Church Chronology from 1800 -2000 [Part -1]


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Chronology

1801 1 June—Brigham Young born in Whitingham, Vermont.

1805 23 December—Joseph Smith Jr. born in Sharon, Vermont.

1807 1 March—Wilford Woodruff born in Farmington (now Avon), Connecticut.

1808 1 November—John Taylor born in Milnthorpe, England.

1814 3 April—Lorenzo Snow born in Mantua, Ohio.

1820 Early spring—First Vision.

1823 21-22 September—Moroni visited Joseph Smith and showed him gold plates buried in Hill Cumorah.

1827 18 January—Joseph Smith married Emma Hale in South Bainbridge, New York.

22 September—Moroni gave the gold plates to Joseph Smith.

1828 February—Martin Harris showed Book of Mormon characters to Charles Anthon and Samuel L. Mitchill.

June-July—Martin Harris lost 116 pages of Book of Mormon manuscript.

1829 7 April—Joseph Smith resumed translation of the Book of Mormon with Oliver Cowdery as scribe.

15 May—John the Baptist bestowed the Aaronic Priesthood on Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in Harmony, Pennsylvania.

May or June—Peter, James, and John conferred the Melchizedek Priesthood upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery.

June—Translation of the Book of Mormon completed; witnesses saw the gold plates.

11 June—Copyright secured for the Book of Mormon.

August—Printing of the Book of Mormon began in the Grandin Printing Shop, Palmyra, New York.

1830 26 March—Book of Mormon published in Palmyra, New York.

April-June—Samuel Smith went on early missions in Western New York.

6 April—Organization of the Church at Whitmer Farm in Fayette, New York.

June—Book of Moses, chapter 1, revealed to Joseph Smith in Harmony, Pennsylvania.

9 June—First conference held at Whitmer Farm; Articles and Covenants accepted (D&C 20; 22).

September-October—Missionaries called to Lamanite mission.

October-November—About 130 individuals converted in Kirtland, Ohio, and vicinity.

December—Sidney Rigdon appointed as scribe for the New Translation of the Bible (D&C 35:20).

1831 January-May—Members from New York branches moved to Ohio.

1 February—Joseph Smith arrived at the Newel K. Whitney Store in Kirtland, Ohio.

4 February—Edward Partridge became first bishop.

9 February—Joseph Smith received "the law of the Church," including the law of consecration (D&C 42).

Spring— Parley P. Pratt, Leman Copley, and Sidney Rigdon visited Shakers near Cleveland, Ohio.

3-6 June—First high priests ordained.

20 July—Site revealed to Joseph Smith for center of Zion in Independence, Missouri (D&C 57).

2 August—Zion dedicated by Sidney Rigdon.

3 August—Joseph Smith dedicated the temple site at Independence, Missouri.

1-2 November—Decision made at conference in Hiram, Ohio, to print Book of Commandments.

1832 25 January—Joseph Smith sustained as president of the high priesthood, in Amherst, Ohio.

16 February—Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon received vision of the three degrees of glory (D&C 76), in Hiram, Ohio.

24 March—Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon beaten and tarred and feathered at John Johnson Farm in Hiram, Ohio.

1 June—The Evening and the Morning Star began publication at Independence, Missouri.

25 December—Joseph Smith received the prophecy on war (D&C 87).

1833 22 January—School of the Prophets organized in Whitney Store at Kirtland, Ohio.

27 February—Word of Wisdom revealed (D&C 89).

18 March—First Presidency organized with Sidney Rigdon and Frederick G. Williams (replacing Jesse Gause) as counselors to Joseph Smith.

2 July—First draft of Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible completed.

20 July—Independence, Missouri, Printing Office destroyed; Edward Partridge tarred and feathered by mob.

23 July—Kirtland Temple cornerstones laid; Saints made treaty with mob, agreeing to leave Jackson County, Missouri.

Late summer—School of the Elders organized by Parley P. Pratt in Jackson County, Missouri.

7 November—Saints driven from Jackson County, Missouri.

18 December—Joseph Smith Sr. became first patriarch to the Church.

1834 17 February—First stake and high council organized in Kirtland, Ohio.

3 May—Church adopted the designation "Latter-day Saints" (see Church, Names of).

8 May—Zion's Camp began its march from Ohio to Missouri.

October—Messenger and Advocate began publication in Kirtland, Ohio.

November—School of the Elders organized in Kirtland.

5 December—Oliver Cowdery named assistant president of the Church in Kirtland, Ohio.

1835 14 February—Quorum of the Twelve Apostles organized at Kirtland.

28 February—Original Quorum of Seventy organized.

28 March—Revelation on priesthood received (D&C 107).

6 July—Church members purchased Egyptian mummies and papyri from Michael Chandler.

17 August—Doctrine and Covenants accepted by the Saints as a standard work.

Fall—Emma Smith compiled hymns for publication.

1836 27 March—Kirtland Temple dedicated (D&C 109).

3 April—Jesus Christ, Moses, Elias, and Elijah appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple (D&C 110).

9 May—John Taylor and wife, Lenora, baptized near Toronto, Canada.

29 June—Group of citizens at Liberty, Missouri, passed a resolution to expel the Saints from Clay County.

2 November—Articles of agreement drawn up for Kirtland Safety Society.

1837 2 January—Kirtland Safety Society antibanking company formed.

13 June—Heber C. Kimball and others left Ohio for England, the first missionary effort to extend beyond North America.

30 July—First converts baptized in Great Britain.

October—Elder's Journal began publication in Kirtland, Ohio.

December—Martin Harris excommunicated.

1838 12 January—Joseph Smith fled persecution in Kirtland, Ohio.

14 March—Far West, Missouri, established as new Church headquarters.

12 April—Oliver Cowdery excommunicated.

13 April—David Whitmer excommunicated.

26 April—Name of the Church specified as "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" (D&C 115:4).

19 May—Adam-ondi-Ahman selected for settlement in Daviess County, Missouri.

4 July—Far West Temple cornerstones laid.

6 July—Exodus of most Saints from Kirtland, Ohio.

8 July—Joseph Smith received revelation on tithing (D&C 119).

6 August—Gallatin Election Day fight.

25 October—Battle of Crooked River; David W. Patten killed.

27 October—Lilburn W. Boggs issued extermination order, driving the Saints from Missouri.

30 October—Haun's Mill Massacre.

31 October—Joseph Smith and other leaders arrested by Missouri State Militia.

9 November—Joseph Smith and others imprisoned in Richmond, Ray County, Missouri.

13 November—Joseph F. Smith born in Far West, Missouri.

1 December—Joseph Smith and others moved to Liberty Jail.

1839 Winter-Spring—Most Saints fled from Missouri.

February—Exiled Saints arriving in Quincy, Illinois, assisted by local citizens.

20-25 March—Joseph Smith wrote epistle to Saints from Liberty Jail (D&C 121-23).

April—Saints decided to settle at Commerce (later Nauvoo), Illinois, and soon began purchasing land.

26 April—Apostles gathered at Far West temple site in fulfillment of commandment respecting overseas mission (D&C 118).

29 October-4 March—Joseph Smith went to Washington, D.C., with redress petitions.

November—Times and Seasons began publication in Nauvoo.

1840 27 May—Millennial Star, first LDS periodical produced outside North America began publication in Manchester, England, with Parley P. Pratt as editor.

15 August—Baptism for the dead announced in Nauvoo.

14 September—Patriarch Joseph Smith Sr. died.

16 December—Nauvoo Charter signed by Illinois governor Thomas Carlin.

1841 19 January—Joseph Smith received revelation to build Nauvoo Temple and Nauvoo House; Hyrum Smith called as assistant president of the Church and to succeed his father as patriarch (D&C 124).

February—First wards organized at Nauvoo.

24 October—Holy Land dedicated by Orson Hyde.

1842 1 March—First segment of the book of Abraham and Wentworth letter, including the Articles of Faith, published in Times and Seasons.

17 March—Female Relief Society of Nauvoo organized.

4 May—First full endowments given on second floor of the Prophet's Red Brick Store, in Nauvoo.

6 August—Rocky Mountain prophecy given by Joseph Smith.

10 October—Lorenzo Snow presented copies of the Book of Mormon to Queen Victoria of England.

1843 May—Missionaries called to first non-English-speaking mission in the Church, island of Tubuai (now in French Polynesia).

12 July—Revelation on celestial marriage (including plural marriage) recorded (D&C 132).

1844 29 January—Presidential campaign of Joseph Smith began.

11 March—Council of Fifty organized.

7 April—King Follett Discourse given by Joseph Smith.

7 June—Only issue of Nauvoo Expositor published; three days later the press was declared a nuisance and destroyed by the Nauvoo City Council.

27 June—Joseph and Hyrum Smith killed at Carthage Jail.

8 August—Leadership of the Church under the Twelve Apostles approved by the majority of the Saints in Nauvoo.

1845 January—Nauvoo Charter repealed by Illinois legislature.

6 April—Apostles issued proclamation to all the world.

3 May—Nauvoo Neighbor began publication.

10 December-7 February 1846—Saints completed more than 5,000 endowments in the Nauvoo Temple.

1846 4 February—Saints began their evacuation from Nauvoo; other Saints left New York City for California on ship Brooklyn, under the leadership of Samuel Brannan.

24 April—Saints encamped at Garden Grove, Iowa.

30 April—Nauvoo Temple privately dedicated by Orson Hyde.

14 June—Saints encamped at Council Bluffs.

July—Thomas Kane visited the Saints on the Missouri River; U.S. Army enlisted approximately 500 volunteers for the Mormon Battalion.

31 July—Ship Brooklyn arrived in San Francisco bay.

13 August—Mormon Battalion began its 2,000-mile march from Fort Leavenworth to San Diego, California.

10-17 September—Battle of Nauvoo.

23 September—Saints encamped at Winter Quarters.

1847 14 January—Brigham Young received revelation regarding organization of Saints for journey west (D&C 136).

29 January—Mormon Battalion completed trek at San Diego, California.

5 April—Pioneer trek began with first company leaving Winter Quarters under the direction of Brigham Young.

16 July—Mormon Battalion disbanded at Los Angeles.

21-24 July—First pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley.

28 July—Site selected for the Salt Lake Temple.

27 December—Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Willard Richards sustained as new First Presidency at Kanesville, Iowa.

1848 24 January—Saints at Sutter's Mill in California when gold was discovered.

May-June—Miracle of the seagulls in Salt Lake Valley.

9 October—Arsonists burned Nauvoo Temple.

November—Oliver Cowdery rebaptized near Kanesville/Council Bluffs, Iowa.

1849 March—Icarians settled in Nauvoo, Illinois.

5 March—Provisional state of Deseret created.

October—Perpetual Emigrating Fund Company established.

9 December—First Sunday School organized in Rocky Mountains by Richard Ballantyne.

1850 28 February—University of Deseret (later University of Utah) founded.

3 March—Oliver Cowdery died in Richmond, Missouri.

15 June—Deseret News began publication in Salt Lake City.

9 September—Territory of Utah created by Congress; Brigham Young appointed governor 11 days later.

1851 June—Saints settled San Bernardino, California.

11 July—Franklin D. Richards published pamphlet entitled The Pearl of Great Price in Liverpool, England.

1 November—First issue of Journal of Discourses published in Liverpool, England.

8 November—Parley P. Pratt, the first missionary to South America, arrived in Chile.

1852 8 April—Preparation of Deseret Alphabet begun.

28-29 August—Plural marriage publicly announced at special conference, in which 106 missionaries were called to carry the gospel to various parts of the world.

1853 6 April—Cornerstones laid for Salt Lake Temple.

July—Walker War began.

1855 5 May—Endowment House dedicated in Salt Lake City.

1856 26 September—First handcart company arrived in the Salt Lake Valley.

October-November—Willie and Martin Handcart Companies rescued from early winter storms in Wyoming; more than 200 had died.

22 November—Heber J. Grant born in Salt Lake City.

1856-1857 Mormon Reformation.

1857 13 May—Parley P. Pratt murdered in Arkansas.

28 May—U.S. President James Buchanan sent 2,500 troops to Utah under Albert Sidney Johnston, beginning the Utah War.

24 July—Brigham Young informed of oncoming Johnston's Army.

5 August-15 September—Brigham Young declared martial law for Utah Territory and forbade Johnston's Army to enter the Salt Lake Valley.

11 September—Mountain Meadows Massacre.

October—Mormon raiding parties in Wyoming slowed progress of Johnston's Army.

1858 May—Saints in northern Utah evacuated their settlements in response to army's approach.

11 June—Peaceful resolution to Utah War, largely due to negotiating of Thomas L. Kane.

26 June—Johnston's Army passed through Salt Lake City en route to Cedar Valley.

July—Saints returned to their homes.

1859 10-17 July—Horace Greeley interviewed Brigham Young during visit to Salt Lake City.

1860 3 April—First Pony Express rider reached Salt Lake City.

24 September—Last handcart company arrived in Salt Lake City.

1861 23 April—First wagon trains sent from Salt Lake Valley with supplies to help bring immigrating Saints to Utah.

18 October—Telegraph line reached Salt Lake City.

1862 6 March—Salt Lake Theatre dedicated.

8 July—U.S. president Abraham Lincoln signed the Morrill Act, the first federal anti-polygamy legislation.

1864 26 July—Cornerstone laid for Salt Lake Tabernacle.

1865 9 April—Beginning of four-year Black Hawk War.

1866 1 January—Juvenile Instructor began publication.

1867 6 October—First general conference in the new Tabernacle.

8 December—Relief Society reestablished with Eliza R. Snow as president.

1868 25 September—Last wagon train of pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley.

1869 1 March—ZCMI opened for business.

10 May—Transcontinental Railroad completed at Promontory Point, Utah.

25 June—First Saints to immigrate completely by railroad from the East arrived in the Salt Lake Valley.

28 November—Young Women program initiated under the title Young Ladies' Retrenchment Association.

December—Godbeite movement began.

1870 1 January—First issue of Mormon Tribune (later the Salt Lake Tribune).

February—Liberal Party organized, which represented anti-Mormon interests in Utah Territory; it was opposed by the People's Party, representing the Church's point of view.

12 February—Woman suffrage granted by Utah Territorial legislature.

4 April—George Albert Smith born in Salt Lake City.

30 August—Martin Harris arrived in Salt Lake City and testified at general conference.

1872 2 January-25 April—Brigham Young placed under house arrest for bigamy; never brought to trial.

June—Woman's Exponent began publication.

1873 8 September—David O. McKay born in Huntsville, Utah.

1874 Winter—United orders inaugurated.

23 June—Poland Act became law, forcing Mormon polygamists to be tried by federal courts.

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1875 10 June—Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association organized.

10 July—Martin Harris died in Clarkston, Utah.

9 October—Salt Lake Tabernacle dedicated.

16 October—Brigham Young Academy founded in Provo, Utah.

1876 New edition of Doctrine and Covenants prepared under Orson Pratt's direction with 24 new sections.

14 July—Sidney Rigdon died at Friendship, New York.

19 July—Joseph Fielding Smith born in Salt Lake City.

1877 23 March—John D. Lee executed for his participation in Mountain Meadows Massacre.

6 April—Dedication of St. George Temple.

11 July—First Presidency circular letter outlined Church organization.

29 August—Brigham Young died.

4 September—Twelve Apostles sustained as leaders of the Church under John Taylor.

1878 25 August—Primary organized.

1879 6 January—U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of antipolygamy legislation in the George Reynolds case.

4 October—The Contributor began publication.

1880 6 April—Year of Jubilee declared.

10 October—First Presidency reorganized with John Taylor as president; Pearl of Great Price accepted by the Saints as a standard work.

1882 8 January—Assembly Hall on Temple Square dedicated.

22 March—Edmunds Act signed into law.

17 July—Deseret Hospital opened by the Relief Society.

1883 14 April—John Taylor received revelation on the seventies.

1884 17 May—Logan Temple dedicated.

1885 1 February—After delivering his last speech in the Tabernacle, John Taylor went into hiding because of antipolygamy movement.

3 February—Idaho test oath prohibited Mormons from voting.

1887 3 March—Edmunds-Tucker Act became law without signature of Grover Cleveland.

25 July—John Taylor died in hiding; Twelve Apostles lead the Church for nearly two years.

30 July—Federal government disenfranchised the Church, and confiscated Church property.

November—The Church began renting Temple Square and other confiscated property from the government.

1888 25 January—David Whitmer, the last of the Three Witnesses, died in Richmond, Missouri.

17 May—Manti Temple dedicated in a private session. It was publicly dedicated 21-23 May.

1889 6 April—First Relief Society conference.

7 April—Wilford Woodruff sustained as president of the Church.

October—Young Woman's Journal began publication.

November—Endowment House razed.

1890 6 October—The Saints sustained President Wilford Woodruff's Manifesto stopping the performance of new plural marriages.

1891 March—Relief Society became a charter organization of the National Council of Women.

1893 4 January—U.S. president Benjamin Harrison granted amnesty to polygamists.

6 April—Dedication of Salt Lake Temple.

8 September—Tabernacle Choir performed at Chicago World's Fair.

1894 April—"Law of adoption" ended.

13 November—Genealogical Society of Utah organized.

1895 28 March—Spencer W. Kimball born in Salt Lake City.

1896 4 January—Utah became a state.

6 April—Political manifesto issued publicly.

5 November—Fast day changed from first Thursday to first Sunday of the month.

1897 November—Improvement Era began publication.

1898 2 September—Wilford Woodruff died.

13 September—Lorenzo Snow ordained and set apart as president of the Church.

April—Conference Reports began regular twice-yearly publication.

1899 Articles of Faith, by James E. Talmage, published.

28 March—Harold B. Lee born in Clifton, Idaho.

17 May—Lorenzo Snow received revelation on tithing in St. George, Utah.

4 August—Ezra Taft Benson born in Whitney, Idaho.

1900 25 January—U.S. House of Representatives denied B. H. Roberts his seat.

1901 12 August—Apostle Heber J. Grant dedicated Japan for the preaching of the gospel.

10 October—Lorenzo Snow died.

17 October—Joseph F. Smith ordained and set apart as president of the Church.

1902 First volume of History of the Church, edited by B. H. Roberts, published; new edition of Pearl of Great Price prepared under the direction of James E. Talmage.

January—Children's Friend first published.

4 August—Bureau of Information opened on Temple Square.

1903 15 October—Brigham Young Academy became Brigham Young University.

5 November—Church purchased Carthage Jail.

1904 March—Hearings opened in U.S. Senate concerning Reed Smoot's right to hold the seat to which he had been elected (see Smoot Case).

5 April—Second Manifesto on plural marriage issued by Joseph F. Smith.

April 14—Church repurchased 25 acres of the land originally bought in 1831 at Independence, Missouri.

1905 1 January—Dr. William H. Groves's Latter-day Saint Hospital opened.

28 October—Apostles John W. Taylor and Matthias F. Cowley resigned from the Quorum of Twelve on disagreement over plural marriage.

23 December—Church dedicated Joseph Smith memorial cottage and monument in Vermont.

1906 Sunday School initiated first class for adults.

Summer—Joseph F. Smith became first Church president to visit Europe.

1907 Church established Zions Printing and Publishing Company in Independence, Missouri.

10 January—Joseph F. Smith announced that the Church was finally out of debt after financial problems stemming from antipolygamy movement.

February—Reed Smoot retained his seat in the Senate after lengthy hearings of the Smoot Case.

June—George Albert Smith purchased 100-acre Smith Farm in Manchester, New York, for the Church.

14 November—Howard W. Hunter born in Boise, Idaho.

7 December—Charles W. Nibley became presiding bishop and began implementing several financial changes, including a shift to an all-cash policy in collecting tithing.

1908 8 April—General Priesthood Committee created; it specified ages for ordination to priesthood offices.

1909 Weekly ward priesthood meetings inaugurated.

Church acquired property at Far West, Missouri.

November—First Presidency proclamation entitled "Origin of Man" published in the Improvement Era.

1910 January—Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine began publication.

23 June—Gordon B. Hinckley born in Salt Lake City.

1911 Church opened Hotel Utah.

Church adopted Boy Scout program.

15 April—Collier's magazine published a letter from U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt refuting false charges made against the Church.

26 October—First stake missionaries called in Granite Utah Stake.

1912 Exodus from Mexican colonies during Mexican revolution.

James E. Talmage published The House of the Lord.

Fall—First seminary opened at Granite High School, Salt Lake City.

8 November—Correlation Committee, headed by David O. McKay, was established by First Presidency to prevent duplication in auxiliary programs.

1913 Church established Maori Agricultural College in New Zealand.

1915 January—Relief Society Magazine began publication.

September—James E. Talmage published Jesus the Christ.

1916 30 June—Official declaration of the First Presidency issued on the identities of God and Jesus, titled "The Father and the Son."

1917 6 April—United States entered World War I, which began in 1914.

2 October—Church Administration Building completed.

1918 May—Relief Society sold stored wheat to the U.S. government to alleviate war shortages.

3 October—Joseph F. Smith received vision of the redemption of the dead (D&C 138).

11 November—Armistice ended World War I.

19 November—Joseph F. Smith died.

23 November—Heber J. Grant ordained and set apart as president of the Church.

1919 Church membership reached half a million (see Growth).

27 November—Heber J. Grant dedicated Hawaii Temple.

1920 Church decided to close its academies.

1921 Essentials in Church History, by Joseph Fielding Smith, published.

M-Men and Gleaner programs established for young adults.

24 December—David O. McKay concludes 56,000-mile tour of the missions of the world.

1922 May—Primary Children's Hospital opened.

6 May—First use of the radio for Church purposes with broadcast of message by Heber J. Grant.

1923 Church purchased part of the Hill Cumorah.

26 August—Cardston Alberta Temple dedicated.

1924 Church purchased radio station KZN and changed call letters to KSL; in October general conference broadcast by radio for first time.

1925 Missionary Home opened in Salt Lake City.

25 December—South America dedicated for missionary work by Melvin J. Ballard.

1926 Fall—First institute of religion initiated at University of Idaho.

25 September—Peter Whitmer Farm in Fayette, New York, acquired by the Church.

1927 23 October—Arizona Temple at Mesa dedicated.

1928 Large portion of the Hill Cumorah purchased by the Church.

100th stake organized at Lehi, Utah.

Adult Sunday School class named Gospel Doctrine.

1929 15 July—Tabernacle Choir began weekly network broadcasting.

24 July—Czechoslovakia Mission opened, the first in Eastern Europe.

29 October—Stock Market crash precipitated great depression.

1930 6 April—Church celebrated centennial; B. H. Roberts's Comprehensive History of the Church officially published for this occasion.

1931 All Church junior colleges, except Ricks, transferred to states.

6 April—Church News introduced by Deseret News.

1932 2 April—Church began reemphasis on living the Word of Wisdom, launching a campaign against the use of tobacco.

1933 1 June—Church opened a large exhibit at the Chicago World's Fair.

26 July—First historic marker in Nauvoo, Illinois, placed by the Relief Society.

Fall—Program launched to reactivate men later designated as prospective elders.

1935 Church had its own exhibit building at the California-Pacific International Exposition.

20 April—Harold B. Lee appointed to formulate Welfare Program.

21 July—Hill Cumorah Monument dedicated by Heber J. Grant.

22 August—Gordon B. Hinckley appointed executive secretary of newly formed Radio, Publicity, and Mission Literature Committee.

1936 April—Supervision of stake missions given to the First Council of the Seventy, and missions were soon organized in every stake.

7 April—Welfare Program introduced under the title Church Security Program.

20 September—Winter Quarters Monument dedicated at Florence, Nebraska.

1937 J. Reuben Clark Jr. challenged Saints to store a year's supply of food, clothing, and, where possible, fuel.

Missionary Handbook first published.

Church purchased 88 acres of the Martin Harris Farm.

January—Aaronic Priesthood ages set at deacon, 12; teacher, 15; priest, 17.

20 February—Wilford Wood purchased a portion of the Nauvoo Temple lot for the Church.

July—First Hill Cumorah Pageant performed.

1938 Church Security Program renamed Welfare Program.

General Church Board of Education formed, composed of general authorities, to replace local boards.

8 August—J. Reuben Clark Jr. delivered address entitled "The Charted Course of the Church in Education."

14 August—First Deseret Industries opened.

November—Nauvoo Temple sealing records became first genealogical records microfilmed by the Church.

1939 Smaller-scale Tabernacle opened as Church pavilion at San Francisco World's Fair.

19 June—Liberty Jail purchased for the Church by Wilford Wood.

24 August—First Presidency began evacuating missionaries from Europe.

1 September—World War II began with German invasion of Poland.

1940 Missionaries evacuated from the South Pacific.

1941 Membership records centralized in presiding bishop's office.

10 millionth endowment performed for the dead.

6 April—First Assistants to the Twelve called.

May—Hugh B. Brown appointed as the LDS Servicemen's Coordinator.

7 December—Attack on Pearl Harbor brought United States into World War II.

1942 October—LDS Servicemen's Committee organized with Harold B. Lee as chair.

1944 July—Church Committee on Publications organized with Joseph Fielding Smith as chair.

November—Genealogical Society of Utah changed its name to Genealogical Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints.

1945 14 May—Heber J. Grant died.

21 May—George Albert Smith ordained and set apart as eighth president of the Church.

14 August—Japanese surrender ended World War II.

September—Church began calling new mission presidents and reopening missions closed during World War II.

23 September—Idaho Falls Temple dedicated by George Albert Smith.

3 November—George Albert Smith met with U.S. president Harry S Truman to discuss shipment of Church welfare supplies to Europe.

1946 Missionary work resumed in South Pacific under the direction of Matthew Cowley.

January—Church began shipping supplies to Europe to relieve suffering.

4 February—Ezra Taft Benson began his postwar tour of Europe, reopening the area for missionary work.

May—George Albert Smith visited Mexico and helped reunify disaffected Church members.

1947 Church membership reached one million (see Growth).

24 July—This Is the Place Monument dedicated during pioneer centennial.

1949 October—First time general conference publicly broadcast on television.

1950 Indian Student placement program implemented.

LeGrand Richards's book A Marvelous Work and a Wonder published.

September—Early-morning seminary inaugurated in southern California.

1951 4 April—George Albert Smith died.

9 April—David O. McKay sustained as president of the Church.

20 July—Seventies and many married men were asked to serve missions because of missionary shortages during the Korean War.

1952 Church published first official proselyting outline for missionaries.

2 March—New Primary Children's Hospital dedicated.

5 April—Priesthood session of general conference first carried to buildings outside of Temple Square (by direct telephone wire).

25 November—Ezra Taft Benson appointed U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (served 1953-61).

31 December—Primary program incorporated Cub scouts.

1953 25 March—Church announced that missionaries would now report their missions to stake presidencies, not to general authorities.

1954 31 August—Ages for advancement in the Aaronic Priesthood set at deacon, 12; teacher, 14; priest, 16.

1955 11 September—Swiss Temple became first in Europe; films introduced to provide the endowment in various languages.

26 September—Church College of Hawaii (later Brigham Young University-Hawaii Campus) opened.

1956 8 January—First student wards and stakes at Brigham Young University.

3 October—Relief Society Building dedicated.

1957 April—Videotape first used to record and rebroadcast general conference.

October—General conference canceled because of flu epidemic.

1958 18 May—New Zealand Stake, in Auckland, became the first outside North America and Hawaii.

20 May—New Zealand Temple, the first in southern hemisphere, dedicated by David O. McKay.

1960 27 March—First stake in Europe organized at Manchester, England.

1961 First use of computers to provide names for temple ordinances.

12 March—Netherlands Stake in The Hague became the first non-English-speaking stake in the Church.

26 June-5 July—Uniform system for teaching investigators introduced as the Church's standard teaching plan at mission presidents' conference in Salt Lake City.

30 September—Priesthood Correlation program instituted.

3 December—First Spanish-speaking stake established in Mexico City.

4 December—Missionary Language Institute opened at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, with Ernest J. Wilkins serving as director (see Missionary Training Centers).

1962 March—Age for male missionaries lowered from 20 to 19.

23 July—Tabernacle Choir participated in its first satellite broadcast.

27 July—Nauvoo Restoration, Inc., founded.

10 October—Church purchased short-wave radio station WRUL and began broadcasting to countries outside the United States.

1963 Missionary Language Institute changed to Language Training Mission (see Missionary Training Centers).

Church membership reached 2 million (see Growth).

12 October—Polynesian Cultural Center dedicated in Laie, Hawaii.

December—Construction of Granite Mountain Record Vault completed.

1964 January—Ward priesthood executive committees and correlation councils are formed; home teaching program replaced ward teaching.

April—Church hosted a pavilion at New York World's Fair.

16 November—Oakland Temple dedicated.

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1965 January—Family home evening program initiated.

February—Government of Italy allowed missionaries to proselyte after the mission had been closed since 1862.

1966 Home-study program initiated for seminary students.

1 May—First stake in South America organized at São Paulo, Brazil.

August—New Visitors Center opened on Temple Square.

1967 Church auxiliaries unified calendars and age groupings.

29 September—First regional representatives called.

November—Church received a portion of the book of Abraham papyrus from the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.

1968 Belle Spafford, president of the Relief Society, was elected president of the National Council of Women.

1969 3 January—First Presidency announced that all non-English-speaking missionaries would receive two months' language training before entering the field.

3-8 August—World Conference on Records hosted in Salt Lake City.

1970 Monday nights designated for family home evening.

18 January—David O. McKay died; 500th stake organized in Fallon, Nevada.

23 January—Joseph Fielding Smith ordained and set apart as tenth president of the Church.

15 March—First stake in Asia organized at Tokyo, Japan.

22 March—First stake in Africa organized at Transvaal, South Africa.

1971 January—Church periodicals consolidated into the Ensign, New Era, and Friend.

July—Health missionary program began; it was later expanded to Welfare Services missionary program.

27-29 August—First area conference held in Manchester, England.

November—All LDS women automatically enrolled in the Relief Society; payment of dues discontinued.

1972 Public Communications Department organized.

14 January—Church Historian's Office became Church Historical Department.

2 July—Joseph Fielding Smith died.

7 July—Harold B. Lee ordained and set apart as 11th president of the Church.

Fall—Gospel Doctrine classes began studying standard works rather than prepared manuals.

4 November—New 28-story Church Office Building opened.

1973 February—Agricultural missionary program began with missionaries sent to South America.

7 April—Welfare Services Department announced, correlating health services, social services, and the Welfare Program.

26 December—Harold B. Lee died.

30 December—Spencer W. Kimball ordained and set apart as 12th president of the Church.

1974 14 January—Stake names changed to reflect headquarters city and state or country.

23 March—Church acquired Brigham Young's winter home in St. George, Utah, and Jacob Hamblin's home in Santa Clara, Utah.

4 April—Spencer W. Kimball delivered his maxim "Lengthen your stride" at regional representatives seminar.

20 June—Mission names changed to reflect headquarters city and state or country.

23 June—Aaronic Priesthood MIA changed to Aaronic Priesthood and Young Women.

1 September—Church College of Hawaii renamed Brigham Young University-Hawaii Campus.

6 September—Church announced divestiture of its 15 hospitals; actual transfer took place the following March.

3 October—Seventies quorums and stake mission leadership combined.

19 November—Washington Temple dedicated.

1975 3 May—Regions and stakes incorporated into areas; area supervisors announced.

27 June—Churchwide auxiliary conferences discontinued.

24 July—Church Office Building dedicated.

3 October—Spencer W. Kimball announced organization of First Quorum of the Seventy.

1976 3 April—Two revelations (later D&C 137 and 138) added to Pearl of Great Price.

25 June—Extermination Order of 1838 rescinded by Missouri governor Christopher S. Bond.

27 September—New Language Training Mission complex dedicated in Provo, Utah (see Missionary Training Centers).

1 October—Assistants to the Twelve and members of the First Council of the Seventy became members of the First Quorum of the Seventy.

1977 1 January—General conferences shortened from three to two days.

14 May—Aaronic Priesthood program adopted title Young Men.

22 May—Church Activities Committee organized.

1978 Name extraction program introduced.

31 March—Quarterly stake conferences became semiannual.

1 June—Revelation received to extend priesthood to all worthy males; made public on 9 June (see Official Declaration 2).

1 July—Spencer W. Kimball dedicated Relief Society Monument to Women at Nauvoo, Illinois.

9 September—All training of missionaries consolidated at new Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah.

30 September—Emeritus status announced for general authorities over age 70.

30 October—São Paulo Temple dedicated.

1979 18 February—1,000th stake organized at Nauvoo, Illinois, by Ezra Taft Benson.

August-September—Church published a new edition of the King James Version of the Bible with study aids.

6 October—Patriarch to the Church Eldred Gee Smith granted emeritus status; no successor was appointed.

1980 2 March—Consolidated meeting plan began for Saints in Canada and the United States.

6 April—Church sesquicentennial commemorated with telecast from the Whitmer Farm and Salt Lake Tabernacle.

1981 Installation of extensive satellite system for the Church.

18 March—Formation of Missionary, Priesthood, and Temple and Genealogy Executive Councils.

23 July—Gordon B. Hinckley called as additional counselor in the First Presidency.

26 September—The Church published new editions of the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price.

1982 Church membership passed five million (see Growth).

2 April—Church announced it would fund 96% of the cost of meetinghouse construction; 4% would continue to be drawn from local contributions.

3 October—"Another Testament of Jesus Christ" added to the title of the Book of Mormon.

30 October—Partially restored Grandin Print Shop in Palmyra, New York, opened as a historic site with a visitors' center.

1983 Stake welfare properties placed under general Church control.

1984 Whitney Store restored as historic site in Kirtland, Ohio.

April—Personal Ancestral File software released.

4 April—Museum of Church History and Art dedicated in Salt Lake City.

7 April—First general authorities called to serve with a five-year, rather than lifetime, appointment.

24 June—Area presidencies organized.

1985 Special fasts raised $11 million for famine victims.

29-30 June—Freiberg Temple dedicated in East Germany, behind the Iron Curtain.

2 August—New edition of the hymnal published.

23 October—Genealogical Library dedicated (see Family History Library).

5 November—Spencer W. Kimball died.

10 November—Ezra Taft Benson ordained and set apart as 13th president of the Church.

1986 4 October—Seventies quorums discontinued in stakes.

1987 Genealogy Program renamed Family History.

23 January—Mark Hofmann imprisoned, responsible for two deaths and several forgeries of historic documents.

1988 15 May—First stake in West Africa organized at Aba, Nigeria.

Mid-August—100 millionth endowment performed for the dead.

1989 1 April—Second Quorum of the Seventy organized.

16 May—BYU Jerusalem Center dedicated by Howard W. Hunter.

25 November—Church announced discontinuance of stake and ward budget assessments; budgets to be funded entirely by tithing.

1990 2 April—FamilySearch database became available at Family History Centers throughout the Church.

November—Cost for funding missionaries equalized for all fields of labor.

1991 Encyclopedia of Mormonism published.

1 May—500,000th missionary called.

24 June—Russia granted formal recognition to the Church.

1992 Relief Society sponsored Gospel Literacy program.

26 December-6 January 1993—Tabernacle Choir toured the Holy Land.

1993 TempleReady software released.

25 April—San Diego Temple dedicated.

27 June—Joseph Smith Memorial Building dedicated.

1994 30 May—Ezra Taft Benson died.

5 June—Howard W. Hunter ordained and set apart as 14th president of the Church.

11 December—2,000th stake of the Church organized, at Mexico City.

1995 3 March—Howard W. Hunter died.

12 March—Gordon B. Hinckley ordained and set apart as 15th president of the Church, with Thomas S. Monson and James E. Faust as counselors.

1 April—The position of regional representative discontinued; position of area authority announced (see area authority seventy).

23 September—Proclamation on the Family first presented at General Relief Society Meeting.

1996 18 January—Church announced that general authorities would be withdrawn from boards of corporate businesses.

28 February—More than half of 9.4 million Saints now lived outside the United States.

7 April—60 Minutes interview of Gordon B. Hinckley by Mike Wallace telecast.

26-27 May—Hong Kong Temple dedicated.

27-28 May—Gordon B. Hinckley became first Church president to visit mainland China.

9 December—Church website initiated at lds.org.

1997 5 April—Area authorities, now area authority seventies, grouped into Third, Fourth, and Fifth Quorums of the Seventy.

21 April-22 July—Re-creation of pioneer trek of 1847.

24 July—Pioneer sesquicentennial celebrated.

4 October—Gordon B. Hinckley announced the building of smaller temples.

November—Church membership reached 10 million.

November 2—Vernal Utah Temple dedicated, the first to be created from an existing building.

1998 4 January—Melchizedek Priesthood and Relief Society began coordinated study of the teachings of latter-day prophets.

26 March—Grandin Print Shop dedicated.

27 March—Replica of Smith family log home dedicated in Palmyra, New York.

April—Gordon B. Hinckley announced that 30 smaller temples would be built, with a goal of 100 functioning temples by the end of the year 2000.

26 April—Gordon B. Hinckley addressed a large gathering at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

26-27 July—Monticello Utah Temple became the first of the smaller temples dedicated.

8 September—Gordon B. Hinckley interviewed on the nationwide television show Larry King Live.

1999 4 April—Plans announced to rebuild Nauvoo Temple.

24 May—Church launched default.htm on the Internet.

2000 Early March—100 millionth copy of the Book of Mormon distributed.

2-3 April—First general conference held in the Conference Center.

6 April—Dedication of the Palmyra Temple.

21 June—Church announced that Ricks College would become a four-year institution and be renamed Brigham Young University-Idaho.

1 October—100th temple dedicted in Boston, Massachusetts.

Edited by Hemidakota
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June 16

1831 - William W. Phelps, a printer, and his family had just arrived in Kirtland, Ohio, when he asked the Prophet Joseph to inquire of the Lord on his behalf that he might "do the will of the Lord." The revelation is recorded as Doctrine and Covenants 55 and calls W. W. Phelps to preach the gospel and to write books for the schools of the Church, "that little children also may receive instruction before me as is pleasing unto me" (History of the Church, 1:184-186).

1834 - Zion's Camp ferries across the Grand River in northern Missouri and camped on its banks. Also, about 800 to 1,000 citizens in Clay county assembled at the court house in Liberty. A group of men from Jackson county attended and read a letter offering to buy all the Mormons land in Jackson county. Several men spoke against the Saints living in Clay county, including a Rev. Riley who said the Saints had lived long enough in Clay county and must "clear out or be cleared out." Mr. Turnham, the moderator of the meeting, answered, "Let us honor our country, and not disgrace it like Jackson county." General Alexander Doniphan stood and supported the Saints and said "I love to hear that they have brethren coming to their assistance. Greater love can no man show, than he who lays down his life for his brethren." The meeting seemed to calm many and "the tempest of an immediate conflict seemed to be checked." The leader of the Jackson county group, James Campbell, and the men with him, left to return to Jackson county, but before doing so stated that "The eagles and turkey buzzards shall eat my flesh if I do not fix Joe Smith and his army so that their skins will not hold shucks, before two days are passed." As they were crossing the Missouri River back to Jackson county, the "angel of God saw fit to sink the boat about the middle of the river, and seven out of twelve that attempted to cross, were drowned" including James Campbell. His body was found three weeks later about 4 to 5 miles downstream, his body eaten by birds and animals as he had predicted. (History of the Church, 2:95-100)

1844 - The Prophet Joseph addresses the Saints in Nauvoo twice-once in the morning and again in the afternoon. He discusses the nature of God and the plurality of Gods saying, "Where was there ever a son without a father? And where was there ever a father without first being a son?" (History of the Church, 6:476). He concludes by saying, "It is in the order of heavenly things that God should always send a new dispensation into the world when men have apostatized from the truth and lost the priesthood. . . . I have got all the truth which the Christian world possessed, and an independent revelation in the bargain, and God will bear me off triumphant" (History of the Church, 6:478-479). In the afternoon he instructed them to "keep cool, and prepare their arms for defense of the city" (History of the Church, 6:479). He meets with several people from outside the City of Nauvoo and answers their questions concerning the Expositor situation. He wrote a letter to Governor Ford of Illinois for personal intervention in trying to stay the mobs gathering in Warsaw and Carthage and to support the Saints in their constitutional rights in the current crisis.

1854 - Workmen begin to lay the foundation for the Salt Lake Temple.

1894 - The first group of Maori Saints leave Auckland, New Zealand, to immigrate to Utah.

1974 - The first stake in Denmark is organized at Copenhagen.

2000 - The Melbourne Australia Temple is dedicated by President Gordon B. Hinckley.

__________________________________________________________________

LatterdayReviews.com.

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Wow Hemi, I have a cross-eyed headache now.

Saints without Halos is one of my favorite sites that chronicles LDS history from 1830 to 1839. It has great historical information about a good number of your dates, though I suspect not all.

Elphaba

Well, I managed to view the website and say thanks. There are tidbits of information I wasn't aware of at this time. :)

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