List of denominations in the Latter Day Saint movement
Based on Wikipedia: List of denominations in the Latter Day Saint movement
In the winter of 1846, as the first wave of Latter Day Saints fled their homes in Nauvoo, Illinois, they left behind a community that had built itself from the ground up only to be torn apart by external violence and internal fracture. The man who led them west, Brigham Young, believed he was guiding God's chosen people toward a promised land where they could practice their faith without interference. He could not have known that within his own movement, the seeds of a thousand different interpretations were already taking root, destined to bloom into a landscape of religious diversity so vast it would challenge the very definition of unity. Today, the Latter Day Saint movement is not a monolith but a sprawling archipelago of denominations, each claiming the same prophetic lineage yet diverging sharply on doctrine, leadership, and practice. To understand this fragmentation is to trace the history of a religion that has constantly reinvented itself in the face of schism, persecution, and the relentless human drive for spiritual authority.
The story begins not with a list of names, but with a single event: the death of Joseph Smith Jr. on June 27, 1844. In Carthage Jail, Smith was killed by a mob while awaiting trial, leaving behind a movement of approximately twenty-five thousand followers and no clear, universally accepted successor. The vacuum of power was immediate and catastrophic. It was not merely a question of who would lead the church; it was a crisis of legitimacy that tore families apart and sent communities into chaos. One group rallied around Brigham Young, arguing that the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles held the keys to authority in Smith's absence. Another faction looked to Sidney Rigdon, Smith's first counselor, claiming he was the guardian of the church until a new president could be ordained. A third group looked to Joseph Smith III, the late prophet's young son, believing that bloodline and divine appointment were inseparable.
This initial fracture set the template for every split that would follow. The core tension has always been the same: where does the authority of the church reside? Is it in a living president, a council of elders, a sacred text, or the collective voice of the membership? As the years passed, these questions were answered in radically different ways, creating a dizzying array of denominations that span the globe. The largest of these, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often called the LDS Church), followed Brigham Young to Utah and eventually established its headquarters in Salt Lake City. For over a century, this group would grow into a global institution with millions of members, yet it remained just one branch of a much larger family tree.
The Great Schism and the Rise of the Community of Christ
While the Utah-based church consolidated its power under Young's iron will, a significant portion of the movement chose to remain in the Midwest. They believed that the leadership should not be determined by a vote at a conference but by the lineage of the founding prophet. This group eventually coalesced around Joseph Smith III, who was called as the first president of what became known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS) in 1860. For decades, this denomination served as the primary alternative to the Utah church, offering a vision of Mormonism that rejected polygamy—a practice the Utah leadership had embraced and defended until 1890.
The RLDS Church grew steadily throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, establishing its headquarters in Independence, Missouri. It was a church of moderation compared to its Utah counterpart, emphasizing peace, education, and social justice. However, the mid-20th century brought new internal pressures that would once again fracture the community. In the 1960s and 70s, debates over women's ordination, the racial exclusion of Black members from the priesthood (a policy shared by both major branches until recently), and the interpretation of scripture led to a deepening divide. The tension came to a head in 2001 when the church officially changed its name to the Community of Christ, signaling a shift away from its distinctively "Mormon" identity toward a more mainline Protestant theology.
The split that created the Community of Christ was not a violent one, but it was deeply painful. Families were divided over whether the new direction represented an evolution of faith or a betrayal of tradition. For those who felt the community had moved too far from its roots, small breakaway groups began to form, seeking to preserve what they saw as the original teachings of Joseph Smith Jr. These "Remnant" movements often looked to Independence, Missouri, not as a headquarters for a single church, but as the holy center of the Restoration itself, believing that true authority had never been properly transferred.
The Fundamentalist Split and the Persistence of Polygamy
While the mainline branches of the movement were grappling with modernization and social change, another fracture was occurring along a different axis. In the early 20th century, as the LDS Church in Utah began to move away from the practice of plural marriage following the 1890 Manifesto, a vocal minority refused to accept this doctrinal shift. They believed that polygamy was an eternal commandment essential for salvation and that the leadership in Salt Lake City had apostatized by abandoning it.
These fundamentalist groups did not form a single denomination but rather a constellation of small, often insular communities scattered across the American West, particularly in Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and Mexico. Groups like the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) and the Apostolic United Brethren (AUB) emerged as the most prominent among them. The FLDS, led for decades by figures like Rulon Jeffs and Warren Jeffs, became infamous for its strict social controls, underage marriages, and isolation from mainstream society. These communities were not just theological outliers; they were often sites of profound human suffering.
The cost of this isolation was measured in the lives of women and children who were trapped in systems where dissent was crushed and autonomy was denied. In places like Short Creek (now Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona), children grew up knowing nothing but the dictates of a single prophet whose word was law. When authorities intervened to remove children from these homes due to allegations of abuse and statutory rape, the families often viewed it as an attack on their religious freedom rather than a protection of human rights. The FLDS leadership's history of exiling young men—known as "lost boys"—to reduce competition for wives created generations of displaced individuals struggling with trauma and identity.
It is crucial to understand that while these groups represent a tiny fraction of the total Latter Day Saint population, their existence highlights the movement's most volatile theological fault line. For fundamentalists, the rejection of polygamy by the mainstream church was not just a policy change; it was a sign of the end times. They believed they were the only ones remaining faithful to Joseph Smith's original revelations. This belief justified extreme measures and created a culture where internal dissent could lead to exile or worse. The human cost here is stark: broken families, psychological trauma, and a cycle of control that has proven difficult to break even as legal systems have stepped in.
The Struggle for the Succession: A Century of Fragmentation
Beyond the major splits between Utah and Independence, and the fundamentalist rejection of modernization, the history of Latter Day Saint denominations is marked by a continuous stream of smaller schisms. Each time a church president died or a doctrinal controversy arose, new groups would form, often claiming to be the one true restoration of Christ's church.
In 1863, James Strang, a charismatic convert who claimed to have received a letter from Joseph Smith appointing him as successor in his absence, established the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite) on Beaver Island in Lake Michigan. Strang was crowned king by his followers and ruled with an absolutist authority that alarmed local residents. His assassination in 1856 led to the collapse of his kingdom, but a small remnant of Strangites still exists today, maintaining their unique practices including the belief in the Book of Jasher and the validity of Strang's succession.
Other groups emerged from different theological emphases. The Church of Christ (Temple Lot), founded in 1863 by William Bickerton and others who rejected both Brigham Young and Joseph Smith III, focused intensely on the rebuilding of a temple on the Temple Lot in Independence, Missouri. They believed that no church had yet been restored and that they were simply preparing for the coming one. Their refusal to accept any living prophet sets them apart from almost every other denomination in the movement.
The Bickertonite Church, as it is often called, has remained relatively small but stable, maintaining a strict adherence to early Mormon doctrines while rejecting polygamy and the practice of the Book of Mormon as a second witness. In contrast, the Fundamentalist churches that splintered from the RLDS in the 20th century, such as the Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite), have struggled with internal governance and external scrutiny.
The sheer number of these groups can be overwhelming. There are dozens of denominations, some with only a few dozen members, others with thousands. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Remnant Church) broke away from the RLDS in 1924 over issues of doctrine and leadership succession. The Church of Christ with the Elijah Message, founded in 1873 by William S. Godbe, emphasized mysticism and spiritualism, diverging significantly from the mainstream Mormon focus on scripture and priesthood authority.
Each of these groups tells a story of people trying to answer the same question: What did Joseph Smith really mean? Was his vision a roadmap for an American Zion, or was it a call to a universal church? The answers have varied wildly. Some groups have embraced modernity, ordaining women and welcoming LGBTQ+ members, while others have doubled down on traditionalism, viewing any change as a corruption of the original message.
The Modern Landscape: Diversity and Disarray
By the 21st century, the Latter Day Saint movement had become a complex tapestry of beliefs and practices. The LDS Church in Salt Lake City continued to grow rapidly, expanding its influence through missionary work and media outreach. Its theology remained relatively consistent, focusing on the Book of Mormon, temple ordinances, and a hierarchical priesthood structure. Yet even within this largest branch, there were tensions. Dissenters who questioned church policies or historical narratives often found themselves marginalized or excommunicated, leading to the formation of independent groups that sought to preserve what they saw as lost truths.
The Community of Christ continued its journey toward mainline Protestantism, engaging in interfaith dialogue and focusing on social justice issues like peacebuilding and environmental stewardship. Its shift away from the distinctively Mormon identity alienated some traditionalists but attracted others who felt a call to a more inclusive faith. The tension between these two paths—conformity to tradition versus adaptation to modern values—remains a defining feature of the movement.
Meanwhile, the fundamentalist groups remained largely underground or in isolated communities, their numbers difficult to estimate due to their secrecy and mobility. They faced increasing legal pressure and social stigma, particularly after high-profile cases involving child abuse and forced marriages. Yet, they persisted, driven by a conviction that they were the last holdouts of true Mormonism.
The diversity of the Latter Day Saint movement is its greatest strength and its most enduring challenge. It reflects the human capacity for spiritual creativity and the difficulty of maintaining unity in a religion based on personal revelation. From the small, quiet congregations in rural Missouri to the massive temples in Salt Lake City, from the isolated polygamous communities in Arizona to the progressive branches in California, the movement is a testament to the enduring power of Joseph Smith's vision.
Today, as the world becomes more interconnected and religious identities become more fluid, the boundaries between these denominations are beginning to blur. Some groups are merging or cooperating on social issues; others are digging in deeper than ever before. The future of the Latter Day Saint movement remains uncertain, shaped by the same forces that have always driven it: the search for truth, the struggle for authority, and the hope for a better world.
The story of these denominations is not just a list of names and dates; it is a saga of human beings trying to make sense of their faith in a changing world. It is a story of triumphs and tragedies, of unity and division, of prophets and impostors, of those who stayed and those who left. And at its heart lies the enduring question that Joseph Smith asked over two hundred years ago: What do you believe?
The answer has never been simple. It has never been singular. But it has always been deeply human.