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Mormonism
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
Salt Lake City, UT, 1997

     The Latter-Day Saints (LDS), founded by Joseph Smith, began in the first half of the nineteenth century in upstate New York.  After a series of divine revelations, Smith decided that all extant religious groups had fallen away from the truth.  In 1823, Smith was told by an angelic messenger that he was God's chosen servant who would restore the fullness of the Gospel.  In 1827 he was angelically provided the location of golden plates that would eventually become the Book of Mormon-scripture that supplements biblical materials for the church.  The LDS tradition was formally established in 1830 in New York, but due to persecution, it was forced to move to Kirtland, Ohio, then Independence, Missouri, then Nauvoo, Illinois, before eventually becoming permanently staked in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Mormon Square

Mormon Temple,
Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints

Plaque, Testimony about the Book of Mormon