The Transition from the RLDS church to the Community of Christ church

Someone should write about this, but no one has, and no one probably will. Because it is too embarrassing for the people involved.

How did they transition from a proud little church (who thought itself to be the center of the universe)  to practically nothing?

We will have to start in 1881, when rich farmers from Northern Illinois.who organized the RLDS church, purchased farmland in Southern Iowa. And built a town they called Lamoni.

Their religious leader was Joseph Smith III, the son of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, who was killed by a mob in 1844.

The Church grew under his leadership. The exact statistics are hard to obtain because after he died, in 1914, the growth rate slowed down.

The church history in the 20th Century was marked by a lack of leadership and a loss of members despite an infusion from Australia.

The lack of leadership in the last half of the 20th Century led a complete takeover by an unknown named Veazy, who continues to lead the church.