Learn about the history of the LDS Church.
The Mormon Church, now referred to as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, dates back to the early 19th century. Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon faith, was born in 1805 in Vermont to a poor farming family. Eventually the family moved to New York. As a teenager, Joseph found himself confused during a time of religious revival regarding the many different approaches to religion. Seeking the answer to his questions in prayer, he knelt down in the woods near his home and prayed.
He later described a vision in which God the Father and Jesus Christ came to him and explained to him that all other Christian denominations were an abomination and that the original Christian doctrine that had been lost after the death of the early Christian apostles must be restored. This vision, which is referred to as the First Vision, is believed to have occurred around 1820. At the time Smith was 14 years old. During the next three years he had several more visions. In 1830, he and five other men founded what was called at the time, the Church of Christ. During the first year, 1,000 members were attracted to the church.
A small group of followers then moved to Kirtland, Ohio; near Cleveland that same year. In 1834, the church was renamed the Church of Latter Day Saints. Almost immediately the church met with local opposition and they were finally forced to flee in 1837; relocating to Jackson County, Missouri. They called the location where they moved Zion. Once again they met with persecution and a number of church members died after homes were destroyed and they were forced to live without adequate shelter during the winter. Once again they moved; this time to Caldwell County, Missouri. The name of the church was again changed in 1838, this time to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
The following year, Brigham Young leads a group of Mormons from Missouri to Illinois, where they settle on the banks of the Mississippi River in a new settlement known as Nauvoo. Within four years, the new settlement has expanded and its size rivals that of Chicago. Much of the growth of the settlement is attributed to converts from Europe who have immigrated.