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Summarized by Kent Larsen
RLDS Church to Consider Name Change
(Church considers shorter name)
Springfield MO KYTV3 (MSNBC) 14Feb00 N1
INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI -- The RLDS Church will consider changing its
name at its biennial world conference in April, in order to avoid
confusion with the larger LDS Church. The Church will consider
legislation changing the Church's name to the Community of Christ,
instead of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
as it is known now.
Howard Sheehy, Jr. of the Church's First Presidency said that the name
would also show that the Church has a strong community element and
demonstrates that it "is not the individual person but salvation as a
group." The RLDS Church has considered changing its name several times
in the past 15 years, but those proposals haven't passed a vote of the
world conference. The Community of Christ name came from a 1994
leadership seminar, according to Sheehy. The Church leadership also
thinks that the beginning of a new millennium is a good time for a
change.
The world conference, scheduled for April 1-9, will also consider a
proposal to hold world conferences every three years, instead of every
two years.
The RLDS Church was 'reorganized' in 1867 by a group that included
Joseph Smith III, and its prophets have been direct descendants of
Joseph Smith, Jr. The beliefs of the RLDS Church and the LDS Church have
diverged significantly since then.
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