Supreme directional control
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The Supreme directional control controversy was a dispute among the leadership quorums of Community of Christ (then known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints), the Latter Day Saint movement's second largest denomination. It occurred during the 1920s and caused lasting repercussions. President Frederick M. Smith asserted that First Presidency decisions were binding on the church, preempting even General Conference votes. Some church leaders and hundreds of other members left Community of Christ for other Latter Day Saint churches, particularly the Church of Christ (Temple Lot). Although Dr. Smith was initially successful in asserting the First Presidency's authority over the Council of Twelve Apostles and Presiding Bishopric, the ensuing schism persisted, and the administrative changes were short-lived. By 1931, the church's debts and the onset of the Great Depression allowed the Bishopric to reassert its authority over church finances.[1]