A Latter-day Saint (LDS) is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The LDS Church is by far the largest of the Latter Day Saint churches which claim to succeed from the church founded by Joseph Smith, Jr Latter Day Saints are also commonly known as Mormons, although that term was originally imposed on them by people who were not members of the Church. There are approximately 12 million Latter-day Saints in the world, just under half of which reside in the United States of America.