Art, Story, and Identity in Community of Christ History
Online Lectures Series: April 14 - June 2, 2022
Lecture times vary to accommodate the time zones of our international speakers
Lecture times vary to accommodate the time zones of our international speakers
Join us this Spring as we explore the fascinating art, evolving beliefs, and influential people from Community of Christ's past. Eight guest historians will join our series to share their knowledge behind Community of Christ history. Topics include an exploration of the early 20th century preaching charts, the long lasting impact of the Lamoni Mite Society, the making of an RLDS theological identity, and an exploration of the lives and legacies of Clifford Cole, Charles Derry, and Mark Forscutt. From preaching charts to sewing circles, we have it all in this year's spring lecture series! Explore the individual topics featured below and to register for the online lecture(s) that interests you the most.
Preserving the Historic Sites, One Lecture at a Time
Although the online lectures are free and open to the public, donations received from the lecture series go to support the ongoing preservation and maintenance of Community of Christ historic sites. Click "Donate" at the top of the page to learn more about how you can help support the historic sites.. Thank you for your generosity.
Although the online lectures are free and open to the public, donations received from the lecture series go to support the ongoing preservation and maintenance of Community of Christ historic sites. Click "Donate" at the top of the page to learn more about how you can help support the historic sites.. Thank you for your generosity.
Mark Hill Forscutt, c. 1880 (Community of Christ Archives)
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April 14 Lecture:
Mark Hill Forscutt: Mormon Missionary, Morrisite Apostle, and RLDS Minister with Eric Paul Rogers Eric Paul Rogers explores three interwoven threads in the Restoration Movement through the experiences of "Uncle Mark" as he was known to many in the Reorganization. Particular attention will be given to the relatively little-known, and now extinct, faction called the Church of the Firstborn (Morrisite) established by Joseph Morris. |
Charles and Eliza Derry, 1857 (Community of Christ Archives)
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April 21 Lecture: Charles Derry: First Reorganization Missionary in the British Isles with Andrew Bolton Andrew Bolton shares the story of Charles Derry, the first Reorganization missionary to the British Isles. Originally a blacksmith, he was born in England, baptized in 1847, and from the beginning was a bold missionary. In 1854, he and his family migrated to Utah. He lost his wife Ann on the way. Bitterly disillusioned in Utah, losing faith in both church and God, he fled Utah with his family in 1859. In Nebraska he met members of the new Reorganization and found faith again. His moving story of hope, tragedy, disillusionment, grace and recovered faith, gives a fascinating glimpse into the early church in Utah and the early Reorganization, both in the Midwest and the British Isles. |
Clockwise from top left: Henry Stebbins, Marietta Walker, Gomer Griffiths, and J. J. Cornish.
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April 28 Lecture: Doctrinal Self-definition and the Construction of an RLDS Theological Identity with Tony Chvala-Smith Inhabiting liminal space between Mormon and Protestant Boundaries compelled the Reorganization of the late 19th century to identify itself theologically. Reorganization apologists, like Marietta Walker, Henry Stebbins, John J. Cornish, Gomer Griffiths, and Alvin Knisley, rose to this challenge. They helped construct a doctrinal system that would characterize Reorganization theology for almost a century. Ironically, this system, built on shared presuppositions about the Bible and the propositional nature of doctrine, was remarkably Protestant. |
Image of John Avondet (Community of Christ Archives)
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May 5 Lecture: John Avondet, the First Italian Missionary of the Reorganization with Michael Wright Join Michael Wright as he the explores the life and faith journey of John Avondet, the first Italian missionary of the Reorganization. Avondet was born among the Waldensian Valleys of the Piedmont region in 1828 at a time of great change in Italy. Born as a Waldensian, a primitivist and dissenting faith tradition, Avondet’s faith journey will introduce him to the Restoration, which would take him on a literal journey from the Italian Dolomites to the Wasatch Mountains of the American West, to the Prairies of Nebraska and back to his native Italy as the Reorganization’s first Italian missionary. We’ll explore the places, denominations, historic events, and folks who surrounded Avondet to get to know a little better this little-known Saint. |
Women's Class, Netherland's Conference, Zwaagwesteinde, Holland, August 1955 (Community of Christ Archives)
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May 12 Lecture:
The Development of the Community of Christ in the Netherlands up to 1948 with Kees Olijnsma The first desire to bring the Restoration to The Netherlands dates back to 1840. This lecture gives an overview of how this initiative led to the official establishment of the Community of Christ in The Netherlands in 1924. Also an interesting connection with the start of the Latter Day Saints church in The Netherlands will be explained. Kees will share the developments of the church in its first 25 years in The Netherlands and how this has led to two regional strongholds. |
Portrait of Clifford Cole (Community of Christ Archives)
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May 19 Lecture:
Clifford Cole: Architect and Re-founder of the Modern Community of Christ with Keith Wilson Few members of the current Community of Christ realize that one previous leader had an outsized role in transforming the Reorganization church of Joseph Smith III into the modern Community of Christ. Clifford Cole did not crave the limelight. Nevertheless, more than any other individual he quietly led the RLDS leadership away from the Joseph Smith restoration to the more modern Community of Christ of today. This presentation will seek to highlight the way in which Cole became the dominant leader during two crucial decades of redirection in the RLDS faith (1950-1970). |
Four images featuring a few of the historic preaching charts from the Community of Christ collection.
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May 26 Lecture:
"Pleasing to look upon, and easy to understand": RLDS Preaching Charts, Their History and Usage with Dr. William Moore Elders and missionaries of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS) regularly used preaching charts to visually augment oral evangelism during the final decades of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century. Often colorful, these graphic and artistic works, created by both professional artists and enthusiastic amateurs, were frequently quite large, measuring in some cases as much as twenty feet long or seven feet tall. This presentation, illustrated with charts from the Community of Christ Library and Archives in Independence and other sources, will offer an introduction to this important genre of RLDS art work. |
Women of the Lamoni Mite Society, c. 1895. Courtesy of Community of Christ Library-Archives.
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June 2 Lecture:
"What Were the Women to Do?" with Sherry Mesle-Morain Join Sherry Mesle-Morain as she explores the history of the Lamoni Mite Society and its place in the church from which it emerged to serve in its own way. The men of the priesthood had the leadership role in any of the women's efforts to organize themselves, but quilting was assumed to be a quiet, innocent activity among dedicated housewives, serving the dual role of raising money for the activities of the church as well as providing a social outlet for the women. Join Sherry as she shares the story and long lasting impact of the Lamoni Mite Society. |