General Assembly and Church of the First Born

This article has multiple issues. Please help or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (May 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article relies excessively on references to primary sources. Please improve this article by adding secondary or tertiary sources. Find sources: "General Assembly and Church of the First Born" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (May 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message) The examples and perspective in this article may not include all significant viewpoints. Please improve the article or discuss the issue. (May 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The General Assembly and Church of the First Born (often shortened to just “Church of the First Born”) is a fundamental faith healing sect. This group is not an offshoot of the Latter-Day Saints, although some of its founding members had previously broken away from Mormonism. This group claims no current affiliation with the various Mormon fundamentalist groups with similar "Firstborn" names.

This non-denominational group has an informal structure and membership. Assemblies are organized with elders, deacons, and baptized members. There are no official written member registries that are kept. Their style of worship is unprogrammed, meaning that a church meeting is not planned beforehand. Baptized members of the church move as the Holy Spirit leads them to preach, pray, prophesy, testify, sing, or speak in tongues. This is done in a somber and orderly manner, in contrast to other Spirit-filled denominations, such as Holiness groups. There are no instruments aside from a piano, which is only used in a few assemblies across the United States. Formal Bible Studies and Sunday School is not observed, and the member's children sit among the adult congregation during meeting.

The General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn is normally a very tight-knit community, taking care of their sick and needy when necessary. They are generally small in number compared to other denominations, but are known for their hospitality.

Older newspapers refer to them as "Faith preachers" or "Christian Faith", but they referred to themselves as the "Followers of Christ".^[1]

All of the baptisms of this sect trace to David T. (or possibly JC Jacob) McDonald. McDonald was baptized, and ordained to preach the gospel in Otoe county, Nebraska, about 1870. He claimed the divine gifts of healing, being reported as having even raised the dead.^[2] He left Nebraska for Texas in the spring of 1873, but by the end of the year was living and preaching around Chanute, Kansas.

John Burton had previously followed a sect of Mormonism that was established by James Jesse Strang after the death of Joseph Smith. These followers, called Strangites, resided in Voree/Burlington, Wisconsin. John N. Burton's name appears in the Latter-Day Saint "Zion's Reveille" Newspaper in November 1846. Among the list of Mormon leaders, Burton is designated as a "seventies", meaning a preacher/travelling minister/missionary. In 1865, Burton was removed as a member of the Latter Day Saints Church due to apostasy (preaching for another denomination). This is presumably when he began his work with what would eventually become The General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn.

As recorded in a local newspaper, a great revival happened about 1876 near Arkansas City, Kansas.^[3] By September 1876, a church known simply as "The Followers of Christ", was organized. Arkansas City, KS later became the "port of entry" for those readying themselves for the Oklahoma land rush. By 1880, several hundred church members existed in the state of Kansas,^[4] though they always met in homes or school houses.^[5][6] In the latter days of his life, McDonald relocated his family, to Linn County, Kansas where he died in February 1892.

General Marion Reece of Chanute, KS (1844–1917), a veteran of the Civil War, was baptized, and also immediately called to preach. He continued establishing churches after McDonald's death throughout the state of Oklahoma. It was claimed there were about 1400 brethren in Oklahoma at this time, but since there are no official records, it is not indisputable. There was a migration after his death of many to Idaho where they, although now split into several different sects, still hold to the name Followers of Christ. This group was led by Charlie Smith, who was baptized by Bro. Marion Reece.

Other early preachers of the faith include Nathan Parisho (1847–1919) and his brother Tommy (1854–1937). ^[7] They established many bodies of brethren,^[8] including the churches at Indianapolis in 1896^[9][10]). Jim Hays (1854–1916), another minister of note, is said to have baptized over 1,000 followers in his life from Kansas to Washington and back into Canada. He evangelized and established churches in the Rocky and Fay, Oklahoma communities about 1902.^[11]

The elders of the Homestead church, Alonzo McCoy (1871–1955), John F. Keltch (1852–1929), and Con's brother Tom Smith (1855–1921), with other churches such as the one in Indianapolis, sent to Washington D.C. a request, dated 14 September 1918, for national recognition as a church for the purposes of claiming religious exemptions for military service. The document titled "Articles of Faith of the Church of the Firstborn known as the Followers of Christ" incorporates both names by which the group was known. By the next world war the name "General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn" was recognized by all except the Idaho/Oregon group and a small California community and the Enid, Oklahoma group. All still retain the same standards of belief and share blood ties.