70 Fun Facts About Latter-day Saints

On what date did Joseph Smith formally organise the church in western New York?

It was first called the Church of Christ; the name Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints came later.

Joseph Smith was born on 23 December 1805 in which state?

His family moved to Palmyra, New York, where he said he had his First Vision in 1820.

Joseph Smith said that in 1823 an angel directed him to a buried book made of what?

He said he translated them into the Book of Mormon; the angel was Moroni, the last prophet of that book.

Which angel, now a trumpet-blowing statue atop many temples, did Joseph Smith say guarded the buried record?

Cyrus Dallin's statue went up on the Salt Lake Temple in April 1892; a 2020 earthquake knocked the trumpet from its hand.

Whom did Joseph Smith elope with and marry in January 1827?

He had met her while boarding in Pennsylvania; she later stayed in Nauvoo rather than follow Brigham Young west.

In 1831 the young church moved its headquarters to which Ohio town, site of the first temple?

The Kirtland era ended in 1838 after the collapse of the church-run Kirtland Safety Society bank.

The first Latter Day Saint temple, in Ohio, was dedicated in which year?

Owned for over a century by the Community of Christ, it was bought by the LDS Church in 2024 in a $192.5 million deal.

What Hebrew-derived name did Joseph Smith give the Illinois town of Commerce?

By 1844 its population had swelled to about 12,000, rivalling Chicago at the time.

By 1844 the Saints' city on the Mississippi had about 12,000 people, rivalling which other Illinois city?

Violence from neighbours forced most of the Saints out within two years.

Joseph and Hyrum Smith were killed by a mob on 27 June 1844 in the jail of which Illinois town?

Smith fell from the window crying 'Oh Lord my God!' and was shot again where he lay.

Joseph Smith, who ran for the White House in 1844, holds what grim distinction in US political history?

His 1844 platform proposed gradually ending slavery, annexing Texas and California, and reforming prisons.

Who took over leadership of most of the church after Joseph Smith's death and led its members west?

He was appointed the first governor of Utah Territory in 1851 and directed the founding of some 350 towns.

What did the church's leader reportedly say on seeing the Salt Lake Valley on 24 July 1847?

Utah still marks the date as Pioneer Day.

Winter Quarters, the Latter-day Saints' 1846-47 encampment before Utah, was in what is now which state?

About 70,000 pioneers made the journey before the railroad arrived in 1869.

Between 1856 and 1860, nearly 3,000 poor European converts crossed the plains pulling what?

The Willie and Martin companies left too late in 1856 and more than 210 of their 980 members died in Wyoming snow.

The Willie and Martin handcart companies were caught by early winter in 1856 in which territory?

More than 210 of the 980 pioneers died despite a dramatic rescue effort.

Roughly how many settlers arrived in Utah between 1847 and the coming of the railroad in 1869?

Those who came by train afterwards are not usually counted as pioneers.

Which church president issued the September 1890 declaration suspending new plural marriages?

Congress had disincorporated the church and seized its assets; Utah statehood followed in 1896.

Which 1857 atrocity saw Utah territorial militiamen kill 120 or more members of an Arkansas wagon train?

Only John D. Lee was ever tried; he was executed by firing squad in 1877.

The Salt Lake Temple took how many years to build?

Wilford Woodruff dedicated it on 6 April 1893, exactly forty years after the cornerstone was laid.

The Salt Lake Temple's walls are built from stone quarried where?

It is quartz monzonite that looks like granite; the same canyon houses the church's records vault.

How many spires does the Salt Lake Temple have?

They are said to represent the power of the priesthood; the building is the largest LDS temple by floor area.

Latter-day Saint temples are closed to the public after dedication; what do they hold beforehand?

Temples are not used for weekly Sunday worship, which happens in ordinary meetinghouses.

Which temple ordinance is performed by living members as proxies for people who have died?

It drives the church's enormous interest in genealogy.

What percentage of their income are Latter-day Saints asked to give as tithing?

Paying a full tithe is one of the requirements for a temple recommend.

The church's health code, dictated by Joseph Smith as a revelation in 1833, is known as what?

Joseph Smith dictated it as a revelation on 27 February 1833.

The church's health code bans 'hot drinks', which has been interpreted as forbidding which two beverages?

Hot chocolate is fine, and caffeinated soda has never been officially forbidden.

How long do young male Latter-day Saint missionaries typically serve?

Young women serve 18 months, and everyone pays their own way.

The name tags worn by LDS missionaries give their surname with which title for men?

Women are 'Sister'; the largest Missionary Training Center is in Provo next to BYU.

Roughly how many volunteer missionaries did the church report in the field as of 2024?

As of 2024 the membership figure it reported was more than 17.5 million.

As of 2024 the church reported a worldwide membership of over how many?

Since 1996 there have been more members outside the United States than inside.

In which year did the church end its ban on Black men of African descent in the priesthood?

The change came by revelation announced under president Spencer W. Kimball.

How many apostles sit in the church's second-highest governing quorum?

The senior apostle becomes church president; the First Presidency sits above the Quorum.

Who was announced as church president in October 2025 following the death of Russell M. Nelson?

He was the senior apostle, which is how succession has worked since Brigham Young.

Since 2018 the church has asked that its members no longer be referred to by which nickname?

The word comes from the Book of Mormon and was sometimes used as a slur during the 1838 Missouri conflict.

Since which year have more Latter-day Saints lived outside the United States than inside it?

Mexico, Brazil and the Philippines now have some of the largest memberships.

The famous 360-voice choir dropped 'Mormon' in 2018 to become the Tabernacle Choir at where?

A US president called it 'America's Choir'; it was founded in August 1847, weeks after the pioneers arrived.

The choir's weekly programme, aired since July 1929, is called what?

It is one of the longest-running radio programmes in the world.

Which US president dubbed it 'America's Choir'?

The 360-voice choir has sung at six presidential inaugurations.

The church's flagship university, founded in 1875, is located in which Utah city?

Slightly over 98 percent of its students are active Latter-day Saints.

What is the name of BYU's cougar mascot?

The teams are the BYU Cougars, and the student honour code bans alcohol, tobacco, tea and coffee.

Roughly what share of BYU students speak some second language, thanks largely to missions?

Some 107 languages are represented, and 45 percent of students have served as missionaries.

FamilySearch, the church's free genealogy service, was founded in 1894 under what name?

It is the largest genealogy organisation in the world.

Where does FamilySearch keep its master copies of genealogical records?

The climate-controlled vault sits in a canyon near Salt Lake City.

Which Bible translation does the LDS Church use in English?

It publishes its own edition with footnotes tied to the Book of Mormon and other scriptures.

Church leaders and members are described as believing the president is a 'prophet, seer and' what?

The title goes back to Joseph Smith.

Mitt Romney served a 30-month LDS mission in which country?

He later served as a bishop in Belmont, Massachusetts, and as president of the Boston Stake.

'The Book of Mormon' was written by Robert Lopez and which two South Park creators?

It won nine Tonys in 2011; the church responded by buying playbill ads reading 'You've seen the play, now read the book'.

How did the LDS Church respond to the Broadway musical mocking it?

The line was 'You've seen the play, now read the book'.

Utah was granted statehood in January 1896, six years after which church document?

Joseph F. Smith's Second Manifesto of 1904 reaffirmed the ban.

Aurelia Spencer Rogers first organised Primary, the church's children's organisation, in 1878 in which Utah town?

Relief Society president Eliza R. Snow gave her blessing, and the programme went church-wide in 1880 under Louie B. Felt.

Primary serves children in which age range?

At twelve, children move up to the Young Men or Young Women organisations.

What is the name of the Primary class for three-year-olds?

Four- to seven-year-olds are in CTR classes and eight- to eleven-year-olds in Valiant classes; the names were once Moonbeams.

The Primary theme, 'All thy children shall be taught of the Lord', comes from which book of the Bible?

It is Isaiah 54:13, and Primary opens each week with a prayer, a scripture or Article of Faith, and a short talk given by children.

How many Articles of Faith are there?

Joseph Smith listed them in an 1842 letter to Chicago Democrat editor John Wentworth; the first begins 'We believe in God, the Eternal Father'.

Who wrote the words to the children's hymn 'I Am a Child of God' in 1957?

She wrote them at the request of the Primary general board and mailed them to her friend Mildred Tanner Pettit, who set them to music.

What do the letters CTR on a CTR ring stand for?

The shield was designed by Primary general board members in the 1960s and adopted for church materials in 1970.

At what age are Latter-day Saint children baptised, the 'age of accountability'?

Baptism is by immersion and must be performed by a priesthood holder; the first were Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery baptising each other in 1829.

In which river did Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery baptise each other on May 15, 1829?

It happened near Harmony, Pennsylvania, shortly after they said they received the Aaronic priesthood from John the Baptist.

The wooded spot near Joseph Smith's home where he said he prayed in the spring of 1820 is known as what?

It lies in Manchester, New York, and the experience is called the First Vision.

Joseph Smith said he first saw the buried plates in 1823 but only recovered them on which annual visit?

That was September 22, 1827; the first printed Book of Mormon in March 1830 ran to 5,000 copies at 60 cents each to produce.

Mormon crickets, said to have been eaten by gulls to save 1848 pioneer crops, are really what?

The Seagull Monument stands in front of the Assembly Hall on Temple Square, and the California gull is Utah's state bird.

Which Latter Day Saint temple was first to be crowned with an angel figure, in January 1846?

Architect William Weeks designed that weathervane figure; Cyrus Dallin later sculpted the first statue identified as Moroni for the Salt Lake Temple.

Book of Mormon prophet Enos, who prayed all day and night, was the son of which record-keeper?

Jacob was Nephi's brother, and Enos received the record from him.

Ammon, son of Mosiah, served a mission among the Lamanites lasting how many years?

His converts, the Anti-Nephi-Lehies or Ammonites, were the parents of the two thousand stripling warriors.

According to Joseph Smith in 1834, what was the name of the brother of Jared, unnamed in the Book of Mormon?

Sculptor Mahonri Young, grandson of Brigham Young, was named after him.

The church teaches that the Garden of Eden was located in which US state?

Specifically Jackson County, where Joseph Smith planned Zion before settlers expelled the Saints in 1833.

In which year did the church create the law of tithing, replacing the communal law of consecration?

Members then often tithed a tenth of their livestock and produce rather than money.

In which year did the church start its welfare system to aid the poor?

Fast offerings from a monthly 24-hour fast fund bishop's storehouses that package food at low cost.

Which of these is one of the church's four canonical 'standard works' besides the Bible and Book of Mormon?

The Doctrine and Covenants completes the open canon of four scriptural texts.