Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a main world belief of 11 million members, established in 1830 by Joseph Smith, recognized as the prophet. Supporters of this religion are called Mormons. From a handful of members at the commencement, the group has developed gradually through proselytizing and a comparatively high birth rate. By the early 1990s there were 5 million Mormons in the United States and the number in other countries around the world totaled slightly more than that. Before World War II conversions had been most numerous in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Scandinavia, but during recent years the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has grown rapidly in developing countries. In Mexico, for example, there were 850,000 Mormons in 2000, most of them converted since 1975. In South Korea, the Latter-day Saints had no adherents before 1950, but by 2000 there were 71,000 members. A vigorous missionary program—a rotating force of about 60,000 preaching Mormon doctrine in more than 330 missions in the United States and abroad—assures a steady influx of new members. (Denver, CO (1998)
The Mormons’ practice of polygamy (having several wives) and their assumed disregard of federal authority led to conflicts with the federal government. In 1857 a quarrel called the Utah War began for the reason that the U.S. government believed that the Mormons were undermining federal laws. Federal troops marched through the city but found that it had been evacuated. There was no combating, and they moved on to set up a post, Camp Floyd, about 65 km (about 40 mi) to the southwest. Fort Douglas was built on the eastern edge of the city in 1862. The church Smith founded on April 6, 1830, soon known officially as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day.......
