Latter-day Saint
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 prefer the term Latter-day Saints, but are commonly known as Mormons, although numerous other Latter Day Saint groups also refer to themselves as Mormons, a term that began as a nickname in reference to the "Book of Mormon." There are nearly 12 million Latter-day Saints in the world today, just under 46% of which reside in the United States.
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