Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerites)

The Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerites) is one of the many splinter groups from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was reorganized by Alpheus Cutler on 9 September 1853 at Manti, Iowa₁a settlement of about 30 families. The formal reorganization of the church under the leadership of Joseph Smith III in 1860, caused many to leave Cutler and unite with the RLDS Church. After Cutler's death in 1864, the community moved north and settled in Clitherall, Minnesota.In the late 1920s, a group of church members was sent to Independence, Missouri to establish headquarters and erect a church building. Due to a leadership dispute in the mid-1950s, the two branches operated as separate churches. The Missouri church added the prefix "true" to their name to distinguish between the two. Since the two groups have reconciled their differences, the church has dropped the prefix.

Alpheus Cutler (29 February 1784 - 10 August 1864) One of the earliest members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he was baptized in New York in 1833. He settled in Nauvoo, Illinois and in 1839, was called to a position on the Nauvoo Stake High Council. When the Saints left Nauvoo, Cutler was appointed captain of one of the pioneer companies, but before going west, he performed some missionary work among the Indians in Kansas. A number of his company remained in Iowa until his return in 1852. These families continued holding church meetings with Cutler as their leader. In 1853, Cutler organized the Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerites) after having seen a sign in the heavens which he was told he would witness when the time came for him to reorganize the church. Cutler claimed ordination to a special council of seven high priest apostles, which gave him the authority to do so. He was the seventh member of this council and had waited until the others had either died or had joined with another group. He died on 10 August 1864 at age 80.

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