The Mormon movement began with the publishing of the Book of Mormon in March 1830, which Smith claimed was a translation of golden plates containing the religious history of an ancient American civilization which had been compiled by the ancient prophet-historian Mormon.
Smith claimed that an angel had directed him to the golden plates, buried in the Hill Cumorah.
On April 6, 1830, Smith founded the Church of Christ.
In 1832, Smith added an account of a vision he had sometime in the early 1820s while living in Upstate New York .
This vision would come to be regarded by some Mormons as the most important event in human history after the birth, ministry, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The early church grew westward as Smith sent missionaries to proselytize.
In 1831, the church moved to Kirtland, Ohio where missionaries had made a large number of converts and Smith began establishing an outpost in Jackson County, Missouri, where he planned to eventually build the city of Zion (or the New Jerusalem).
In 1833, Missouri settlers, alarmed by the rapid influx of Mormons, expelled them from Jackson County into the nearby Clay County, where local residents were more welcoming.

After Smith led a mission, known as Zion's Camp, to recover the land, he began building Kirtland Temple in Lake County, Ohio, where the church flourished.
When the Missouri Mormons were later asked to leave Clay County in 1836, they secured land in what would become Caldwell County.

The Kirtland era ended in 1838, after the failure of a church-sponsored anti-bank caused widespread defections, and Smith regrouped with the remaining church in Far West, Missouri.
During the fall of 1838, tensions escalated into the Mormon War with the old Missouri settlers.
On October 27, the governor of Missouri ordered that the Mormons "must be treated as enemies" and be exterminated or driven from the state.
Between November and April, some eight thousand displaced Mormons migrated east into Illinois.

In 1839, the Mormons purchased the small town of Commerce, converted swampland on the banks of the Mississippi River, and renamed the area Nauvoo, Illinois, and began construction of the Nauvoo Temple.
The city became the church's new headquarters and gathering place, and it grew rapidly, fueled in part by converts immigrating from Europe.
Meanwhile, Smith introduced temple ceremonies meant initially to seal additional wives to select associates, though the ceremony was later adapted to spiritually link families together for eternity.
During this time, Smith also introduced the doctrines of eternal progression or exaltation and announced several new translation efforts, including the Book of Abraham and the Kinderhook plates.
Smith created a service organization for women called the Relief Society, as well as an organization called the Council of Fifty, representing a future theodemocratic "Kingdom of God" on the earth.

Smith also published an updated account of his First Vision, in which he claimed that Father and the Son appeared to him while he was about 14 years old.

In 1844, insider reports of polygamy and Smith's rapidly growing political power fueled conflicts between Mormons and "anti-Mormons".
Smith used his political office and the city militia to destroy the press of a newspaper exposing Smith's practice of polygamy, which led to Smith being arrested on charges of treason.
On June 27, 1844, Smith and his brother Hyrum were killed by a mob in Carthage, Illinois.
Because Hyrum was Smith's logical successor, their deaths caused a succession crisis, and Brigham Young assumed leadership over the majority of Latter Day Saints.
Young had been a close associate of Smith's and was senior apostle of the Quorum of the Twelve.
Smaller groups of Latter Day Saints followed other leaders to form other denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement.
The Mormon movement began with the publishing of the Book of Mormon in March 1830, which Smith claimed was a translation of golden plates containing the religious history of an ancient American civilization which had been compiled by the ancient prophet-historian Mormon. Smith claimed that an angel had directed him to the golden plates, buried in the Hill Cumorah. On April 6, 1830, Smith founded the Church of Christ. In 1832, Smith added an account of a vision he had sometime in the early 1820s while living in Upstate New York . This vision would come to be regarded by some Mormons as the most important event in human history after the birth, ministry, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The early church grew westward as Smith sent missionaries to proselytize. In 1831, the church moved to Kirtland, Ohio where missionaries had made a large number of converts and Smith began establishing an outpost in Jackson County, Missouri, where he planned to eventually build the city of Zion (or the New Jerusalem). In 1833, Missouri settlers, alarmed by the rapid influx of Mormons, expelled them from Jackson County into the nearby Clay County, where local residents were more welcoming.
After Smith led a mission, known as Zion's Camp, to recover the land, he began building Kirtland Temple in Lake County, Ohio, where the church flourished. When the Missouri Mormons were later asked to leave Clay County in 1836, they secured land in what would become Caldwell County.
The Kirtland era ended in 1838, after the failure of a church-sponsored anti-bank caused widespread defections, and Smith regrouped with the remaining church in Far West, Missouri. During the fall of 1838, tensions escalated into the Mormon War with the old Missouri settlers. On October 27, the governor of Missouri ordered that the Mormons "must be treated as enemies" and be exterminated or driven from the state. Between November and April, some eight thousand displaced Mormons migrated east into Illinois.
In 1839, the Mormons purchased the small town of Commerce, converted swampland on the banks of the Mississippi River, and renamed the area Nauvoo, Illinois, and began construction of the Nauvoo Temple. The city became the church's new headquarters and gathering place, and it grew rapidly, fueled in part by converts immigrating from Europe. Meanwhile, Smith introduced temple ceremonies meant initially to seal additional wives to select associates, though the ceremony was later adapted to spiritually link families together for eternity. During this time, Smith also introduced the doctrines of eternal progression or exaltation and announced several new translation efforts, including the Book of Abraham and the Kinderhook plates. Smith created a service organization for women called the Relief Society, as well as an organization called the Council of Fifty, representing a future theodemocratic "Kingdom of God" on the earth.
Smith also published an updated account of his First Vision, in which he claimed that Father and the Son appeared to him while he was about 14 years old.
In 1844, insider reports of polygamy and Smith's rapidly growing political power fueled conflicts between Mormons and "anti-Mormons". Smith used his political office and the city militia to destroy the press of a newspaper exposing Smith's practice of polygamy, which led to Smith being arrested on charges of treason. On June 27, 1844, Smith and his brother Hyrum were killed by a mob in Carthage, Illinois. Because Hyrum was Smith's logical successor, their deaths caused a succession crisis, and Brigham Young assumed leadership over the majority of Latter Day Saints. Young had been a close associate of Smith's and was senior apostle of the Quorum of the Twelve. Smaller groups of Latter Day Saints followed other leaders to form other denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement.
Mormons