Church of Christ (Temple Lot)

Church of Christ
Headquarters building (built in 1990) at Temple Lot
Classification	Latter Day Saint movement
Orientation	Latter Day Saints
Polity	Quorum of the Twelve
Moderator	None; all members of the Quorum of the Twelve are seen as equal
Region	World
Founder	Granville Hedrick, John E. Page and others
Origin	April 6, 1830 (officially given); Winter, 1852 (establishment as separate organization)
Separated from	Claims to be the sole legitimate continuation of the Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints)
Separations	Church of Christ (Fettingite), Church of Christ (Hancock), others
Congregations	32
Members	7,310

The Church of Christ, informally referred to as the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) and "Hedrickites", 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. Unlike The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and Community of Christ, the Temple Lot church rejects the office of prophet or president, being led by its Quorum of Twelve Apostles instead. It equally rejects the doctrines of baptism for the dead and celestial marriage promulgated by the Utah-based LDS Church, as well as the Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price. While once avidly engaged in dialogue with other Latter Day Saint factions, the church no longer has any official contact with any other organization. Its most notable claim to fame today rests in its sole ownership of the Temple Lot, which it has held for nearly 150 years. As of 2013, membership is 7,310 members in 11 countries. Most of the members live in the United States, but there are parishes in Canada, Mexico, Honduras, Nigeria, Kenya, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Tanzania, India, and the Philippines.

The Temple Lot church shares its early history with the larger Latter Day Saint denominations, including the LDS Church and the Community of Christ (formerly the RLDS Church). After the death of Joseph Smith, the Latter Day Saint movement's founder, on June 27, 1844, several leaders vied for control and established rival organizations. By the 1860s, five early Mormon branches found themselves unaffiliated with any larger group. Located in Bloomington, Illinois; Crow Creek, Illinois; Half Moon Prairie, Illinois; Eagle Creek, Illinois; and Vermillion, Indiana, these branches united under the leadership of Granville Hedrick in May 1863. On July 18, 1863, Hedrick was ordained as "President, Prophet, Seer and Revelator". Participating in Hedrick's ordination was John E. Page who had been an apostle under Smith. The Temple Lot church affirms a founding date of April 6, 1830, in Fayette, New York, and claims to be the sole legitimate continuance of Smith's original Church of Christ. Hedrick later distanced himself from the title of "President", as he ultimately came to believe that this was an unscriptural office.