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Do not fill this in! ==Groups arising in the era of the Second Great Awakening== {{Main|Second Great Awakening}} [[File:1839-meth.jpg|thumb|right|350px|1839 [[Methodism|Methodist]] [[camp meeting]], watercolor from the [[Second Great Awakening]].]] The ideal of restoring a "primitive" form of Christianity grew in popularity in the United States after the [[American Revolution]].<ref name="Allen & Hughes 1988"/>{{Rp|89β94}} This desire to restore a purer form of Christianity played a role in the development of many groups during this period, known as the Second Great Awakening, including the [[History of the Latter Day Saint movement|Mormons]], [[Baptists in the United States|Baptists]] and [[Shakers]].<ref name="Allen & Hughes 1988"/>{{Rp|89}} Several factors made the restoration sentiment particularly appealing during this time period.<ref name="Allen & Hughes 1988"/>{{Rp|90β94}} *To immigrants in the early 19th century, the land in America seemed pristine, edenic and undefiled - "the perfect place to recover pure, uncorrupted and original Christianity" - and the tradition-bound European churches seemed out of place in this new setting.<ref name="Allen & Hughes 1988"/>{{Rp|90}} *The new American democracy seemed equally fresh and pure, a restoration of the kind of just government that God intended.<ref name="Allen & Hughes 1988"/>{{Rp|90,91}} *Many believed that the new nation would usher in a new [[Millennialism|millennial age]].<ref name="Allen & Hughes 1988"/>{{Rp|91,92}} *Independence from the traditional churches of [[Europe]] was appealing to many Americans who were enjoying a new political independence.<ref name="Allen & Hughes 1988"/>{{Rp|92,93}} *A primitive faith based on the [[Bible]] alone promised a way to sidestep the competing claims of all the many [[Christian denomination|denominations]] available and find assurance of being right without the security of an established national church.<ref name="Allen & Hughes 1988"/>{{Rp|93}} [[Camp meeting]]s fueled the Second Great Awakening, which served as an "organizing process" that created "a religious and educational infrastructure" across the trans-Appalachian frontier that encompassed social networks, a religious journalism that provided mass communication, and church related colleges.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Great Awakenings"/>{{Rp|368}} ===American Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement=== {{Main|Restoration Movement}} [[File:CampbellThomas.png|thumb|100px|left|Thomas Campbell]] The American Restoration Movement aimed to restore the church and sought "the unification of all Christians in a single body patterned after the church of the New Testament."<ref name="I Just Want to Be a Christian">[[Rubel Shelly]], ''I Just Want to Be a Christian'', 20th Century Christian, Nashville, Tennessee 1984, {{ISBN|0-89098-021-7}}</ref>{{Rp|54}} While the Restoration Movement developed from several independent efforts to go back to apostolic Christianity, two groups that independently developed similar approaches to the Christian faith were particularly important to its development.<ref name="Redigging the Wells">Monroe E. Hawley, ''Redigging the Wells: Seeking Undenominational Christianity'', Quality Publications, Abilene, Texas, 1976, {{ISBN|0-89137-512-0}} (paper), {{ISBN|0-89137-513-9}} (cloth)</ref>{{Rp|27β32}} The first, led by [[Barton W. Stone]] began at [[Cane Ridge]], Bourbon County, Kentucky and called themselves simply ''Christians''. The second began in western Pennsylvania and Virginia (now West Virginia) and was led by [[Thomas Campbell (clergyman)|Thomas Campbell]] and his son, [[Alexander Campbell (clergyman)|Alexander Campbell]]; they used the name ''Disciples of Christ''. [[File:stonebw01.jpg|thumb|100px|right|Barton W. Stone]] The Campbell movement was characterized by a "systematic and rational reconstruction" of the early church, in contrast to the Stone movement which was characterized by radical freedom and lack of dogma.<ref name="Allen & Hughes 1988"/>{{Rp|106β108}} Despite their differences, the two movements agreed on several critical issues.<ref name="Allen & Hughes 1988"/>{{Rp|108}} Both saw restoring apostolic Christianity as a means of hastening the millennium.<ref name="Allen & Hughes 1988"/>{{Rp|108}} Both also saw restoring the early church as a route to Christian freedom.<ref name="Allen & Hughes 1988"/>{{Rp|108}} And, both believed that unity among Christians could be achieved by using apostolic Christianity as a model.<ref name="Allen & Hughes 1988"/>{{Rp|108}} They were united, among other things, in the belief that [[Jesus]] is the Christ, the Son of God; that Christians should celebrate the [[Eucharist|Lord's Supper]] on the [[Sunday|first day of each week]]; and that [[Believer's baptism|baptism of adult believers]] by immersion in water is a necessary condition for [[salvation]]. Because the founders wanted to abandon all denominational labels, they used the biblical names for the followers of Jesus that they found in the Bible.<ref name="McAlister & Tucker, 1975">McAlister, Lester G. and Tucker, William E. (1975), Journey in Faith: A History of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) - St. Louis, Chalice Press, {{ISBN|978-0-8272-1703-4}}</ref>{{Rp|27}} The commitment of both movements to restoring the early church and to uniting Christians was enough to motivate a union between many in the two movements.<ref name="Hughes and Roberts, 2001">Richard Thomas Hughes and R. L. Roberts, ''The Churches of Christ'', 2nd Edition, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001, {{ISBN|0-313-23312-8}}, 9780313233128, 345 pages</ref>{{Rp|8,9}} With the merger, there was the challenge of what to call the new movement. Clearly, finding a biblical, non-sectarian name was important. Stone wanted to continue to use the name "Christians." Alexander Campbell insisted upon "Disciples of Christ". As a result, both names were used.<ref name="McAlister & Tucker, 1975"/>{{Rp|27β28}}<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Alexander Campbell">Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, ''The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ'', Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, {{ISBN|0-8028-3898-7}}, 9780802838988, 854 pages, entry on ''Campbell, Alexander''</ref>{{Rp|125}} [[File:Alexander Campbell Age 65.jpg|thumb|100px|left|Alexander Campbell]] The Restoration Movement began during, and was greatly influenced by, the Second Great Awakening.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Great Awakenings">Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, ''The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ'', Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, {{ISBN|0-8028-3898-7}}, 9780802838988, 854 pages, entry on ''Great Awakenings''</ref>{{Rp|368}} While the Campbells resisted what they saw as the spiritual manipulation of the camp meetings, the Southern phase of the Awakening "was an important matrix of Barton Stone's reform movement" and shaped the evangelistic techniques used by both Stone and the Campbells.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Great Awakenings"/>{{Rp|368}} The Restoration Movement has seen several divisions, resulting in multiple separate groups. Three modern groups originating in the [[United States|U.S.]] claim the Stone-Campbell movement as their roots: [[Churches of Christ]], [[Christian churches and churches of Christ]], and the [[Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)]]. Some see divisions in the movement as the result of the tension between the goals of restoration and ecumenism, with the [[churches of Christ]] and the [[Christian churches and churches of Christ]] resolving the tension by stressing restoration while the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) resolved the tension by stressing ecumenism.<ref name="Garrett 2002">Leroy Garrett, ''The Stone-Campbell Movement: The Story of the American Restoration Movement'', College Press, 2002, {{ISBN|0-89900-909-3}}, 9780899009094, 573 pages</ref>{{Rp|383}} Non-U.S. churches associated with this movement include the [[Churches of Christ in Australia]] and the [[Evangelical Christian Church in Canada]].<ref>Sydney E. Ahlstrom, ''A Religious History of the American People'' (2004)</ref><ref name="Melton 2009">Melton's Encyclopedia of American Religions (2009)</ref> ===Christadelphians=== {{Main|Christadelphians}} [[File:John Thomas.png|thumb|150px|right|John Thomas]] [[John Thomas (Christadelphian)|John Thomas]] (April 12, 1805 – March 5, 1871), was a devout convert to the Restoration Movement after a shipwreck at sea on his emigration to America brought to focus his inadequate understanding of the [[Bible]], and what would happen to him at death. This awareness caused him to devote his life to the study of the Bible and he promoted interpretations of it which were at variance with the mainstream Christian views the [[Restoration Movement]] held. In particular he questioned the nature of man. He held a number of debates with one of the leaders of the movement, [[Alexander Campbell (clergyman)|Alexander Campbell]], on these topics but eventually agreed to stop because he found the practice bestowed no further practical merits to his personal beliefs and it had the potential to create division. He later determined that salvation was dependent upon having the theology he had developed for baptism to be effective for salvation and published an "Confession and Abjuration" of his previous position on March 3, 1847. He was also [[Rebaptism|rebaptised]]. Following his abjuration and rebaptism he went to [[England]] on a preaching tour in June 1848 including Reformation Movement churches,<ref>''Encyclopedia of new religions: new religious movements, sects and '' Christopher Hugh Partridge - 2004 "In June 1848, he returned to England and was well received in Nottingham and had further speaking engagements in Derby"</ref> Although his abjuration and his disfellowship in America were reported in the British churches magazines<ref>''The British Millennial Harbinger and Family Magazine'' ed. James Wallis July 1848 cover, October 1848 in full</ref> certain churches in the movement still allowed him to present his views. Thomas also gained a hearing in Unitarian and Adventist churches through his promotion of the concept of "independence of thought" with regards to interpreting the Bible. Through a process of creed setting and division the Christadelphian movement emerged with a distinctive set of doctrines incorporating Adventism, [[Nontrinitarianism|anti-trinitarianism]], the belief that God is a "substantial and corporeal" being, [[Conscientious objector|objection to military service]], a [[Laity|lay-membership]] with full participation by all members, and other doctrines consistent with the spirit of the Restorationist movement.<ref name="christadelphianhistory">{{cite web | title =Our History | publisher =Williamsburg Christadelphians | url =http://www.widomaker.com/~cpatax/xadelfia/who01.htm | access-date =2008-04-03 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20080509084920/http://www.widomaker.com/~cpatax/xadelfia/who01.htm | archive-date =2008-05-09 | url-status =dead }}</ref> One consequence of objection to military service was the adoption of the name Christadelphians to distinguish this small community of believers and to be granted exemption from military service in the [[American Civil War]].<ref name="christadelphianhistory" /> ===Swedenborgians=== [[File:Bryn Athyn Cathedral - panoramio.jpg|thumb|[[Bryn Athyn Cathedral]], the episcopal seat of the [[General Church of the New Jerusalem]], a [[Swedenborgian]] Christian denomination]] [[The New Church (Swedenborgian)|The New Church]] was founded on the basis of the theology of [[Emanuel Swedenborg]].<ref name="Spinks2017"/> As such, it is often known as the Swedenborgian Church.<ref name="Spinks2017"/> The New Church's view of God is that "Jesus is God incarnate, not (as certain interpretations of the traditional Christian trinity contend) an emanation of the Godhead."<ref name="Gallagher2021"/> The New Church propounds the doctrine of [[Correspondence (theology)|Correspondence]], which teaches that "Every word or fact of the Bible corresponded to a spiritual truth or mystical truth."<ref name="Gallagher2021">{{cite book |last1=Gallagher |first1=Eugene V. |last2=Willsky-Ciollo |first2=Lydia |title=New Religions: Emerging Faiths and Religious Cultures in the Modern World |date=15 February 2021 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=979-8-216-12291-3 |language=en}}</ref> Additionally, The New Church teaches that "Objects in the physical world have spiritual correspondences."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Nelson |first1=Paul |title=Virginia Street Swedenborgian Church |url=https://saintpaulhistorical.com/items/show/120 |publisher=Saint Paul Church |access-date=2 November 2023 |language=en}}</ref> ===Irvingians=== {{main|Catholic Apostolic Church}} [[File:City of Edinburgh - Catholic Apostolic Church - 20230924122415.jpg|thumb|[[Mansfield Place Church]], a former cathedral of the [[Catholic Apostolic Church]] in Edinburgh, UK]] The [[Catholic Apostolic Church]] (Irvingian Church) was founded according to the theology of [[Edward Irving]] (1792β1834), who taught that "God could work miracles in His Church as easily now as two thousand years ago."<ref>{{cite book |title=What is the Catholic Apostolic Church? |date=1834 |publisher=Wesleyan Conference Office |page=5 |language=English}}</ref> Belonging to the Restorationist branch of Christianity, the Irvingian Churches teach that they "exercise the charismata of the Apostolic age".<ref name="Carson2020"/> The church was organised in 1835 with the [[holy orders|fourfold ministry]] of "apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors."<ref name="Cannon2009">{{cite book |last1=Cannon |first1=John |title=A Dictionary of British History |date=21 May 2009 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-955037-1 |page=127 |language=English}}</ref><ref name="Carson2020">{{cite book |last1=Carson |first1=D. A. |title=Themelios, Volume 44, Issue 3 |date=10 February 2020 |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers |isbn=978-1-7252-6010-8 |language=en |quote=From this nexus at Albury Park would eventually emerge the openly-restorationist Catholic Apostolic Church, in which both Drummond and London Scots preacher, Edward Irving (1792-1834), would figure prominently. Significant for the purposes of this discussion is the fact that the Catholic Apostolic Church would distinguish itself not only for its bold claim to exercise the charismata of the Apostolic age, but also for its lavish liturgies borrowed from the pre-Reformation church, both East and West.}}</ref> As a result of [[schism]] within the Catholic Apostolic Church, other Irvingian Christian denominations emerged, including the [[Old Apostolic Church]], [[New Apostolic Church]], [[Reformed Old Apostolic Church]] and [[United Apostolic Church]]; of these, the New Apostolic Church is the largest Irvingian Christian denomination today, with 16 million members.<ref name="Nyika2008">{{cite book |last1=Nyika |first1=Felix Chimera |title=Restore the Primitive Church Once More: A Survey of Post Reformation Christian Restorationism |date=2008 |publisher=Kachere Series |page=14 |language=English |quote=In the 1990s the New Apostolic Church had almost 300 apostles with 60,000 congregations comprising 16 million members globally.}}</ref><ref name="Kuligin2005">{{cite journal |last1=Kuligin |first1=Victor |title=The New Apostolic Church |journal=Africa Journal of Evangelical Theology |date=2005 |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=1β18 |language=English}}</ref> Irvingianism, possessing elaborate [[Christian liturgy|liturgies]], teaches three [[sacraments]]: [[Baptism]], [[Holy Communion]] and [[New Apostolic Church#Holy Sealing|Holy Sealing]].<ref name="Carson2020"/><ref name="Whalen1981">{{cite book |last1=Whalen |first1=William Joseph |title=Minority Religions in America |date=1981 |publisher=Alba House |isbn=978-0-8189-0413-4 |page=104 |language=English}}</ref><ref name="Nomos1992">{{cite book |title=Decisions of the Bundesverfassungsgericht (Federal Constitutional Court) Federal Republic of Germany |date=1992 |publisher=Nomos |isbn=978-3-8329-2132-3 |page=6 |language=English}}</ref> ===Latter Day Saint movement=== {{Main|Latter Day Saint movement|Restoration (Latter Day Saints)}} Adherents to the Latter Day Saint movement believe that founder [[Joseph Smith]] was a [[prophet]] of God, chosen to restore the primitive, apostolic church established by Jesus. Like other restorationist groups, members believe that the church and priesthood established by Jesus were [[Great Apostasy (Latter Day Saints)|withdrawn from the Earth]] after the end of the apostolic age and before the [[First Council of Nicaea]] in 325. Unlike other reformers, who based their movements on their own interpretations of the Bible, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery held that they were visited by John the Baptist to receive the Aaronic Priesthood. This restoration authorized members to receive [[revelation#Latter Day Saint movement|revelation]] from God in order to restore the original apostolic organization lost after the events of the New Testament.<ref name=Bushman>{{cite book |last=Bushman |first=Richard | author-link=Richard Bushman |year=2008 |series=[[Very Short Introductions]]|title=Mormonism: A Very Short Introduction |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-531030-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6m059lR04IoC|page=20}}</ref> According to Allen and Hughes, "[n]o group used the language of 'restoration' more consistently and more effectively than did the [Latter Day Saints] ... early Mormons seemed obsessed with restoring the ancient church of God."<ref name="Allen & Hughes 1988"/>{{Rp|94}} [[File:Joseph Smith, Jr. portrait owned by Joseph Smith III.jpg|150px|right|thumb|Joseph Smith]] According to Smith, God [[First Vision|appeared to him]] in 1820, instructing him that the creeds of the churches of the day were corrupted.<ref>{{lds|Joseph Smith - History|jsh|1|19}}</ref> In addition to restoring the primitive church, Smith claimed to receive new and ongoing revelations. In 1830, he published ''[[The Book of Mormon]]'', with [[Book of Mormon witnesses|he and witnesses]] declaring to be a translation through divine means from the [[Golden Plates]] he obtained from [[angel Moroni|an angel]].{{cn|date=April 2024}} The largest and most well known church in the Latter Day Saint movement is [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church), followed by [[Community of Christ]] (formerly RLDS), and dozens of [[List of denominations in the Latter Day Saint movement|other denominations]].{{cn|date=April 2024}} Members of the LDS Church believe that, in addition to Smith being the first prophet appointed by Jesus in the "latter days", every subsequent [[Apostle (Latter Day Saints)|apostle]] and [[President of the Church (LDS Church)|church president]] also serves in the capacity of [[prophet, seer and revelator]].{{cn|date=April 2024}} Some among the [[Churches of Christ]] have attributed the restorationist character of the Latter Day Saints movement to the influence of [[Sidney Rigdon]], who was associated with the Campbell movement in Ohio but left it and became a close friend of Joseph Smith.<ref name="Allen & Hughes 1988"/>{{Rp|95}}<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Mormonism">{{cite encyclopedia|editor1-first=Douglas Allen |editor1-last=Foster|editor2-first=Anthony L. |editor2-last=Dunnavant|editor3-first=Paul M. |editor3-last=Blowers|editor4-first=D. Newell |editor4-last=Williams|encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement|publisher=[[William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company]]|date=2004|isbn=9780802838988|entry=Mormonism|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Encyclopedia_of_the_Stone_Campbell_M/-3UtqrX56rgC?hl=en&gbpv=1 |via=[[Google Book]]}}</ref>{{rp|544,545}} Neither the Mormons nor the early Restoration Movement leaders invented the idea of "restoration"; it was a popular theme of the time that had developed independently of both, and Mormonism and the Restoration Movement represent different expressions of that common theme.<ref name="Allen & Hughes 1988"/>{{Rp|95}}<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Mormonism"/>{{Rp|544,545}} The two groups had very different approaches to the restoration ideal.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Mormonism"/>{{Rp|545}} The Campbell movement combined it with Enlightenment rationalism, "precluding emotionalism, spiritualism, or any other phenomena that could not be sustained by rational appeals to the biblical text."<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Mormonism"/>{{Rp|545}} The Latter Day Saints combined it with "the spirit of nineteenth-century Romanticism" and, as a result, "never sought to recover the forms and structures of the ancient church as ends in themselves" but "sought to restore the golden age, recorded in both Old Testament and New Testament, when God broke into human history and communed directly with humankind."<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Mormonism"/>{{Rp|545}} Mormons gave priority to current revelation.{{cn|date=April 2024}} Primitive observances of "appointed times" like Sabbath were secondary to [[Revelation (Latter Day Saints)|continuing revelation]], similarly to the [[Progressive revelation (Christianity)|progressive revelation]] held by some non-restorationist Christian theologians.{{cn|date=April 2024}} The "[[Great Apostasy]]", or loss of the original church Jesus established, has been cited with historical evidence of changes in Christian doctrine over time, scriptures prophesying of a coming apostasy before the last days (particularly {{bibleverse|2 Thessalonians|2:1-3}}, {{bibleverse|2 Timothy|4:3-4}} and {{bibleverse|Amos|8:11-12}}) and corruption within the early churches that led to the necessity of the [[Protestant Reformation]], which is seen as an important step towards the development of protected freedoms and speech required for a full restoration to be possible.<ref name = GA2>{{Cite book | last = Talmage | first = James E. | author-link = James E. Talmage | title = The Great Apostasy | publisher = [[Deseret News]] | year = 1909 | url =https://archive.org/details/greatapostasycon00atalm/page/156/mode/1up?view=theater|via=[[Internet Archive]] | page=156|isbn = 0-87579-843-8}}</ref> ===Adventism=== {{Main|Adventism}} Adventism is a [[Christian eschatology|Christian eschatological]] belief that looks for the imminent [[Second Coming]] of Jesus to inaugurate the [[Kingdom of God]]. This view involves the belief that Jesus will return to receive those who have died in Christ and those who are awaiting his return, and that they must be ready when he returns. Adventists are considered to be both restorationists and [[Conservatism|conservative]] [[Protestants]].<ref>George R. Knight, "A Search for Identity: The Development of Seventh-Day Adventist Beliefs," Review and Herald Pub Assoc., 2000</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/appendix-b-classification-of-protestant-denominations/|title=Pew Research Center, America's Changing Religious Landscape, Appendix B: Classification of Protestant Denominations|date=12 May 2015}}</ref> ====Millerites and Seventh-day Sabbatarianism==== {{Main|Millerites|Seventh-day Sabbatarianism}} [[File:William Miller.jpg|thumb|150px|right|William Miller]] The Millerites were the most well-known family of the Adventist movements. They emphasized apocalyptic teachings anticipating the end of the world, and did not look for the unity of [[Christendom]] but busied themselves in preparation for Christ's return. Millerites sought to restore a prophetic immediacy and uncompromising biblicism that they believed had once existed but had long been rejected by mainstream Protestant and Catholic churches. From the Millerites descended the Seventh-day Adventists and the Advent Christian Church. ====Seventh-day Adventists==== {{Main|Seventh-day Adventist Church}} The Seventh-day Adventist Church grew out of the Adventist movement, in particular the Millerites. The Seventh-day Adventist Church is the largest of several [[Adventism|Adventist]] groups which arose from the [[Millerites|Millerite]] movement of the 1840s in upstate [[New York (state)|New York]], a phase of the [[Second Great Awakening]]. Important to the Seventh-day Adventist movement is a belief in [[Progressive revelation (Christian)|progressive revelation]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.andrews.edu/~damsteeg/Prog%20rev.html|title=Seventh-day Adventist Doctrines and Progressive Revelation}}</ref> teaching that the Christian life and testimony is intended to be typified by the [[Spirit of Prophecy (Adventist)|Spirit of Prophecy]], as explained in the writings of [[Ellen G. White]]. Much of the theology of the Seventh-day Adventist Church corresponds to Protestant Christian teachings such as the Trinity and the [[Biblical infallibility|infallibility of Scripture]]. Distinctive teachings include the [[soul sleep|unconscious state of the dead]] and the doctrine of an [[investigative judgment]]. The church is also known for its emphasis on diet and health, its holistic understanding of the person, its promotion of religious liberty, and its conservative principles and lifestyle. ====Worldwide Church of God==== {{See also|Grace Communion International|Armstrongism}} <!-- [[WP:NFCC]] violation: [[File:HerbertWArmstrong.jpg|thumb|150px|right|Herbert W. Armstrong]] --> The [[Worldwide Church of God]] arose from the [[Seventh Day churches]]. The personal ministry of [[Herbert W. Armstrong]] became the [[Radio Church of God]], which became the Worldwide Church of God. It later splintered into many other churches and groups when the Worldwide Church of God disassociated itself with the Restoration movements and made major attempts to join the Protestant branch of Christianity. The largest of these groups, the [[Living Church of God]] and the [[United Church of God]], continue in the tradition of the Worldwide Church of God as it was under the leadership of Herbert W. Armstrong. ====Advent Christian Church==== {{Main|Advent Christian Church}} The Advent Christian Church is unaffiliated with Seventh-day Adventism, but considers itself the second "of six Christian denominations that grew out of the ministry of William Miller".<ref>''Midnight and Morning: The Millerite Movement and the Founding of the Advent Christian Church'', 1831-1860 by Clyde E. Hewitt (Venture Books, 1984), as cited by "The Advent Christian Church: An Introduction", [http://www.areachurches.com/adventinfo.html AreaChurches.com]</ref> As a "first-day" body of Adventist Christians established by ''The Advent Christian General Conference'' in 1860, the church's beliefs include "conditional immortality" and a form of "[[soul sleep]]". Advent Christians such as [[George Storrs]] and [[Jonas Wendell]] influenced the [[Bible Student movement]]. Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page