INDEPENDENCE, MO. — The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will officially change its name to the "Community of Christ" Friday — 171 years after the church was founded.
Delegates of the church's 2000 World Conference approved the name change last year with a nearly 80 percent affirmative vote. Since that time, the church's First Presidency, Presiding Bishopric and other church leaders have been working with Crane MetaMarketing of Atlanta on plans and guidelines for the name-change process.
A day of celebration is planned Friday at the church's temple and auditorium, which serves as its world headquarters in Independence. There will also be a press conference and a new sign unveiled at the temple.
The church was legally organized on April 6, 1830, in Fayette, N.Y. The RLDS church broke away from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1844, after the death of founder Joseph Smith Jr.
Joseph Smith III succeeded his father and was ordained prophet-president of the church on April 6, 1860. That's also when the RLDS name was adopted.
The international church has approximately 250,000 members in more than 50 countries.
Many members had wanted a shorter name and one that more adequately represents the church's theology and mission: "We proclaim Jesus Christ and promote communities of joy, hope, love and peace."
The new title grew out of a 1994 leadership seminar but was originally rejected by church delegates in 1996 and 1998. The new name will also help to distinguish it from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.