Salt Lake City is the capital and most populous municipality in the state of Utah, with about 1.2 million residents in its metropolitan area. It was founded in 1847 by followers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who sought to escape persecution they experienced living in the east. As shown in this Overview, the city has a distinct north-south east-west grid system, which was laid out by church leader Brigham Young using what was called the "Plat of Zion" or the "Mormon Grid."