Temple Lot Mormons
Church of Christ (Temple Lot) website http://www.churchofchrist-tl.org/
Hearken, O ye elders of my church, saith the Lord your God, who have assembled yourselves together, according to my commandments, in this land, which is the land of Missouri, which is the land which I have appointed and consecrated for the gathering of the saints. Wherefore, this is the land of promise, and the place for the city of Zion. And thus saith the Lord your God, if you will receive wisdom here is wisdom. Behold, the place which is now called Independence is the center place; and a spot for the temple is lying westward, upon a lot which is not far from the courthouse…(D&C 57:1-3).
Since Joseph Smith announced this revelation on July 20, 1831 — just over a year after the organization of the church — the “Temple Lot” in Independence, Missouri, has held a special significance for members of the Latter Day Saint movement. A little over a week later, on August 2, 1831, Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, Oliver Cowdery and other church leaders gathered on the spot indicated for the temple and dedicated the land of Zion for the gathering of the Saints.
Today, a small white church sits at the corner of a large landscaped lot in Independence, Mo. It is the international headquarters of the Church of Christ (Temple Lot).
Joseph Smith was very specific concerning the location of the temple. It was to be constructed in Missouri. More specifically in Independence at the site chosen by the "finger of the Lord," called the "temple lot." Joseph Smith dedicated this spot in 1831 for a temple to be built to usher in the millennial reign of Christ. The Temple Lot church tried to build that temple 80 years ago. "All factions of Mormonism believe . . . that this is sacred space and this is where it's going to happen," R. Jean Addams, an independent historian, said. "There will be a sacred temple built here before Jesus Christ descends openly to the earth again . Mormons haven't abandoned this hope that at some future time there will be a holy city, literally, built at this location. So it's very, very sacred to Latter-day Saints.
After persecution drove the Mormons from Missouri, several small groups went back to old homes and friends in central Illinois. These branches were spared the problems that faced members of the LDS Church who gathered in and around Nauvoo. When the main body of the Saints left for the west under Brigham Young, they stayed behind.The small branches united in 1852 under Granville Hedrick as their leader — and are sometimes called \"Hedrickites\" today. They called themselves the Church of Christ. Hedrick claimed a revelation. The small membership was to return to Missouri in 1867. About 10 to 12 families did so.
The Church of Christ (Temple Lot) is a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement headquartered in Independence, Missouri on what is known as the Temple Lot. Unlike The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Community of Christ, the Temple Lot church rejects the office of prophet or president, being led by its Quorum of Twelve Apostles instead. It equally rejects the doctrines of Baptism for the Dead and Eternal Marriage promulgated by the Utah-based LDS church, as well as the Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price. While once avidly engaged in dialogue with other Latter Day Saint factions, the church no longer has any official contact with any other organization.
The Temple Lot church shares its early history with the larger Latter Day Saint denominations, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and the Community of Christ (formerly the RLDS Church). After the assassination of the movement's founder, Joseph Smith, Jr. on June 27, 1844, several leaders vied for control and established rival organizations. By the 1860s, five early Mormon branches found themselves unaffiliated with any larger group. Located in Bloomington, Illinois; Crow Creek, Illinois; Half Moon Prairie, Illinois; Eagle Creek, Illinois; and Vermillion, Indiana, these branches united under the leadership of Granville Hedrick in May 1863
At the time of its commencement in 1863, Hedrick's retained the name of "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" for his organization, reflecting his insistence that it was a continuation of Joseph Smith's church. This was soon shortened to "Church of Christ", however, as this had been the name under which Joseph Smith originally incorporated in 1830. They also wished to distinguish themselves from the church in Utah, members of whom are often referred to by Hedrickites as "Utah Mormons" or "Brighamites", because they followed Brigham Young to Utah Territory in 1847.
The church currently occupies a property in Independence, Missouri known as the Temple Lot. This grassy, 2-acre (8,100 m2) plot is considered by Latter Day Saints of nearly all persuasions to be the site designated by Smith for the temple of the New Jerusalem, a sacred city to be built preparatory to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The Temple Lot Mormons returned to Independence in 1867 to purchase lots for this temple in the name of the "Church of Christ" and have been headquartered there ever since.
Although the Temple Lot church accepts the veracity of Joseph Smith as a prophet of God, they do not necessarily accept everything that Smith taught or claimed as revelation. One distinct difference between them and other Latter Day Saint churches lies in their rejection of the office of President of the Church. Instead of a president-prophet, the Church of Christ is led by its Quorum of Twelve Apostles, with all members of that body being considered equal in precedence and authority. Members of the Temple Lot church believe that Smith was wrong to assume the office of church president, an office they deem to not have been provided for in either the Bible or the Book of Mormon, their two scriptural standards. Although Granville Hedrick was ordained to be president of his church in 1863, he later repudiated this ordination, even referring to Smith as a "fallen prophet".
The Church of Christ (Temple Lot) rejects the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price, as well as Joseph Smith's Inspired Version of the Bible, preferring to use only the King James Bible and the Book of Mormon as doctrinal standards. The Book of Commandments is accepted as being superior to the Doctrine and Covenants as a compendium of Joseph Smith's early revelations (due to changes effected in many Doctrine and Covenants sections that had earlier been printed in the Book of Commandments), but is not accorded the same status as the Bible or Book of Mormon.[16] The Church of Christ publishes its own edition of the Book of Mormon, identical in chapters and versification to versions printed by the Community of Christ.
Baptism for the Dead, eternal marriage, polygamy and the eternal progression doctrine are all rejected. The offices of High Priest and Patriarch are rejected, as well, as being "doctrinal innovations" not sanctioned in the Bible, Book of Mormon or Book of Commandments.
Jason W. Briggs and Granville Hedrick were appointed to write a pamphlet "setting forth the true position of our doctrine." The pamphlet was never written, nor was the conference held at Crow Creek, for before that time rift had arisen in the relations of the two groups, or more properly the representatives, of each, which was never fully bridged, although numerous efforts have been made in later years to accomplish this. On the 25th of December, 1859, two high priests, five elders, and seven members met at Granville Hedrick's home at Crow Creek and passed an interesting series of resolutions:
No. 1. Resolved: that the Bible, Book of Mormon, and the first edition of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants were given for the foundation and standard of faith and doctrine of the Church of Christ, in which all the principles of the doctrine are contained that are necessary to build up the Church of Christ and regulate all the affairs of the same.
No. 2. Resolved, that the doctrines of Baptism for the dead (proxy), Tithing as a tenth, Polygamy, Lineal priesthood in the office of the presidency of the church, And, plurality of Gods, with the exaltation of man to the same, are all unscriptural.
In the Temple Lot Mormon Church, an Apostle is a "special witness of the name of Jesus Christ who is sent to teach the principles of salvation to others. Jesus Christ himself is the chief cornerstone.
tAny good Mormon knows that the followers of Joseph Smith inhabited Missouri until the extermination order of Governor Boggs forced them to flee the state. Despite the portray of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints of it being purely religious persecution, the saints were not wholly innocent. In the time the early followers of the movement spent in Jackson County, Missouri, the prophet declared that temple should be built on a certain spot - now known as the Temple Lot. The land, now owned by the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) has been the site of several unsuccessful attempts to fulfill the prophecy issued by Joseph Smith back in the 19th Century. Smith himself may have laid down the first stone, bu the Mormons were forced out of Missouri shortly afterwards. After his assassination in Carthage, Illinois the newly formed Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints broke off into several groups. The largest of these, the Community of Christ (formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) maintains own the temple in Navoo.
The question may be why the temple lot itself is important. Since Jackson County Missouri is, according to Mormon theology, a temple being built on this site would usher in the second coming. Although the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) owns the property, both the LDS, the CoC, and the Temple Lot group have filed various lawsuits over the years to prove which group really owns the property, so far it remains in the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) or Hendrickite hands.
Since 1844 various attempts to build such a temple on this site have been unsuccessful or met in disaster. The largest attempt to build a temple on the temple lot was ended when the Great Depression caused the backers to go bankrupt. The most recent attempt ended in the 1990s when a former member of the Hendrickites claimed he had received a revelation from God that war would soon come to the United States and burned the building down. Instead of starting a new building, the current owners of the lot simply planted trees, perhaps indicating that they do not think Jesus will be returning to the Earth any time soon.
Decision of Judge John F. Philips ( United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri) concerning the ownership of the "Temple Lot" property in Independence, MO.: http://archive.org/stream/decisionofjohnfp00philrich#page/46/mode/2up
The Church of Christ (Temple Lot) appealed the trial court's decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.[7] The appeals court disagreed with the trial court on the issue of laches, suggesting that the RLDS Church had unnecessarily delayed in asserting its rights over the property, and that in any case the legal title claims of the Hedrickites were probably superior to those of the RLDS Church.[5][7] However, rather than reversing the decision of the trial court, the appeals court dismissed the case from the courts entirely, which meant that the controversy stood as though no case had ever been brought.[5] In the result, the Hedrickites remained in possession of the Temple Lot by default.[1][5]
The RLDS Church requested a second hearing before an en banc panel of the Appeals Court, but the motion was dismissed.[8] The RLDS Church then sought to appeal the decision to the United States Supreme Court, but that court denied certiorari,[9] which brought the case to a close.