Supreme Directional Control - Core Dispute

Core Dispute

In April 1924, at a meeting of the Joint Council of Community of Christ leaders, composed of members of the First Presidency, Council of Twelve, and Presiding Bishopric, Frederick M. Smith presented a document, which became known as the "Supreme Directional Control document." In it Smith asserted that "there must be recognized grades of official prerogative and responsibility, with supreme directional control resting in the Presidency as the chief and first quorum of the church." Although Smith assured fellow leaders that "this control is presumed to be beneficent," he insisted that "effective administration is imperative, and organic solidarity is maintained only by effective discipline." Four apostles and the entire Presiding Bishopric disputed Smith's assertions and authored a critical "open letter", which was published in the June 1924 issue of the Saints' Herald, the official church magazine. These leaders asserted that the General Conference was the highest authority of the church, and furthermore insisted that the Presiding Bishopric—not the First Presidency—had full authority over church finances between conferences. The ongoing dispute spilled over from the presiding quorums into the membership, with some laity siding with President Smith, and others with the dissidents.

The crisis came to a head during the April 1925 General Conference. Smith's brother Israel A. Smith, a member of the Presiding Bishopric (who would later succeed his brother as church president), feared terrible consequences if President Smith forced a vote on his Supreme Directional Control document. In a letter to his brother dated April 5, Israel wrote: "If you, because of the mere force of numbers, drive out the strong belief and feelings of the opposition, you shall become responsible to that degree of falling away, the loss of faith, the division which may ensue." The document was debated for a full five days, April 7–11, and finally passed on a vote of 915 to 405, becoming General Conference Resolution (GCR) 849. In response, the Presiding Bishopric resigned, along with Apostle John Rushton; the conference also failed to sustain a second opposition apostle, Thomas W. Williams, ending his ministry in that office. On April 18, Smith issued a revelation (enshrined as Section 135 in the Community of Christ's Doctrine and Covenants) indicating divine approval of his course of action with regard to the Supreme Directional Control document and the resignation of the Bishopric.

The First Presidency's successful assertion of Supreme Directional Control allowed Frederick M. Smith to commence his Zionic endeavor. He began by increasing the church's administrative apparatus, expanding its social programs, and initiating a series of building programs. New projects included the Auditorium and a rebuilt Independence Sanitarium hospital. The church borrowed heavily to finance these programs, with its debt reaching $1.9 million by 1931 ($25,484,664.60 in 2010 dollars). The concurrent onset of the Great Depression caused revenues from tithes and offerings to drop precipitously, which led the 1931 General Conference to pass a resolution returning control over all financial matters to the Presiding Bishopric, whose members became answerable solely to the Conference. This resolution, GCR 915, effectively reversed Supreme Directional Control. The Bishopric instituted a series of severe austerity measures, drastically cutting church staff and services, and the debt was finally retired in 1942.