[J. Reuben Clark]
[In conversation with a woman regarding previous transgressions:] I explained to her that there were two sorts of forgiveness; first, the forgiveness of the people and the bishop, which was a forgiveness of the offense to them of her transgression, and consented to her being admitted to fellowship; but that the forgiveness of the sin itself rested with the Lord or with His Prophet, Seer and Revelator here, the President of the Church.
[The Diaries of J. Reuben Clark, 1933-1961, Abridged, Digital Edition, Salt Lake City, Utah 2015]
Today In Mormon History-fb
Several curious tidbits that happened on this day in Mormon History
90 years ago today - Apr 17, 1935
[Heber J. Grant]
I regret that so many young people seem to be determined not to dress modestly; I would be happy if it were otherwise.
[Heber J. Grant, Letter to Rachel Stromberg, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
I regret that so many young people seem to be determined not to dress modestly; I would be happy if it were otherwise.
[Heber J. Grant, Letter to Rachel Stromberg, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
125 years ago today - Apr 17, 1900
Brigham Young Academy president Benjamin Cluff Jr. along with a company of two teachers and about twenty students leave Provo expecting to be gone for two years. Their destination is South America where they hope to locate rivers, cities, and places that would "throw light on the divine claims of the Book of Mormon." When the expedition reaches Spanish Fork they are received with a Brass Band and a Banquet in their honor. They are received with so many banquets that they don't cook their own food until eleven days into the journey. At the Mexican Border Cluff negotiates with border officials to allow passage through Mexico while the rest of the group boards with church members in Thatcher, Arizona. Cluff lingers in Mexico hoping to marry a polygamous third wife, Florence Reynolds, daughter of George Reynolds, and one of his former students. Florence had been using his last name for the previous year. While Cluff is in Colonia Diaz, he orders other expedition members to begin
proselyting in Thatcher. The students discover why Cluff had prolonged his stay and became disheartened and angry. His assistant, Professor Walter Wolfe, reacts to the news of Cluff's delay by escaping to Nogales for an "extended three-day alcoholic spree." Wolfe (who had been told in a dream that he would find gold plates on the expedition and be able to translate them) later sells his mule to buy liquor. The students determine not to do any more missionary work and "took every opportunity to visit with the young ladies and to attend the weekly dances" in Thatcher. Apostle Heber J. Grant learns of the expedition's behavior while traveling in Arizona. He informs President Lorenzo Snow who sends Second Councilor Joseph F. Smith. Smith authorizes Cluff's plural marriage but instructs the group to either disband or proceed on their own as a "purely scientific" group without church endorsement. Most return to Provo but Cluff and five others press on to Columbia. A week after arriving,
all but one student, Chester Van Buren, return to Utah. Van Buren remains in Colombia long enough to conduct scientific investigations. When he finally returns to Provo, his wildlife specimens become a prized collection. Cluff is censured by the Board of Trustees for "unwarranted use of authority" and is kept as Brigham Young Academy's president for only one more year. One of his last official acts is to change the name to "Brigham Young University."
[On This Day in Mormon History, http://onthisdayinmormonhistory.blogspot.com]
proselyting in Thatcher. The students discover why Cluff had prolonged his stay and became disheartened and angry. His assistant, Professor Walter Wolfe, reacts to the news of Cluff's delay by escaping to Nogales for an "extended three-day alcoholic spree." Wolfe (who had been told in a dream that he would find gold plates on the expedition and be able to translate them) later sells his mule to buy liquor. The students determine not to do any more missionary work and "took every opportunity to visit with the young ladies and to attend the weekly dances" in Thatcher. Apostle Heber J. Grant learns of the expedition's behavior while traveling in Arizona. He informs President Lorenzo Snow who sends Second Councilor Joseph F. Smith. Smith authorizes Cluff's plural marriage but instructs the group to either disband or proceed on their own as a "purely scientific" group without church endorsement. Most return to Provo but Cluff and five others press on to Columbia. A week after arriving,
all but one student, Chester Van Buren, return to Utah. Van Buren remains in Colombia long enough to conduct scientific investigations. When he finally returns to Provo, his wildlife specimens become a prized collection. Cluff is censured by the Board of Trustees for "unwarranted use of authority" and is kept as Brigham Young Academy's president for only one more year. One of his last official acts is to change the name to "Brigham Young University."
[On This Day in Mormon History, http://onthisdayinmormonhistory.blogspot.com]
135 years ago today - Apr 17, 1890
[First Presidency Office Journal]
Our quorum is not exempt from the division we find among the people Tho' I believe a peace is established at present. Strong feeling about shares in Bullion Beck silver mine. So far the [John] Taylor faction have fumbled themselves when it came to the test.
[First Presidency Office Journal, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
Our quorum is not exempt from the division we find among the people Tho' I believe a peace is established at present. Strong feeling about shares in Bullion Beck silver mine. So far the [John] Taylor faction have fumbled themselves when it came to the test.
[First Presidency Office Journal, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
155 years ago today - Apr 17, 1870
[Brigham Young]
The world may in vain ask the question, '"Who are we?'" But the Gospel tells us that we are the sons and daughters of that God whom we serve. Some say, '"We are the children of Adam and Eve.'" So we are, and they are the children of our Heavenly Father. We are all the children of Adam and Eve, and they and we are the offspring of Him who dwells in the heavens, the highest Intelligence that dwells anywhere that we have any knowledge of. Here we find ourselves, and when infants, the most helpless, and needing the most care and attention of any creatures that come into being on the face of the earth.
...Talk about polygamy! There is no true philosopher on the face of the earth but what will admit that such a system, properly carried out according to the order of heaven, is far superior to monogamy for the raising of healthy, robust children! A person possessing a moderate knowledge of physiology, or who has paid attention to his own nature and the nature of the gentler sex, can readily understand this. ...
[The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young, Ed. Richard S. Van Wagoner, Smith-Pettit Foundation, Salt Lake City (2009), http://bit.ly/BY-discourses]
The world may in vain ask the question, '"Who are we?'" But the Gospel tells us that we are the sons and daughters of that God whom we serve. Some say, '"We are the children of Adam and Eve.'" So we are, and they are the children of our Heavenly Father. We are all the children of Adam and Eve, and they and we are the offspring of Him who dwells in the heavens, the highest Intelligence that dwells anywhere that we have any knowledge of. Here we find ourselves, and when infants, the most helpless, and needing the most care and attention of any creatures that come into being on the face of the earth.
...Talk about polygamy! There is no true philosopher on the face of the earth but what will admit that such a system, properly carried out according to the order of heaven, is far superior to monogamy for the raising of healthy, robust children! A person possessing a moderate knowledge of physiology, or who has paid attention to his own nature and the nature of the gentler sex, can readily understand this. ...
[The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young, Ed. Richard S. Van Wagoner, Smith-Pettit Foundation, Salt Lake City (2009), http://bit.ly/BY-discourses]
180 years ago today - Apr 17, 1845
[Patriarchal blessing of Sarah Griffith Richards by John Smith]
.... The destroyer shall have no power in thy habitation. The number of thy years shall be according to thy faith, ever to enjoy every blessing which you desire, & marvellous things shall be revealed unto thee in visions of the night. Thou shalt see the day when thou shalt have men & maid serv[ants] to do thy business. I seal all these blessings upon thee in common with thy companion & I seal thee up to Eternal life. Amen.
.... The destroyer shall have no power in thy habitation. The number of thy years shall be according to thy faith, ever to enjoy every blessing which you desire, & marvellous things shall be revealed unto thee in visions of the night. Thou shalt see the day when thou shalt have men & maid serv[ants] to do thy business. I seal all these blessings upon thee in common with thy companion & I seal thee up to Eternal life. Amen.
185 years ago today - Apr 17, 1840
[Wilford Woodruff]
This being good friday the quorum of the Twelve met at penworthham to visit the Saints & spend the day together. Before we parted Sister Moon opened a bottle of wine for us to bless & partake of which she had kept for 40 years. After spending the day conversing about the things of the Kingdom of God we returned to preston & spent the night.
[Brigham Young
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
This being good friday the quorum of the Twelve met at penworthham to visit the Saints & spend the day together. Before we parted Sister Moon opened a bottle of wine for us to bless & partake of which she had kept for 40 years. After spending the day conversing about the things of the Kingdom of God we returned to preston & spent the night.
[Brigham Young
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
185 years ago today - Apr 17, 1840
[Brigham Young]
frida spent at Father Moones drank of wine that was made in the year eighteen hundred making it 40 years old
[Brigham Young Journal (1801-1877) Journal #2 July, 1837- Mar. 1845]
frida spent at Father Moones drank of wine that was made in the year eighteen hundred making it 40 years old
[Brigham Young Journal (1801-1877) Journal #2 July, 1837- Mar. 1845]
20 years ago today - APRIL 16, 2005
Winston Blackmore holds a polygamy summit in Creston, British Columbia and invites Attorneys General from Idaho and British Columbia. They don't attend.
Winston appears to offer his followers more freedom. Fifteen of Winston's plural wives attend a conference in Winnipeg that focuses on sexual abuse in closed communities.
The wives make national news by urging the federal government to raise the age of sexual consent to 16 from 14.
[Gartner, Hana, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Timeline: History of Polygamy, cached at http://www.icsahome.com/view_document1_nonicsa.asp?ID=6890]
Winston appears to offer his followers more freedom. Fifteen of Winston's plural wives attend a conference in Winnipeg that focuses on sexual abuse in closed communities.
The wives make national news by urging the federal government to raise the age of sexual consent to 16 from 14.
[Gartner, Hana, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Timeline: History of Polygamy, cached at http://www.icsahome.com/view_document1_nonicsa.asp?ID=6890]
40 years ago today - Apr 16, 1985
[Mark Hofmann]
Letter of David and Peter Whitmer to Bethell Todd (dated 12 August 1828) sold to LDS church for $1,500 by Hofmann.
[Whittaker, David J., The Hofmann Maze, A Book Review Essay with a Chronology and Bibliography of the Hofmann Case, BYU Studies Vol. 29, No. 1, pg.80,]
Letter of David and Peter Whitmer to Bethell Todd (dated 12 August 1828) sold to LDS church for $1,500 by Hofmann.
[Whittaker, David J., The Hofmann Maze, A Book Review Essay with a Chronology and Bibliography of the Hofmann Case, BYU Studies Vol. 29, No. 1, pg.80,]
45 years ago today - Apr 16, 1980
Newlywed (married seven months) Dori Hofmann comes home from work to find her husband Mark looking through the pages of a seventeenth-century Cambridge Bible. She watches Mark separate two pages which are glued together and observes an old folded paper between the pages. Mark succeeds in getting the paper out of the Bible, but the glue along its edges hold it closed. By peeking inside they can see writing and a signature that seems to read "Joseph Smith, Jr." This is Mark Hoffman's "Anthon Transcript" forgery-his first major forgery of fake LDS documents.
[On This Day in Mormon History, http://onthisdayinmormonhistory.blogspot.com]
[On This Day in Mormon History, http://onthisdayinmormonhistory.blogspot.com]
165 years ago today - Apr 16, 1860
L[orenzo] Snow called in and enquired in the course of conversation if he thought the emigration would meet with any hindrances from the US. The President [Brigham Young] said he did not, and expected the U[nited] States would burst up in five years. Conversation changed to the subject of polygamy and the Pres[ident] remarked the very women that object to a plurality wives would not object to a plurality of husbands. Pres[ident] Buchanan has five mistresses learn and they have illegitimate children by them. -- Salt Lake City
[Brigham Young Office Journals, quoted in The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young, Ed. Richard S. Van Wagoner, Smith-Pettit Foundation, Salt Lake City (2009), http://bit.ly/BY-discourses]
[Brigham Young Office Journals, quoted in The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young, Ed. Richard S. Van Wagoner, Smith-Pettit Foundation, Salt Lake City (2009), http://bit.ly/BY-discourses]
180 years ago today - 16 April 1845
[Nauvoo Neighbor]
NOTICE.
BY the counsel of the Twelve, Mrs. Hyrum Smith and Mrs. Thompson request all those sisters who have received papers to collect the penny subscription, to forward them as soon as possible that they may be able to ascertain whether all those employed as collectors have been faithful: as it appears that there is suspicion resting upon a certain individual of having kept the money which she had collected.¿They would say for the satisfaction of the sisters that about one thousand dollars have been received, and most of the sisters with whom they have conversed, seem inclined to continue paying their cent a week until the temple is finished; and money being wanted to purchase other things besides glass and nails, they invite all those who are able and feel so disposed to pay up for the present year; and as there are some poor sisters who are extremely anxious to throw in their mite who cannot possibly raise money, they would say that any kind of useful articles will be received
from such.
MARY SMITH.
MERCY R. THOMPSON.
April 1845¿bp
['Notice.' Nauvoo Neighbor, 16 April 1845, 3/4 (provided by Joe johnstun).]
NOTICE.
BY the counsel of the Twelve, Mrs. Hyrum Smith and Mrs. Thompson request all those sisters who have received papers to collect the penny subscription, to forward them as soon as possible that they may be able to ascertain whether all those employed as collectors have been faithful: as it appears that there is suspicion resting upon a certain individual of having kept the money which she had collected.¿They would say for the satisfaction of the sisters that about one thousand dollars have been received, and most of the sisters with whom they have conversed, seem inclined to continue paying their cent a week until the temple is finished; and money being wanted to purchase other things besides glass and nails, they invite all those who are able and feel so disposed to pay up for the present year; and as there are some poor sisters who are extremely anxious to throw in their mite who cannot possibly raise money, they would say that any kind of useful articles will be received
from such.
MARY SMITH.
MERCY R. THOMPSON.
April 1845¿bp
['Notice.' Nauvoo Neighbor, 16 April 1845, 3/4 (provided by Joe johnstun).]
185 years ago today - Apr 16, 1840
During a two-day conference, Church leaders and members in the British Isles vote to publish the Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, a monthly periodical in pamphlet form that would continue to be published until 1970.
195 years ago today - Apr 16, 1830
D&C 22: All ordinances are done away, all must be baptized into the church.
[Kenney, Scott, Saints Without Halos, "Mormon History 1830-1844," http://web.archive.org/web/20120805163534/saintswithouthalos.com/dirs/d_c.phtml]
[Kenney, Scott, Saints Without Halos, "Mormon History 1830-1844," http://web.archive.org/web/20120805163534/saintswithouthalos.com/dirs/d_c.phtml]
70 years ago today - ca. Apr 15, 1955
[First Presidency to Disney Studios]
Dear Mr. __________: With some awareness of what we are asking, we are, nevertheless, persuaded to write to you as pertaining to the possibility of your permitting us to purchase some three minutes of footage from Fantasia: specifically that part from the third reel which has to do with ^portrays^ the emergence of a nebula out of the darkness of unorganized matter to the appearance of the round earth in the firmament. This footage, if the favor were granted, would be reduced to 16 millimeter film and would be accompanied by a brief citation of some scripture and other spoken lines descriptive of how the Lord God brought the earth into being. ... To begin with, our contemplated use would be without music, and would therefore, without any of ^avoid^ the "Ascap" or Tetrille ^A[merican] F[ederation] of L[abor],^ complications. Our use would further be for a strictly limited group of our own Church members only, for instructional purposes, and the footage would never be shown publicly.
All copyright and other protective assurances that we could give you as concerning our respect for your granting this permission would be observed. Again we say, we think we know something of the magnitude of the favor we are asking, but were much impressed by this sequence, and have never seen anything of the kind done so well, and we know of no possible ^feasible^ way of duplicating it or approaching it ourselves. Time is a pressing element with us in this hoped for use, and if you look upon this request with favor, we should be most pleased to send you one of our appointed representatives to meet with you at your convenience to arrange such documentary assurances and considerations as the circumstances suggest. Thank you for your consideration of this request. * P.S. Some years ago you graciously accommodated us with permission to use a minute or two of footage from ["]the Grasshop[p]er and the Ant["] for a Church Welfare film, which we were making at the time. We have not
forgotten the magnitude of that favor and are grateful for it.
[LDS First Presidency to Disney Studios, undated draft, ca. Apr. 15, 1955 , typed excerpt in Buerger Papers as quoted in Anderson, Devery; The Development of LDS Temple Worship, 1846-2000: A Documentary History, http://amzn.to/TempleWorship]
Dear Mr. __________: With some awareness of what we are asking, we are, nevertheless, persuaded to write to you as pertaining to the possibility of your permitting us to purchase some three minutes of footage from Fantasia: specifically that part from the third reel which has to do with ^portrays^ the emergence of a nebula out of the darkness of unorganized matter to the appearance of the round earth in the firmament. This footage, if the favor were granted, would be reduced to 16 millimeter film and would be accompanied by a brief citation of some scripture and other spoken lines descriptive of how the Lord God brought the earth into being. ... To begin with, our contemplated use would be without music, and would therefore, without any of ^avoid^ the "Ascap" or Tetrille ^A[merican] F[ederation] of L[abor],^ complications. Our use would further be for a strictly limited group of our own Church members only, for instructional purposes, and the footage would never be shown publicly.
All copyright and other protective assurances that we could give you as concerning our respect for your granting this permission would be observed. Again we say, we think we know something of the magnitude of the favor we are asking, but were much impressed by this sequence, and have never seen anything of the kind done so well, and we know of no possible ^feasible^ way of duplicating it or approaching it ourselves. Time is a pressing element with us in this hoped for use, and if you look upon this request with favor, we should be most pleased to send you one of our appointed representatives to meet with you at your convenience to arrange such documentary assurances and considerations as the circumstances suggest. Thank you for your consideration of this request. * P.S. Some years ago you graciously accommodated us with permission to use a minute or two of footage from ["]the Grasshop[p]er and the Ant["] for a Church Welfare film, which we were making at the time. We have not
forgotten the magnitude of that favor and are grateful for it.
[LDS First Presidency to Disney Studios, undated draft, ca. Apr. 15, 1955 , typed excerpt in Buerger Papers as quoted in Anderson, Devery; The Development of LDS Temple Worship, 1846-2000: A Documentary History, http://amzn.to/TempleWorship]
160 years ago today - Apr 15, 1865
[Wilford Woodruff]
Presidet Lincoln Died 30 minuts past 8 oclok A.M. [on the 14th] & Secretary Seward a little After 9 oclok. One was Stabed 30 minuts after the other & died 30 minutes after. All the flags in Great Salt Lake City are at half mast & dressed in Crepe.
[All businesses were closed in Salt Lake]
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
Presidet Lincoln Died 30 minuts past 8 oclok A.M. [on the 14th] & Secretary Seward a little After 9 oclok. One was Stabed 30 minuts after the other & died 30 minutes after. All the flags in Great Salt Lake City are at half mast & dressed in Crepe.
[All businesses were closed in Salt Lake]
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
165 years ago today - Apr 15, 1860
[Brigham Young]
The man who has been speaking to you is Almerin Grow. ... he says that he is willing to atone for his sins with his blood. He can spill it himself as soon as he pleases. He is a dangerous man. There is no knowing when he would take up an axe and split a wife's head and scatter her brains. A man that would take a kind, good wife's dresses from her trunk, and commit them to the flames, would just as soon knock her brains out with an axe. He Says that he is willing to do anything that he is asked to do to atone for his sins. ... He is a curiosity. If you should send him out in January over these mountains with nothing but a pair of breeches upon him he would not freeze. You might as well try to kill Lucifer. If you were to tap him, to fulfill his own wishes. I question whether he would bleed. ...
[Leonard J. Arrington Papers, Special Collections, Merrill-Cazier Library, Utah State University, Logan, quoted in The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young, Ed. Richard S. Van Wagoner, Smith-Pettit Foundation, Salt Lake City (2009), http://bit.ly/BY-discourses]
The man who has been speaking to you is Almerin Grow. ... he says that he is willing to atone for his sins with his blood. He can spill it himself as soon as he pleases. He is a dangerous man. There is no knowing when he would take up an axe and split a wife's head and scatter her brains. A man that would take a kind, good wife's dresses from her trunk, and commit them to the flames, would just as soon knock her brains out with an axe. He Says that he is willing to do anything that he is asked to do to atone for his sins. ... He is a curiosity. If you should send him out in January over these mountains with nothing but a pair of breeches upon him he would not freeze. You might as well try to kill Lucifer. If you were to tap him, to fulfill his own wishes. I question whether he would bleed. ...
[Leonard J. Arrington Papers, Special Collections, Merrill-Cazier Library, Utah State University, Logan, quoted in The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young, Ed. Richard S. Van Wagoner, Smith-Pettit Foundation, Salt Lake City (2009), http://bit.ly/BY-discourses]
170 years ago today - Apr 15, 1855 (Morning)
'-President Brigham Young'-Long life was desirable. We will all be rewarded according to our work. If we live 100, 150, or 200 years our works will be greater than if we lived but 50 years, and our reward will be great in proportion'- Spoke against indulging in the many luxuries which have been commonly in use. His appetite was simple, and he would stop going out visiting if the people did not stop cooking so for him. It had become quite a nuisance. -- SLC Tabernacle
[[Sermons and Writings of the Restoration. 4 Vols. Ogden Kraut, ed. Pioneer Press, 1994 as quoted in The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young, Ed. Richard S. Van Wagoner, Smith-Pettit Foundation, Salt Lake City (2009), http://bit.ly/BY-discourses]
[[Sermons and Writings of the Restoration. 4 Vols. Ogden Kraut, ed. Pioneer Press, 1994 as quoted in The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young, Ed. Richard S. Van Wagoner, Smith-Pettit Foundation, Salt Lake City (2009), http://bit.ly/BY-discourses]
180 years ago today - Apr 15, 1845, Tuesday
He [Thomas Ford] recommends us to go and establish an independent government in California
[Fillerup, Robert C., compiler; William Clayton Nauvoo Diaries and Personal Writings, A chronological compilation of the personal writings of William Clayton while he was a resident of Nauvoo, Illinois. http://www.boap.org/LDS/Early-Saints/clayton-diaries]
[Fillerup, Robert C., compiler; William Clayton Nauvoo Diaries and Personal Writings, A chronological compilation of the personal writings of William Clayton while he was a resident of Nauvoo, Illinois. http://www.boap.org/LDS/Early-Saints/clayton-diaries]
185 years ago today - Apr 15, 1840
[Wilford Woodruff]
[15th] At a general conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints held in the Temperance Hall Preston, Lancashire England; ...
Mooved by Er. H C. Kimble secd. by Er W. Richards that Elder Peter Melling be ordained an Evanjelical minister in preston....
I Willford Woodruff being led by the spirit visited Frooms Hill in Herefordshire England 5 miles North of Ledbury on the 5th day of March 1840 & commenced preaching the word of God unto the people & many received my testimony & I commenced Baptizing such as should be saved, & in one month & 5 days I Baptized Mr Thomas Kington the superintendant of the Church of the United Brethren which came out of the methodist connextion & I also Baptized forty Eight Preachers of the United Brethren & 112 of the members making 158 souls in all. ..
when I left this vast field of Labour to go to Preston to attend the conference their was nearly 200 souls ready to be baptized as soon as an opportunity offera ...
Mobs have arisen against me in some instances. On one occasion they stoned me while baptizing. ... I feel thankful to God for all his mercy & kindness unto me & all the Saints in opening so many doors that the kingdom of God may roll forth that there may be a people prepared for the coming of Jesus Christ...
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
[15th] At a general conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints held in the Temperance Hall Preston, Lancashire England; ...
Mooved by Er. H C. Kimble secd. by Er W. Richards that Elder Peter Melling be ordained an Evanjelical minister in preston....
I Willford Woodruff being led by the spirit visited Frooms Hill in Herefordshire England 5 miles North of Ledbury on the 5th day of March 1840 & commenced preaching the word of God unto the people & many received my testimony & I commenced Baptizing such as should be saved, & in one month & 5 days I Baptized Mr Thomas Kington the superintendant of the Church of the United Brethren which came out of the methodist connextion & I also Baptized forty Eight Preachers of the United Brethren & 112 of the members making 158 souls in all. ..
when I left this vast field of Labour to go to Preston to attend the conference their was nearly 200 souls ready to be baptized as soon as an opportunity offera ...
Mobs have arisen against me in some instances. On one occasion they stoned me while baptizing. ... I feel thankful to God for all his mercy & kindness unto me & all the Saints in opening so many doors that the kingdom of God may roll forth that there may be a people prepared for the coming of Jesus Christ...
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
185 years ago today - Apr 15, 1840
Joseph Smith sends Orson Hyde on a mission to dedicate Palestine for return of Jews. Hyde's wife Nancy becomes a plural wife of Joseph Smith in Orson's absence.
60 years ago today - Apr 13, 1965
Asked about Elder Benson's recent conference talk, Hugh B. Brown replied "tartly" to reporters that the apostle "speaks strictly for himself. My statement is the official Church position. It was personally approved by President McKay . . ."
["Benson Ties Rights Issue to Reds in Mormon Rift," Washington Post, 13 Apr. 1965, A-5. From D. Michael Quinn, Ezra Taft Benson and Mormon Political Conflicts, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 26:2 (Summer 1992), also in Quinn, The Mormon Hierarchy: Extensions of Power Salt Lake City (Signature Books, 1994), Chapter 3.]
["Benson Ties Rights Issue to Reds in Mormon Rift," Washington Post, 13 Apr. 1965, A-5. From D. Michael Quinn, Ezra Taft Benson and Mormon Political Conflicts, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 26:2 (Summer 1992), also in Quinn, The Mormon Hierarchy: Extensions of Power Salt Lake City (Signature Books, 1994), Chapter 3.]
125 years ago today - Apr 13, 1900
[Benjamin Cluff]
President [George Q.] Cannon came to Provo [Utah] and spoke to the members of my [Central/ South America exploration] party in College Hall. Among the things he said, 'This is the most important expedition the Church has ever sent out.'
[Benjamin Cluff Jr. Diary, April 15, 1900, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
President [George Q.] Cannon came to Provo [Utah] and spoke to the members of my [Central/ South America exploration] party in College Hall. Among the things he said, 'This is the most important expedition the Church has ever sent out.'
[Benjamin Cluff Jr. Diary, April 15, 1900, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
185 years ago today - Apr 13, 1840
[Wilford Woodruff]
13th I recieved & read the singular & striking prophecies of Robert Dixon the celebrated Cheshire prophet in the reign of Henry VII from Lady Cowpers correct copy also an account of his life & death Published by John Fregorth 1829.
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
13th I recieved & read the singular & striking prophecies of Robert Dixon the celebrated Cheshire prophet in the reign of Henry VII from Lady Cowpers correct copy also an account of his life & death Published by John Fregorth 1829.
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
195 years ago today - Apr 13, 1830
Manchester, New York. Joseph Smith received Doctrine & Covenants 22, a revelation directing converts who had been previously baptized in other churches to be rebaptized as members of the Church.
[BYU Studies Journal, volume 46, no. 4: A Chronology of the Life of Joseph Smith, http://byustudies.byu.edu]
[BYU Studies Journal, volume 46, no. 4: A Chronology of the Life of Joseph Smith, http://byustudies.byu.edu]
20 years ago today - Apr 12, 2005
"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints makes another [failed] attempt to address concerns of Jewish groups who complain that Holocaust victims are showing up on Mormon baptism rolls. Mormons believe that after death, baptisms save souls. Ten years ago, Mormon leaders agreed to try to stop this practice. Now, they vow to try again."
[National Public Radio, Morning Edition, Howard Berkes "Mormons Aim to Stop 'Baptism' of Holocaust Victims" as quoted in A chronicle of the Mormon-Jewish controversy; The LDS Agreement: A JewishGen InfoFile, http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/ldsagree.html]
[National Public Radio, Morning Edition, Howard Berkes "Mormons Aim to Stop 'Baptism' of Holocaust Victims" as quoted in A chronicle of the Mormon-Jewish controversy; The LDS Agreement: A JewishGen InfoFile, http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/ldsagree.html]
40 years ago today - Apr 12, 1985
U.S. Senator Jake Garn (Utah) blasts off in the space shuttle Discovery, becoming the first Latter-day Saint to enter space. A few weeks later aboard the Challenger, astronaut Don Lind becomes the second member of the Church to travel in space.
40 years ago today - Apr 12, 1985.
Steven F. Christensen, who purchased the Salamander letter in January 1984 from Mark Hofmann, donates it to the church. Only after Hofmann leaks copies and a session of MHA is devoted to it is the text published in the Church News.
[Anderson, Lavina Fielding, "The LDS Intellectual Community and Church Leadership: A Contemporary Chronology," Dialogue, Vol.26, No.1]
[Anderson, Lavina Fielding, "The LDS Intellectual Community and Church Leadership: A Contemporary Chronology," Dialogue, Vol.26, No.1]
60 years ago today - Apr 12, 1965
An LDS student wrote a letter to the Utah Chronicle that Elder Benson "told a damned lie" when he instructed LDS general conference that Communists controlled the NAACP.
[Leon Johnson, "Benson Told A 'Damned Lie,'" Daily Utah Chronicle, 12 Apr. 1965, 2. From D. Michael Quinn, Ezra Taft Benson and Mormon Political Conflicts, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 26:2 (Summer 1992), also in Quinn, The Mormon Hierarchy: Extensions of Power Salt Lake City (Signature Books, 1994), Chapter 3.]
[Leon Johnson, "Benson Told A 'Damned Lie,'" Daily Utah Chronicle, 12 Apr. 1965, 2. From D. Michael Quinn, Ezra Taft Benson and Mormon Political Conflicts, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 26:2 (Summer 1992), also in Quinn, The Mormon Hierarchy: Extensions of Power Salt Lake City (Signature Books, 1994), Chapter 3.]
70 years ago today - Apr 12, 1955
[Marion G. Romney]
.... at 3:30 p.m. met with the board of directors of the Zions Securities Corporation in the Presidency's office. President McKay was not there, but President Clark and President Richards were. I don't remember seeing a time when Brother Clark and Brother Richards seemed so friendly. It was a delight to be in their presence.
[The Diaries of J. Reuben Clark, 1933-1961, Abridged, Digital Edition, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2015, Appendix 2, The Diaries of Marion G. Romney, 1941-1961, Abridged]
.... at 3:30 p.m. met with the board of directors of the Zions Securities Corporation in the Presidency's office. President McKay was not there, but President Clark and President Richards were. I don't remember seeing a time when Brother Clark and Brother Richards seemed so friendly. It was a delight to be in their presence.
[The Diaries of J. Reuben Clark, 1933-1961, Abridged, Digital Edition, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2015, Appendix 2, The Diaries of Marion G. Romney, 1941-1961, Abridged]
80 years ago today - Apr 12, 1945
[Joseph Fielding Smith]
[Regarding the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt:] It has been a marvelous thing how Mr. Roosevelt influenced so many people and since his death, the crie has gone forth from many people as reported in the papers that the nation is now left helpless, or in a critical condition, with Mr. Roosevelt gone, and unable to guide the ship of state. There are some of us who have felt that it is really an act of providence. This man has been in office too long for the good of the nations. He built up the greatest political machine that was ever known; he increased the number of government employees ten times over any predecessor. It is considered that with the number on the government payrolls, and those financially influenced thereby, with their friends, something like six million votes have been controlled, if not more, and there is little chance for any other candidate with this handicap against him. Moreover, we are rapidly falling into a dictatorship, comparable with those which have been
condemned by us in other countries. The liberties of the people are curtailed more and more, and the exercise of authority has been placed in the hands of boards who act as both judge and jury and jailor without justification of the law. The Supreme court of the country has fallen from its high pedestal, and has become a political machine, reversing old and staid decisions of justice, when the expediency of politics demands.
[Joseph Fielding Smith Diary, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
[Regarding the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt:] It has been a marvelous thing how Mr. Roosevelt influenced so many people and since his death, the crie has gone forth from many people as reported in the papers that the nation is now left helpless, or in a critical condition, with Mr. Roosevelt gone, and unable to guide the ship of state. There are some of us who have felt that it is really an act of providence. This man has been in office too long for the good of the nations. He built up the greatest political machine that was ever known; he increased the number of government employees ten times over any predecessor. It is considered that with the number on the government payrolls, and those financially influenced thereby, with their friends, something like six million votes have been controlled, if not more, and there is little chance for any other candidate with this handicap against him. Moreover, we are rapidly falling into a dictatorship, comparable with those which have been
condemned by us in other countries. The liberties of the people are curtailed more and more, and the exercise of authority has been placed in the hands of boards who act as both judge and jury and jailor without justification of the law. The Supreme court of the country has fallen from its high pedestal, and has become a political machine, reversing old and staid decisions of justice, when the expediency of politics demands.
[Joseph Fielding Smith Diary, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
80 years ago today - Apr 12, 1945
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir performs on the nationwide radio broadcast for the memorial service of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
[Sherry Baker: Mormon Media History Timeline: 1827-2007, http://byustudies.byu.edu/showTitle.aspx?title=7984]
[Sherry Baker: Mormon Media History Timeline: 1827-2007, http://byustudies.byu.edu/showTitle.aspx?title=7984]
90 years ago today - Apr 12, 1935
[Heber J. Grant]
In all my life I have had but two dreams that were significant, and one of them was to the effect that my first wife came for her little boy, who died when he was only even years of age. I felt the impression that he was sitting in a chair between me and my present wife, waiting for him to breathe his last breath, so that she could accompany his spirit. I turned to my wife and asked if she felt the presence of any one with us, and she said 'Yes, I feel like Heber's mother is sitting here between us.'
[Heber J. Grant, Letter to Mrs. N. E. Munk, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
In all my life I have had but two dreams that were significant, and one of them was to the effect that my first wife came for her little boy, who died when he was only even years of age. I felt the impression that he was sitting in a chair between me and my present wife, waiting for him to breathe his last breath, so that she could accompany his spirit. I turned to my wife and asked if she felt the presence of any one with us, and she said 'Yes, I feel like Heber's mother is sitting here between us.'
[Heber J. Grant, Letter to Mrs. N. E. Munk, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
125 years ago today - Apr 12, 1900; Thursday
[First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve minutes]
.... The subject of secret societies was discussed. Several letters had been received by the brethren asking if connection with secret societies was a bar to the temples, and the secretary had been requested to hunt up all that had been said or written on this subject and report....
President Snow [a Mason] remarked that brethren who had joined secret organizations should not be denied the Temple, if otherwise worthy; but they should be advised to gradually withdraw from them....
President Smith moved that the Bishops be advised to counsel their ward members against joining secret orders and if they did so after being warned they might be excluded from the Temples, and that such men should not be put in presiding positions in the wards or Stakes of Zion. Although no vote was taken the motion became the sense of the counsel.
[First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve minutes]
.... The subject of secret societies was discussed. Several letters had been received by the brethren asking if connection with secret societies was a bar to the temples, and the secretary had been requested to hunt up all that had been said or written on this subject and report....
President Snow [a Mason] remarked that brethren who had joined secret organizations should not be denied the Temple, if otherwise worthy; but they should be advised to gradually withdraw from them....
President Smith moved that the Bishops be advised to counsel their ward members against joining secret orders and if they did so after being warned they might be excluded from the Temples, and that such men should not be put in presiding positions in the wards or Stakes of Zion. Although no vote was taken the motion became the sense of the counsel.
[First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve minutes]
135 years ago today - Apr 12, 1890
[John T. Caine telegraph:] 'Bill introduced by Cullom yesterday to make Idaho test oath applicable to Utah territory. Judge Wilson wants your views whether it is deemed best to resist passage of the bill to disfranchise. Do not want to make contest that will be unwise, but ready to act upon SA [?] line as you think best. Please answer quickly.'
[Reply:] 'Telegraph received. What reasons can there be for not fighting Cullom's bill. Our policy always has been to resist everything of this character.' [The Idaho Test Oath required voters to testify they were neither polygamists, nor members of an organization that promoted polygamy]
[First Presidency Office Journal, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
[Reply:] 'Telegraph received. What reasons can there be for not fighting Cullom's bill. Our policy always has been to resist everything of this character.' [The Idaho Test Oath required voters to testify they were neither polygamists, nor members of an organization that promoted polygamy]
[First Presidency Office Journal, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
180 years ago today - Apr 12, 1845
[Hosea Stout]
.... went with my wife to the Masonic Hall to a feast of beer and cakes prepared by the old police. The Old police and wives and some of the Twelve were present We had a joyful time as much cakes & beer as we could eat and drink we broke up about 9 oclock P. M. & I then came home.
[Diaries of Hosea Stout]
.... went with my wife to the Masonic Hall to a feast of beer and cakes prepared by the old police. The Old police and wives and some of the Twelve were present We had a joyful time as much cakes & beer as we could eat and drink we broke up about 9 oclock P. M. & I then came home.
[Diaries of Hosea Stout]
20 years ago today - Apr 11, 2005
Jews and Mormons decided Monday to jointly scrutinize a Mormon database that includes the names of thousands of deceased Jews including Holocaust victims who were given unwanted, posthumous baptisms.
A committee with members of both religions will study how names get into the massive International Genealogical Index which has an estimated 4 million entries what processes are followed, and how greater order can be brought to the unwieldy listing.
The move lets Mormons "see what we can do that doesn't compromise our core beliefs and practices" while still addressing the concerns of Jewish leaders, said D. Todd Christofferson, a member of the Presidency of the Seventy, a high-ranking church leadership body. "We're going to do a lot of fact finding, and we will go from there."...
[Jews, Mormons Agree to Study Database of Those Who Received Posthumous Proxy Baptisms by MARK THIESSEN Associated Press Writer as quoted in A chronicle of the Mormon-Jewish controversy; The LDS Agreement: A JewishGen InfoFile, http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/ldsagree.html]
A committee with members of both religions will study how names get into the massive International Genealogical Index which has an estimated 4 million entries what processes are followed, and how greater order can be brought to the unwieldy listing.
The move lets Mormons "see what we can do that doesn't compromise our core beliefs and practices" while still addressing the concerns of Jewish leaders, said D. Todd Christofferson, a member of the Presidency of the Seventy, a high-ranking church leadership body. "We're going to do a lot of fact finding, and we will go from there."...
[Jews, Mormons Agree to Study Database of Those Who Received Posthumous Proxy Baptisms by MARK THIESSEN Associated Press Writer as quoted in A chronicle of the Mormon-Jewish controversy; The LDS Agreement: A JewishGen InfoFile, http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/ldsagree.html]
130 years ago today - Apr 11, 1895
"It is reported that old time Liberals will try to get not only Suffrage but Prohibition into the constitution & then defeat the whole thing."
[Franklin D. Richards Diary, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
[Franklin D. Richards Diary, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
135 years ago today - Apr 11, 1890 (Friday)
The Canadian Parliament, in a session at Ottowa, amended the criminal law of the Dominion so as to make polygamy punishable with five years' imprisonment, instead of two, as heretofore. This was undoubtedly done with a view to reach the "Mormons," who had settled in Alberta.
[Jenson, Andrew, Church Chronology]
[Jenson, Andrew, Church Chronology]
180 years ago today - Apr 11, 1845
At 9 Oclock the Kingdom [Council of Fifty] met in council at the Masonick Hall, 47 Present. ... Last Eve the Boys Whisel [whistled (I.E.intimidated)] a man out of the city.
[Kimball, Stanley B. ed, On the Potter's Wheel: The Diaries of Heber C. Kimball]
[Kimball, Stanley B. ed, On the Potter's Wheel: The Diaries of Heber C. Kimball]
180 years ago today - Friday, Apr 11, 1845
Masonic Hall, Nauvoo
Upper California [by] John Taylor The Upper California, O that's the land for me, It lies between the mountains, and great Pacific Sea, The Saints can be supported there, and taste the sweets of liberty With flocks and herds abounding, O that's the land for me, O that's &c.
... Our Towers and Temples then shall rise along the great Pacific Sea. In Upper California, O that's the land for me, O that's the land, &c. We'll ask our cousin Lemuel, to join our heart and hand, And spread abroad our curtains, throughout fair Zions land. 'Till this is done, we'll pitch our tents beside the great Pacific Sea, In Upper California, O that's the land for me, ...
[from the Church History Library, quoted in Jedediah S. Rogers (editor), The Council of Fifty: A Documentary History, Signature Books (2014)]
Upper California [by] John Taylor The Upper California, O that's the land for me, It lies between the mountains, and great Pacific Sea, The Saints can be supported there, and taste the sweets of liberty With flocks and herds abounding, O that's the land for me, O that's &c.
... Our Towers and Temples then shall rise along the great Pacific Sea. In Upper California, O that's the land for me, O that's the land, &c. We'll ask our cousin Lemuel, to join our heart and hand, And spread abroad our curtains, throughout fair Zions land. 'Till this is done, we'll pitch our tents beside the great Pacific Sea, In Upper California, O that's the land for me, ...
[from the Church History Library, quoted in Jedediah S. Rogers (editor), The Council of Fifty: A Documentary History, Signature Books (2014)]
195 years ago today - 1830 11-16 April
A Fayette, New York, branch of the church is established. Cowdery delivers the first public discourse of the church and performs baptisms. A revelation is received regarding individuals who have been baptized in other Christian churches (BC 23; LDS D&C 22; RLDS D&C 20). [Joseph Smith is a hesitant speaker and typically assigns other to make major sermons up through 1839]
[Marquardt, H. Michael and Walters, Wesley P., Inventing Mormonism:Tradition and the Historical Record, A Chronology of Mormon Origins, p.xxvi, http://www.amazon.com/Inventing-Mormonism-Tradition-Historical-Record/dp/1560851082]
[Marquardt, H. Michael and Walters, Wesley P., Inventing Mormonism:Tradition and the Historical Record, A Chronology of Mormon Origins, p.xxvi, http://www.amazon.com/Inventing-Mormonism-Tradition-Historical-Record/dp/1560851082]
35 years ago today - Apr 10, 1990.
Changes in the temple ceremony that eliminated symbolic violence and somewhat broadened the role for women trigger articles by the Associated Press, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Time Magazine, U.S. News and World Report, and many local papers. Mormons who are quoted ... are interviewed by their stake presidents. ...
[Anderson, Lavina Fielding, "The LDS Intellectual Community and Church Leadership: A Contemporary Chronology," Dialogue, Vol.26, No.1]
[Anderson, Lavina Fielding, "The LDS Intellectual Community and Church Leadership: A Contemporary Chronology," Dialogue, Vol.26, No.1]
115 years ago today - Apr 10, 1910
Stake president writes of church members "complaining on account of so many Smiths being chosen." Recent conference sustained John Henry Smith as second counselor and President Smith's son, Joseph Fielding Smith, as new apostle. In addition to appointing his son Hyrum M. an apostle in 1901. Smith also appoints his son David A. Smith to Presiding Bishopric in 1907.
[On This Day in Mormon History, http://onthisdayinmormonhistory.blogspot.com]
[On This Day in Mormon History, http://onthisdayinmormonhistory.blogspot.com]
135 years ago today - Apr 10-11, 1890
- Both U.S. Senate and House propose bills to disfranchise all Mormons. With delaying tactics by Mormon allies in Congress, these two bills make slow progress into summer, but Supreme Court decision in Feb. 1890 assures eventual enactment.
135 years ago today - Thursday, April 10th, 1890
The resolution of the First Presidency of June 30/[18]90 in regard to plural marriages was read. It is to the effect that none shall be permitted to occur even in Mexico unless the contracting parties, or at least the female, has resolved to remain in that country.
[Abraham H. Cannon Journal Excerpts, http://www.amazon.com/Apostles-Record-Journals-Abraham-1889-1896/dp/B000MFD1K4]
[Abraham H. Cannon Journal Excerpts, http://www.amazon.com/Apostles-Record-Journals-Abraham-1889-1896/dp/B000MFD1K4]
140 years ago today - Apr 10, 1885
[Wilford Woodruff]
I dreamed last night I was arested by 2 Marshal for Cohabitation with my wives. This is the 2d time I have dreamed this.
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
I dreamed last night I was arested by 2 Marshal for Cohabitation with my wives. This is the 2d time I have dreamed this.
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
145 years ago today - Saturday, Apr 10, 1880
At 10 met with the Council of 50 first organized by Joseph [Smith] the Prophet March 10-1844,-but which has not met for several [12] years. The last Roll & Records since 1850 being absent and about 20 vacancies having occurred by death since last session the morning Session was occupied in Organizing... The Name & Constitution of this Council of the Kingdom were stated as given by Revelation in the beginning. Several of the first members spoke of certain important items of great interest to all present; especially to the new members. All seemed to rejoice.
[Franklin D. Richards journal, as quoted in Jedediah S. Rogers (editor), The Council of Fifty: A Documentary History, Signature Books (2014)]
[Franklin D. Richards journal, as quoted in Jedediah S. Rogers (editor), The Council of Fifty: A Documentary History, Signature Books (2014)]
150 years ago today - Apr 10, 1875
G. Q. Cannon Presented the Authorities and when He Came to the Twelve John Taylor & Wilford Woodruff was put before Orson Hyde, & Orson Pratt, upon this principle. John Taylor was Ordained to the Apostleship Some days before I [Wilford Woodruff] was & O. Hyde & O. Pratt had both been out of the Church and had returned to the Church & been ordained into the Quorum of the Twelve apostle Since Brother Taylor & W. Woodruff had been Ordained so we both stood ahead of them in the Quorum. [Note: Orson Hyde was released as president of the Quorum of Twelve, but John taylor was not sustained as President of the Twelve. Pratt's 1842 excommunicaton from the church had been declared void.]
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
150 years ago today - Apr 10, 1875
Brigham Young changes the ranking in the Quorum of the Twelve and demotes Orson Hyde and Orson Pratt beneath John Taylor for the first time in nearly thirty-seven years. This makes Taylor the senior-ranking apostle after Young. This action also releases Hyde as president of the Quorum of the Twelve, an office to which he had been publicly sustained since 27 Dec. 1847. However, because of their mutual dislike Young declines to sustain Taylor in Hyde's former office either privately or publicly.
[The Mormon Hierarchy - Extensions of Power by D. Michael Quinn, [New Mormon History database ( http://bit.ly/NMHdatabase )]]
[The Mormon Hierarchy - Extensions of Power by D. Michael Quinn, [New Mormon History database ( http://bit.ly/NMHdatabase )]]
155 years ago today - Apr 10, 1870
Apostle Orson Pratt: "We have ... confidence in returning to Jackson county... There are many of the old stock still living, whose faith in returning to Jackson County, and the things that are coming, is as firm and fixed as the throne of the Almighty."
[Journal of Discourses, vol. 13, p. 138 http://journalofdiscourses.com/13/16, as quoted in The Last Days and December 1890 2nd Coming of Jesus Christ, y George D. Speer Sr., privately circulated]
[Journal of Discourses, vol. 13, p. 138 http://journalofdiscourses.com/13/16, as quoted in The Last Days and December 1890 2nd Coming of Jesus Christ, y George D. Speer Sr., privately circulated]
160 years ago today - Apr 10, 1865
Special conference of the Church held in Salt Lake City where motion passed to erect a telegraph line from St. Charles, Utah (near Bear Lake) to St. George, Utah. Members are called to build the line, and are instructed in telegraphy.
[Sherry Baker: Mormon Media History Timeline: 1827-2007, http://byustudies.byu.edu/showTitle.aspx?title=7984]
[Sherry Baker: Mormon Media History Timeline: 1827-2007, http://byustudies.byu.edu/showTitle.aspx?title=7984]
180 years ago today - Apr 10, 1845
[Heber C. Kimball]
We cold [called] Lucious [Lucius] N. Scovil in to get the Masonic Hall [set up] fore Printing office, and to stop making [new] Masons, only as times shall permit. He being the Master, which Lodge was Organised on the 15 day of March 1842 with forty members. Joseph was made a Mason on the same Eve. Abraham Jonas [Grand Master of Ill] was present and Acted as Master. The first nite took the 1[st] and 2[nd] [Masonic] degree. The next night took the 3[rd] degree
[Kimball, Stanley B. ed, On the Potter's Wheel: The Diaries of Heber C. Kimball]
We cold [called] Lucious [Lucius] N. Scovil in to get the Masonic Hall [set up] fore Printing office, and to stop making [new] Masons, only as times shall permit. He being the Master, which Lodge was Organised on the 15 day of March 1842 with forty members. Joseph was made a Mason on the same Eve. Abraham Jonas [Grand Master of Ill] was present and Acted as Master. The first nite took the 1[st] and 2[nd] [Masonic] degree. The next night took the 3[rd] degree
[Kimball, Stanley B. ed, On the Potter's Wheel: The Diaries of Heber C. Kimball]
180 years ago today - Thursday, April 10, 1845
[E]ve[ning] The same [i.e., Elders Hyde, Kimball, Lyman, Richards, Smith, Taylor, and Young] & Bishop[s] [George] Miller & [Newel K.] Whitney at prayer meeting at my office. prayed for ... a curse on [Thomas] Sharp. [F]osters. Laws Higbees &c - blessings on the saints & our protection from enemies[.]
[Willard Richards, Diary, as quoted in Joseph Smith's Quorum of the Anointed 1842-1845 A Documentary History edited by Devery S. Anderson and Gary James Bergera]
[Willard Richards, Diary, as quoted in Joseph Smith's Quorum of the Anointed 1842-1845 A Documentary History edited by Devery S. Anderson and Gary James Bergera]
185 years ago today - 1840 Spring
[Helen Mar Kimball]
In the spring of 1840 about eight o'clock in the morning Mrs. Rhoda Whitney sister-in-law to Bishop N. K. Whitney and her brother John Ballard, my wife Caroline Whitney and myself were crossing the Mississippi river from Montrose to Nauvoo when we saw the following strange spectacle.
"When we had got about one third of the way across the river we saw a couple of men about sixty rods down the stream riding on horse back on the top of the water. They were going diagonally down the river in the direction of Joseph Smith's residence.
"We stopped our skiff and watched these men until they reached the shore. Just as they arrived at the shore the horses suddenly disappeared and the strangers remained on the shore, the horses trotted along on the top of the water just as they would have done had they been trotting through a very shallow stream, gently splashing the water hither and thither. We resumed our rowing but our attention was constantly directed towards them as they stood on the shore until our view was obstructed by a bend in the river.
"JOS. C. KINGSBURY."
[Whitney, Helen Mar, Jeni Broberg Holzapfel, and Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, A Woman's View: Helen Mar Whitney's Reminiscences of Early Church History, Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1997]
In the spring of 1840 about eight o'clock in the morning Mrs. Rhoda Whitney sister-in-law to Bishop N. K. Whitney and her brother John Ballard, my wife Caroline Whitney and myself were crossing the Mississippi river from Montrose to Nauvoo when we saw the following strange spectacle.
"When we had got about one third of the way across the river we saw a couple of men about sixty rods down the stream riding on horse back on the top of the water. They were going diagonally down the river in the direction of Joseph Smith's residence.
"We stopped our skiff and watched these men until they reached the shore. Just as they arrived at the shore the horses suddenly disappeared and the strangers remained on the shore, the horses trotted along on the top of the water just as they would have done had they been trotting through a very shallow stream, gently splashing the water hither and thither. We resumed our rowing but our attention was constantly directed towards them as they stood on the shore until our view was obstructed by a bend in the river.
"JOS. C. KINGSBURY."
[Whitney, Helen Mar, Jeni Broberg Holzapfel, and Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, A Woman's View: Helen Mar Whitney's Reminiscences of Early Church History, Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1997]
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