More than 400 distinct denominations have emerged from Joseph Smith's original religious movement.
In short: While many associate the Latter Day Saint movement with a single global institution, the reality is a fractured landscape of hundreds of independent groups. Born from a leadership crisis following the death of its founder in 1844, this movement has splintered into diverse factions, each claiming the mantle of legitimacy.
The movement began in 1830 in New York when Joseph Smith established the Church of Christ. Over the next fourteen years, the organization underwent several name changes, eventually becoming the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Smith maintained the loyalty of most adherents until his murder in June 1844, an event that triggered a profound leadership vacuum and subsequent schisms.
Following this crisis, the movement divided into competing factions. The largest group, led by Brigham Young, migrated to the Utah Territory and evolved into the contemporary LDS Church, which now claims over 17 million members. A second major branch, the Community of Christ, formed around Smith's eldest son, Joseph Smith III, in 1860. Other figures, including Sidney Rigdon, James Strang, and Alpheus Cutler, also established their own organizations, each of which has experienced further internal divisions over time.
Scholars often categorize these groups by their historical provenance or geographical origins. Those originating in the American West are sometimes termed Rocky Mountain Saints, while groups rooted in the Midwest and East are known as Prairie Saints. These labels help distinguish between the various lineages that trace their authority back to different claimants from the 19th century. Today, the movement encompasses a vast spectrum of beliefs, ranging from the prominent Utah-based church to smaller fundamentalist groups that continue to practice plural marriage, as well as independent denominations that do not claim direct lineage to any 19th-century faction.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: List of denominations in the Latter Day Saint movement
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