Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints - Succession Claims

Succession Claims

Virtually every Latter Day Saint denomination claims to be the rightful successor to the original Church of Christ and claims Joseph Smith, Jr. as its founding prophet or first president. For example, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Community of Christ, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite), Church of Christ (Temple Lot), and Church of Christ with the Elijah Message all claim to have been organized by Smith on 6 April 1830, the date on which the Church of Christ was organized. Other denominations, such as The Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite), acknowledge that their organizations were created after this date, but nevertheless claim to be a re-establishment of the original church.

In an 1880 lawsuit, an Ohio court found that the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS Church, since renamed "Community of Christ") was the lawful successor to Smith's original Church of Christ. The court also explicitly held that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was not the lawful successor because it "has materially and largely departed from the faith, doctrines, law, ordinances and usages of the said original Church". However, these holdings were only preliminary findings of fact based on the RLDS Church's unopposed legal submissions; the court issued no final judgment on the matter because the case was dismissed.

In 1894, a federal United States court in Missouri held again that the RLDS Church was the lawful successor to the original church. However, on appeal the entire case was dismissed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit without any discussion by the court of the issue of legal succession.