Supreme Directional Control - Schisms

Schisms

After leaving the Council of Twelve in 1925 because of his opposition to Supreme Directional Control, Thomas W. Williams and other leaders formed a "Protest Movement," which later organized as a separate church known as the "Church of Jesus Christ (Thomas W. Williams)." Williams and his group issued a "Protest Document", charging that "this change from a theocratic democracy to an autocracy—a hierarchy with final and supreme directional control in the hands of one man strikes at the very heart of the principles of church government contained in our standard books...." The Protest Movement and its church organization dissolved within a decade, with many of its members joining the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) or other Latter Day Saint bodies.

Beginning in 1918, the Community of Christ and the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) had entered into an "Agreement of Working Harmony." The agreement included mutual recognition of each church's priesthood, allowing members to transfer their membership from one church to the other without needing to be rebaptized, in contrast to the prevailing standard practice within the Restoration Movement (then and now). In April 1925, Daniel Macgregor, a vigorous opponent of Supreme Directional Control, transferred his membership from the Community of Christ to the Temple Lot church, where he was ultimately named an Apostle. Macgregor was followed by hundreds of other RLDS opponents of Supreme Directional Control. By the time of the Church of Christ (Temple Lot)'s October 1925 General Conference, its membership had grown from about 100 to about 500, mostly at the expense of the Community of Christ. However, further membership losses dropped to a trickle with the passing of the controversy, and the Community of Christ would not face a serious challenge to its leadership or membership figures until the emergence of a 1980's controversy over the ordination of women, which ultimately led to the formation of the Restoration Branches movement. Debate continued within the church during the following decades over the propriety of Smith's assertions concerning presidential authority, together with his vision of Zion as compared to that of his predecessors. Today, members of the Community of Christ tend to subscribe to the social gospel advocated by Smith, while rejecting his authoritarian approach to church administration.

Supreme Directional Control is no longer advanced by the members of the Community of Christ's First Presidency, though it remains a controversial issue within the Restoration Branches movement.