50 Fun Facts About Mormonism

Joseph Smith founded the movement during which period of American religious revival?

Western New York was so swept by revivals it was nicknamed the burned-over district.

In which US state was Joseph Smith born in 1805?

Crop failures in 1816 pushed the family to western New York.

How old was Joseph Smith when he said he received the First Vision in 1820?

He said God the Father and Jesus told him to join none of the existing churches.

Which angel did Smith say showed him the buried golden plates in 1823?

Smith said he finally obtained the plates in 1827 and returned them to the angel when done.

In which town's drumlin did Smith say he found the golden plates?

The hill is known as Cumorah and lies about four miles south of Palmyra.

Those who said they handled the golden plates estimated their weight at what?

They were described as thin metal pages bound with three D-shaped rings.

The Book of Mormon says it was written in which otherwise unknown script?

No examples of the script are known; Smith's own family came from the Kingdom of Judah in the narrative.

The Book of Mormon narrative opens around 600 BC with which prophet leaving Jerusalem?

His family sails to the Americas shortly before Babylon takes the city.

Which neighbour funded Smith's move to Pennsylvania in exchange for a share of the book?

Harris also took over as scribe in April 1828, and was one of the Three Witnesses.

Who were the Three Witnesses to the golden plates?

David Whitmer, Martin Harris and Oliver Cowdery signed statements that were printed with the book from 1830.

In which year was the Book of Mormon first published?

E. B. Grandin printed it in Palmyra, New York; Smith organised the Church of Christ the same year.

Into roughly how many languages has the Book of Mormon been fully or partly translated?

The LDS Church had printed more than 192 million copies by October 2020.

Which Ohio town became the church's first gathering place in 1831?

Smith published revelations and built a temple there before the Kirtland Safety Society bank collapsed.

What did a mob do to Smith and Sidney Rigdon on 24 March 1832?

They were dragged from their beds and beaten first.

Which Missouri governor signed the 1838 'extermination order' against the Mormons?

Brigham Young then organised the migration from Missouri to Illinois.

Which Illinois town did the church buy and rename Nauvoo?

Under Smith as mayor it became the second-largest city in Illinois.

What military rank did Smith hold in the Nauvoo Legion militia?

John C. Bennett served alongside him as Major General.

Which newspaper's press did Smith and the city council order destroyed in June 1844?

Its single issue had exposed his secret practice of polygamy; the destruction led to his arrest.

In which Illinois town's jail was Joseph Smith killed by a mob in 1844?

He used a smuggled pistol to wound three attackers before he was shot.

What office was Joseph Smith campaigning for at the time of his death?

He launched the campaign in 1844, months before the Expositor affair.

Which of Smith's brothers was killed with him in 1844?

Hyrum sat with him in the First Presidency and had read the polygamy revelation to the High Council.

For how many years did Brigham Young serve as LDS Church president?

He led from 1847 until his death in 1877, the longest tenure in the role.

Brigham Young's pioneers reached the Salt Lake Valley in which year?

The land was then claimed by Mexico and home to the Ute, Goshute and Shoshone.

Utah's Pioneer Day is celebrated annually on which date?

Young first saw the valley that day in 1847, from a 'sick' wagon driven by Wilford Woodruff.

Which nickname did Brigham Young earn for leading the exodus west?

He had about 30,000 living descendants by 2016.

How many wives did Brigham Young have?

He also had 57 children and died in 1877 as the wealthiest man in Utah.

Brigham Young was the first governor of which territory?

He served from 1851 until resigning in 1858 after the Utah War.

The 1857 killing of the Baker–Fancher wagon train by Utah militia is known by what name?

At least 120 emigrants were killed during the Utah War.

How many years did it take to build the Salt Lake Temple?

Young laid the cornerstone on 6 April 1853; it was dedicated in 1893.

The Salt Lake Temple's granite-like stone was quarried from which site?

The stone is actually quartz monzonite, quarried twenty miles southeast of the site.

Whose statue stands atop the Salt Lake Temple's central east spire?

Wilford Woodruff laid the capstone in 1892 by flipping an electric switch.

The health code known as the Word of Wisdom was dictated by Smith in which year?

Young said it answered the pipe-smoking and spitting at meetings in the Smith family home.

The Word of Wisdom's ban on 'hot drinks' is understood to mean which two beverages?

It also bars alcohol, tobacco and recreational drugs, and encourages eating meat sparingly.

Which church president issued the 1890 Manifesto ending plural marriage?

Congress had been pressing to outlaw Mormon polygamous marriages.

Groups that kept practising polygamy after 1890 are known collectively as what?

One source estimates over 400 denominations sprang from Smith's original movement.

The Community of Christ, unlike the LDS Church, affirms which doctrine?

It was formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

In which year did the LDS Church end its ban on Black men holding the priesthood?

The policy had been in place since 1852.

What share of their income are LDS members expected to give in tithing?

They also fast monthly and donate the cost of the skipped meals as a 'fast offering'.

How many members did the LDS Church report worldwide in 2024?

More than 6.8 million of them live in the United States.

Roughly how many volunteer missionaries did the LDS Church report serving in 2024?

Both men and women may serve; senior missionaries may work in humanitarian or family history roles.

Which four texts make up the LDS Church's open scriptural canon?

D&C is the Doctrine and Covenants, a collection of revelations.

Why does the LDS Church encourage members to do genealogical research?

Baptism for the dead is a distinctive Mormon doctrine.

Smith published the Book of Abraham in 1842 from what source?

Kirtland members had bought the rolls from a travelling exhibitor in 1835.

The choir's weekly broadcast Music & the Spoken Word has aired on radio since which year?

It moved to television as well in October 1949.

In 2018 the Mormon Tabernacle Choir renamed itself the Tabernacle Choir at what?

The change matched church guidance on using the word 'Mormon'.

The Tabernacle Choir won a Grammy in the 1950s for its recording of which song?

It made its first European tour in the same decade.

Later, poorer pioneer companies crossed the plains pulling what?

The carts, much like wheelbarrows, carried all their provisions and belongings.

The Mormon pioneers wintered in 1846–47 at a settlement known by what name?

Young consulted the Jesuit Pierre-Jean De Smet there about the Great Basin.

Brigham Young Academy, forerunner of BYU, was founded in 1876 in which city?

It split off from the University of Deseret under Karl G. Maeser.

The church owns a chain of bookstores under what name?

Its holdings also include Bonneville International and the KSL broadcaster.