The biota of Tokyo Imperial Palace grounds, especially of the Fukiage Garden, consists of enriched and distinct flora and fauna found in Tokyo, Japan. An untouched, vast open space in the middle of Tokyo hosts diverse species of wildlife which have been catalogued in field research. For comparison, this article also covers biodiversity in other open spaces in the central districts of Tokyo.
The location of the Tokyo Imperial Palace and its environs

The Tokyo Imperial Palace is situated in the center of Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. It is 115 hectares (280 acres) in size and  encircled by moats. The Palace is divided into the eastern part and the western part by the Kan-Moat and Hasuike Moat. The eastern part is called the Imperial Palace Eastern Garden and has been open to the public since 1968.[1] In the western part are: the Fukiage Gyoen (Garden), including the Imperial residence, the Palace, and the Imperial Household Agency. An attempt to maintain or recreate its natural state is evident in the Fukiage Garden. The Palace lies on the tip of Musashino Terrace, between the Arakawa River, plus Iruma River and Tama River. There are moats at the northern and western end of the Palace. The height of the Palace is  from 8 to 30 metres (26 to 98ft), with the lowest point being at the Shimo-Dokan Moat.[2] The eastern end faces the low areas of Tokyo. The Palace is encircled by moats, any of which have been created artificially, since stones had been carried from other places. According to the Meteorological agency neighboring the Palace, the mean temperature is 15°C (59°F). The difference in mean temperature of summer and winter is about 30°C (86°F). The precipitation is of considerable degree in summer and autumn, while it is minimum in winter.[3]

History of the Palace
Before the Edo Era
A midden was excavated from 1955 to 1964. Jōmon pottery was found, indicating that the Palace was inhabited in the Jōmon period, before 300 BCE.[4]
Toward the end of the Heian period, Edo Shirō (江戸四郎) built his residence in Edo, but its exact location remains unknown. Ōta Dōkan constructed the Edo Castle from 1456 to 1457. Hōjō Ujitsuna occupied the Edo Castle in 1524. Later the Castle was controlled by Hojo's retainers, the Toyama clan.
In 1590, Tokugawa Ieyasu lived here when Edo became his stronghold. The Palace, at that time, faced the sea of Hibiya on the eastern end. The Nishinomaru area had been the site for temples and recreation. There were 16 temples corresponding to the site of Fukiage garden.[5] In 1603, he became the shōgun and started to enlarge the Edo castle along with many of his successors.
Palace in the Edo Era
Many castles and moats were constructed; stones were transferred from Izu Peninsula; A large quantity of lime (material) from Ōme, Tokyo, and the whole Edo castle was completed with the completion of the Outer Moat in 1638.[6] The Edo castles were greatly damaged in 1657 by the Great Fire of Meireki. (See Fires in Edo) The reconstruction of Tenshu or castle tower was abandoned because of the stability or peace of the times.  Fire barrier zones were set up to prevent fires from spreading. That started with moving the primary residences of the Gosanke, who were three major relatives of Tokugawa shogunate; outside of the Edo Castle and dedicating the vacated space to fire prevention. Relocation of residences belonging to other daimyōs and hatamoto, who were direct retainers of the shōgun, followed. From the end of the 17th century to the beginning of the 18th century, the Fukiage Gyoen remained a large garden.[7] When Tokugawa Ienobu was in office, (1709–1712) he ordered the daimyōs to help construct a large garden with a large pond (1 hectare which has remained), a fall and a river. During the rule of Tokugawa Yoshimune (1716–1745), the Fukiage gardens changed considerably in accord with his philosophy of the promotion of diligence, industrial development and the encouragement of literary and martial arts. He built a study hall, atelier, astronomical observatory, equestrian grounds, archery field, gun field, herb refinery, food factories for sake, sugar, cake and a sheep-raising yard. However, Tokugawa Ienari (office 1787–1837) made the Fukiage Gyoen to the previous gardens. In the later years of the Edo era, not much attention was given to the garden.

Palace after the Meiji Restoration
After the Meiji Restoration, the Gardens were subject to somewhat random change for a century. The Nishinomaru Palace burned down in 1873. A new Meiji Palace was constructed in 1888. Starting in 1928, the government constructed a short golf course, first of 4 courses and in 1931, of 9 holes (par was 30; almost entire garden was used) for the Emperor Hirohito in the Garden.[8] In 1937, Hirohito discontinued golf and the maintenance of lawn was discontinued. Around 1939 and 1941, the maintenance of the garden was also discontinued. A wartime bombproof residence-shelter[9] was constructed in 1941. While the formal Meiji Palace burned down, the imperial residence was undamaged. The Fukiage residence was completed in 1961 and the formal Palace was completed in 1968. Starting in 1948, some plants were transplanted in accord with the wish of Hirohito who wanted the Garden to become an old-Tokyo type forest. Basically, the maintenance of the Garden was to be kept at a minimum.
Surveys of the Biota of the Palace

In 1921, the plants in the Palace were inventoried and published in Imperial Palace Landscape.[10] This was the first survey of the plants of the Palace. Surveys continued in 1979 (Fukiage Garden), 1980 (Imperial Palace West Block), 1981 (East Gardens), and in 1987-88 (aquatic organisms in moats and ponds). These reports are not available to the public, but provide precise information about the vegetation, its time-course changes, old historic and giant trees. Further surveys started in 1996. The survey of living organisms was reported in 2006.[11]
Flora

When Tokugawa Ieyasu entered the Edo castle in 1590, there was a beautiful coastline fringed with Japanese black pine trees. The present-day Palace faced the sea at that time. In the early years of the Edo period,  there were residences of influential daimyōs. After the latter half of the 17th century, the central parts of the Palace were made beautiful gardens. In the early years of Showa, a golf course of 9 holes was made, which was abolished by the wish of Hirohito in 1937. Hirohito also hoped that the gardens would be left so that nature would be returned; some of the trees were transplanted since 1948.
The biota of the Palace reflects the long history of the Palace. The present Fukiage Garden is mainly composed of woods, although there are small houses, fruit gardens, a rose garden,  farms, one for mulberry trees (silkworms). Investigations between 1996 and 1999 revealed woods with broad-leaved evergreen forest trees such as Ilex integra, Castanopsis sieboldii, and Machilus thunbergii on the periphery of the Fukiage Garden, namely over the Dokan Moat, and woods with deciduous broad-leaved trees such as Quercus acutissima in the central part of the Garden. These woods are well cared and minimum cutting is done by the Garden section of the Imperial Household Agency. Although the woods are not the Old-growth forest, the constituents of ever green trees are like those seen in nature. On the contrary, deciduous broad-leaved trees have been planted artificially. The soil is revealed to be good for the development of trees. Well-grown trees and elements of Satoyama such as fruit gardens provide good circumstances for small animals such as insects. Well developed woods of the Palace cool the temperature of Tokyo; the temperature is lower by 2°C in summer, and are good for the central parts of Tokyo which is influenced by the urban heat island phenomenon.[12]
Giant trees and historic trees
In the Fukiage Garden there is a line of Zelkova serrata trees. A tree with a circumference of 3.3 metres (11ft) was revealed to be of genroku era origin (from 1688 to 1703) by the growth ring method in the 1970s.  The time might have been earlier since there was a larger tree of 4.77 metres (15.6ft). In the Yamabukino Nagare of the Fukiage Gardern, Tokugawa Ienari (office 1787 - 1837) ordered the transplantation of famous 40 black pine trees, which were 17 in the Taisho era and 5 in 1986, including those which were re-transplanted.[13] In days gone by, several hundred fir trees were seen, but decreased in number and in 2001, there are only 8 trees inside the Garden. In Tokyo Prefecture, Tashiroran (Epipogium roseum), a kind of Orchidaceae without chlorophyll was discovered in the Palace.[14] Between the publication of 1986 and the surveys of 1996-1999, 55 species had disappeared, possibly because of the deepening of the woods and insufficient sunlight.

Bryophytes and lichens
There are 77 species of mosses, 29 species of liverworts (hepatics) and one species of hornwort in the Palace. The Palace is the most rich place, followed by Institute for Nature Study with 52 species. Endangered species such as Taxiphyllum alternans (Card.) Z. Iwats and Monosolenium tenerum were found in the Palace, while common species associated with urbanization such as Funaria hygrometrica and Marchantia polymorpha were not found in the Palace.
57 species of lichens were found in the Palace. Of them 3 genera and 5 species were first found in the Palace. Parmotrema tinctorum and Usnea rubescens Stirt which are weak in atmospheric pollution were not found in the Palace.
Algae
Interesting algae has been found, including 11 species of cyanobacteria, 156 species of diatoms (including varieties), 58 species of green algae and other species of algae.
Fungi
There have been 368 species of fungi found, including 8 new species. Previously Hirohito had inventoried and left in place 64 species of Mycetozoa. New investigations between 1996 and 1999 revealed 88 species of Mycetozoa. 19 species previously recorded were not found in the new investigations.
Naturalist Minakata Kumagusu gave a short seminar to the emperor. He took Hirohito for a walk in the woods on the island, then gave him a 25-minute lecture, on board the royal ship Nagato, on slime molds on June 1, 1929. Minakata presented the Emperor with gifts including 110 specimens of slime molds kept in empty taffy boxes.
Detailed explanations of the vegetation of the Palace
Detailed explanations of the vegetation of the Palace with species are made in the reference in English.[15] They include 1. Trees, Giant Trees and Historic Trees, Bonsai in the Imperial Palace, 2. Herbaceous Plants and Shrubs, Fukiage Gardens, Plants around the Moats, Other locations, Naturalized Plants in Japan 3. Four seasons at the Imperial Palace.
Three noted trees
There are three noted species of trees of the Palace. One is a fir tree (Abies) in the Three Palace Sanctuaries. In the Meiji era, other trees of the same species were  more than several hundreds in number, but only 8 trees survived in 2001. This one grew to a large size.[16]
.
The second is Liquidambar formosana Hance (English name: sweet gum) (Japanese name: fū), which was transplanted from China in 1727 by Tokugawa Yoshimune. Originally L. formosana was planted where Chinese emperors lived. There were 13 tall trees in the Fukiage Garden; the tallest was about 20 metres (66ft) high, and 5.1 metres (17ft) in circumference, but whether they were introduced in 1727 was not verified.  The crowns of this tree turn reddish-orange or crimson red in fall.[17]

The third is Metasequoia glyptostroboides, the dawn redwood. A young plant and 500 seeds were presented to Japan by an American scholar in 1949. The young plant and one from a seed were planted in the south of Kaentei House of the Fukiage Garden. Both were 27 metres (89ft) high and one was 2.7 metres (8ft 10in) and the other 4.1 metres (13ft) in breast-height circumference in 2001.[18]

Monitoring vegetation with satellites
The vegetation of the Palace was monitored with Ikonos satellite (March 10, 2000) and LandStat satellite (July 25, 1999). Evergreen, broad-leafed species such as Cinnamomum camphora, Machilus thunbergii, and Lithocarpus edulis were differentiated from temperate deciduous trees, such as cherry blossoms, Quercus acutissima, Zelkova serrata and Acer palmatum.　Temperature changes were monitored with the LandStat satellite. It was suggested that the Palace interfered with the urban heat island phenomenon.[19]
Hirohito and nature
Naoru Tanaka, a chamberlain of Japan for Hirohito remembered an episode which took place in September 1965, on the day Hirohito returned from a 2-month stay from his summer resort. On the previous day, Tanaka had ordered the cleaning of the very thick weed and bush of garden of Hirohito. Hirohito scolded him asking why he ordered the cleaning. He replied that the weed was so thick. Hirohito said that there was no such word as weed. Every plant had its name. Since then, every question of Hirohito concerning plants came to him, although his speciality was geography. Hirohito loved nature, but thought of birds coming to the Palace and he ordered plants for wild birds be planted, such as Pyracantha, Idesia, Ardisia japonica, Ilex rotunda, Ilex serrata and Viburnum plicatum var. tomentosum. According to Tanaka, Hirohito's idea of leaving old-Tokyo woods in the Palace was based on his experience of the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake; it should be a place for evacuation.[20]
Fauna
Mammals
Small Japanese mole (Mogera imaizumii) is considered to have lived from the Edo era, while the origin of raccoon dog and masked palm civet which were found in the Palace remains unknown. But the latter two animals are found inside Tokyo Prefecture such as Imperial Akasaka residences and in Machida city,[21] and probably they are not of pet origin. Japanese house bat and small Japanese moles are considered of natural origin in the Palace.[22] The number of Japanese house bat is small, because the woods are so dark at night that insects are enough for their food. DNA studies revealed that small Japanese moles in the Palace and those of neighboring Tokyo area of Hino city  are the same in species, although they have become extinct inside central Tokyo except the Palace.

Amphibians and reptiles
In the Palace, bullfrogs have greatly increased in number, with adverse effects on reptiles, amphibians and insects. The affected reptiles include the Chinese pond turtle, Trachemys scripta elegans, Chinese softshell turtle, Takydromus tachydromoides, Japanese rat snake, Japanese striped snake, Hebius vibakari, and various geckos and lizards. The distribution of amphibians is very interesting. Salamander was not found in the Palace. Bufo japonicus formosus Japanese tree frog, bullfrog were found but, Japanese brown frog, Daruma pond frog, Japanese wrinkled frog could not be found.[23] The smaller number of frogs and the disappearance of the three frogs were considered to be due to the extraordinary increase of bullfrogs. Once a species disappears such as by bullfrogs, it is extremely difficult to return to the previous condition because of the closed nature of the Palace.

Birds
The northern goshawk, a raptor, which used to winter on Palace grounds, gradually stayed for all seasons.[24] Nosuri (Buteo japonicus) also stayed in the Palace. As a result, ducks and Oriental turtle doves decreased.  The goshawk preyed mainly on jungle crows.[25] In the 1950s, heron was hunted away because they damaged the trees in the Palace. Around 1975, the common kingfisher, the Japanese pygmy woodpecker, the Hakusekirei (Motacilla alba lugens) which is a kind of white wagtail, and the brown-eared bulbul have become sedentary birds on the Palace grounds.[26] It is not unusual for birds to become urbanized, especially the common kingfisher. The route of common kingfisher to the Palace is being investigated, and was thought to be through green open spaces in neighboring Tokyo areas. In the 1950s, the colonies of  herons and  great cormorant disappeared in the Palace, as a result of deteriorating living conditions.

Wild birds observed by a photographer
The following list shows wild birds observed by Takuya Kanouchi[27] between April 1994 and March 1995 in the Palace gardens including the eastern garden. He is a freelance wild bird photographer.
Little grebe, great cormorant, black-crowned night heron, little egret, grey heron, Mandarin duck, mallard, spot-billed duck, Eurasian wigeon, northern pintail, tufted duck, black kite, northern goshawk, Eurasian sparrowhawk, nosuri (Japanese) Buteo japonicus, common moorhen, black-headed gull, European herring gull, Oriental turtle dove, lesser cuckoo, brown hawk-owl, common kingfisher, Japanese green woodpecker, Japanese pygmy woodpecker, barn swallow, common house martin, grey wagtail,　Motacilla alba lugens, brown-eared bulbul, bull-headed shrike, Daurian redstart, pale thrush, Naumann's thrush, Japanese bush warbler, goldcrest, coal tit, varied tit, Japanese tit, Japanese white-eye, meadow bunting, black-faced bunting, hawfinch, Eurasian tree sparrow, white-cheeked starling, azure-winged magpie, carrion crow and jungle crow.
Fish
Ten species of fish commonly seen in Japan were found in the Dōkan Moat including common carp, Carassius cuvieri, Carassius auratus langsdorfii, Misgurnus anguillicaudatus and stone moroko.[28] In the Hasuike Moat, northern snakehead was confirmed in addition. DNA studies of the obtained Carassius auratus langsdorfii revealed that all fish were triploidy females or tetraploidy females. They reproduce in a clone-like fashion, by ameiotic parthenogenesis. The same phenomenon was also seen in the same species of fish in the moat of Hiroshima castle, Hiroshima Prefecture. The researcher analyzed it by the cytoflow method.[29]

Crustaceans
In the moats, Palaemon adspersus, Macrobrachium, nukaebi (Paratya improvisa) and Procambarus clarkii were found, in many numbers except Macrobrachium. Procambarus clarkii was not obtained in the Dokan Moat.[30] In the eastern Garden, a crab, sawagani or (Geothelphusa dehaani) was confirmed. In the moats, parasitic crustaceans were found in stone moroko, Carassius auratus langsdorfii, Carassius cuvieri and in some shrimps. As land living crustaceans, 16 species of Isopoda and two species of Gammaridea were found. The most common Isopoda was Tokyo koshibiro dangomushi which is usually found in deep woods. Three species of Harpacticoida were found from the soil, indicating a stable circumstance of the Palace like woods in the mountains.

Myriapodae
In the Fukiage Garden, 41 species of Myriapodae were found; of them, seven had not been previously documented. In Chiba Prefecture, 73 species were found, and in the Palace, about half of those found in Chiba Prefecture have been found, indicating the richness of nature in the Palace. Characteristic in the Myriapodae in the Palace was that the species were those found in the subtropical zone. This may suggest that before the construction of Edo castle, the Palace was in the laurel forest zone.
Pseudoscorpions
Four species of pseudoscorpion were found in the Palace, indicating the smallness of pseudoscopion in the Palace, compared with the northern Kanto Prefectures. During the long history of the Palace, there might have been periods when the Palace was not good for the ecology of pseudoscorpions.
Spiders
Thirty families of spiders which included 141 species of spiders were inventoried between 1996 and 1999, smaller than counted elsewhere in the Prefecture. This may be explained by the change of circumstances not conducive for spiders. Many species of spiders were common in the Palace as well as outside the palace gardens; suggesting that spiders might spread by the wind.
Oribatidae, Tardigrades, Earthworms
Thirty-nine families and 68 species of Oribatida were confirmed in the Palace, indicating a natural circumstance in comparison with the investigations in Meiji Shrine, Todoroki Valley, Residence of  Prince Hitachi, Musashi-Murayama city and Kokubunji city.[31] Four families, nine genera and 21 species of Tardigrade were found in the Palace.[32] Three families, four genera and 20 species of earthworms were found in the Palace. Of them, four had not been documented. Compared with the investigations in 11 spots in Tokyo, the Palace had the most good soil for the earthworms.[33]
Thirteen species of fresh water shellfishes and 40 species of land snail were confirmed in the Palace. Freshwater shellfishes previously commonly seen in Japan became rare, but they were seen in the Palace, including Sphaerium japonicum, a kind Viviparidae and Radix auricularia. As an example of artificial intervention, kawanina, or Semisulcospira libertina, was introduced for the growth of fireflies.
Land living shellfishes are divided into the native group which favored deranged environments living the subtropical zone and a group introduced by foreign countries. Some species might have lived in the Edo era, while some others might have been introduced from foreign countries.[34] Animal plankton was studies in the Dokan Moat, Hasuike Moat and Hyo Pond, an artificial pond from 1996 to 1999.
Insects
Odonatae
In the investigation of 1987 and 1988, eight families and 27 species of Odonatae were found, and the following monitoring six species were found, in all eight families and 33 species.[35] In one ku of Tokyo mainland Prefecture, 20-30 species of Odonata were usually found. Some of those which disappeared in central Tokyo were found, such as biniitotonbo (Ceriagrion nipponicum), kosanae and aoyanma (Aeschnophlebia longistigma). Chotonbo (Rhyothemis fuliginosa) has become a resident, while Rubia has considerably decreased.  The Palace revealed to be a precious place for Odonata, although water areas are not so large.
Grasshoppers
Forty-five species of grasshoppers were found in the Palace, indicating the richness of nature in the Palace, compared with other central parts of Tokyo.
Aphids
Two families, 95 species of aphids were found in the palace. In the monitoring of aphids between 2001 and 2005, 20 more species were confirmed; totaling 115 species. The Palace was shown to be like Satoyama in the environment, which is good for aphids.
Scale insects
Nine families and 127 species, including those not documented before, were found in the Palace. Some of the species indicate the effects of urban heat island phenomenon.
Pentatomoidea
Forty-one families and 214 species of pentatomoidea were confirmed. Some of them might have been introduced with the plants transplanted into the Palace, since earlier investigations in the ku areas of  Tokyo Prefecture revealed less than 200 species. On the contrary, water-born Hemiptera do not have an ability to move so much and may reflect the previous condition. They are seldom senn in central Tokyo except the Palace.

Thrips
Three families and 74 species were found in the Palace, including 10 plus several species not documented in Japan before.[36]
Moths
Forty-two families and 514 species of moths were confirmed in the investigations of 1996 to 1999.[37] One of the moths had become extinct, but it was seen again and it was because the lichen it eats was weak in atmospheric pollutions such as photochemical smog in the 1970s.

Butterflies
Eight families and 37 species of butterflies were confirmed in the investigations of 1996 to 1999. In the monitoring of 2001 to 2005, 11 more species were found, to a total of 48 species, indicating that the Palace is a precious area for the butterflies.[38] Butterflies fly from one place to another, so that, various open green spaces in Tokyo are important in the ecology of butterflies. Administrative works should be to a minimum, since butterflies are small in number in the Meiji Shrine which is  well cared and administered.

Beetles
According to the survey between 1996 and 1998, three families and 738 species of Beetles were confirmed in the Palace including Prosopocoilus inclinatus, which is rarely seen in central Tokyo.[39] Oomidzusumashi or a kind of whirligig beetle which has become extinct in central Tokyo was also confirmed. Beetles in the Palace suggests close relationships with those in the Izu Peninsula and Miura Peninsula. The presence of chairochibigengoro, or a kind of Dytiscidae, which is seen near the sea, may suggest that the Palace was once near the seashore.[40] 2 families and 39 species of longhorn beetle were confirmed in the Palace. Five families and 161 species of rove beetles were confirmed between 1996 and 1997 and the following monitoring.

Wasps
Forty-eight families and 513 species of bees were confirmed in the investigations of 1996 to 1999.
Ants
Forty-nine species of ants were confirmed in the Palace; which is a larger number than that in Ota-ku, Nakano-ku, and Itabashi-ku, Tokyo. Ants in the Palace were characterized by their not being the species spreading their spheres artificially.
Vespinae
18 families and 128 species of vespinae were confirmed, including Vespinae and honeybees. Most honeybees are Apis cerana japonica Rad, which is common in Japan. The reason why western honey bees are smaller in number might be that Apis cerane japonica has resistance to larger Vespinae.
Flies and mosquitoes
525 species of flies and mosquitoes, including kogata-akaieka (Culex tritaeniorhynchus) which transmits Japanese encephalitis, were confirmed in 1996 and 1997. There were 74 species of Chironomidae, this number corresponded to the whole number seen in the area of Tama River. The species of flies were the same as those of Tama Area of Tokyo and those multiply in the garbage were few in number. Among the flies, there were 77 species of Drosophilidae in the Palace.  The ecology studies with Drosophilidae in the Palace and the experimental plantation in Chiba revealed that both places have woods, and grassland and marshland in common, serving to the diversity of animals. Although the Palace is a secluded circumstance, its connections with outer circumstances are apparent and important.
Proturae
Three families and 16 species of proturae were confirmed, indicating the richness of nature of the Palace.
Springtails
Twelve families and 74 species of springtail were confirmed in the Palace indicating the favorable circumstances of the Palace.
Characteristics of the Biota of Tokyo Imperial Palace
Based on the distribution of Myriapoda and spiders, the Tokyo Imperial Palace area had been  a laurel forest facing the sea, before the entry of Tokugawa Ieyasu into the Edo castle. Since then, it had been changed in a number of ways such as the castle, residences of daimyōs, gardens and a golf course. In 1937, the administration as a park had been discontinued and in 1948, at the request of Hirohito that nature of old Musashino or old Tokyo should be revived, some of the plants of Musashino or old Tokyo were transplanted. Although it is not a virgin forest, the Tokyo Imperial Palace is exceptionally rich in nature, considering its location in the heart of a great city.  Therefore, the biota of the Palace is rich in vegetation as well as in animals of the Animal Kingdom. While small Japanese mole has outlived a long history since the Edo era, this is an exceptional case, and it is considered that many living creatures and plants have disappeared. Especially due to urbanization and pollution, such as photochemical smog in the 1970s, big trees such as fir and Cryptomeria have withered. Large sized lichens have completely disappeared. As a constituent of the biota of the Palace, the bringing of animals or plants from outside, either intentionally or unintentionally, is important. In the present investigations, many new species have been observed. Although the Palace is a closed circumstance, the effects from other places should be watched for any changes. As constituents of animals and vegetation, Cryptoparlatorea edentata (Takagi et Kawai, 1966) might have been introduced in the Edo era with transplanted fir, indicating the effects of trees  at large. Some of land shellfishes might also have been introduced. Some species which had not been documented were found in algae, Oribatida and earthworms. The Palace is encircled by Central Tokyo, and bordered by moats.  Some of the living creatures without an ability to move may disappear, while the introduction of bullfrogs produced immense effects on other animals. There is closedness of the Palace but at the same time, there are also strong connections with the outer world. The northern goshawk has become a sedentary bird, producing great changes in the ecology of other birds. The biota has shown constant changes, and it should be maintained, with the least artificial modulations of the circumstances.[41]

Biological Research Institute (Biological Laboratory Imperial Household), Flora Sedis Imperatoris Japonicae</i>1989, Hoikusha, ISBN4586307137
Biology Study Group(National Science Museum Imperial Palace Biota Investigation Group) Biota of Imperial Palace Fukiage Garden 2001, Sekai Bunkasha, ISBN4-418-01303-2
Kazuma Anezaki, Mitsuhiko Imamori, Takuya Kanouchi, Woods in the Palace, 2005, Shinchōsha, ISBN4-10-602125-0 In this book, observations in the eastern garden were included.
Yasuhisa Tashiro, Hirohito and golf, A key to the understanding of the Showa era, 2012, Shufunotomo-sha, ISBN978-4-07-283914-0
Footnotes

What is the largest tree on the Tokyo Imperial Palace grounds?


Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity, initiated by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the Mormons followed Brigham Young to what would become the Utah Territory. Today, most Mormons are understood to be members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Some Mormons are also either independent or non-practicing. The center of Mormon cultural influence is in Utah, and North America has more Mormons than any other continent, though the majority of Mormons live outside the United States.
Mormons have developed a strong sense of commonality that stems from their doctrine and history. During the 19th century, Mormon converts tended to gather to a central geographic location, and between 1852 and 1890 a minority of Mormons openly practiced plural marriage, a form of religious polygamy. Mormons dedicate large amounts of time and resources to serving in their church, and many young Mormons choose to serve a full-time proselytizing mission. Mormons have a health code which eschews alcoholic beverages, tobacco, coffee, tea, and other addictive substances. They tend to be very family-oriented and have strong connections across generations and with extended family, reflective of their belief that families can be sealed together beyond death. Mormons also have a strict law of chastity, requiring abstention from sexual relations outside heterosexual marriage and fidelity within marriage.
Mormons self-identify as Christian,[9] although some non-Mormons consider Mormons non-Christian[10] and some of their beliefs differ from mainstream Christianity. Mormons believe in the Bible, as well as other books of scripture, such as the Book of Mormon. They have a unique view of cosmology and believe that all people are spirit-children of God. Mormons believe that returning to God requires following the example of Jesus Christ, and accepting his atonement through ordinances such as baptism. They believe that Christ's church was restored through Joseph Smith and is guided by living prophets and apostles. Central to Mormon faith is the belief that God speaks to his children and answers their prayers.
The number of members in 1971 was 3,090,953[11] and as of 2018, there are 16,118,169 members worldwide.[1][12][13]
Terminology
The word "Mormons" most often refers to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) because of their belief in the Book of Mormon, though members often refer to themselves as Latter-day Saints or sometimes just Saints.[14] The term "Mormons" has been embraced by others, most notably Mormon fundamentalists,[15] while other Latter Day Saint denominations, such as the Community of Christ, have rejected it. Both LDS Church members and members of fundamentalist groups commonly use the word "Mormon" in reference to themselves.[16] LDS Church leaders have encouraged members to use the church's full name to emphasize its focus on Jesus Christ,[17][18] and have discouraged the use of the shortened form "Church of the Latter Day Saints", as well as the acronym "LDS", and the nickname "Mormons".[19][20][18]
The word "Mormon" is often associated with polygamy (or plural marriage),[21] which was a distinguishing practice of many early Mormons; however, it was renounced by the LDS Church in 1890[22]
and discontinued over the next 15 years.[23]
Today, polygamy is practiced within Mormonism only by people that have broken with the LDS Church.[24]
History

The history of the Mormons has shaped them into a people with a strong sense of unity and commonality.[25] From the start, Mormons have tried to establish what they call "Zion", a utopian society of the righteous.[26]
Mormon history can be divided into three broad time periods: (1) the early history during the lifetime of Joseph Smith, (2) a "pioneer era" under the leadership of Brigham Young and his successors, and (3) a modern era beginning around the turn of the 20th century. In the first period, Smith had tried literally to build a city called Zion, in which converts could gather. During the pioneer era, Zion became a "landscape of villages" in Utah. In modern times, Zion is still an ideal, though Mormons gather together in their individual congregations rather than a central geographic location.[27]
Beginnings

Mormons trace their origins to the visions that Joseph Smith reported he had in the early 1820s while living in upstate New York.[28] In 1823, Smith said an angel directed him to a buried book written on golden plates containing the religious history of an ancient people.[29] Smith published what he said was a translation of these plates in March 1830 as the Book of Mormon, named after Mormon, the ancient prophet–historian who compiled the book. On April 6, 1830, Smith founded the Church of Christ.[30] The early church grew westward as Smith sent missionaries to proselytize.[31] In 1831, the church moved to Kirtland, Ohio where missionaries had made a large number of converts[32] and Smith began establishing an outpost in Jackson County, Missouri,[33] where he planned to eventually build the city of Zion (or the New Jerusalem).[34] In 1833, Missouri settlers, alarmed by the rapid influx of Mormons, expelled them from Jackson County into the nearby Clay County, where local residents were more welcoming.[35]
After Smith led a mission, known as Zion's Camp, to recover the land,[36] he began building Kirtland Temple in Lake County, Ohio, where the church flourished.[37] When the Missouri Mormons were later asked to leave Clay County in 1836, they secured land in what would become Caldwell County.[38]
The Kirtland era ended in 1838, after the failure of a church-sponsored anti-bank caused widespread defections,[39] and Smith regrouped with the remaining church in Far West, Missouri.[40] During the fall of 1838, tensions escalated into the Mormon War with the old Missouri settlers.[41] On October 27, the governor of Missouri ordered that the Mormons "must be treated as enemies" and be exterminated or driven from the state.[42] Between November and April, some eight thousand displaced Mormons migrated east into Illinois.[43]

In 1839, the Mormons purchased the small town of Commerce, converted swampland on the banks of the Mississippi River, and renamed the area Nauvoo, Illinois[44] and began construction of the Nauvoo Temple. The city became the church's new headquarters and gathering place, and it grew rapidly, fueled in part by converts immigrating from Europe.[45] Meanwhile, Smith introduced temple ceremonies meant to seal families together for eternity, as well as the doctrines of eternal progression or exaltation,[46] and plural marriage.[47]
Smith created a service organization for women called the Relief Society, as well as an organization called the Council of Fifty, representing a future theodemocratic "Kingdom of God" on the earth.[48]
Smith also published the story of his First Vision, in which the Father and the Son appeared to him while he was about 14 years old.[49]
This vision would come to be regarded by some Mormons as the most important event in human history after the birth, ministry, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.[50]
In 1844, local prejudices and political tensions, fueled by Mormon peculiarity and internal dissent, escalated into conflicts between Mormons and "anti-Mormons".[51] On June 27, 1844, Smith and his brother Hyrum were killed by a mob in Carthage, Illinois.[52] Because Hyrum was Smith's logical successor,[53] their deaths caused a succession crisis,[54] and Brigham Young assumed leadership over the majority of Latter Day Saints.[55] Young had been a close associate of Smith's and was senior apostle of the Quorum of the Twelve.[56] Smaller groups of Latter Day Saints followed other leaders to form other denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement.[57]
Pioneer era

For two years after Smith's death, conflicts escalated between Mormons and other Illinois residents. To prevent war, Brigham Young led the Mormon pioneers (constituting most of the Latter Day Saints) to a temporary winter quarters in Nebraska and then, eventually (beginning in 1847), to what became the Utah Territory.[58] Having failed to build Zion within the confines of American society, the Mormons began to construct a society in isolation, based on their beliefs and values.[59] The cooperative ethic that Mormons had developed over the last decade and a half became important as settlers branched out and colonized a large desert region now known as the Mormon Corridor.[60] Colonizing efforts were seen as religious duties, and the new villages were governed by the Mormon bishops (local lay religious leaders).[61] The Mormons viewed land as commonwealth, devising and maintaining a co-operative system of irrigation that allowed them to build a farming community in the desert.[62]
From 1849 to 1852, the Mormons greatly expanded their missionary efforts, establishing several missions in Europe, Latin America, and the South Pacific.[63] Converts were expected to "gather" to Zion, and during Young's presidency (1847–77) over seventy thousand Mormon converts immigrated to America.[63] Many of the converts came from England and Scandinavia, and were quickly assimilated into the Mormon community.[64] Many of these immigrants crossed the Great Plains in wagons drawn by oxen, while some later groups pulled their possessions in small handcarts. During the 1860s, newcomers began using the new railroad that was under construction.[65]
In 1852, church leaders publicized the previously secret practice of plural marriage, a form of polygamy.[66] Over the next 50 years, many Mormons (between 20 and 30 percent of Mormon families)[67] entered into plural marriages as a religious duty, with the number of plural marriages reaching a peak around 1860, and then declining through the rest of the century.[68] Besides the doctrinal reasons for plural marriage, the practice made some economic sense, as many of the plural wives were single women who arrived in Utah without brothers or fathers to offer them societal support.[69]

By 1857, tensions had again escalated between Mormons and other Americans, largely as a result of accusations involving polygamy and the theocratic rule of the Utah Territory by Brigham Young.[70] In 1857, U.S. President James Buchanan sent an army to Utah, which Mormons interpreted as open aggression against them. Fearing a repeat of Missouri and Illinois, the Mormons prepared to defend themselves, determined to torch their own homes in the case that they were invaded.[71] The relatively peaceful Utah War ensued from 1857 to 1858, in which the most notable instance of violence was the Mountain Meadows massacre, when leaders of a local Mormon militia ordered the killing of a civilian emigrant party that was traveling through Utah during the escalating tensions.[72] In 1858, Young agreed to step down from his position as governor and was replaced by a non-Mormon, Alfred Cumming.[73] Nevertheless, the LDS Church still wielded significant political power in the Utah Territory.[74]
At Young's death in 1877, he was followed by other LDS Church presidents, who resisted efforts by the United States Congress to outlaw Mormon polygamous marriages.[75] In 1878, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Reynolds v. United States that religious duty was not a suitable defense for practicing polygamy, and many Mormon polygamists went into hiding; later, Congress began seizing church assets.[75] In September 1890, church president Wilford Woodruff issued a Manifesto that officially suspended the practice of polygamy.[76] Although this Manifesto did not dissolve existing plural marriages, relations with the United States markedly improved after 1890, such that Utah was admitted as a U.S. state in 1896. After the Manifesto, some Mormons continued to enter into polygamous marriages, but these eventually stopped in 1904 when church president Joseph F. Smith disavowed polygamy before Congress and issued a "Second Manifesto" calling for all plural marriages in the church to cease. Eventually, the church adopted a policy of excommunicating members found practicing polygamy, and today seeks actively to distance itself from "fundamentalist" groups that continue the practice.[77]
Modern times

During the early 20th century, Mormons began to reintegrate into the American mainstream. In 1929, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir began broadcasting a weekly performance on national radio, becoming an asset for public relations.[78] Mormons emphasized patriotism and industry, rising in socioeconomic status from the bottom among American religious denominations to middle-class.[79]
In the 1920s and 1930s, Mormons began migrating out of Utah, a trend hurried by the Great Depression, as Mormons looked for work wherever they could find it.[80] As Mormons spread out, church leaders created programs that would help preserve the tight-knit community feel of Mormon culture.[81] In addition to weekly worship services, Mormons began participating in numerous programs such as Boy Scouting, a Young Women organization, church-sponsored dances, ward basketball, camping trips, plays, and religious education programs for youth and college students.[82] During the Great Depression, the church started a welfare program to meet the needs of poor members, which has since grown to include a humanitarian branch that provides relief to disaster victims.[83]

During the later half of the 20th century, there was a retrenchment movement in Mormonism in which Mormons became more conservative, attempting to regain their status as a "peculiar people".[84]
Though the 1960s and 1970s brought changes such as Women's Liberation and the civil rights movement, Mormon leaders were alarmed by the erosion of traditional values, the sexual revolution, the widespread use of recreational drugs, moral relativism, and other forces they saw as damaging to the family.[85]
Partly to counter this, Mormons put an even greater emphasis on family life, religious education, and missionary work, becoming more conservative in the process. As a result, Mormons today are probably less integrated with mainstream society than they were in the early 1960s.[86]
Although black people have been members of Mormon congregations since Joseph Smith's time, before 1978, black membership was small. From 1852 to 1978, the LDS Church enforced a policy that restricted men of black African descent from being ordained to the church's lay priesthood.[87] The church was sharply criticized for its policy during the civil rights movement, but the policy remained in force until a 1978 reversal that was prompted in part by questions about mixed-race converts in Brazil.[88] In general, Mormons greeted the change with joy and relief.[88] Since 1978, black membership has grown, and in 1997 there were approximately 500,000 black members of the church (about 5 percent of the total membership), mostly in Africa, Brazil and the Caribbean.[89] Black membership has continued to grow substantially, especially in West Africa, where two temples have been built.[90] Many black Mormons are members of the Genesis Group, an organization of black members that predates the priesthood ban, and is endorsed by the church.[91]

The LDS Church grew rapidly after World War II and became a worldwide organization as missionaries were sent across the globe. The church doubled in size every 15 to 20 years,[92] and by 1996, there were more Mormons outside the United States than inside.[93] In 2012, there were an estimated 14.8million Mormons,[94] with roughly 57 percent living outside the United States.[95] It is estimated that approximately 4.5million Mormons – roughly 30% of the total membership – regularly attend services.[96] A majority of U.S. Mormons are white and non-Hispanic (84 percent).[97] Most Mormons are distributed in North and South America, the South Pacific, and Western Europe. The global distribution of Mormons resembles a contact diffusion model, radiating out from the organization's headquarters in Utah.[98] The church enforces general doctrinal uniformity, and congregations on all continents teach the same doctrines, and international Mormons tend to absorb a good deal of Mormon culture, possibly because of the church's top-down hierarchy and a missionary presence. However, international Mormons often bring pieces of their own heritage into the church, adapting church practices to local cultures.[99]
Chile, Uruguay, and several areas in the South Pacific have a higher percentage of Mormons than the United States (which is at about 2 percent).[100] South Pacific countries and dependencies that are more than 10 percent Mormon include American Samoa, the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Niue, Samoa, and Tonga.
Culture and practices

Isolation in Utah had allowed Mormons to create a culture of their own.[101] As the faith spread around the world, many of its more distinctive practices followed. Mormon converts are urged to undergo lifestyle changes, repent of sins, and adopt sometimes atypical standards of conduct.[101] Practices common to Mormons include studying scriptures, praying daily, fasting regularly, attending Sunday worship services, participating in church programs and activities on weekdays, and refraining from work on Sundays when possible. The most important part of the church services is considered to be the Lord's Supper (commonly called sacrament), in which church members renew covenants made at baptism.[102] Mormons also emphasize standards they believe were taught by Jesus Christ, including personal honesty, integrity, obedience to law, chastity outside marriage and fidelity within marriage.[103]
In 2010, around 13–14 percent of Mormons lived in Utah, the center of cultural influence for Mormonism.[104] Utah Mormons (as well as Mormons living in the Intermountain West) are on average more culturally and/or politically conservative than those living in some cosmopolitan centers elsewhere in the U.S.[105] Utahns self-identifying as Mormon also attend church somewhat more on average than Mormons living in other states. (Nonetheless, whether they live in Utah or elsewhere in the U.S., Mormons tend to be more culturally and/or politically conservative than members of other U.S. religious groups.)[106] Utah Mormons often place a greater emphasis on pioneer heritage than international Mormons who generally are not descendants of the Mormon pioneers.[99]

Mormons have a strong sense of communality that stems from their doctrine and history.[107] LDS Church members have a responsibility to dedicate their time and talents to helping the poor and building the church. The church is divided by locality into congregations called "wards", with several wards or branches to create a "stake".[108] The vast majority of church leadership positions are lay positions, and church leaders may work 10 to 15 hours a week in unpaid church service.[109] Observant Mormons also contribute 10 percent of their income to the church as tithing, and are often involved in humanitarian efforts. Many LDS young men, women and elderly couples choose to serve a proselytizing mission, during which they dedicate all of their time to the church, without pay.[110]
Mormons adhere to the Word of Wisdom, a health law or code that is interpreted as prohibiting the consumption of tobacco, alcohol, coffee and tea,[111] while encouraging the use of herbs, grains, fruits, and a moderate consumption of meat.[112] The Word of Wisdom is also understood to forbid other harmful and addictive substances and practices, such as the use of illegal drugs and abuse of prescription drugs.[113] Mormons are encouraged to keep a year's supplies that include a food supply and a financial reserve.[114] Mormons also oppose behaviors such as viewing pornography and gambling.[103]
The concept of a united family that lives and progresses forever is at the core of Latter-day Saint doctrine, and Mormons place a high importance on family life.[115] Many Mormons hold weekly Family Home Evenings, in which an evening is set aside for family bonding, study, prayer and other activities they consider to be wholesome. Latter-day Saint fathers who hold the priesthood typically name and bless their children shortly after birth to formally give the child a name. Mormon parents hope and pray that their children will gain testimonies of the "gospel" so they can grow up and marry in temples.[116]
Mormons have a strict law of chastity, requiring abstention from sexual relations outside opposite-sex marriage and strict fidelity within marriage. All sexual activity (heterosexual and homosexual) outside marriage is considered a serious sin, with marriage recognized as only between a man and a woman.[117] Same-sex marriages are not performed or supported by the LDS Church. Church members are encouraged to marry and have children, and Latter-day Saint families tend to be larger than average. Mormons are opposed to abortion, except in some exceptional circumstances, such as when pregnancy is the result of incest or rape, or when the life or health of the mother is in serious jeopardy.[118] Many practicing adult Mormons wear religious undergarments that remind them of covenants and encourage them to dress modestly. Latter-day Saints are counseled not to partake of any form of media that is obscene or pornographic in any way, including media that depicts graphic representations of sex or violence. Tattoos and body piercings are also discouraged, with the exception of a single pair of earrings for LDS women.[119]
LGBT Mormons, or Mormons who self-identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual, remain in good standing in the church if they abstain from homosexual relations and obey the law of chastity.[120] While there are no official numbers, LDS Family Services estimates that there are on average four or five members per LDS ward who experience same-sex attraction.[121] Gary Watts, former president of Family Fellowship, estimates that only 10 percent of homosexuals stay in the church.[122] Many of these individuals have come forward through different support groups or websites discussing their homosexual attractions and concurrent church membership.[123][124][125]
Groups within Mormonism

Note that the categories below are not necessary mutually exclusive.
Latter-day Saints (the "LDS")

Members of the LDS Church, also known as Latter-day Saints, constitute over 95 percent of Mormons.[126] The beliefs and practices of LDS Mormons are generally guided by the teachings of LDS Church leaders. However, several smaller groups substantially differ from "mainstream" Mormonism in various ways.
LDS Church members who do not actively participate in worship services or church callings are often called "less-active" or "inactive" (akin to the qualifying expressions non-observant or non-practicing used in relation to members of other religious groups).[127] The LDS Church does not release statistics on church activity, but it is likely that about 40 percent of Mormons in the United States and 30 percent worldwide regularly attend worship services.[128] Reasons for inactivity can include lifestyle issues and problems with social integration.[129] Activity rates tend to vary with age, and disengagement occurs most frequently between age 16 and 25. A majority of less active members return to church activity later in life.[130] Former Latter-day Saints who seek to disassociate themselves from the religion are often referred to as ex-Mormons.
Fundamentalist Mormons
Members of sects that broke with the LDS Church over the issue of polygamy have become known as fundamentalist Mormons; these groups differ from mainstream Mormonism primarily in their belief in and practice of plural marriage. There are thought to be between 20,000 and 60,000 members of fundamentalist sects, (0.1–0.4 percent of Mormons), with roughly half of them practicing polygamy.[131] There are a number of fundamentalist sects, the largest two being the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS Church) and the Apostolic United Brethren (AUB). In addition to plural marriage, some of these groups also practice a form of Christian communalism known as the law of consecration or the United Order. The LDS Church seeks to distance itself from all such polygamous groups, excommunicating their members if discovered practicing or teaching it,[132] and today a majority of Mormon fundamentalists have never been members of the LDS Church.[133]
Liberal Mormons

Liberal Mormons, also known as Progressive Mormons, take an interpretive approach to LDS teachings and scripture.[127] They look to the scriptures for spiritual guidance, but may not necessarily believe the teachings to be literally or uniquely true. For liberal Mormons, revelation is a process through which God gradually brings fallible human beings to greater understanding.[134] Liberal Mormons place doing good and loving fellow human beings above the importance of believing correctly.[135] In a separate context, members of small progressive breakaway groups have also adopted the label.
Cultural Mormons
Cultural Mormons are individuals who may not believe in certain doctrines or practices of the institutional LDS Church yet identify as member of the Mormon ethnic identity.[136][127][137] Usually this is a result of having been raised in the LDS faith, or as having converted and spent a large portion of one's life as an active member of the LDS Church.[138] Cultural Mormons may or may not be actively involved with the LDS church. In some cases they may not be members of the LDS Church.
Beliefs

Mormons have a scriptural canon consisting of the Bible (both Old and New Testaments), the Book of Mormon, and a collection of revelations and writings by Joseph Smith known as the Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price.  Mormons, however, have a relatively open definition of scripture. As a general rule, anything spoken or written by a prophet, while under inspiration, is considered to be the word of God.[139] Thus, the Bible, written by prophets and apostles, is the word of God, so far as it is translated correctly. The Book of Mormon is also believed to have been written by ancient prophets, and is viewed as a companion to the Bible. By this definition, the teachings of Smith's successors are also accepted as scripture, though they are always measured against, and draw heavily from the scriptural canon.[140]

Mormons believe in "a friendly universe", governed by a God whose aim it is to bring his children to immortality and eternal life.[142] Mormons have a unique perspective on the nature of God, the origin of man, and the purpose of life. For instance, Mormons believe in a pre-mortal existence where people were literal spirit children of God,[143] and that God presented a plan of salvation that would allow his children to progress and become more like him. The plan involved the spirits receiving bodies on earth and going through trials in order to learn, progress, and receive a "fulness of joy".[143] The most important part of the plan involved Jesus, the eldest of God's children, coming to earth as the literal Son of God, to conquer sin and death so that God's other children could return. According to Mormons, every person who lives on earth will be resurrected, and nearly all of them will be received into various kingdoms of glory.[144] To be accepted into the highest kingdom, a person must fully accept Christ through faith, repentance, and through ordinances such as baptism and the laying on of hands.[145]

According to Mormons, a deviation from the original principles of Christianity, known as the Great Apostasy, began not long after the ascension of Jesus Christ.[146] It was marked with the corruption of Christian doctrine by Greek and other philosophies,[147] with followers dividing into different ideological groups.[148] Mormons claim the martyrdom of the Apostles[149] led to a loss of Priesthood authority to administer the church and its ordinances.[150]
Mormons believe that God restored the early Christian church through Joseph Smith. In particular, Mormons believe that angels such as Peter, James, John, John the Baptist, Moses, and Elijah appeared to Smith and others and bestowed various priesthood authorities on them. Mormons believe that their church is the "only true and living church" because of the divine authority restored through Smith. Mormons self-identify as being Christian,[151] while many Christians, particularly evangelical Protestants, disagree with this view.[152] Mormons view other religions as having portions of the truth, doing good works, and having genuine value.[153]
Though the LDS Church has a top-down hierarchical structure with a president–prophet dictating revelations for the whole church, there is a bottom-up aspect as well. Ordinary Mormons have access to the same inspiration that is thought to guide their prophets, and are encouraged to seek their own personal revelations.[154] Mormons see Joseph Smith's First Vision as proof that the heavens are open, and that God answers prayers. They place considerable emphasis on "asking God" to find out if something is true. Most Mormons do not claim to have had heavenly visions like Smith's in response to prayers, but feel that God talks to them in their hearts and minds through the Holy Ghost. Though Mormons have some beliefs that are considered strange in a modernized world, they continue to hold onto their beliefs because they feel God has spoken to them.[155]
See also

List of Latter Day Saints
List of denominations in the Latter Day Saint movement: Followers of Brigham Young
List of former or dissident LDS

External reading

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 and , official websites of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
 page at the Public Broadcasting Service