Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Latter Day Saint movement was founded in 1830 when Joseph Smith claimed to have been visited by an angel who told him where to find golden plates buried in a hill in upstate New York. This event launched the movement which now counts over 17 million members.
Joseph Smith died in 1844 after being killed by a lynch mob. His death marked a pivotal moment in the history of religious persecution and the struggle for religious freedom in America.
The Shinto Directive of 1945 forced the Japanese government to separate itself from Shinto which had been the state religion. This event led to a surge in new religious groups including Tenrikyo founded in 1838 and Soka Gakkai which gained popularity after the war.
913 members died in the Jonestown mass murder-suicide in 1978 when the Peoples Temple led by Jim Jones ended in Guyana. This event brought the image of killer cults to public attention and contributed to the concept of the cult as a dangerous and destructive force.
J. Gordon Melton noted in 2006 that 40 to 45 new religious movements emerge each year in the United States. Many of these groups utilize the internet to spread their message and reach a global audience.