Latter-day Saint (original) (raw)
A Latter-day Saint (LDS) is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The term "Latter-day Saint", as spelled with a hyphen and a lower-case "d", has a different meaning than the older and more general term "Latter Day Saint", which applies to all sects that derive their religious heritage from Joseph Smith, Jr The British spelling "Latter-day Saint" originated in 1852 when the LDS Church was incorporated in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The Latter-day Saints are by far the largest group of Latter Day Saints. They are commonly known as Mormons, although numerous other Latter Day Saint organizations also refer to themselves as Mormons, a term that began as a nickname in reference to the Book of Mormon. There are approximately 12 million Latter-day Saints in the world today, just under half of which reside in the United States.