Among many of those Nauvoo Saints who did not choose to follow Brigham Young and the Twelve Apostles into the mountains of Utah, there was an emerging hope that someone from the Smith family would step forward and begin a reorganization of the Church Joseph Smith Jr. had established. In 1851 a soft reorganization began and built up to that culminating moment of 1860 when the eldest son of Joseph and Emma Smith, Joseph Smith III, stepped forward at the age of 28 and was ordained president of what they referred to then as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or RLDS Church. Over time their method of succession in their presidency developed upon a different set of criteria than that of their Utah-based cousins, as did many of their practices, policies, programs, and governing principles. In 2001 the name of the RLDS Church was changed to Community of Christ, and today this is the second largest branch of the Restoration movement. In this episode of Church History Matters, Casey and Scott sit down with Andrew Bolton, a friend and member of the Community of Christ who served in their Council of Twelve Apostles from 2007 to 2016. Together we take a deep dive into the details of how succession works in this movement, while also considering some key similarities and differences between our two Restoration branches today. This is the twelfth episode of our podcast series on succession in the presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For a full transcript of this episode, as well as show notes and additional resources, visit our website at https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/podcast-episode/a-deep-dive-into-the-community-of-christ-w-andrew-bolton. You can also subscribe to our podcast via Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other platforms, and follow us on popular social media platforms. Visit https://linktr.ee/churchhistorymatters to connect with us. Originally published October 8, 2024 DISCLAIMER: While we try very hard to be historically and doctrinally accurate in what we say on this podcast, please remember that all views expressed in this and every episode are our views alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Scripture Central or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 00:00 Introducing Andrew Bolton 9:26 Establishment of Community of Christ 11:28 History of Succession (and Retirement) in Community of Christ 18:30 McMurray Resigns and is Succeeded by Veazey 22:22 The First Female President, Stassi Cramm 27:19 Lay Ministry and Andrew Bolton's Call to the Apostleship 31:42 Similarities Between Latter-day Saints and Community of Christ 36:45 Some Differences Between the Two Churches 42:38 Temples and How Both Churches See Them 49:54 Views of The Book of Mormon, Canon, and Continuing Revelation 56:18 Common Consent, LGBTQ Members, and Sexual Ethics 59:57 How Community of Christ Helps Andrew Remain Centered on Christ 1:02:14 Outro and Next Episode Teaser