Whatever its effects upon the religious world, Mormonism has not, as it originally purposed, done away with religious division. Its aberrations of Scripture and liberties with the Word of God, though, have in the past caused Christianity to solidify against it. In that sense, Mormonism has unified many otherwise disassociated religious elements. But it has added its own share of splinter groups to the denominations of the world, too””and all claim to be the “true” church which Joseph Smith founded. Since the death of Joseph Smith, many denominations claiming authority from him have come into being. Some estimates run as high as 160 such groups;[i] a conservative estimate is about 60. Some are small, clannish and secretive. Most of these groups were founded soon after the death of Joseph Smith.
[i] As documented by Community of Christ (formerly RLDS) writer Stephen L. Shields in Divergent Paths of the Restoration (Independence, Mo.: Herald House, 2001.)
For more information, see The Mormon Mirage 3rd Edition: A Former Member Looks at the Mormon Church Today (Zondervan, 2009). Also available as an audiobook and as an expanded-text E-book for Nook, Kindle and other reading devices.
