Classification Restorationist Name United Family Defunct ca. 1974 | Founder David-Edward Desmond | |
Separated from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | ||
The United Order Family of Christ was a schismatic sect of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), which was founded in 1969 in Denver, Colorado by David-Edward Desmond and existed until at least 1973−74.
The United Order Family of Christ was founded specifically for young gay men only, ages 18 to 30. Because they practiced a uniquely Mormon form of communalism called the United Order in which they held "everything in common", Desmond affirmed that the Family was "not for the great majority of the Gay LDS". Desmond's title as the President of the Church was First Key. He may have solemnized same-sex marriages between people in his congregation. This Mormon schismatic church was the third gay Christian church founded in the United States, the first being a Catholic schism founded by Father George Hyde in 1946 in Atlanta, Georgia and called the Eucharistic Catholic Church, which later moved to New York City. The second is the Metropolitan Community Church, founded by the Revd Troy D Perry on 6 OCT 1968 in Los Angeles, CA. Desmond's Homosexual Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints lasted at least until 1973, when Desmond was still corresponding with David C. Martin (then editor of the Restoration Reporter), and probably until 1974.
David-Edward Desmond
David-Edward Desmond was born in 1940, in Spokane, Washington to 19-year-old Joyce Betty Grasty and her husband named Desmond (first name unknown). He lived in Denver, Colorado during the 1960s and 1970s. He died on 11 May 1983, in Pullman, Washington. Grace Lutheran Church's Rev. Vernon Johnson held the funeral and he was buried in Fairmount Memorial Park, Spokane, Washington.