Church of Christ With the Elijah Message facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids The Church of Christ with the Elijah Message
Church of Christ "With the Elijah Message" meetinghouse in Independence, Missouri
Classification	Latter Day Saint movement
Orientation	Latter Day Saints
Polity	Church conference
Moderator	None; all members of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles are equal
Region	United States
Founder	William Draves
Origin	1943
Separated from	Church of Christ (Fettingite)
Separations	Church of Christ with the Elijah Message - The Assured Way of the Lord, Inc.; Church of Christ with the Elijah Message, Inc.; Church of Christ - "The Church with the Elijah Message" - Established anew in 1929, Inc.
Members	c. 12,500 worldwide as of 1987

The Church of Christ with the Elijah Message is a Christian church group. It is part of the Latter Day Saint movement. This church has its main office in Independence, Missouri. It started in 1943. The church separated from another group called the Church of Christ (also known as "Fettingites").

This split happened because of new messages. These messages were claimed by the church's founder, William A. Draves. He was an elder in the Fettingite group. Draves said an angel visited him. This angel said he was John the Baptist. This was the same angel who had supposedly appeared to Otto Fetting. Fetting was the founder of the Fettingite church. Many Fettingites believed these new messages. But some did not. This led Draves to start his own church. His followers believe it is the true continuation of Fetting's church. They also believe it continues the Temple Lot Church of Christ. In 1987, the church had about 12,500 members. They were located in Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Americas.

Why the Name "Elijah Message"?
Church History
Beliefs and Practices
See also

Why the Name "Elijah Message"?

The church's name comes from the visits of John the Baptist. These visits were supposedly made to Otto Fetting and William Draves. In the Bible, Jesus Christ says John is like the prophet Elijah. This is mentioned in the Book of Malachi. That's why the name includes "Elijah Message."

The Book of Malachi 4:5-6 says: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And He shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers; lest I come and smite the land with a curse."

Church members believe these visits from the "messenger" fulfill this prophecy. They also believe it fulfills other prophecies. These are found in Revelation 14:6, Malachi 3:1, Deuteronomy 18:15-19, and Daniel 7:9-10.

Church History

Otto Fetting's Story

Otto Fetting in 1916

Otto Fetting was born on November 20, 1871. He was from Casco, St. Clair County, Michigan. He lived in Port Huron, Michigan. On February 9, 1891, he was baptized into the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He became a priesthood member in 1899.

In 1925, Fetting was unhappy with a church issue. This issue was called "Supreme Directional Control." So, Fetting joined the Temple Lot Church of Christ. This church was also known as "Hedrickites." At that time, he did not need to be rebaptized. He also did not need to be reordained. Both churches accepted each other's priesthood and sacraments. In the spring of 1926, Fetting was one of seven men. They were chosen to be Apostles in the Church of Christ.

On February 4, 1927, Otto Fetting said he was visited by John the Baptist. John the Baptist gave him a message. This message was for the Temple Lot church. The message told them to build a Temple in Independence, Missouri. This temple was first mentioned by Joseph Smith in 1831. The Temple Lot church often received guidance through revelations. They also had stories of angelic visits. So, they were open to these new visits from the prophet. They published Fetting's messages in their magazine, Zion's Advocate. They started building the temple on April 6, 1929. Fetting said the Hedrickites had seven years to finish the temple.

Fetting's messenger gave details about the temple's design. He also told surveyors to move their markers. They were to move them ten feet to the east. The angel also showed where two of Joseph Smith's original marker stones were. Smith had buried these stones 98 years before. They marked the spot for his planned temple. Another message said the "Articles of Faith and Practice" of the Temple Lot church were correct. They should not be changed. The messenger also named specific men to be ordained in the church. This included members of its Quorum of Twelve Apostles.

Problems at the Temple Lot

The Temple Lot church accepted Fetting's first eleven messages. But they did not accept the twelfth message. In this message, John the Baptist said everyone joining the Church of Christ must be rebaptized. He said "the Lord has rejected all creeds and factions of men."

Most Latter Day Saint churches rebaptize new members. The Temple Lot church does this today. But at that time, the Temple Lot church accepted members from other churches. This included the Reorganized church and Joseph Smith's early church. They accepted their original baptisms. This twelfth message also said Fetting had received the same "keys to the priesthood." These keys were given to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in 1829.

The twelfth message caused a lot of disagreement. Otto Fetting was "silenced" by the Temple Lot church in October 1929. Fetting chose to leave rather than be restricted. He led about half of the Church of Christ members away. Some apostles also left with him. They started their own "Church of Christ." This church became known as the Church of Christ (Fettingite). The main Temple Lot church kept the Temple Lot and its meetinghouse. So, Fetting's group met in members' homes. Later, they built their own places of worship.

Fetting said the messenger visited him 30 times. He died on January 30, 1933.

William A. Draves's Role

William A. Draves

Four years after Fetting died, a young Fettingite elder named William A. Draves came forward. He was from Nucla, Colorado. Draves claimed the same messenger who visited Fetting had started visiting him. The Fettingite church first accepted these new messages. But they later decided to reject them all. This led to another split in the Fettingite church in 1943.

Draves's followers formed the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message. They believe they are the true continuation of Fetting's original church. Draves announced 90 messages before he died in 1994. These messages were combined with Fetting's messages. They were put into a book called The Word of the Lord Brought to Mankind by an Angel. Fetting's church publishes its own book. It is called The Word of the Lord. It only has Fetting's original 30 messages.

Before W.A. Draves died in 1994, his last three messages caused problems. They showed disagreements among the leaders. This led to a division. Apostles W.A. Draves, Leonard Draves, and Mervyn Johnson were blocked from church property. This happened with a court order. After a short legal fight and no agreement, W.A. Draves died. Six of the twelve leading Apostles decided to restart the church. They called it The Church of Christ with the Elijah Message, Inc. This happened in August 1994. This new group became the Church of Christ With the Elijah Message, The Assured Way of the Lord, Inc.. The other five Apostles, who filed the court order, kept the old name. It was "The Church of Christ with the Elijah Message, Established Anew 1929." They also kept all properties. This included the main building at 608 Lacy Rd. Independence, Missouri.

Beliefs and Practices

The Elijah Message church accepts Fetting's 30 messages. They also accept the 90 messages from William Draves. Other than these messages, their beliefs are very similar to the Church of Christ (Temple Lot).

Like the Temple Lot church, the Elijah Message church does not have a President of the Church. Instead, they are led by their Quorum of Twelve Apostles. All members of this group are considered equal.

Also, like the Temple Lot church, they do not use the Doctrine and Covenants or the Pearl of Great Price. They also do not use Joseph Smith's Inspired Version of the Bible. They prefer to use only the King James Bible. They also use the Record of the Nephites (their name for the Book of Mormon). They are also waiting for a new scripture. The Messenger supposedly showed this to Draves in 1946.

They do not believe in Baptism for the Dead, eternal marriage, polygamy, or the eternal progression idea. Members of the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message still believe a temple will be built on the Temple Lot. But it will not be like the temples used by other Latter Day Saint groups today.

In his twelfth message, Otto Fetting quoted John the Baptist. He said Joseph Smith was a true prophet. But he "sinned before God" because of "pride, and the love and praise of men." Fetting wrote that "Much of his work has been destroyed." But he added that Smith "will be saved as by fire, and will be numbered with the prophets of old." So, the Elijah Message church respects Joseph Smith as a prophet. But they do not accept all of his teachings.

In his first message, Fetting's heavenly messenger gave a command. He said the "Articles of Faith and Practice" of the Temple Lot church should not change. He said this was "because the Lord inspired the men that wrote them." So, these beliefs remain the same in the Elijah Message church. They are also the same in all Fettingite groups.