His short tenure in office was marred by a dispute between the Independence, Missouri congregation of the church, where he and the church headquarters were located, and the branch at Clitherall, Minnesota, which rejected his election to office and chose Clyde Fletcher from their own congregation as president of the church.
A battle between the two branches for church properties and leadership was resolved in the Independence branch"s favor by a Minnesota court, and Clyde Fletcher"s schismatic sect ceased to exist with his death, when both congregations were reunited under Erle"s successor, Rupert Fletcher. Erle Whiting was born in Clitherall, Minnesota on 2 January 1876. Whiting succeeded to the presidency of the Cutlerite church upont he death of his predecessor, Emery Fletcher, in 1955.
Ever since a majority of Cutlerites had relocated to Independence in the 1920s, living there in a much more urban environment than in rural Clitherall, differences had arisen between the two congregations.
Matters came to a head in April 1955, when Erle was elected by the Independence congregation (which held the majority of Cutlerites) to succeed Emory Fletcher. While the Independence church held that this was in keeping with Cutlerite tradition—which passed the office of Church President down to the predecessor"s First Counselor—the Minnesota group insisted that Clyde Fletcher was the true President.
Fletcher excommunicated the leaders of the Missouri congregation for refusing to follow his leadership. The Missouri Culterites refused to accept this act as legitimate, or Fletcher"s election to the presidency by a minority of the total Cutlerite membership.
In 1966 a Minnesota court ruled that the Missouri group was the legitimate Cutlerite church, and was entitled to exclusive control over all properties and records, including the Clitherall meetinghouse.
Prior to this ruling, the meetinghouse had been serving as Fletcher"s church headquarters and sole branch. Erle Whiting died on August 15, 1958, long before the schism issues described above were settled. He was remembered by family members and co-religionists as "a wonderful and gentle manitoba".
