The following are some facts about The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-Day Saints adapted from a talk given by Elder M Russel Ballard, a member of the Quorum of Apostles, in general conference in April, 2011.
* The term “Mormon” is a nickname because of our belief in The Book of Mormon as the word of God. Members of the church are often referred to as “Mormons”, “Latter-day Saints” or “LDS”. We are The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints. The biblical meaning of the term “saint” is a member of Christ’s church.
* We hold that this church is Christ’s true church restored in 1830 in upstate New York with Joseph Smith, Jr as its first prophet and president. Today it is headquartered in Salt Lake City, UT with President Thomas S Monson as prophet.
* There are now over 13 million members in 176 countries and territories. About 6 million of these are in the USA, making us the 4th largest Christian denomination in the USA. We are one of the fastest growing Christian faiths in the world.
* Local congregations (called wards) are led by volunteer, unpaid members. Both men & women serve in assigned leadership positions. This includes the bishop or pastor & his two counselors (assistant pastors).
* Mormons are well represented in politics & govt (in USA there are 16 members in congress representing both parties). Members also serve in high & trusted positions throughout the world in business, medicine, law, education, media, sports & entertainment.
* We believe the Holy Bible to be the word of God in so far as it is translated correctly. We use the Bible as the textbook for scriptural discussion in our weekly Sunday School discussions in 2 of every 4 yrs. Old Testament one year followed by New Testament the next yr, followed by Book of Mormon the next yr and finally Doctrine & Covenants / LDS church history the 4th yr.
Here are links to some recently published articles on the basics of “Mormonism”
http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/mormonism-101#C18
http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/fundamental-premises-of-our-faith-talk-given-by-elder-dallin-h-oaks-at-harvard-law-school
This last one is an infographic that has quick highlights about who we are
http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/mormonism-101#C3