twinkie wrote:Well, thanks for clearing that up for me.
I'm reluctant to give an answer, since the original Reorganized Church is somewhat
different from its evolutions in modern times. But I'll try to give an outline of what
the Reorganized Church taught/believed in about 1860:
1. That the LDS Church had been rejected by God, for several reasons, among which was
its failure to complete the Nauvoo Temple -- but also because it place The Twelve in the
position of the First Presidency, etc.
2. That the LDS Church required a Reorganization -- and that priesthood of a sufficient
level of responsibility still were in office, in order to conduct that Reorganization.
3.That polygamy, the gathering, blood atonement, temple endowments, Danites,
Council of Fifty, Political Kingdom of God, Book of Abraham, etc. etc. were not part
of the original LDS Church and should be excluded from the Reorganization.
4. That the true successors of Joseph Smith, Jr. in the presidency were his sons and
their sons -- and that the true successors of Hyrum in the patriarch's office were
the various descendants of Joseph Smith, Sr.
5. That the Gathering and the Literal fulfillment of prophecies to the tribe of Joseph,
upon the American continent, were not part of the Church's official teachings.
6. That since the Reorganization was comprised by the joining of several different
remnants of the original LDS Church, that their various respective tenets should
be allowed, in so far as they did not impinge upon the official RLDS doctrines ---
this allowed, for example, for Rigdonites to sing different hymns than former
Whitmerites, etc.
7. That the RLDS Church was not necessarily the "one true church " -- that valid
priesthood existed among the Utah Mormons, and other splinter groups.
8. etc., etc., etc.
All of which resulted in a less authoritarian church; and one in which diverse opinions
on non-essential points of doctrine could be tolerated -- and even allowed for
discussion and debate, so long as such differences did not hinder the church.
There was a widespread (but not universal) opinion that Joseph Smith, Jr. was
a fallen prophets -- and thus, some of his later "revelations," the Book of Abraham,
etc., were not to be relied upon.
There was also a general belief that members were not necessarily the blood descendants
of Israel -- and so "tribe identifications" disappeared from patriarchal blessings.
There was a continuing disagreement as to the precise moment that "sins were remitted"
and the Holy Ghost came into a member's life -- the idea of being "born again" in a
miraculous, pre-baptismal conversion experience was not disallowed: nor was the notion
of conversion by reading the Book of Mormon.
The list goes on and on...
UD
at what they find in Utah, or really any Mormon community (like Mesa, Arizona) where Mormonism has become culturalized.