the Missouri members lived and worked "in an urban community." "The problems and needs of each have little in common with the other", wrote Fletcher, and this had often "caused disunity." Matters came to a head in April 1955, when

Erle Whiting Ivan Erle Whiting, Sr. (January 2, 1876 – August 15, 1958) was the fifth president of The Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite), a branch of the Latter Day Saint movement. His short tenure in office was marred by a dispute between the Independenc ...

was elected by the Independence congregation (which held the majority of Cutlerites) to succeed Emory Fletcher. While the Independence church asserted that this was in keeping with Cutlerite tradition—which passed the office of Church President down to the predecessor's First Counselor—the Minnesota group insisted that Clyde Fletcher was the legitimate President. Fletcher

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...

the leaders of the Missouri congregation for refusing to follow his leadership. The Missouri Culterites refused to accept this act as legitimate, or Fletcher's election to the presidency by a minority of the total Cutlerite membership. Fletcher subsequently insisted that his was the sole true continuation of

Alpheus Cutler John Alpheus Cutler (February 29, 1784 – June 10, 1864) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement who founded the Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite) in 1853. He had previously served in several church positions under Joseph Smith, fou ...

's organization, and began styling his church the "True Church of Jesus Christ." The two congregations fought over various church properties in and around Clitherall. In 1966, a

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

court ruled that the Missouri group was the legitimate Cutlerite church, and was entitled to exclusive control over all church properties and records, including the Clitherall meetinghouse. Prior to this ruling, the meetinghouse had been serving as Fletcher's church headquarters and sole branch. Following Fletcher's death in 1969, the remaining members of his organization reunited with the Independence church, and the True Church of Jesus Christ ceased to exist. The old Cutlerite meetinghouse in Clitherall still stands, and remains the property of the Independence church.

Doctrines

The True Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite) followed all of the distinctive teachings of the main Cutlerite organization, including adherence to the

United Order In the Latter-day Saint movement, the United Order (also called the United Order of Enoch) was one of several 19th-century church collectivist programs. Early versions of the Order beginning in 1831 attempted to fully implement the law of consecr ...

and belief in

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 ...

and a Nauvoo-era Temple Endowment. As in the mainline Cutlerite church,

polygamy Polygamy (from Late Greek , "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, it is called polygyny. When a woman is married to more tha ...

and

eternal marriage Celestial marriage, also called the New and Everlasting Covenant of Marriage, Eternal Marriage (synonymized after 1890), or Temple Marriage, is a doctrine that marriage can last forever in heaven that is taught in the Church of Jesus Christ o ...

were rejected. The church utilized the same

scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...

s utilized by the Cutlerite church in Independence.

Factional breakdown: Cutlerite sects

Media

Meetinghouse of the True Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite)
located in Clitherall, Minnesota. Constructed by the Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite) in 1912, it was used by Fletcher's sect, but was never the legal property of that organization. Owned by the Independence Cutlerite church.

References

Bibliography