Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite)
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The Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite) is an organization officially titled The Church of Jesus Christ with Headquarters in Monongahela, Pennsylvania. Its members are sometimes referred to as Bickertonites or members of the Bickerton organization, although they generally do not favor this moniker. The church also calls itself "The Church." The Church of Jesus Christ is not affiliated with any other church, and it started in the "Restoration" movement. Generally considered the third largest of the organizations emerging from the 1844 succession crisis, the Church has members in North, Central and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa — for an approximate total of 15,000 worldwide.
The Church of Jesus Christ claims to be the spiritual successor to the "Church of Christ," organized by Joseph Smith, Jr. on April 6, 1830. The Church of Jesus Christ claims that Sidney Rigdon was Joseph Smith's righful successor in the 1844 succession crisis following the assassination of Joseph Smith Jr. because Rigdon was Smith's first counselor in the First Presidency. Brigham Young, the president of the Church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, also claimed the right of succession and led the majority of Church members in a migration to Utah, where The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints still maintains its headquarters.
The Church considers Smith to have been a prophet and a seer, but does not view him as the "Choice Seer" predicted by the Book of Mormon (II Nephi, chapter 3). The Church is still awaiting the coming of the Choice Seer who will be of Native American heritage (2 Nephi 3:6-7) and who many of the faithful believe is alive today (though his identity is not yet revealed to the world). The Church does not agree with the Mormon view point that Joseph Smith, Jr. was the "Choice Seer" because the Book of Mormon itself prophesies the Choice Seer will be a descendant of Joseph of Egypt (more specifically, the American Indians).
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History
The history of The Church of Jesus Christ is seperate from the other LDS organizations. After the death of Joseph Smith, Jr. in 1844, the LDS church and the other restoration churches succeeded from The Churst of Jesus Christ. After the martyrdom of Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, the only surviving member of the Church's highest ruling body, the First Presidency, was the First Counselor of the Church with Brigham Young acting as Second Counselor. Sidney Rigdon led away a group of members, rebaptizing them, changing points of doctrine, such as introducing polygamy, and finally forming a new church. The group that Rigdon stayed with in Pennsylvania slowly dissolved until there was only one left, William Bickerton, an ordained elder, who under God's revelation, continued to preach the gospel and began to baptize many again into The Church of Jesus Christ. The core group that remained in Pennsylvania denounced many of the doctrines that had, since the death of Joseph Smith and the succession, entered into the different restoration groups such as polygamy, celestial marriage, baptism for the dead, the belief that Joseph Smith was the Choice Seer, and many others.
At a conference in Green Oak, Pennsylvania in July of 1862, leaders of several branches in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia came together and organized The Church of Jesus Christ. Elder William Bickerton presided over the conference and was called "a Seer, a Translator, a Prophet, and Apostle of Jesus Christ, an elder of the church through the will of God and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ." Bickerton's two counselors were George Barnes and Charles Brown who were also Apostles. The members of the Quorum of the Twelve (ordered by seniority) were Arthur Bickerton, Thomas Bickerton, Alexander Bickerton, James Brown, Cummings Cherry, Benjamin Meadowcroft, Joseph Astin, Joseph Knox, William Cadman, James Nichols, John Neish and John Dixon. At the conference George Barnes reported receiving the "word of the Lord," which he related:
- "Here the word of the Lord; Ye are my Sons and Daughters, and I have committed unto you the Keys of the Kingdom, therefore be ye faithful."
The Church was incorporated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in June of 1865 with the legal name, "Church of Jesus Christ of Green Oak, Pennsylvania." In order to operate legally outside the United States, the Church filed a new incorporation on April 5, 1941 with the legal name, "The Church of Jesus Christ with headquarters at Monongahela, Pennsylvania."
Organization of the Church
The Church of Jesus Christ views the prophetic office as not limited to a "Prophet" or to the President of the Church. Rather, members believe that it encompasses the Quorum of Twelve Apostles together and that revelations can be given to individual members of the Church. The President of the Quorum of the Twelve and his two counselors also constitute the Presidency of the Church. Other officers of the Church include a first Quorum of Seventy Evangelists.
The Church maintains a publishing house and prints its own edition of the Book of Mormon. The edition follows the chapter and versification of found in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' edition, but the headers and notes are unique. The Church of Jesus Christ was also the first Latter Day Saint group to publish an edition of the Book of Mormon translated into Italian.
The Church records revelations that are deemed valid and publishes them where appropriate, but these are not bound together in a single volume. Revelations may come from the Quorum of the Twelve singly or together or from individual members of the Church. The Church does not accept any edition of the Doctrine and Covenants as wholly valid, but it considers many revelations within it to be true. Generally, versions of these revelations found in the Book of Commandments are preferred to the altered versions found in the later book. The Church especially considers purported revelations relating to plural marriage, baptism for the dead and other Nauvoo-era practices to be spurious. In addition to the Book of Mormon, the Church accepts the King James Version of the Bible as scripture.
Today, the Church of Jesus Christ has a worldwide membership of about 15,000, with nearly 3,000 located in the United States. The Church continues to experience significant growth in comparison to some of the other smaller Latter Day Saint organizations, constructing a number of new church buildings throughout the United States, specifically in the Detroit area, eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, and Arizona area within the last decade.
The Church publishes a monthly periodical called The Gospel News.
Doctrines and Practices
The Church of Jesus Christ has a good relationship with the smaller Church of Christ (Temple Lot). Both churches are distinct organizations, however, and independent of any other Latter Day Saint denominations, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) with headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Church of Jesus Christ has long rejected plural marriage and many other doctrines taught by the LDS church and believes that many of the doctrines of the LDS church were not taught by Joseph Smith Jr. and did not even exist before he was martyred. The Church of Jesus Christ views the nature of God as explained in the Bible and Book of Mormon, which differs from the views on the nature of God derived from these texts by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the Community of Christ.
Members refer to each other as "Brother" and "Sister." The church counsels members to be moderate in all things including their dress and appearance.
In services, members of the Priesthood church do not prepare written sermons prior to the meeting. Instead, the Priesthood speaks under the inspiration of Jesus Christ, allowing the Holy Spirit to direct their words. Each week, church services begin with preaching from the Priesthood and generally followed by "testimony" portion of the meeting, during which time members of the congregation (and visitors) are given the opportunity to "praise God for what He has done for them."
Chapels of the church contain neither altars nor crosses or even pictures, as the scripture forbids any type of "graven image...or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth." The church belives that serving God and following Jesus is a "365 day per year activity", not just an activity to do on sundays.
The offices of the church are:
Apostle, Evangelist (or "Seventy"), Elder (or "Minister"), Teacher, Deacon, and Deaconess
Although women may serve as deaconesses, only men may become elders in the church. Deaconesses prepare the communion tables and Deacons set up chairs and prepare the chapel for meetings, as well care for the Saints in general and visit the sick in particular. Deaconesses do not have priesthood authority. Elders are responsible for the spiritual well-being of the church. Church elders are never referred to as "Father" or "Reverend." Elders and all church officials, including the Church Presidency and Quorum of Apostles are volunteers and are not compensated for their activities monetarily, according to the scriptures. Elders will administer to the sick through the "laying on of hands," using oil if the illness is physical. According to the doctrine of the church, Elders are called to their positions by revelations.
In the sacrament or communion, the church uses bread and wine, representing the body and blood of Christ which was sacrificed, as dictated by the Scriptures. The prayers for the Sacrament are not read verbatim from the Book of Mormon (Moroni chapters 4 and 5), rather left to inspiration of the Holy Spirit. A separate prayer is given prior to passing the bread and then another prayer is offered prior to passing the wine. The communion is administered only to the dutiful, baptized members of the church. The wine is served in a communal cup. Unlike in the Catholic church, the ministers serve the congregation by walking around to each person in their seats, first with plate of bread and then with the cup of wine. The bread is not wafers or crackers, but real bread that has been broken into small pieces by the ministry during the ordinance. The ministers are the last to partake of the bread and the wine after the congregation has been served.
Church members also follow the ordinance of "feet washing" (John 13:5) four times a year as a demonstration of personal humility. The church believes that this is a very important ordinace since Jesus expressly told Peter, "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me." Church members always greet each other with a "holy kiss" on the cheek (following New Testament precedents).
The Church practices baptism by immersion in open, natural bodies of water, such as lakes, rivers, oceans, etc. After baptism, the laying on of hands is performed by the elders for the reception of the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit. The Church is strongly against the baptism of babies and believes rather that one should become baptised at the "age of accountability", when the person is of an age where they know of their sins and can repent, in accordance with the holy scriptures.
Members of the church believe in the gifts of the Spirit, as spoken about in the scriptures. Including but not limited to; word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, healing, prophecy, discernment, witnessing of angels, speaking in tongues, and speaking in the word of the lord.
The Church believes that hymns are often revealed through divine inspiration for the edification of the church. The Church uses many different songbooks, but mainly two; The Saints Hymnal and The Songs of Zion. The Songs of Zion are a collection of songs given by revelation to a member of The Church with no musical ability or training. She often heres the lyrics and the melody of a song and will work with someone with musical training to put down on paper what she hears. After a silent period of a few years, she reported that she began to receive more revealed songs again in 2004. The songs are quite beautiful and filled with the Spirit of God.
References
- W. H. Cadman, A History of the Church of Jesus Christ, Monongahela, PA: 1945.
- Jerry Valenti, "Welcome to The Church of Jesus Christ," The Gospel News, Vol. 56, No. 9, Sept. 2000.
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Categories: Mormonism | Christian denominations | Latter Day Saint denominations | Churches in the United States
