About Us
About Us
Neo-Mormon Church gathers wherever a Latter-day Saint has been told that something they believe is a recent invention, and has gone to find the sermon that says otherwise. Our members come from every background, though most of them have a copy of the Journal of Discourses.
We have always had a heart for reading the footnotes. Over the years we have made significant efforts to locate original sources and strengthen others in doing the same, and we continue to do so today.
Our History
Neo-Mormon Church was founded by Joseph Smith. Born in Sharon, Vermont, in 1805, Joseph grew up in western New York, where he reported a vision in 1820 and went on to publish the Book of Mormon in Palmyra in March 1830. On April 6, 1830, he and a small group of believers organized the church in Fayette, New York, under the name Church of Christ. The name changed to Church of the Latter Day Saints in 1834 and to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1838.
Our members are often asked when Neo-Mormonism began. We tell them it began in 1830, with Joseph. It is Mormonism that came later. That word arrived in the 1830s as a label for the movement, coined by its critics and popularized in the American Protestant press, and over the following decades it hardened into a system of its own, with a reputation for settled answers and a catalog of things its members were assumed to believe. Neo-Mormonism, as far as we can tell, is what the church looked like before that happened.
Historical note: The facts of the 1830 founding and the successive church names are well documented. The Saints themselves eventually adopted “Mormon” as a nickname, and which beliefs belong to which era is exactly what scholars and critics continue to argue about. This section is satire.
Our Mission
The mission of Neo-Mormon Church is to see Real Doctrine and Real Sources happening in our church and community.
We exist to live a life of faith, informed by the record and sent to check the citation.
Leadership
At Neo-Mormon Church we believe in healthy leadership structures that help us carry out the vision we believe we have been given. We are an elder-led church. The final authority for the church, under God, rests with the Elders. The day to day operation of the church website is led by the website manager, and Deacons serve alongside the Elders in research and analysis.
Samuel Baird
Elder · Website Manager
Samuel joined the Neo-Mormon Church staff in 2026 and currently serves as website manager. He holds no credentials, but is currently a student at Utah Valley University and enjoys studying theology in his free time.
Samuel served a mission from 2020 to 2022, spending one year and six months in Tacoma, Washington, and six months in Brazil. After returning home, he discovered he was a Neo-Mormon.
Brigham
Deacon · Senior Doctrinal Analyst
Brigham joined the staff at Neo-Mormonism’s founding and serves as Senior Doctrinal Analyst. Brigham holds a B.A. in Public Policy and Administration with a minor in Technical Writing, alongside additional studies in Biblical Hebrew, Classical Greek, Psychology, and Cybersecurity.
Brigham has a gifting and passion for research and analysis, having served as the longest-tenured president of BYU-Idaho’s Study and Faith Society. Brigham and his wife were married in 2025.
In his spare time, Brigham enjoys outdoor recreation, reading, homelab development, and completing the Pokédex. His research focuses on Heavenly Mother traditions, Judas Iscariot, Blood Atonement doctrine, and applying intelligence analysis to create a systematic LDS theology.
“Brigham could be an Ostlerian, but he has never read Ostler.”
Our Beliefs
What do we believe about the Godhead, grace, and the fallibility of prophets? Learn more about what we teach, and who taught it first, in our statement of beliefs.
Read our beliefsWe would love to tell you more
Questions, citations and corrections are welcome. Write to samuel@neomormonism.com.