Mormon history
Contents
Historical Overview
The Church of Christ, as it was then called, was organised with six founding members in Fayette, New York on April 6, 1830. (The full name, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was given by revelation in 1838.) The earliest members were almost all the family and friends of the prophet Joseph Smith. Persecution in that area, coupled with strong growth in Kirtland, Ohio, caused the Church to move to that town. Subsequently the Church moved again, first to Western Missouri, then to Illinois, and ultimately across the great plains to the Rocky Mountains. All attempts to wipe out or dislodge the Saints from that region failed, and with the ending of official persecution at the close of the 19th century, the Church entered upon a sustained period of growth and prosperity, which continues to this day.
New York/Pennsylvania Period
The real history of the Church at this period is the story of Joseph Smith and his family, and begins long before the Church was formally organised.
