Latter Day Saint movement

A family of Christian restorationist churches rooted in Joseph Smith’s teachings and organizing work in the 1820s and 1830s. Its branches differ over authority, doctrine, and religious practice.

Joseph Smith: The American religious leader who founded the Latter Day Saint movement and published the Book of Mormon. His revelations and organizing work gave the movement its founding authority.
Restorationism: The belief that original Christian teachings and institutions should be restored after a period of decline or loss. The movement’s founding claim is that divine restoration began through Joseph Smith.
Brigham Young: The second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who led its migration to the Great Basin. His leadership established the largest branch’s western center after Joseph Smith’s death.
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: The largest church in the Latter Day Saint movement, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. It followed Brigham Young’s leadership and became the movement’s largest institutional branch.
Mormon migration to Utah: The 1846–1847 migration of Brigham Young’s followers from the United States to the Great Basin. The migration created a durable western center for the largest Latter Day Saint branch.
Book of Mormon: A scripture published by Joseph Smith in 1830, presented as a record of ancient peoples in the Americas. Its publication became the movement’s defining early event and a continuing source of scripture.
Continuing revelation: The belief that God continues to communicate guidance or knowledge after the formation of scripture. Many branches ground current leadership and doctrine in revelation beyond the Bible.
Emma Smith: Joseph Smith’s wife and an early Latter Day Saint leader who remained in Illinois after the 1846 migration west. Her choices and family ties influenced the emergence of the Reorganized Church.
Community of Christ: A Christian church descended from the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, headquartered in Independence, Missouri. It traces its leadership lineage through Joseph Smith III and has developed a distinct institutional identity.
Utah War: A 1857–1858 conflict between the United States federal government and the Utah territorial administration led by Brigham Young. It exposed the political tensions created by a theocratic Latter Day Saint community.

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