Ultimate Mormon (LDS) History and Trivia

How much do you know about the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, otherwise (and here, for lack of a better functional term using the full name of the Church) known as the Mormons? What did they make? What did they do?

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Last updated: February 3, 2025

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First submitted	February 2, 2025
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Hint	Answer
Where was the first temple built outside of the United States?	Cardston, Alberta
Who ordained Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery to the Aaronic Priesthood?	John the Baptist
What 1879 Supreme Court decision distinguished between religious belief, e.g. polygamy, and religious practice?	Reynolds v. United States
What repentant Book of Mormon character became the subject of two novellas (1889, 1896), a play (1902), and a feature film (1931)?	Corianton
What drink became a popular Mormon substitute for coffee in the twentieth century?	Postum
Who has been the oldest serving Church President?	Russell M. Nelson
What did Utah women do before any other group of women in the United States, including Wyoming?	Vote
What is Utah’s official state snack and a cornerstone of Mormon cuisine?	JELL-O
What was the name of the company of men Joseph Smith led to Missouri in 1834 to alleviate persecution of Mormon towns?	Zion's Camp
What was the name of a “white Lamanite” found buried by that group of men?	Zelph
Who is the most famous character created in the late nineteenth-century anti-Mormon literature craze?	Sherlock Holmes
What name did Mormons give to the place where Joseph Smith received the Golden Plates?	The Hill Cumorah
What event was held there nearly every year from 1937 to 2019?	The Hill Cumorah Pageant
What chemical substance is not forbidden by the Word of Wisdom but is often still avoided by Mormons?	Caffeine
What type of instrument was created by bandleader Alvino Rey?	Pedal steel guitar
What science-fiction franchise was created by Glen A. Larson and features elements of Mormon cosmology and Church organization?	Battlestar Galactica
Who is the President of the Aaronic Priesthood in each ward?	The Bishop
What general authority office, in existence since the early Church, was discontinued in 1979?	The Presiding Patriarch
What is the longest book within the Book of Mormon?	Alma
What was the first language outside of English that the Book of Mormon was translated into?	Spanish
What are the two most famous companies founded by Nolan Bushnell? (name either)	Atari / Chuck E. Cheese
Who reorganized the Relief Society in Utah and served as its first president there?	Eliza R. Snow
What young German man was excommunicated from the Church then beheaded by the Nazis in 1942 for his opposition to Hitler?	Helmuth Hübener
What was the original name of the book that became the Doctrine and Covenants?	The Book of Commandments
Who was the only British-born President of the Church?	John Taylor
What item saved his life on June 27, 1844?	His pocket watch
What were the home and visiting teaching programs replaced by in 2018?	Ministering
What young woman may have secretly been Joseph Smith’s first plural wife?	Fanny Alger
What cultural event involved teenagers traveling to different meetinghouses to present short plays?	Road shows
Who did Joseph Smith speculate had been taken from the earth or wandered towards the North Pole?	The Lost Ten Tribes
Who is referred to as an elect lady in Doctrine and Covenants 25:3?	Emma Smith
What was she commanded to compile in that same revelation?	Hymns
What major event in California history happened after being first publicized to the rest of the United States by a Mormon newspaper?	The Gold Rush
What is the name of the largest polygamous colony in Mexico, founded in 1886 in response to anti-polygamy legislation in the U.S.?	Colonia Juarez
Who, with his wife, lost 116 pages of the original Book of Mormon manuscript?	Martin Harris
What literary franchise was written by Stephenie Meyer?	Twilight
What was the name of the 1857 conflict between the federal government and Utah Territory that presaged the coming Civil War?	The Utah War
In what Vermont town was Joseph Smith born?	Sharon
What animated film franchise was created by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio and included aspects of their faith?	Despicable Me
What is the oldest continually operational temple (except for temporary renovations)?	St. George, Utah
Where did a group of Mormons kill at least 120 members of a California-bound wagon train?	Mountain Meadows
Who was the only person executed for that event?	John D. Lee
What city founded by Joseph Smith did he claim meant “beautiful” in Hebrew?	Nauvoo, Illinois
What Salt Lake City building did Frank Lloyd Wright call one of the architectural masterpieces of the world?	The Salt Lake Tabernacle
What was the Mormons’ original desired name for Utah Territory?	Deseret
What Church President testified to Congress that he had not received any revelations while in office?	Joseph F. Smith
What did he later see in a vision shortly before his death?	The Spirit World
What was the Church’s organization for teenagers from 1869 until the 1970s?	The Mutual Improvement Association
What historian led a decade of intense academic study at the Church History Department that became known as “Camelot”?	Leonard J. Arrington
What Secretary of the Home Department investigated Mormon missionaries for sedition in 1910, ultimately allowing them to remain in the UK?	Winston Churchill

Hint	Answer
What animal nearly destroyed the crops in Salt Lake City in 1848, forever entering Mormon folklore?	Mormon cricket
What Republican presidential candidate’s campaign was tanked when he said he had been “brainwashed” about the Vietnam War?	George Romney
What Church President worked to overhaul the Church’s media presence in the 1990s and 2000s?	Gordon B. Hinckley
What major ad and Internet public relations campaigns did he launch? (name either)	I'm a Mormon / Mormon Messages
Where was the Church’s first temple built?	Kirtland, Ohio
What country’s capital do critics say possibly gave Joseph Smith the name of an angel?	Comoros
In what city did missionaries arrive on July 20, 1837, the first to preach outside of North America?	Liverpool
In what century does the narrative of the Book of Mormon conclude?	400s
In what Illinois town were Joseph and Hyrum Smith killed?	Carthage
Who is the only person raised as a Mormon to serve as a head of state?	Jacinda Ardern
What architectural element, preserved by the Smithsonian, gave its name to a twentieth-century magazine and annual symposium?	Sunstone
What fictional bouncy substance was invented by author and screenwriter Samuel W. Taylor?	Flubber
What are Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris often collectively known as?	The Three Witnesses
What cheesy casserole dish is often made for Church functions in Utah?	Funeral potatoes
What military unit marched 2,100 miles as part of the Mexican-American War but never engaged in a major battle?	The Mormon Battalion
What is the basic unit of Church organization and Mormon society, begun among pioneers in Nebraska and brought into full use in Utah?	The ward
What organization inspired much of the temple endowment ceremony and the markings on the temple garments?	Freemasons
What was publically disclosed for the first time by Orson Pratt in 1852?	Polygamy
What invention by scientist Harvey Fletcher revolutionized the film, television, and music industries?	Stereo
What animals were brought to southern Utah in the 1870s to unsuccessfully create a new industry?	Silk worms
How many wives is Brigham Young believed to have had throughout his life?	56
What Biblical character, along with the city he led, does Mormon scripture claim was translated directly to heaven without dying?	Enoch
What does the Word of Wisdom claim tobacco is good for?	All sick cattle
What was the common phrase “Mind your own business” known as in the 1800s?	The Mormon Creed
What former Mormon directed the films Harold and Maude, In the Heat of the Night, and Being There?	Hal Ashby
What Mormon invented television in 1927?	Philo T. Farnsworth
What is the fourth and smallest book of standard works of Mormon scripture?	The Pearl of Great Price
What book within that scripture contains controversial portions of drawings on papyrus?	The Book of Abraham
What Church President encouraged Mormons to “lengthen their stride” and "do it”?	Spencer W. Kimball
Many Mormons have believed that the people of what area are descended from the people of Hagoth in the Book of Mormon?	Polynesia
Up to 120 tons of what has been stored under Brigham Young University’s football stadium?	Dinosaur bones
What popular food item did Oregon farmer F. Nephi Grigg invent in 1953?	Tater tots
What objects did Joseph Smith claim were ancient and translated a small portion of, only to have them later revealed as a hoax?	The Kinderhook Plates
What free Black woman lived with Joseph Smith's family, walked as a pioneer to Utah, and advocated for racial and gender equality within Mormonism?	Jane Manning James
What did many pioneer companies use to cross the plains in the 1850s and 60s, despite the Willie and Martin companies' tragic events in 1856?	Handcarts
What attempt at egalitarian communal living was practiced in Mormon towns like Orderville?	The United Order
What did Joseph Smith buy four of from traveling exhibitor Michael Chandler in July 1835?	Mummies
What group of people were excommunicated in rapid succession in September 1993?	The September Six
What gunsmith revolutionized firearms with his single-shot rifle and gas-operated machine gun?	John M. Browning
What author and leader led Utah’s suffragists and worked nationally with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony?	Emmeline B. Wells
Who has been called “the apostle Paul of Mormonism” thanks to his prodigious writing and missionary travels?	Parley P. Pratt
What organization did the Church first affiliate with in 1910, its first year of existence, and adopt Church-wide by 1913?	The Boy Scouts of America
What Missouri governor issued an 1838 executive order that the Mormons be killed or driven from the state?	Lilburn W. Boggs
What portion of the Doctrine and Covenants was removed and de-canonized in 1921?	The Lectures on Faith
What Church President was the first since Joseph Smith to be clean shaven?	David O. McKay
What program, introduced by apostle Harold B. Lee, seeks to regiment Church doctrine and programs?	Correlation
What Democrat held the highest level of office out of all Mormons in the U.S. government?	Harry Reid
What single-word name was eventually adopted for the Church's efforts to relieve economic suffering during the Great Depression?	The Welfare Program
What creature have many Mormons believed is the Biblical figure Cain, from an 1835 description by apostle David Patton?	Bigfoot
What book by apostle Bruce R. McConkie was intended as a comprehensive compendium of Mormon doctrine, but has largely fallen out of favor?	Mormon Doctrine