Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints—usually distinguished with a parenthetical (Strangite)—is one of the several organizations that claim to be the legitimate continuation of the church founded by Joseph Smith on April 6, 1830. It is a separate organization from the considerably larger and better known Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Both churches claim to be the original organization established by Smith. The Strangite church is headquartered in Voree, Wisconsin, just outside Burlington, and accepts the claims of James Strang as successor to Smith. It had approximately 300 members in 1998. An undated FAQ on the church's official website reports there are around 130 active members throughout the United States.
1856 daguerreotype of James Strang, taken on Beaver Island, Lake Michigan.
Page one of Strang's Letter of Appointment.
Monument at old Voree townsite.
Engraving of John C. Bennett as a General of the Nauvoo Legion.
Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints)
The Church of Christ was the original name of the Latter Day Saint church founded by Joseph Smith. Organized informally in 1829 in upstate New York and then formally on April 6, 1830, it was the first organization to implement the principles found in Smith's newly published Book of Mormon, and thus its establishment represents the formal beginning of the Latter Day Saint movement. Later names for this organization included the Church of the Latter Day Saints, the Church of Jesus Christ, the Church of God, the Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
A reconstruction of the original log house of Peter Whitmer Sr. in Fayette, New York
Oliver Cowdery
Joseph Smith
Samuel H. Smith