The largest group of Latter Day
Saints followed nine of the Twelve Apostles west,
establishing a way station at
Winter Quarters, Nebraska in 1846, and entering Salt
Lake Valley in 1847. Having planted this initial
colony in the Great Basin, Young returned to Winter
Quarters and in December of 1847 reorganized his
faction of the church, establishing himself as the
head of a new First Presidency. This reorganization
led to additional schisms, including the break with
Alpheus Cutler and what became the Church of Christ
(Cutlerite) as well as Lyman Wight's group in
Zodiac, Texas. Young's organization today is
headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah and is known
as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
(See History of The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints.)
The bulk of
Sidney Rigdon's church had dissolved by 1847, but
some loyalists reorganized as The Church of Jesus
Christ under the leadership of William Bickerton in
1862. James J. Strang's church in Voree suffered a
significant schism in 1849, led by former follower
Aaron Smith. After Strang's 1856 assassination, much
of the remaining membership fell away from the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite),
but a small following remained loyal. Other leaders,
including David Whitmer, James Collin Brewster,
James Emmett, Gladden Bishop, William Smith, and Charles B. Thompson also
established church organizations that had limited
followings.
Joseph Smith's family — his widow
Emma Hale Smith and her children — continued to live
in Nauvoo after the departure of the majority of the
Latter Day Saints. In 1860, the eldest of the Smith
sons, Joseph Smith III, said he received a
revelation to take his place as Prophet/President of
a "New Organization" of the Latter Day Saint church.
Eventually this group gathered together many of the
remnants of the various Midwestern Latter Day Saint
groups into the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day Saints, now called the "Community of
Christ." Joseph's brother Hyrum's family went
with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
to the Salt lake Valley. His grandson and
great-grandson both served as president of the
Mormon church in Utah.
Others remained unaffiliated,
however, and in 1863 a group of Latter Day Saints
from Illinois and Indiana united under the
leadership of
Granville Hedrick and reclaimed the name of the
movement's original organization, the "Church of
Christ." This group was the first group of Latter
Day Saints to return to Independence, Missouri, to
"redeem Zion." They are now headquartered on the
original Temple Lot there and are known as the
Church of Christ (Temple Lot).
The Movement Today
The
Latter Day Saint movement has continued to grow and
evolve. Today there are thousands of active
organizations, as the various denominations have
continued to give birth to new expressions of the
movement. By far the largest denomination is The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which
reports some 14 million members worldwide. The
Community of Christ reports 250,000 members, and The
Church of Jesus Christ reports around 15,000
members. The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day Saints — the largest polygamist Latter
Day Saint group — may also have as many as 10,000
members.
In addition to Latter Day Saint
adherents, there are a large number of
Cultural Mormons — people raised in the
Church or in the Mormon cultural zone, but who don't
believe some (or all) of LDS doctrine, or who don't
follow some (or all) of LDS practices. Cultural Mormons can be
so-called
Jack Mormons, who do not practice their
religion, but share cultural values and/or a common
ancestry with practicing Latter Day Saints. Some
Jack Mormons may even still believe many or all of
the Church's teachings, but for various reasons
choose not to attend services or participate in
church activities. Cultural Mormons also include
those who practice their religion but do not believe
in the doctrines. This includes the sub-group of
so-called New Order Mormons, who choose to
hide their lack of belief to avoid conflict within
their families.
As from the beginning of the
movement,
Anti-Mormons are still engaged in criticizing the
church. Today, the principal groups of Anti-Mormons
consist of ex-Mormons and Evangelical Christians. Although the criticisms
remain largely the same, the medium of expression
has shifted towards the internet. In addition, they
tend to focus only on The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints.
Today, the most well-known
apologetic groups are
FAIR and
FARMS. They represent the LDS viewpoint and
engage in debate with the Anti-Mormons.
External links
LDS websites:
LDS.org
- the official website of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — with
links to Gospel Library, Church History,
Family Home Evening programs, and more
Mormon.org
- information on basic beliefs, a
meetinghouse locator, and a place to email
questions
FAIR
- Foundation for Apologetic Information &
Research
FARMS
- Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon
Studies (BYU)
Joseph Smith's family — his widow
Emma Hale Smith and her children — continued to live
in Nauvoo after the departure of the majority of the
Latter Day Saints. In 1860, the eldest of the Smith
sons, Joseph Smith III, said he received a
revelation to take his place as Prophet/President of
a "New Organization" of the Latter Day Saint church.
Eventually this group gathered together many of the
remnants of the various Midwestern Latter Day Saint
groups into the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day Saints, now called the "Community of
Christ." Joseph's brother Hyrum's family went
with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
to the Salt lake Valley. His grandson and
great-grandson both served as president of the
Mormon church in Utah. 