True and Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days
The True and Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days (TLC) was founded in Manti, Utah in 1994 by James Dee Harmston, a former LDS member who taught that the mainstream church had apostatised and that he held restored keys — including claims of being a translated or repeatedly reincarnated figure of prophetic destiny. Members consecrated property to the church, practised plural marriage, and gathered in Manti for an imminent apocalyptic winding-up that was repeatedly re-dated. Ex-members sued in the 2000s alleging they had been defrauded of consecrated assets on the strength of failed prophecies. The group dwindled through defections and schisms; Harmston died in 2013 and the church is effectively defunct.
CLCI radar
BITE breakdown
0 — the base axes capture the documented pattern (consecration of members' property, polygamy, apocalyptic date expectation, leader-centred revelation); civil fraud litigation by former members did not produce a lasting judgment against the leadership.
Profile facts
In context
Jim Harmston arrived at Mormon fundamentalism through the 'restorationist' ferment of early-1990s Utah: study groups convinced that the LDS Church had abandoned the original doctrines — plural marriage, the gathering, temple forms — of Joseph Smith. Excommunicated by the LDS Church, Harmston organised the TLC in Manti in 1994 with a few hundred followers, many of them families who sold homes elsewhere to gather.
The church's internal architecture concentrated authority totally in Harmston: he presided over a restored 'School of the Prophets', administered his own temple ordinances in the group's Manti facilities, and delivered revelations naming members' destinies. Members consecrated property to the church on the united-order model; plural marriage was practised, with marriages arranged and dissolved under Harmston's revelatory authority — the mechanism, documented across Mormon fundamentalist groups, that converts family structure itself into an instrument of leadership control. Doctrinally, Harmston taught an imminent apocalyptic timetable: members expected the winding-up scene within years, with Manti as a gathering place. Specific expectations were repeatedly re-dated as deadlines passed.
The litigation record is the case's most distinctive feature. In 2002, former members filed suit alleging fraud: they had consecrated hundreds of thousands of dollars on the strength of prophecies — including personal promises of translation and apocalyptic timelines — that failed. The suit put the legal question of whether failed prophecy can constitute actionable fraud; it did not ultimately produce a lasting judgment against the leadership, but the filings preserved an unusually detailed inside account of the group's economy of consecration and revelation.
Defections accelerated through the 2000s as dates passed and Harmston's marriages multiplied; schisms produced several micro-groups. Harmston died in June 2013. The TLC is now effectively defunct, its buildings sold, its remnant scattered — a compact, well-documented case of the full restorationist cycle: charismatic separation, gathering, consecration, polygamy, date-setting, disconfirmation, dissolution.
Key control doctrines
- The founder's restored keys and School of the Prophets as the sole channel of valid ordinances
- Consecration of property as covenant obligation ahead of an imminent winding-up
- Plural marriage under continuous revelatory rearrangement
Recovery resources
- ICSA Helpline — International Cultic Studies Association — questions about high-control groups, referrals to cult-aware therapists, peer support.
- Freedom of Mind Resource Center — Steven Hassan's organisation — BITE Model assessments, exit-counselling resources, family education.
- ICSA Cult-Aware Therapist Directory — ICSA-maintained directory of licensed mental-health professionals with specific cult-recovery training.
- Combatting Cult Mind Control — Steven Hassan, 1988 (revised 2018). The foundational BITE Model book; CLCI Hub's core methodology source.
- Take Back Your Life: Recovering from Cults and Abusive Relationships — Janja Lalich & Madeleine Tobias, 2006. Practical recovery workbook.
- Holding Out HELP — Utah-based organisation supporting people leaving fundamentalist polygamous Mormon communities.
See the full curated list at /resources.
Legal cases & controversies
- 2002 ex-member fraud suit over consecrated assets and failed prophecies
- Property and family-law disputes arising from consecration and plural marriages (reported)
Evidence by BITE axis
- Members relocated to Manti, consecrated property, and accepted marriage arrangements under revelatory direction
- Doctrinal authority closed around Harmston's revelations; outside criticism framed as apostate persecution
- Continuous reinterpretation absorbed each failed date; personal-destiny revelations bound members' identities to the system
- Apocalyptic urgency, covenant fear, and family structure itself (plural marriages) operating as leadership leverage
Lifton's 8 criteria of thought reform
Robert Jay Lifton's 1961 framework, complementary to BITE. Criteria this group exhibits according to the cited sources.
- Demand for PuritySharp world split into pure vs impure; relentless pressure to conform to an absolute standard.
- Dispensing of ExistenceThe group claims authority to decide who counts as a real human / saved / worthy.
- Mystical ManipulationEngineering experiences that appear spontaneous but are designed to demonstrate the group's higher purpose.
Timeline
- 1994Harmston organises the TLC in Manti after excommunication; families gather and consecrate property
- 1998Apocalyptic expectations peak and pass; re-dating begins
- 2002Former members sue alleging fraud over assets consecrated on failed prophecies
- 2008Continuing defections and schisms reduce the church to a remnant
- 2013James Harmston dies; the church is effectively defunct
Sources
- Ex-member civil fraud litigation against the TLC and its leadership (Sanpete County / Utah courts, 2000s) search ↗
- Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News coverage of the TLC (1994–2013) search ↗
- Scholarship on Mormon fundamentalist and restorationist movements of the 1990s search ↗
- LDS Church excommunication records and contemporaneous statements concerning the Manti movement (as reported) search ↗
We cite sources by name and outlet rather than fabricating links. Where a source includes its own URL, the open ↗ link opens it directly; otherwise search ↗runs a Google Scholar query for the cited title — useful for verifying academic sources. For news outlets, search the outlet's own archive.
Key terms in this profile
Relevant hubs
Curated entry points on CLCI Hub for situations connected to this group.
You may also want to explore
Frequently asked questions
Q.Is True and Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days a cult?
CLCI Hub deliberately avoids the binary label "cult." Instead it places groups on a transparent 0–40 spectrum of documented control using Steven Hassan's BITE model (Behaviour, Information, Thought, Emotional). True and Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days scores 23 out of 40 — "High Control", at medium confidence. The score describes documented control patterns, not a judgement of members' sincerity or beliefs; many members do not personally experience the patterns listed.
Q.What is True and Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days's CLCI score?
True and Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days scores 23 out of 40 on the Cult-Like Control Index, which falls in the "High" band. That total is the sum of four BITE axes — Behaviour 6, Information 5, Thought 6, Emotional 6 — plus a signed modifier of +0 for aggravating or mitigating factors.
Q.Why does True and Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days score 23 on the CLCI?
The score reflects publicly documented patterns including: Total concentration of revelatory authority in the founder, including claims of restored keys and extraordinary personal destiny; Consecration of members' property to the church on apocalyptic timelines; Plural marriages arranged and dissolved under the leader's revelatory authority; Repeatedly re-dated apocalyptic expectations; relocation of families to the gathering place. These map onto the BITE axes of behaviour, information, thought, and emotional control, and a signed modifier of +0 is applied for factors such as financial demands, leadership accountability, and exit costs. Every claim is backed by the citations in the Sources section on this page.
Q.How reliable is the True and Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days rating?
This profile is rated Medium confidence. Medium confidence means the score rests on reputable journalism plus consistent ex-member testimony. CLCI scores are not fixed — they are revised whenever new public evidence appears, and groups that reform can score lower over time.
Q.Where can I get help regarding True and Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days?
If you or someone you care about is affected by True and Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days, start with the Recovery resources listed on this page. General cult-aware support is available from the International Cultic Studies Association (icsahome.com) and the Freedom of Mind Resource Center (freedomofmind.com). CLCI Hub is an educational resource, not a crisis service — if anyone is in immediate danger, contact local emergency services.
Found something wrong on this profile?
We accept correction requests from anyone — current and former members, researchers, journalists, family members, and the listed organisation. Submissions are reviewed by an editor; we do not auto-publish.