Church of Christ (Fettingite)
Encyclopedia
The Church of Christ is a denomination within 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...

 which split from 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...

—informally known as "Hedrickites"— in late 1929. The faction was formally established on April 8, 1930, and an Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...

 report published in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....

 April 7, 1930, describes it has having been briefly named "The Church of Jesus Christ" and later, the "Church of Christ," informally referred to as the "Church of Christ (Fettingite)" but never officially named as such. Its founder, 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...

 Apostle 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"...

, was the alleged recipient of a series of messages delivered by 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...

 concerning construction of a temple on the Temple Lot
Temple Lot
The 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...

, along with other aspects of Hedrickite doctrine and practice. The rejection of his Twelfth Message by a majority vote of his fellow Apostles in October 1929 led to a split in the Temple Lot organization between those who rejected Fetting's messages and those who accepted them. The "Fettingites" subsequently established their own church organization.

While Fettingite doctrine and practices are virtually identical to those of 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...

, a significant difference exists today in the acceptance of the messages' authenticity between Hedrickites and Fettingites. The Hedrickite leadership voted at their April, 1936 conference to formally reject Otto Fetting's claim of having heard from 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...

, but some laity in the Hedrickite sect have informally expressed interest or belief in his claims, to where about a half-dozen Hedrickites today believe Fetting received some or all of the revelations he claimed. After its founder's death in 1933, the Fettingite sect further divided into various factions, including 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,...

, the Church of Christ at Halley's Bluff
Church of Christ at Halley's Bluff
Church of Christ at Halley's Bluff is a small denomination within the Latter Day Saint movement...

, and the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message
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...

. As with the Church of Christ (Temple Lot), each of these groups declares itself to be the "only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth."

Entry into the Temple Lot church

Otto Fetting was born on 20 November 1871 in Casco, St. Clair County, Michigan
St. Clair County, Michigan
-Interstates:* I-69 enters the county from the west, coming from Lansing and Flint, terminating at the approach to the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron....

. Making his home in Port Huron, Michigan
Port Huron, Michigan
Port Huron is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of St. Clair County. The population was 30,184 at the 2010 census. The city is adjacent to Port Huron Township but is administratively autonomous. It is joined by the Blue Water Bridge over the St. Clair River to Sarnia,...

, he was baptised into the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
Community of Christ
The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , is an American-based international Christian church established in April 1830 that claims as its mission "to proclaim Jesus Christ and promote communities of joy, hope, love, and peace"...

 on February 9, 1891, and ordained a High Priest on February 15, 1899. In 1925, disgruntled by the Supreme Directional Control
Supreme Directional Control
The Supreme directional control controversy refers to a term commonly used within portions of the Latter Day Saint movement to describe a dispute between the primary leadership quorums of the Community of Christ , the movement's second largest denomination, that began in the 1920s and had...

 controversy within the RLDS church, Fetting switched his allegiance to the Temple Lot organization. At the time, this did not require rebaptism or reordination, as each group accepted the priesthood and sacraments of the other. In the spring of 1926, he was among seven men ordained to be Apostles in the Church of Christ.

Visitation by John the Baptist

On February 4, 1927, Otto Fetting claimed that he had been visited by a so-called "resurrected angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...

" clothed in 20th-century garb, who delivered a message for him to give to the Temple Lot organization. In a second alleged visitation one month later, this being identified himself as John the Baptist. The "angel's" messages advised construction of the long-awaited Temple 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...

, first foretold by Latter Day Saint founder Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith was founder of what later became known as the Latter Day Saint movement or Mormons.Joseph Smith may also refer to:-Latter Day Saints:* Joseph Smith, Sr. , father of Joseph Smith...

 in 1831 and 1832. The Temple Lot church had a long history of direction via revelation and angel visits, and thus was originally receptive to these alleged visits of the Biblical prophet, publishing Fetting's messages in their monthly periodical Zion's Advocate. They also began work on the temple with a groundbreaking ceremony held on 6 April 1929. According to Fetting, the Hedrickites were given seven years to complete the structure.

Fetting's "visitor" revealed various architectural details for the building, and specifically directed surveyors to move their markers ten feet to the east of where they had originally been placed. The angel also revealed the location of two of Joseph Smith's original marker stones, which Smith had buried 98 years before to indicate the location for his planned temple. He also indicated that the "Articles of Faith and Practice" of the Temple Lot church were correct, and should not be changed from their original form. On other occasions, the messenger indicated particular men to be ordained within the organization, including to its Quorum of Twelve Apostles.

The twelfth message

Although the Temple Lot organization had enthusiastically accepted the first eleven of Fetting's messages, this would not hold true for the twelfth. In verse four of this missive, John the Baptist states that all persons coming into the Church of Christ must be rebaptized, as "the Lord has rejected all creeds and factions of men". While this reflects the practice of the majority of Latter Day Saint denominations (including the Temple Lot church itself, today), it did not reflect the policy of the Temple Lot church at the time, which accepted members during this period from the Reorganized church, certain other Latter Day Saint organizations, and Joseph Smith's pre-1844 church on their original baptisms. This message equally declared Fetting to have been given the same "keys to the priesthood" that were given to Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith was founder of what later became known as the Latter Day Saint movement or Mormons.Joseph Smith may also refer to:-Latter Day Saints:* Joseph Smith, Sr. , father of Joseph Smith...

 and Oliver Cowdery
Oliver Cowdery
Oliver H. P. Cowdery was, with Joseph Smith, Jr., an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836, becoming one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon's golden plates, one of the first Latter Day Saint apostles, and the Second Elder of...

 on May 15, 1829.

Controversy over the meaning and application of Fetting's twelfth message became so great that he was "silenced" in October 1929 by the leading quorum of the Temple Lot church. Fetting was censured for alleged "arrogant" behavior by demanding that the church comply with his twelfth message. Choosing to withdraw rather than continue under such a restriction, Fetting led approximately half of the Church of Christ members (including some of its apostles) to found an organization of his own, which became known as the Church of Christ (Fettingite). Since the Temple Lot organization retained possession of the Temple Lot and its meetinghouse, Fetting's organization met in members' homes for a considerable period prior to building their own worship facilities.

Fetting claimed to have been visited some thirty times by the "messenger
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...

" prior to his death on 30 January 1933.

William A. Draves

Four years after Fetting's death, a young Fettingite Elder named William A. Draves from Nucla, Colorado
Nucla, 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, starting on October 4, 1937. While initially receptive to these new messages, the leadership of the existing Fettingite faction ultimately rejected all of them, leading to a split in 1943. Draves' adherents formed the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message
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...

, which claims to be the sole legitimate continuance of Fetting's original organization. Draves himself claimed a total of ninety messages prior to his death on June 28, 1994; these were combined with Fetting's into a book entitled The Word of the Lord Brought to Mankind by an Angel. The original Fettingite faction continues to publish its own compendium of Fetting's revelations, simply entitled The Word of the Lord
The Word of the Lord
The Word of the Lord refers to one of two books of scripture used by certain factions of the Latter Day Saint movement. The first book, simply entitled The Word of the Lord, is used by members of the Church of Christ , the Church of Christ at Halley's Bluff and the Church of Christ...

, containing only Fetting's thirty messages. This latter group is colloquially known as the "Thirty-message church."

A.C. DeWolf and the Saturday Sabbath

While the main Fettingite organization in Missouri took some time to completely reject William Draves and his new "messages", branches of this church in Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

 and Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

 did not. Under the leadership of A.C. DeWolf, these Fettingites rejected Draves almost immediately, and formed their own church organization, 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,...

. This organization remained separated from the main Fettingite group even after the latter decided against Draves.

During the 1950s, some leaders of the Fettingite church began to advocate keeping the Saturday Sabbath in lieu of Sunday. In 1956, the Fettingite Quorum of Twelve, under Apostle S.T. Bronson, formally instituted this change. The Church of Christ (Restored) refused to sanction this change, and claims that the Church of Christ (Fettingite) is in error for introducing it.

Other than disagreeing as to the proper day for worship, the "Bronsonite" and "DeWolf" organizations remain virtually identical in doctrine and practice. Both of them accept Fetting's ministry and messages, but not Draves'. Each rejects the other, and considers itself the sole true continuation of Otto Fetting's church. Draves' organization, on the other hand, rejects both of these groups, accepting their founder's messages and those of Otto Fetting.

The "Bronsonite" faction of the Fettingite church is said to have about 2000 members, while the Church of Christ (Restored) has approximately 450.

Doctrine and practices

Other than their acceptance of Fetting's thirty "messages", the beliefs and practices of the Fettingite organizations are virtually identical to those of their parent church, the Church of Christ (Temple Lot). In common with the Temple Lot church, Fettingites reject the office of President of the Church, being led instead by their Quorum of Twelve Apostles, with all members of that body considered equal. Also, like their Temple Lot cousins, the Fettingites reject the Doctrine and Covenants
Doctrine and Covenants
The Doctrine and Covenants is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement...

 and the Pearl of Great Price
Pearl 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....

, as well as Joseph Smith's Inspired Version of the Bible, preferring to use only the King James Bible and the Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon
The 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...

 as doctrinal standards. Baptism for the Dead
Baptism for the dead
Baptism 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...

, eternal marriage, polygamy
Polygamy
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...

 and the eternal progression doctrine are all rejected. Fettingites still believe that a temple will be reared on the Temple Lot, but it will not be like any of the LDS or Community of Christ temples currently in use.

In verse 6 of his twelfth "message", Otto Fetting quoted John the Baptist as allegedly saying that Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith was founder of what later became known as the Latter Day Saint movement or Mormons.Joseph Smith may also refer to:-Latter Day Saints:* Joseph Smith, Sr. , father of Joseph Smith...

 had indeed been a true prophet, but that he "sinned before God" due to "pride
Pride
Pride is an inwardly directed emotion that carries two common meanings. With a negative connotation, pride refers to an inflated sense of one's personal status or accomplishments, often used synonymously with hubris...

, and the love and praise of men". "Much of his work has been destroyed", wrote Fetting, "but he will be saved as by fire, and will be numbered with the prophets of old". Accordingly, Fettingites respect Joseph Smith as a prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...

, but do not necessarily accept all of his teaching. In verse 1 of his first "message", Fetting's heavenly envoy commanded that the "Articles of Faith and Practice" of the Temple Lot organization (of which Fetting was then still an apostle) were to remain unchanged, "because the Lord inspired the men that wrote them".

The Fettingite faction currently headquartered in Independence, sometimes referred to as the "Bronsonite" group, is Sabbatarian. The Church of Christ (Restored), also called the "De Wolf" group, is found mostly in Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

 and Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

 and observes Sunday as its day of worship, as does the Elijah Message church.

See also

  • Factional breakdown: Followers of Granville Hedrick

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK