Mormon

a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). They study both the Bible and the Book of Mormon from which the nickname "Mormon" is derived. "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons or LDS) originated in 1820 in upstate New York when Joseph Smith claimed to have seen God the Father and Jesus Christ. Later, Smith received gold tablets (The Book of Mormon) containing an account of God’s dealings with some ancient American inhabitants including a visitation of Jesus Christ among this people following his resurrection. The church was officially organized on April 6, 1830 and was seen as a restoration of the early church of Jesus Christ led by prophets and apostles.The Mormon addition of colorful new doctrines to Christianity, as well as the practice of polygamy (later banned in 1890), outraged more traditional Christians. In time the Mormons fled west to escape persecution and establish their own community in the Salt Lake Valley (Utah). Led by Brigham Young, successor to Joseph Smith, the Mormon pioneer movement in the mid-1800s brought saints from the eastern United States and across northern Europe to the western frontier. Largely through its missionary work, today the church has become a significant global religion with more than half of its 14.1 million members living outside the United States." (J. Ludlow in "Revealing World Religions")