The Church of Jesus Christ in Zion is the former name of a small sect of Mormonism located in Independence, Missouri. Their present name is unknown. The group recognizes Roger E. Billings as a prophet and patriarch.

Relationship with Mormonism

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ in Zion are followers of Mormon founder Joseph Smith, Jr., but they believe that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has strayed from Smith's teachings. The church claims that Smith restored Priesthood keys to Ken Asay, who ordained Billings to be a Prophet and the Patriarch of Zion prior to Asay's death in 1985.

The church believes in a doctrine of "multiple lives". This doctrine is similar to reincarnation; however, humans may only be reborn as other humans. Many sources report that the sect practices polygamy, with Billings himself having several wives and dozens of children. This charge, for example, was brought by Novell as a means to discredit Billings in a decade-long patent lawsuit which Novell won in May 2004. While Billings admitted that he wrote a tract in 1985 advocating polygamy, he denied that he ever practiced it.

Business and educational operations

Under the direction of Roger Billings, the church is associated with, and helps operate, a number of business and educational operations, including an alternative science and math educational program named the International Academy of Science. Billings also runs a number of businesses, including WideBand Corporation (a high-speed networking company), Billings Energy Corporation (a hydrogen fuel-cell research company), Acellus Labs (a system of educational software), and EarthTouch (which sells health supplements).

Ownership of the group's name by the Church of Scientology

The name of the Church of Jesus Christ in Zion has been registered as the Kansas City Mission of the Church of Scientology, located at 1202 West 40th Street in Kansas City, Missouri. According to Missouri Secretary of State records, the Registered agent is Gary Miller.

In 1992, the sect using the name Church of Jesus Christ in Zion was recognized by the Church of Scientology as a "suppressive group." Currently, the Church of Scientology has registered the name as one of its missions.

External links

• Official site - Currently for sale