Traditions
L

Tradition · Restorationist

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Followersabout 17.9 millionmembers of record (end of 2025)How countedChurch organised1830Joseph Smith formally organised the church on 6 April 1830, the year the Book of Mormon was published.Read the historyCompare with another tradition

A restorationist church founded by Joseph Smith, with additional scripture.

Relationships with other traditions

How it took shape

Since then

Key timeline

View full timeline (5)
  1. 1830

    Church organised

    The Book of Mormon is published and the church organised in western New York.

  2. 1847

    Salt Lake Valley

    Brigham Young leads the main body west to Utah.

  3. 1890

    The Manifesto

    Officially ends the practice of plural marriage.

  4. 1978

    Priesthood revelation

    Priesthood and temple blessings extended to all worthy members regardless of race.

Classification
Restorationist. The church describes itself as the restoration of the original church of Jesus Christ and identifies as Christian. Catholic, Orthodox and most Protestant bodies do not consider it part of historic Trinitarian Christianity, chiefly because of its understanding of the Godhead.
What this entry covers
A single church. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, headquartered in Salt Lake City. Other churches in the Latter Day Saint movement are not covered.
Church organised
1830. Joseph Smith formally organised the church on 6 April 1830, the year the Book of Mormon was published.

Relationships with other traditions

Restoration movement1830

A restoration claim

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints · the historic creedal churches

Restoration movement: A movement that describes itself as restoring original Christianity, rather than reforming or continuing an existing church. It is not modelled as a schism.

Joseph Smith organised the church at Fayette, New York, on 6 April 1830 as a restoration of the original church of Jesus Christ, teaching that divine authority had been lost after the apostles. It understands the Godhead as three separate beings and accepts scripture beyond the Bible; it did not form by separating from any existing church.
3 sources

Recognition or non-recognition2001

Catholic non-recognition of Latter-day Saint baptism

Catholic ChurchThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Recognition or non-recognition: A decision by one church to recognise, or to refuse to recognise, another church’s sacraments, hierarchy or status.

In 2001 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith answered 'Negative' to the question whether baptism conferred by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is valid. The response itself gives no reasons; an explanatory article by Luis Ladaria in L'Osservatore Romano argued that, because Latter-day Saints speak of Father, Son and Holy Spirit as 'three gods who form one divinity', there is 'not a true invocation of the Trinity'.
2 sources
Today as of 2001

Institutionally separate

Separate; the Catholic Church does not recognise Latter-day Saint baptism.
Source

Compare The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Catholic Church

Full timeline

  1. 1830

    Church organised

    The Book of Mormon is published and the church organised in western New York.

    Explained below: A restoration claim

  2. 1844

    Death of Joseph Smith

    Killed by a mob at Carthage, Illinois.

  3. 1847

    Salt Lake Valley

    Brigham Young leads the main body west to Utah.

  4. 1890

    The Manifesto

    Officially ends the practice of plural marriage.

  5. 1978

    Priesthood revelation

    Priesthood and temple blessings extended to all worthy members regardless of race.

  • Restoration

    God restored priesthood authority and the true church through Joseph Smith.
    Source

  • Scripture

    The Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price.
    Source

    The Bible and the Book of Mormon are checked (Article 8); the other two books of scripture are not.

    Provisional: broadly supported, but awaiting fuller checking.

  • The Godhead

    Father, Son and Holy Ghost are understood as three distinct beings. The workbook’s “non-Trinitarian” is an outside classification.
    Source

Positions used in comparisons

Short, sourced statements that the Atlas compares across traditions. Where a tradition has no single teaching authority, the record says whose statement it follows.

God
The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are 'three separate beings'; the Father and Son have bodies of flesh and bones.
2 sources
Scripture and authority
The Bible 'as far as it is translated correctly' and the Book of Mormon as the word of God; God 'will yet reveal many great and important things'.
Source
Salvation and grace
Faith in Christ, repentance, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Source
Sacraments and ordinances
Baptism by immersion follows faith and repentance.
Source
Church and ministry
The 'same organization that existed in the Primitive Church': apostles, prophets and other offices.
Source

Compare these positions with another tradition

  • Sacrament meeting and temples

    Weekly Sunday worship in local meetinghouses with a lay ministry; temples are reserved for ordinances such as sealings.Not yet sourced

The follower figure

about 17.9 million members of record (end of 2025)

What is counted
Members on the church’s records
As of
31 December 2025
Reported by
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Type
Recorded by the reporting body
Coverage
Worldwide. The church's report does not define membership or report attendance.
This entry is
A single church. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, headquartered in Salt Lake City. Other churches in the Latter Day Saint movement are not covered.
The church reported a total membership of 17,887,212 at 31 December 2025.
Source

Replaces the starting figure. Workbook: 17,000,000 (no source or date).

Figures from different traditions measure different things and must not be added together or ranked against each other.

About the image · Editorial placeholder

Editorial initial. The church does not use the cross as a symbol.

Editorial status

Editorial draft. Built from the starting workbook with editorial corrections and framing. It has not yet been checked against independent sources.

References

  • Workbook linkNot yet checked

    churchofjesuschrist.org

    Link supplied in the source workbook (“Christian Denominations”, row 26). It has not been checked to confirm that it supports every claim in that row.

Original workbook record

Imported unchanged from “Christian Denominations”, row 26. Values here are the starting dataset, not verified facts; where the Atlas differs, the reason is noted below.

Denomination / Tradition
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Broader Tradition
Restorationism / Latter-day Saint
Date Established / Split
1830 AD
Origin / Location
Fayette, New York, USA
Forming Event / Schism
Second Great Awakening
Approx. Practitioners
17,000,000
Broke Away From
19th Century American Protestantism
Primary Reason for Split / Core Doctrine
Proclaimed restoration of original priesthood authority through Joseph Smith; holds additional scripture (Book of Mormon) and non-Trinitarian theology.
Reference / Information Link
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org

Editorial notes on this record

  • Origin / Location: Workbook gives Fayette, New York; some historians argue for Manchester, New York. Shown as “Western New York”.
  • Primary Reason for Split / Core Doctrine: “Non-Trinitarian theology” is an outside characterisation; the page describes the church’s own teaching and the mainstream classification separately.
  • Alternate names: The church asks that “Mormon” not be used for it; retained only as a search alias.

Research sources for this entry

Every relationship, position and figure above cites these. Each links to the Atlas’s single source register, which shows what each source supports and whether it was read.