‘Zion community’: The relationship between the church and Community of Christ and what it means going forward (2024)

KIRTLAND, Ohio — Members of different faith backgrounds, including Community of Christ and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, came together to celebrate their shared religious heritage in the Kirtland Temple on June 16.

The gathering of close to 300 listened to a tender devotional message that centered on the rich history and power of the Kirtland Temple. The program concluded with everyone standing together to sing a rousing rendition of the hymn, “The Spirit of God.”

In his closing prayer, Seth Bryant, a historian and Community of Christ member, petitioned for the Lord to “turn hearts,” provide peace and “let the story continue in this holy house.”

The devotional and hymn fest marked the end of the 59th Mormon History Association Conference and many left the event dabbing cheeks with tissues.

“I couldn’t imagine a better way or better place to end the conference,” said David Howlett, an eighth-generation Community of Christ member who serves as this year’s MHA president.

Patrick Mason, a Latter-day Saint and professor of religious studies and history at Utah State University, agreed.

“For me, it was incredibly powerful to have so many people from so many different faith backgrounds all united together worshipping in this place,” he said. “The Kirtland Temple is not just a historic site, but a place where people still come to feel the spirit of God every day, and that was felt in real abundance today.”

The interfaith devotional fostered unity among members of both faiths and provided hope for continued friendship and mutual respect in Kirtland, also known as the “City of Faith and Beauty.”

Why buy so high?

Elder Kyle S. McKay, a General Authority Seventy who serves as the church historian and recorder for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, opened the MHA conference on June 13 with a keynote speech that offered perspective on why the church would spend such a large sum of money — $192.5 million — for the Kirtland Temple and other historic properties.

The answer is rooted in Latter-day Saint doctrine and sacred events of one day.

“I cannot think of a single day during the ongoing Restoration when there was more restored than on April 3, 1836,” he said.

According to Latter-day Saints doctrine, on that date, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were visited by Jesus Christ and experienced visions where priesthood keys were conveyed by ancient prophets Moses, Elias and Elijah.

• The keys of the gathering of Israel: Offering the gospel of Jesus Christ to God’s children on both sides of the veil who have not made crucial covenants with God nor received their essential ordinances.
• The dispensation of the gospel of Abraham: Restoring covenants and blessings promised to Abraham, including the promise of eternal life and exaltation.
• The sealing power: Enabling the eternal binding of relationships and the legitimacy of priesthood ordinances, ensuring they are recognized in the hereafter.

“There is little we do in this church of lasting significance that is not done under the authority of the keys restored on April 3, 1836, in the Kirtland Temple,” said Elder McKay, also referencing the April 2024 general conference message of President Russell M. Nelson.

“Please understand, the church did not consider itself deficient or incomplete without these historic properties, but these things do provide a magnificent reminder of God’s dealings with His people; they are sacred evidence of the greatest Restoration ever.”

‘Expression of gratitude’

In 1959, President David O. McKay, who served as president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1951 to 1970, coined the phrase “Every member a missionary.”

During his remarks on June 13, Elder McKay said Latter-day Saints who visited the Kirtland Temple over the years seemed to have heard, “Every member a negotiator.”

“Many felt moved and appointed to ask every Community of Christ tour guide, ‘When are you going to sell us the Kirtland Temple?’ Or worse, ‘When are you going to give us back our temple?’” said Elder McKay, whose next words drew a hearty applause.

“To the hundreds of patient Community of Christ tour guides over the years, especially (Community of Christ apostle) Lachlan Mackay, I offer a genuine expression of gratitude for graciously enduring these inquiries from people who, for the most part, were full of good intent but not so full of good manners.”

Elder McKay concluded his remarks by thanking historians and scholars for their role in developing friendships between the two faiths.

“It is this body — historians — who were responsible for thawing the frost that existed between Community of Christ and the Church of Jesus Christ,” he said. “I’m so grateful for that thaw, and that we continue to get warmer and warmer, and I pray that it will continue for ever and ever.”

A tale of two women

During his keynote remarks, Elder McKay related the story of two women — Nancy Cervi, a Community of Christ pastor, and Sister Sue Grow, who was serving as a Latter-day Saint missionary in Kirtland when the transaction was announced.

A few days after the announcement, Elder McKay visited the Kirtland Temple and neighboring visitors’ center, where he encountered Sister Grow and Cervi.

Cervi was in the process of removing items at the center. She was gracious but seemed uncomfortable. That changed when Sister Grow embraced and wept with her.

“I was deeply moved and taught,” Elder McKay said. “Here was Sue Grow with a historic reason to rejoice, setting it aside so that she could mourn with a dear friend whose cause to mourn was on some level Sue’s cause to rejoice. It was beautiful, even sacred.”

Two weeks later, when the temple reopened for tours, Cervi participated in a tour for local civic and church leaders. “Not only did she attend the tour, she kindly offered her expertise as an on-the-spot clarifier of facts and questions put to her about the temple,” Elder McKay said.

The two women exemplified mutual respect and Christlike empathy, the church historian said.

“I continue to marvel at these two women,” he said. “I aspire to the attributes of these two women and invite you to become like Nancy Cervi and Sue Grow, promising and testifying that in so becoming, you will become like Jesus.”

‘Anything you need, we will help you’

One of the presenters at the MHA conference was Karl R. Anderson, a historian and longtime Latter-day Saint leader in northeastern Ohio. He said when the Church of Jesus Christ returned to Kirtland the late 1970s, it began meeting with leaders of Community of Christ and city officials to develop friendships.

“We felt that had to be a background for whatever we did in Kirtland — the community and Community of Christ,” he said.

Less than a decade later, when an arson fire destroyed the new Latter-day Saint meetinghouse, Community of Christ was the first to offer assistance.

“Anything you need, we will help you,” a Community of Christ leader told Anderson.

Community of Christ allowed The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to hold meetings in its buildings while the meetinghouse was rebuilt.

“They are such good, Christian people,” Anderson said. “They have a real love for the temple, and that won’t go away. They know how much we love it and how we treat it. Personal relationships always triumph in the end. It’s just an adjustment.”

Hope in a shared heritage

When Howlett learned about the March 5 transaction, his reaction was “shock and devastation.”

“It was a mix of sadness, anger and resignation, all those things. I cared very much about the historic sites,” said the Community of Christ scholar who spent parts of 12 summers in Kirtland. “It’s also personally meaningful to me. Part of my story, and my ancestors’ stories, are tied up in these geographies and places.”

He mourned the idea of the next Community of Christ generation not having the same experiences in Kirtland that shaped his life. But he’s hopeful his church will find new creative ways to carry on.

“We’re still invested in the stories and people will want to return to these sites,” he said. “The agreement between the two churches grants Community of Christ access six times a year. We want to make sure we’re intentional about making sure we coordinate that and find ways to make these sites accessible to our people. So we’re grateful for that opportunity.”

Barbara Walden, a historian and executive director of Community of Christ Historic Sites Foundation, was the featured speaker in the June 16 devotional. She shared history and personal, life-changing memories of serving in the Kirtland Temple, as well as the grief she felt upon learning of the transaction. She finds hope and solace in the shared heritage and love of the historic sites by both faiths, as evidenced by the friendship and mutual respect among historians and scholars.

“These relationships grow and expand,” she said. “I love that we are exchanging knowledge and learning from the knowledge and research of our friends and they are learning from ours. It’s a beautiful thing that together we share a love of our church heritage.”

Before the MHA conference on June 13, Casey Griffiths, a Latter-day Saint and BYU professor of church history and doctrine, accompanied a Community of Christ friend to the Kirtland Temple for her first visit since The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint acquired the temple and other historic properties on March 5.

But when they arrived, the friend was too emotional to enter.

“It’s a raw feeling for them, just like it would be for us,” Griffiths said. “I feel like the missionaries and everybody that has been a part of the process has been super gracious and kind, especially toward the feelings of members of Community of Christ. I hope the temple continues to be, under our stewardship, exactly what it was under their stewardship, which is this great commonality, this great place where everybody can come and feel like they have a home.”

Continued friendship

Over the years, Community of Christ has offered time and space in the Kirtland Temple to others, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to hold private devotionals, which has blessed the church, Elder McKay said.

“We have very much appreciated our relationship with Community of Christ over the years. Our feelings of gratitude toward them have heightened since the acquisition of the Kirtland Temple and other properties,” Elder McKay said. “We’re so grateful for how they have cared for them over the years, that now allows us to assume responsibility and carry on what they’ve been doing so well for so long.”

The church’s relationship with Community of Christ has been one of “great respect” and acknowledgement of their important role in preserving these historic properties, said Elder Hugo E. Martinez, a General Authority Seventy and assistant executive director of the Church History Department.

“They were always very welcoming to us when we came in,” he said. “We wish to come together at this time and continue to share this space just like they shared with us. It’s a good relationship now, and we hope that it continues to be better.”

President Scott Barrick and his wife, Sister Shauna Barrick, who serve as directors of the church’s Ohio Historic Sites, said the church will continue several traditions and activities involving Community of Christ.

The first Saturday of each month, Community of Christ holds a pancake breakfast and donates the proceeds to charity. The Barricks take all the missionaries serving locally and make a contribution, which has been a fun activity.

Other traditions with Community of Christ are expected to continue. Each summer on Emma Smith’s birthday — July 10 — the Church of Jesus Christ and Community of Christ hold an event in which they sing hymns from Emma Smith’s hymnbooks. “That has been a wonderful thing,” President Barrick said.

The two faiths participate in a community Thanksgiving service and hold a Christmas Eve service in the Kirtland Temple.

“We look forward to being involved with Community of Christ for a lot of time to come,” President Barrick said.

The church and Community of Christ will also continue to be members of a ministerial alliance in Kirtland with other faiths and community leaders. Joe and Sarah Jackson, local Latter-day Saints who participate in the ministerial alliance, said those in the alliance collaborate on several service projects a year that benefit all in the community.

“This is a Zion community,” Joe Jackson said. “It’s one heart, one mind. It doesn’t say that you have to be one religion. ... We realize in the community that the temple is a shared space.”