Well, Joseph Smith restored the Gospel (and actually the Restoration is still going on as we continue to have new truths revealed to us). I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Joseph Smith brought forth the Book of Mormon as a witness that he is a prophet of God, thus that this is the true church. Following the death of Joseph Smith, some did not believe that Brigham Young should be the next prophet, but the line of prophets should stay in the Smith line. This is the beginning of the RLDS church. Basically, to make it short and sweet, they have had trouble recruiting new members. Their numbers have been in steady decline. They have shifted the focus off the Book of Mormon and the restoration as those things are not as a attractive the rest of the Christian world. The also changed their name to seem "more Christian". Basically, the RLDS church is now The Community of Christ. I am sure there are some who splintered off and carry the name RLDS, but the RLDS church is now officially the Community of Christ. Basically, this was prophesized by Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and Gordon B. Hinckley. So, it is hard to get the Community of Christ to tell what they really believe. They still read the Book of Mormon, but they tell the Christian world that they have put it aside, so it is hard to say. Even the leadership is confused. they have answered MAJOR doctrinal questions that should easily be known by people who claim to be prophets, seers, and revelators, with the answers of "I don't know." So, not to speak for them or anything, but I don't think you would get a straight answer from any of them.

Yes, it does still exist.

No, I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The mainstream "Mormon" church, with over 13 million members, whose prophet is President Thomas S. Monson. I was just typing fast when I didn't capitalize the word "the", but I wouldn't be surprised if there is some group out there who uses that name so they can get away with the legal usage of the name. Sorry if you felt I didn't answer the question. I thought I did. My answer was yes and no. Officially, it does and does not exist. The Reorganzied Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is now the Community of Christ. Some in the church say they have simply changed their name. I argue that they changed so much more than that. They have changed a plethora of their beliefs, so with that new image, they needed a new name. If you talk to a member it depends on who they are talking to. If I were an evangical Christian, the Community of Christ member would tell me that the RLDS church no longer exists, and they would focus on taking the time to point out how they have changed so many beliefs to make me view them as Christian. If I were who I am, LDS, the Community of Christ member would try and convince me that they are still the RLDS church, but they just changed their name. So, I am saying they are stuck in this limbo. In fifteen years, the RLDS church will be nothing but print on history books and wikipedia :) The Community of Christ is who they are...for now. I imagine they will completely have disolved the structure of their church too by then. I love using analogies, so I will use this one. No offense to Community of Christ members, as I am not saying you are this, but I am saying the RLDS church reminds me of this. I had a great friend in high school. After high school, he moved to Texas and went to Texas Tech. He became an alcoholic. I have watched over the last 8 years as the person I once knew has slowly been disappearing. I will not use his real name, so lets call him Steve. And in fact, that is more fitting because the person I once knew is long gone. I see little flickers of that person I once knew, but mostly there is this new person "Steve" that lives in my old friend's body. Now, I am not saying that RLDS...I mean Community of Christ members are alcholics. I am in no way saying that they are, I just have slowly seen all they stood for and believed in slowly changing and morphing. So, again, the answer to the question is yes and no. Officially, no the RLDS church is the Community of Christ; which technically would mean they just changed their name which would mean that RLDS church would then still exist, but if you look deeper, much more has changed. All, i did was change my friend's name on here to "Steve" which would technically mean that my friend is still the same I just changed his name, but when you look more deeply at the situation you see that he really isn't the same person anymore. So, yes and no is my answer.

I don't believe any existing branch by that name still exists. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_denominations_in_the_Latter_Day_Saint_movement

As an aside, I’m not sure why I got downrated…. It was an honest question. :-(

The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ is alive and well and has been since 1860. Some did split off to form what they called the Restored Church of Jesus Christ because the felt that the RLDS were becoming too liberal — especially when it came to calling women to the priesthood. This is similar to the situation in which the FLDS split off from the Utah Mormons as they ceased practicing polygamy. When the FLDS split away, the LDS continued. When the Restorationist group split, the RLDS still continued. The RLDS headquarters is in Independence, MO. They did change their name to "Community of Christ" for several reasons, however, "RLDS" is still valid. Try Googling "Community of Christ."

The schism that separated the Reformed Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints started shortly before the concept of women in the priesthood. The name change came later. I believe the name change came about for several reasons. It had been discussed for several years prior. Some African countries were not allowing LDS missionaries to cross their borders because of the history of prejudice against Negroes. Such was not the case with RLDS, however, the similarity in the name created confusion. For several years prior to the official name change, the church was already using "Community of Christ" in some of those countries. It is a name that is close to the original name of the church. It is a name that emphasizes a belief in Jesus Christ. It is a name that suggests our concept of Zion as a community of believers who work together in mutual support while simultaneously reaching out to the world to share peace, love and hope. I have seen many urban myths regarding the RLDS and Mormonism in general on the internet. I am simply hoping to play a small part in trying to correct some of the misunderstandings. May God bless your curiosity.

Yes, the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints still exists. The Community of Christ retain the RLDS name legally on paper. In fact there have been two lawsuits within the past year over the RLDS name and church seal between the Community of Christ and RLDS Restorationists. The most recent case was filed in December 2008 and hasn't gone to court yet. The following website has the Community of Christ complaint and the reply and countersuit: http://www.devonpark.org/page4.html There are some congregations within the Community of Christ that don't support the name change along with some 'island branches' that don't go along with other departures in doctrine of the Community of Christ like women in the priesthood. For the most part these congregations are left alone by the leadership, however if push comes to shove they will likely become RLDS Restoration Branches independent of the Community of Christ completely. There have been several factional churches/movements developed since the 1980s with conservative RLDS members affiliating. Many of desolved, however the large majority of conservatives still consider themselves RLDS Restorationists and worship independently of the Community of Christ. I myself was a pastor of a Restoration Branch in Nauvoo, IL a few years ago. There is also a Restoration Branch in Kirtland, OH down the street from the Kirtland Temple. Nice building. The following is an incomplete list of such branches: http://www.centerplace.org/branches/