Covenant Christians, also known as Remnant movement fellowships, are a loosely organized branch of the Latter Day Saint movement formed by individuals who accept alleged divine revelations received by Denver Snuffer Jr., an attorney excommunicated from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in 2013. Despite claiming he is not a chosen prophet of God, Denver Snuffer acts as an intermediary, effectively serving as the movement’s primary provider of revelation. Participants in the movement generally feel called to personal and social renewal in preparation for Christ's eventual second coming. According to movement beliefs, participants anticipate a coming time when remnants remain within the fully restored covenant with Jesus Christ, an allusion to a belief that "The Bible, Book of Mormon, and modern revelation through the Prophet Joseph Smith, prophesy that the gospel of Jesus Christ would shift from the Gentile stewards of the gospel back to Israel in the last days." The movement places a renewed focus on individual communion with God, gifts of the spirit, tangible expressions of faith, and the eventual establishment of Zion.
Participants are Mormon dissidents and supra-denominational Christians. Its individual fellowships are autonomous and lack affiliation with or oversight from the LDS Church.
Origins Snuffer released a series of books and online articles explaining his beliefs and interpretations of scripture. He had said his writings were intended to promote loyalty to the LDS ChurchPassing the Heavenly Gift (Mill Creek Press, 2011), pp. 5, 400, 499. and that he would not be instrumental in starting a new religion. Snuffer's writings provoked a response from LDS Church leaders who eventually excommunicated him for what they described as directly challenging key doctrines. In 2014, Snuffer said he received a revelation informing him that "the Lord terminated the priesthood authority" of LDS Church leadership involved in his excommunication, such as the First Presidency. Starting in 2013, inspired by Snuffer's teachings, grass-roots fellowships began to form. On February 17–19, 2017, a proposed set of governing principles was presented to these fellowships by Jeff Savage. As of 2017, the movement included approximately 5,000 adherents worldwide. As of 2024, at least fifty fellowships are affiliated with the movement, spanning throughout the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, Africa, and Japan.
Adherents began gathering in conferences beginning in 2016. At the 2017 conference, Snuffer-inspired teachings were canonized as holy scripture. This canon consists of a reworking of scripture from the mainstream LDS Church, such as the Book of Mormon, as well as Snuffer's expanded translation of the Book of John and several of Snuffer's revelations. The movement de-emphasizes hierarchy and organization, with some fellowships (for example, the movement's Minnesota fellowship) asserting they possess no leadership.http://www.fellowshiplocator.info/Home/FellowshipDetails/1026 "Fellowship Details: Minnesota Fellowship At the October 2024 conference, adherents voted to accept a modern English version of the Book of Mormon, titled The Covenant of Christ, as scripture.
The fellowships draw largely from members and former members of the LDS Church, leading LDS Church authorities to identify Snuffer and his teachings as a vehicle for leading people out of that church. In 2017, the website MormonLeaks published a PowerPoint presentation shown in 2015 to the LDS Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in which Snuffer was identified as one of 17 "Issues and Ideas Leading People Away" from mainstream LDS doctrine.
Conferences The general conferences organized by movement fellowships are listed below. Policy changes and issues are put up to vote at these conferences, similar to ancient creeds such as the Nicene Creed.
Doctrine of Christ Conference, Boise, Idaho, September 9–11, 2016 Doctrine of Christ Conference, St. George, Utah, March 18–20, 2017 Covenant of Christ Conference, Boise, Idaho, September 2–3, 2017 (This conference voted on the canonization of scripture, and discussed the building of a temple. Some followers of the movement refer to themselves as the Remnant.)
Wisdom through the Ages Conference, Phoenix, Arizona, March 24–25, 2018 Preserving the Hope of Zion Conference, Layton, Utah, September 29–30, 2018 A Hope in Christ: The Temple Conference, Grand Junction, Colorado, April 20–21, 2019 Keeping the Covenant Conference, Boise, Idaho, September 20–22, 2019 The Heavens Are Open Conference, Hurricane, Utah, March 20–22, 2020 The Religion of the Fathers Conference, Aravada Springs, Nevada, March 26–29, 2021 Hear and Trust the Lord in the Storm, Lexington, Kentucky, March 25–27, 2022 Stand Independent, Syracuse, Utah, September 23–25, 2022 The Answer to Prayer for Covenant, Layton, Utah, May 20–21, 2023 The Heavens Speak, New York, April 6–8, 2024 Top of the Mountains, Stanley, Idaho, June 27–30, 2024 Obtain a New Heart, Orderville, Utah, October 25–27, 2024 Peace in Christ Conference, Provo, Utah, April 12, 2025 The Sermon at the Temple, Provo, Utah, April 13, 2025
Beliefs and practices
According to Snuffer's interpretation of the scriptures, the present Gospel dispensation, as restored through Joseph Smith, has ended, and a new Gospel dispensation has begun. Adherents believe all splinter groups that formed following the death of Smith had the opportunity to re-enter the covenant with God, but they all failed to do so and instead entered a state of final apostasy, with the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS Church), now known as the Community of Christ (CoC), and LDS Church being the last two to do so.
As foretold in scriptures, remnants, especially the indigenous peoples of the Americas, will adopt Christ's covenant in these Last Days. (The indigenous remnants are likely mixed-blooded; in LDS belief, such individuals are considered among the House of Israel). The present period is a time of the Lord calling out those to transition between the dispensation that resulted in the establishment of the Church of Christ through Smith and this next, foretold dispensation of Israel.
With regard to the 1844 succession crisis within Mormonism after the murder of Smith, the Snuffer movement holds beliefs similar to those formerly maintained by the CoC, namely that Brigham Young, who ultimately took leadership of the largest portion of Smith's followers, was in apostasy from Smith's teachings. The movement rejects Young's assertions to have possessed authority to fill the position held by Smith. The movement agrees with the current teachings of the LDS Church in rejecting Young's theological innovations such as his attempt to formulate his Adam God theory. The movement goes further and rejects any doctrinal innovations by Young.
The group preaches heterosexual monogamy, although it does not advocate for the break-up of polygamous families. Most in the movement agree with the CoC's formerly maintained belief that Smith did not practice plural marriage, believing instead that Young promulgated this innovation.
Unlike either the LDS Church or CoC, movement believers hold that spiritual authority to perform certain gospel ordinances as restored through Smith passed from the earth at Smith's death but will be restored upon the building of a new temple.
The fellowships believe Smith taught that the Last Days covenant people should forswear allegiance to any institution but to enact the same to each individual's own covenants and to Smith's open canon of scripture. (Compare these beliefs with some of the aspects of Sola Scriptura, a doctrinal foundation of Protestantism. In this respect, movement beliefs perhaps occupy some ground between the institutional authoritarianism of the LDS Church and individual conscience-privileging Nonconformist Protestantism.)
"I believe that the many revelations in the D&C identifying Joseph as the spokesman for God means exactly that: Joseph was and IS the spokesman God sent. Joseph's words need to be heeded as if they came from God directly to us. No one has the right to change or ignore them. No one (and I mean NO ONE) has the right to claim they are Joseph's equal. There are no "keys" or "key holders" who can alter Joseph's teachings except at their peril. When they ignore or contradict Joseph's revelations, and teach others that they can ignore the message and warnings given by that prophet who was called by God to begin this dispensation, they damn themselves and any who listen to them."—Denver Snuffer, September 25, 2013
The movement is supra-denominational. It teaches belief in Christ, initial baptism or re-baptism by authorized movement brethren in living water (i.e., running water), receiving of the Holy Ghost, and acceptance of the movement's scriptural canon as prerequisites for participation. Beyond these basics, the beliefs among participants vary.
Movement adherents believe in the doctrine taught by Smith in 1839 of the Second Comforter."After a person has faith in Christ, repents of his sins, and is baptized for the remission of his sins and receives the Holy Ghost (by the laying on of hands), which is the first Comforter, then let him continue to humble himself before God, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and living by every word of God, and the Lord will soon say unto him, Son, thou shalt be exalted. When the Lord has thoroughly proved him, and finds that the man is determined to serve Him at all hazards, then the man will find his calling and his election made sure, then it will be his privilege to receive the other Comforter, which the Lord hath promised the Saints, as is recorded in the testimony of St. John, in the 14th chapter, from the 12th to the 27th verses…."Now what is this other Comforter? It is no more nor less than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself; …when any man obtains this last Comforter, he will have the personage of Jesus Christ to attend him, or appear unto him from time to time, and even He will manifest the Father unto him, and they will take up their abode with him, and the visions of the heavens will be opened unto him, and the Lord will teach him face to face, and he may have a perfect knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God; and this is the state and place the ancient Saints arrived at when they had such glorious visions-Isaiah, Ezekiel, John upon the Isle of Patmos, St. Paul in the three heavens, and all the Saints who held communion with the general assembly and Church of the First Born [TPJS, pp. 150-51]."The Lord has counseled his Saints to "seek his face" (D&C 101:37-38). No sinful person can endure his presence, and hence will not obtain the blessing (D&C 67:10-13; JST Ex. 33:11, 20). In God's wisdom, some faithful individuals are blessed with the Second Comforter while remaining in mortality."[See also Calling and Election; Jesus Christ: Latter-Day Appearances of Jesus Christ.]—
Fellowships include participants who are current or former members of the LDS Church, CoC (or other groups within the "Reorganized" tradition founded by Smith's son, Joseph Smith III), fundamentalist Mormon denominations, Catholic Church, and Protestant denominations. Fellowship participants need not leave their former faith tradition, whether this be Christian or another faith.
Fellowships meet in homes or outdoors. The requirement for baptism in living waters entails meetings along streams. According to some in the movement, the divine command through Smith to build the temple in Nauvoo, Illinois for "endowment" rites has not been fulfilled. Movement believers are consecrating funds toward building a temple of Zion, which they believe the Lord eventually will command for a Zion people to build.