Church of Christ (Assured Way)
Encyclopedia
Church of Christ
The Church of Christ (Assured Way), better known by its full name of the The Church of Christ with the Elijah Message (The Assured Way of the Lord), Inc., is a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement
based in Independence, Missouri
. The Assured Way church is one of four groups that trace their origin to the church founded by William Draves
in 1943, after his split with Otto Fetting
, who had founded the Church of Christ (Fettingite)
. Although all four churches have similar names and nearly identical doctrines, they are not in communion and maintain separate legal organizations. The Assured Way church was legally incorporated by William Draves' son, Leonard Draves in 2004, six months after Leonard was removed from the ministry by other leaders of the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message, Inc. Leonard Draves had previously founded the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message, Inc., after breaking with the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message Established Anew 1929
.
, an Apostle in the Church of Christ (Temple Lot)
during the early twentieth century, claimed to be receiving a series of messages from an unearthly "messenger" he identified as John the Baptist
. While the first eleven of these missives were accepted by the Temple Lot organization, the twelfth was not, leading to Fetting's departure from the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) in 1929, and his founding of the Church of Christ (Fettingite)
. The Temple Lot church has since repudiated all of Fetting's messages, including the first eleven, which they had originally endorsed, at least tentatively.
claimed that the same messenger who had appeared to Fetting had begun to appear to him, as well. While the Church of Christ (Fettingite) was initially receptive to these new missives, it ultimately decided to reject them all, leading to a split in the church in 1943. Draves' adherents founded their own organization known as the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message Established Anew 1929
. Draves continued to receive revelations and recorded a total of 90 messages prior to his death in 1994. His adherents published these messages along with Fetting's in a book of scripture entitled The Word of the Lord Brought to Mankind by an Angel.
Less than a decade later in 2003, leaders in the new church organization removed Leonard Draves from ministry during a special apostles meeting. Draves responded by organizing an additional church known as the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message (The Assured Way of the Lord) in 2004.. The parenthetical portion of the new name was added to give the new group a legal and separate distinction from the older Elijah Message churches.
Assured Way church had six Apostles and four Bishops serving in the United States as of 2010. A total of six "disciples" and three "vice bishops" each for the "East Africa Vineyard" and "West Africa Vineyard" had also been appointed.
The Church of Christ (Assured Way) was legally incorporated in the State of Missouri
as "The Church of Christ With the Elijah Message, The Assured Way of the Lord, Inc.", in 2004.
The Assured Way church publishes an official monthly periodical called "The Greater Light".
and the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message.
Beliefs shared in common between the Assured Way church and other Hedrickite organizations include:
In common with other Fettingite churches, the Assured Way church believes in the revelations allegedly given to Otto Fetting and William Draves, also believing that when John the Baptist laid hands upon Fetting, he conferred what is referred to as "a greater authority" that had not previously been given, to "set in order" the scattered Latter Day Saint movement
. This does not mean that the Assured Way church believes that the Priesthood had been taken from the earth after Joseph Smith's time, but rather that the "messenger" (whom Fetting and Draves allege to be John the Baptist) had come to bring order to the scattered Restoration Movement and give Fetting a special power and authority that Latter Day Saint leaders prior to him had lacked. The Church of Christ (Assured Way) believes that this authority continues within their organization today, which they regard as the sole legitimate church on earth.
Unlike some other Hedrickite churches (such as the Temple Lot church), the Assured Way church denies the idea of three beings in the Godhead
, insisting that the Father
, Son
and Holy Ghost are all one person.
The Church of Christ (Assured Way), better known by its full name of the The Church of Christ with the Elijah Message (The Assured Way of the Lord), Inc., is a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...
based in Independence, Missouri
Independence, Missouri
Independence is the fourth largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri, and is contained within the counties of Jackson and Clay. It is part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area...
. The Assured Way church is one of four groups that trace their origin to the church founded by William Draves
W. A. Draves
William August Draves was the founder and an apostle of the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message, a successor to the organization founded by former Church of Christ Apostle Otto Fetting. Like Fetting, Draves claimed to have received visits and messages from John the Baptist...
in 1943, after his split with Otto Fetting
Otto Fetting
Otto Fetting was an American realtor and editor from Port Huron, Michigan who served first as a pastor and evangelist in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and then later as an apostle in the Church of Christ , commonly referred to as the "Hedrickites"...
, who had founded the Church of Christ (Fettingite)
Church of Christ (Fettingite)
The Church of Christ is a denomination within the Latter Day Saint movement which split from the Church of Christ —informally known as "Hedrickites"— in late 1929...
. Although all four churches have similar names and nearly identical doctrines, they are not in communion and maintain separate legal organizations. The Assured Way church was legally incorporated by William Draves' son, Leonard Draves in 2004, six months after Leonard was removed from the ministry by other leaders of the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message, Inc. Leonard Draves had previously founded the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message, Inc., after breaking with the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message Established Anew 1929
Church of Christ with the Elijah Message
The Church of Christ "With the Elijah Message," Established Anew 1929 is a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement, headquartered in Jackson County, Missouri, which split from the Church of Christ in 1943 in a dispute over claimed revelations given to its founder William A. Draves...
.
Otto Fetting
The Church of Christ (Assured Way) has its origin in the Fettingite movement of the Hedrickite expression of the Latter Day Saint religion. Otto FettingOtto Fetting
Otto Fetting was an American realtor and editor from Port Huron, Michigan who served first as a pastor and evangelist in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and then later as an apostle in the Church of Christ , commonly referred to as the "Hedrickites"...
, an Apostle in the Church of Christ (Temple Lot)
Church of Christ (Temple Lot)
The Church of Christ is a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement headquartered in Independence, Missouri on what is known as the Temple Lot. Members of the church have been known colloquially as "Hedrickites", after Granville Hedrick, who was ordained as the church's first leader in July 1863...
during the early twentieth century, claimed to be receiving a series of messages from an unearthly "messenger" he identified as John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
. While the first eleven of these missives were accepted by the Temple Lot organization, the twelfth was not, leading to Fetting's departure from the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) in 1929, and his founding of the Church of Christ (Fettingite)
Church of Christ (Fettingite)
The Church of Christ is a denomination within the Latter Day Saint movement which split from the Church of Christ —informally known as "Hedrickites"— in late 1929...
. The Temple Lot church has since repudiated all of Fetting's messages, including the first eleven, which they had originally endorsed, at least tentatively.
William Draves
Four years after Fetting's death, a young Fettingite Elder named William A. Draves from Nucla, ColoradoNucla, Colorado
Nucla is a Statutory Town in Montrose County, Colorado, United States. The population was 734 at the 2000 census. Its name comes from the town's founders intent that it serve as a "nucleus" for the surrounding farms and mines, although it has since come to be associated with the growth of uranium...
claimed that the same messenger who had appeared to Fetting had begun to appear to him, as well. While the Church of Christ (Fettingite) was initially receptive to these new missives, it ultimately decided to reject them all, leading to a split in the church in 1943. Draves' adherents founded their own organization known as the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message Established Anew 1929
Church of Christ with the Elijah Message
The Church of Christ "With the Elijah Message," Established Anew 1929 is a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement, headquartered in Jackson County, Missouri, which split from the Church of Christ in 1943 in a dispute over claimed revelations given to its founder William A. Draves...
. Draves continued to receive revelations and recorded a total of 90 messages prior to his death in 1994. His adherents published these messages along with Fetting's in a book of scripture entitled The Word of the Lord Brought to Mankind by an Angel.
Founding of the Assured Way church
Draves died in 1994. The final three messages he had recorded reflected leadership disputes within the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message Established Anew 1929. These led to a division when Draves' son Leonard Draves and others members left the original church organization and founded the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message, Inc.Less than a decade later in 2003, leaders in the new church organization removed Leonard Draves from ministry during a special apostles meeting. Draves responded by organizing an additional church known as the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message (The Assured Way of the Lord) in 2004.. The parenthetical portion of the new name was added to give the new group a legal and separate distinction from the older Elijah Message churches.
Assured Way church had six Apostles and four Bishops serving in the United States as of 2010. A total of six "disciples" and three "vice bishops" each for the "East Africa Vineyard" and "West Africa Vineyard" had also been appointed.
The Church of Christ (Assured Way) was legally incorporated in the State of Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
as "The Church of Christ With the Elijah Message, The Assured Way of the Lord, Inc.", in 2004.
The Assured Way church publishes an official monthly periodical called "The Greater Light".
Doctrine
As with all Hedrickite organizations, the Church of Christ (Assured Way) beliefs are enumerated in the "Articles of Faith and Practice" first adopted by the Church of Christ (Temple Lot), and subsequently affirmed by the Church of Christ (Fettingite), the Church of Christ (Restored)Church of Christ (Restored)
The Church of Christ is a denomination within the Latter Day Saint movement that split from the Church of Christ in the late 1930s under the leadership of Elder A.C. DeWolf. This schism was provoked by a difference in opinion regarding a series of claimed "messages" received by William Draves,...
and the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message.
Beliefs shared in common between the Assured Way church and other Hedrickite organizations include:
- Belief in the King James Version Bible and the Book of MormonBook of MormonThe Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
(called the Record of the NephitesRecord of the NephitesThe phrase record of the Nephites has two distinct but related usages. The primary use is to describe the collection of inscribed metal plates on which the Nephites recorded their history. An abridged version of this record, inscribed on gold plates, was the source of the Book of Mormon, according...
in the Assured Way church); - Rejection of a First PresidencyFirst PresidencyIn the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency was the highest governing body in the Latter Day Saint church established by Joseph Smith, Jr. in 1832, and is the highest governing body of several modern Latter Day Saint denominations...
, High Priests and the office of Patriarch; - Belief in a Quorum of Twelve Apostles as the highest earthly church authority, with all members being equal;
- Rejection of the Doctrine and CovenantsDoctrine and CovenantsThe Doctrine and Covenants is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement...
and Pearl of Great PricePearl of Great Price (Mormonism)The Pearl of Great Price is part of the standard works of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and some other Latter Day Saint denominations....
; - Belief in the construction of a Temple on the Temple LotTemple LotThe Temple Lot, located in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri, is the first site to be dedicated for the construction of a temple in the Latter Day Saint movement...
in Independence, Missouri at some future time; - Rejection of Baptism for the DeadBaptism for the deadBaptism for the dead, vicarious baptism or proxy baptism is the religious practice of baptizing a living person on behalf of one who is dead, with the living person acting as the deceased person's proxy...
, polygamyPolygamyPolygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
and Eternal Marriage; - Belief that while Joseph Smith, Jr. was indeed a true prophet of God, he made errors in judgment and teaching, and thus not everything he said or did is to be accepted as true doctrine or practice;
- Belief that revelationRevelationIn religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing, through active or passive communication with a supernatural or a divine entity...
is not confined to holders of the priesthood, but may be given to any member of the church, male or female. However, only males may hold the priesthood. - Belief that clergy and members should abstain from alcoholic beverages, tobaccoTobaccoTobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
and illegal drugs (there is no prohibition of coffeeCoffeeCoffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
and teaTeaTea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
, as in the LDS Church); and - Belief that members and clergy should abstain from membership in secret societiesSecret societyA secret society is a club or organization whose activities and inner functioning are concealed from non-members. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence agencies or guerrilla insurgencies, which hide their...
, such as the Freemasons.
In common with other Fettingite churches, the Assured Way church believes in the revelations allegedly given to Otto Fetting and William Draves, also believing that when John the Baptist laid hands upon Fetting, he conferred what is referred to as "a greater authority" that had not previously been given, to "set in order" the scattered Latter Day Saint movement
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...
. This does not mean that the Assured Way church believes that the Priesthood had been taken from the earth after Joseph Smith's time, but rather that the "messenger" (whom Fetting and Draves allege to be John the Baptist) had come to bring order to the scattered Restoration Movement and give Fetting a special power and authority that Latter Day Saint leaders prior to him had lacked. The Church of Christ (Assured Way) believes that this authority continues within their organization today, which they regard as the sole legitimate church on earth.
Unlike some other Hedrickite churches (such as the Temple Lot church), the Assured Way church denies the idea of three beings in the Godhead
Godhead (Christianity)
Godhead is a Middle English variant of the word godhood, and denotes the Divine Nature or Substance of the Christian God, or the Trinity. Within some traditions such as Mormonism, the term is used as a nontrinitarian substitute for the term Trinity, denoting the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit not as...
, insisting that the Father
God the Father
God the Father is a gendered title given to God in many monotheistic religions, particularly patriarchal, Abrahamic ones. In Judaism, God is called Father because he is the creator, life-giver, law-giver, and protector...
, Son
God the Son
God the Son is the second person of the Trinity in Christian theology. The doctrine of the Trinity identifies Jesus of Nazareth as God the Son, united in essence but distinct in person with regard to God the Father and God the Holy Spirit...
and Holy Ghost are all one person.
See also
- Factional breakdown: Followers of Granville Hedrick
External links
- Church of Christ with the Elijah Message (Assured Way of the Lord). Official church website, including all 120 of Fetting and Draves' "Messages" (Internet Explorer only).
- The Word of the Lord, Brought to Mankind by an Angel. All 120 of Fetting and Draves' "Messages", as distributed by the Church of Christ "With the Elijah Message" Established Anew 1929.