Chronology of the restoration july 2016

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Church History Chronology and Stories Complied and Adapted by
Doug Maughan Ed.D.
For Religion 341 & Foundations of the Restoration
Fall 2016
Introduction [BYU Studies – Joseph Smith Chronology]
Joseph Smith lived a remarkable life. His experiences were expansive, as evidenced in this
chronology that introduces readers to the energetic pace and broad scope of concerns that
characterized his daily activities. His endeavors rangedfrom the normaland mundaneto the
unpredictable and sublime.
This chronology sheds light on the Prophet in the following areas: Personal Life,
Visions and Revelations, Writings, Ecclesiastical Duties, Legal Events, Travels, and Political
Events. Seeing his life as a single sequence helps readers to place the events of his life in
context and to uncover various connections and patterns.
This chronologylistseventsthatcanbe tied tospecific daysor weeks. Of course,other
eventscouldbe added,includingmany thatcannot be tied down to specific dates. Each entry
contains a brief summary along with references for further information. These sources are
historical documents, most of which have been published, though a few reside only in
archives.
A close examination of this chronology yields interesting insights. For example, on
December 25, 1832, JosephSmith received a revelation(D&C 87)containingprophecies about
wars, most notablythe forthcomingAmerican Civil War. Only three days later,the revelation
knownasthe “Olive Leaf” (portionsof D&C88) wasreceived, containing “theLord’smessage
of peace to us.” On June 29, 1840,William W. Phelps wrote a letter to theProphet, admitting
the wrongs he had committed against him and asking for his forgiveness. Less than two

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weeks later, on July 11, Joseph Smith gave instructions to the high council about how to
conduct disciplinary councils. Even if a cause-and-effect relationship cannot always be
established between such events, these juxtapositions and continuities are revealing.
The color-codinginthis chronologyhelpscategorizetheProphet’sactivities andshows
trends during these years. For example, in 1834, travel dominated Joseph’s life, as he was
involvedwith Zion’s Camp; in 1835,entries relatedto EcclesiasticalDutiesandwriting activities
occupied his life. In other years, such as 1842, his life was filled with a balance of activities
from his many responsibilities. To see these trends in the color-coded categories presents a
picture that mere words cannot convey.
The outside marginsof this chronology contain information to help place the Prophet
in his era [entries arecoded in black]. Some of these entries list his contemporaries,including
several prominent politicians (Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson), notable writers (Victor
Hugo, Edgar Allan Poe), composers (Ludwig van Beethoven, Johann Strauss), artists (Carl
Heinrich Bloch, George Catlin), scientists (Charles Darwin, James Joule), and philosophers
(Georg Hegel, William James). Other entries highlight inventions from the early nineteenth
century (the lawnmower was patented in 1830 and the ice cream freezer in 1843). These
innovations had their beginnings in Joseph Smith’s time. Still other entries note nineteenth-
century historical events, such as the deciphering of Egyptian hieroglyphs using the Rosetta
Stone in 1822, the incorporation of the city of Chicago in 1837 (three years before the
incorporation of Nauvoo), or the forced relocation of the Cherokees on the Trail of Tears
beginning in May 1838 (just months before Missouri Governor Lilburn W. Boggs issued the
Extermination Order to remove the Mormons from Missouri). Though much of this
supplementalinformation can be found in history books and on the Internet, Chad M. Orton
and William W. Slaughterhave published a readily accessible and highly recommended study
of Joseph Smith’s era that discusses many topics such as these.1
As extensive asthis chronologyalready is, it is stilla work in progress. A few datesand
locations differ from what has been publishedin traditional histories because we have relied
on primary sourcesfor suchinformation. Moreover,dozensof scholarsare busilyresearching
the Prophet’s life in connection with the Joseph Smith Papers Project. The series seeks to
compile, annotate, and publish all known documents the Prophet wrote, dictated, or signed
his name to. This research has located new documents and has added to our understanding
of Churchhistory. As furtherwork is done, perhapsscholarswill be able topinpoint the dates
of many other events in Joseph’s life for which reliable information is lacking today.
1 Chad M. Orton and William W. Slaughter, Joseph Smith’s America: His Life and Times (Salt Lake City: Deseret
Book, 2005).

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And earlier version of this Joseph Smith chronology was published at
josephsmith.byu.edu in connection with the celebration of his bicentennial in 2005. On that
website, still available, readers can search entries by day, month, and year. Also visitors may
elect to receive daily emails showing Joseph Smith’s activities for that day.
This issue of BYU Studies contains an updated and enhanced version of the online
chronology. Forexample, a samplingof theProphet’smanylegalencountershasbeenadded,
stemming from the recent research by the editors of the forthcoming legal volumes in the
Joseph Smith Papers—Gordon A. Madsen, Jeffrey N. Walker, John W. Welch, Morris A.
Thurston, and Joseph I. Bentley. We express appreciation also to the Joseph Smith Papers
Project, Dean C. Jessee, Larry C. Porter, Scott H. Faulring,Kelsey Draper Lambert, Alex Smith,
JosephDarowski, Kay Darowski, andmany staff members at BYUStudiesfor their workon this
chronology.
“The fingerprints of Godon the parchmentof history, reveal a lovestory, fraughtwith
enoughfaith, sacrifice anddivine intervention, to ignite an everlastingflame of gratitude,and
patriotismin the heartsofallwho seekto understandtheinvisiblehandofdivine providence.”
(Douglas Maughan , CES Utah North Area Inservice June 26, 2002)
“I have always thought it helpful to the student to have an overview of the entire
course to begin with. If he has an overview of the courseor the subject, thenthe teacher can
go back and fill in the details and a lot more will be taught. ♦ Teach Ye Diligently, Boyd K.
Packer, 119
Ca. 1000 B.C.
First Old Testament writings
300 B.C.
Septuagint(Translationof the Old Testament into Greek)
130 B.C.

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The Hebrew language stops being used by the masses. Only the highly educated can read
the Old Testament in Hebrew. The first major Bible translationis done. The Old Testament is
translated into the language of the day, Greek. This translation is called, “The
Septuagint.” This is the Bible most in the first century probably read, including Jesus.
50 B.C.
Old Testament Canon Established
0-33AD
The Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ
He organized a church with a “foundation of the apostles and prophets” ♦ Ephesians 2:20,
Articles of Faith 6; JST Eph. 2:18-19; Eph. 4:11-14
33 AD
Martyrdomof the Apostles ♦ The Great Apostasy, James Talmage; Foxe’s Book of Christian
Martyrs
Judas committed suicide (Matt.27:3-5)
54 AD
Philip was scourged thrown into prisonand afterwards crucified at Heliopolis in Phyrgia
60 AD
Matthewwas slain with a Halberd (battle axe) at NadabahEhtiopia

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?
James the Less wasbeatenandstonedby theJewsandhadhis brainsdashedoutwithafullers
club
?
Matthias (chosen to replace Judas)was stoned at Jerusalem,then beheaded
?
Andrew (brotherof Peter) was crucified at Edessa
After 65 AD
Mark was draggedto pieces in the streetsof Alexandria
64-65 AD
Peter crucified upside down in Rome
Spring 65 AD
Paul was beheaded at Rome by order of Nero
72 AD
Thaddeus Crucified (Brother of James) at Edessa
?

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Matthewwas beaten and crucified by impatient idolaters of India
?
Thomas (called Didimus) preached in Parthia and India where exciting the rage of pagan
priests, he was thrust through with a spear.
?
Luke is supposed to have been hanged on an olive tree by the idolatrous priests of Greece.
74 AD
Simon Zelotes wasCrucified in Britain
73 AD
Barnabas(we have no details)
90’s A.D.
The last book of the New Testament, Revelation, is completed by John on the island of
Patmos. The Old and New Testament are now complete.
100-382 A.D.
The Gospel spreads like wild fire throughout the known world. These people all need the
Bible. Hand-written copies of the New Testamentin Greek are producedallover the world to
try to keep up with all the new followers of Christ. Over 20,000 of these copies exist to this
day.

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Still Alive
John (see D&C 7) - History tells us that the venerable Apostle John who wrote the Book of
Revelation, was sentenced by the Emperor Domitian of the Roman Empire, to be scalded to
death in a cauldronof boiling oil; that this cruel sentence was carried out as fully as it was in
the power of mento execute it. The cauldron ofoil washeated to boiling heat,and thegreat
apostle was submerged in the scalding fluid, but through Divine interposition he was
delivered like Daniel from the “lion’s den,” and Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego from the
“fiery furnace,” by the power of that God, whom he served and obeyed; so thathe suffered
no harmand simply looked like he had been anointed. The cruel Emperor was so enraged at
this wonderful deliverance, that he instantly sentenced the doomed Apostle to banishment
on the Isle of Patmos. ♦ Elder C.W.Stayner, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 20, 205;
100-1820 AD
Evidencesof the Great Apostasy
Rejection and Removal of Priesthood Keys
The Bible Ends and ManuscriptsCorrupted
Absence of Spiritual Gifts
Primitive Church Organizationlost
Evils of the Great andAbominable Church
Unenlightened kingdoms of the earth
Retrogressionof Civilizationand Science
100-200 AD
The Bible Ends and ManuscriptsCorrupted
During this long period of confusion Christianity could only be taught from handwritten
manuscripts, which had been translated and laboriously copied from other languages than

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those with which the translator was familiar. It is unreasonable to suppose that at a much
later period these manuscripts could be collected together, again translated and written by
handinto our own languagewithouterror,or deviation from the original. ♦ AnthonyW. Ivins,
Relationship of "Mormonism" and Freemasonry, 64
How we Lost the Plain and Precious Truths:
1 Nephi 13:24-27
24 And the angelof the Lord said unto me: Thou hast beheld that the book proceeded forth
from the mouthof a Jew; and when it proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew it contained
the fulnessof the gospel of the Lord,of whom thetwelve apostlesbear record;and they bear
record according to the truth which is in the Lamb of God.
25 Wherefore, these things go forth from the Jews in purity unto the Gentiles, according to
the truth which is in God.
26 And after they go forth by the hand of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, from the Jews
unto the Gentiles, thou seest the formation of that great and abominable church, which is
most abominableabove allotherchurches;for behold,they have takenaway from thegospel
of the Lamb many parts which are plain and most precious; and also many covenants of the
Lord have they taken away.
27 And all this have they done that they might pervert the right ways of the Lord, that they
might blind the eyes and harden the hearts of the children of men.
28 Wherefore, thouseest thatafter the book hathgoneforth throughthehandsof the great
and abominable church, that there are many plain and precious things taken away from the
book, which is the book of the Lamb of God.
(EhartmanMisquotingJesus, MargretBarker- We haveseen this patternof uninspired purge
before in the time of Josiah…)
Promise of the Lord- 56 Thou shaltask, and my scripturesshall be given as I have appointed,
and they shall be preserved in safety; (D&C 42:56)
Emma alsocarried with her the manuscriptsof Joseph'stranslationof the Bible carried in two
cottonbagsandtiedunderherlongskirtwhich shereceived from AnnScott.Annhadreceived

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the manuscripts from the Prophet's secretary James Mulholland (James giving the
manuscripts to Ann in hopes the mobs wouldn't search her).
Understandingof Heavenly FathersPlan waslost
Baptism for the Dead (Moses 1:39)
Whatever its source, the ancient church received it gladly, as it did another Jewish text
attributed to Jeremiah and quoted by Justin and (no less than five times) by Irenaeus: "The
Lord God hath remembered his dead among those of Israel who have been laid in the place
of burial, and has gone down to announce to them the tidings of his salvation." ♦ Justin,
Dialogue with Trypho 4, 6; in PG 6:645; Irenaeus, Against HeresiesIII, 20, 4; in PG 7:945;IV, 22;
in PG 7:1046; IV, 33, 1; in PG 7:1208; it is also cited by Jerome, Commentarius in Evangelium
Mattheum (Commentary on Matthew) 4, 27; in PL 26: 213.
The Christians angrily accused the Jews of havingexpunged this passagefrom their scripture
in order to damage the Christian cause, from which it would appear that the doctrine of
salvationfor the dead was a major issue in those early times, and a most precious possession
of the church. ♦ Justin, Dialogue with Trypho 4, 6; in PC 6:645; cf. Jerome, Commentary on
Matthew 4, 27; in PL 26:213.
150 AD
Ptolemy: The earth is the center of the universe, and the sun and moon revolve around it.
Such was the authoritative pronouncement of Ptolemy about 150 AD. His declaration was
universally accepted. But there was one major problem: he was wrong absolutely wrong.
Nonetheless,this theory of an earthcentered universe flourishedfor fourteen hundredyears
as “gospeltruth”. ♦ Tad Callister,The InevitableApostasyand PromisedRestoration, 1, notep.
404-05.
Pope Paul V declared, “That the earth moves daily is absurd, philosophically false and
theologically at least erroneous in faith. J. Rueben Clark added, “this decree of Paul V was
confirmed by Pope Urban VIII (1623-1644)” [On the Way to Immortality and Eternal Life, 337].
Even MartinLutheraopposedCopernicusand supportedtheCatholicviewpoint:“Peoplegive
ear to an upstart astrologer who strove to show the earth revolves, not the heavens of

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firmament, the sun and the moon… This fool wishes to reverse the entire scheme of
astrology;but sacred scripture tells us thatJoshua commanded the sunto standstill not the
earth.” ♦ Manchester, A World Lit Only By Fire, 117
“Darkness shall cover the earth and gross darkness the people” (Isa. 60:2). For centuries,
disease was rampant and poverty reigned. The Black Death killed some 50 million people
during the 14th century. Was not this a season of terrible peril? I wonder how humanity
survived. But somehow, in that long season of darkness, a candle was lighted. The age of
Renaissancebroughtwithit a flowering of learning,art,andscience. There came a movement
of boldandcourageousmenandwomen who lookedheavenwardin acknowledgmentof God
and His divine Son. We speak of it as the Reformation.”♦ PresidentGordon B. Hinckley, “The
Dawning of a Brighter Day,” Ensign (CR), May 2004, 81
175 AD
Printing - Chinese are credited with first carving wooden blocks and using them to print
symbols and images.
June 325
Council of Nicea - Emperor Constantine called the Nicea Council, held way back in 325 A.D.
when 318bishops spentfour weeks in discussionand debate over thedivinity and personality
of JesusChrist and God. Think of that!Their minds were confused and corrupted or else they
would have followed the simple teachings of the scriptures and there would have been no
need of their spendingfour weeks in debate to decide thatquestion. The Creed of Nicea, the
"incomprehensible mystery" of which its originators seemed so proud precisely because it
could not be understood, substituted for the personal God of love and for Jesus of the New
Testament an immaterial abstraction.
350 AD
New Testament CanonEstablished
382-1500 AD

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The known world eventually stops using the Greek language in favor of Latin. In 405 A.D.
Jerome translates the entire Bible into Latin in Bethlehem, it is known as the Vulgate. The
Vulgate is the all-time most used Bible translation in human history. Used more than the
original Greek and the King James Version.
400-800 AD
It is a well known historical fact that from about 400to 800 A. D., a period known as the Dark
Ages…there was a retrocession in the civilization of the Old World. Schools became almost
extinct, war was continuous, literature was forgotten, priceless records were willfully
destroyed, a chaotic condition pervaded the civilized world. Both the church and state were
drunken with debauchery, licentiousness and unbridled ambition. During these centuries of
confusion many different religious organizations,each professing to be the Churchof Christ,
had their origin. This confused condition continued until the period of the Renaissance, or
Rebirth of Europe, under Henry I of Saxony, first of the Saxon kings. Anthony W. Ivins,
Relationship of "Mormonism" and Freemasonry, 64
Retrogressionof Civilization
European sewage and sanitation regressedback to primitivism during this era. Human waste
products were often thrown out the window and into the street or simply dumped in local
rivers. (By contrast,ancient Rome had been significantly more advanced: “major cities of the
Empire installed drainage systems to which latrines were connected”—and the “wealthy
enjoyed suchluxuries as indoor plumbing. . . even the indigent had access to public baths.”)
With the streets strewn with garbage and running with urine and feces—and with the same
horrifying conditions permeating the rivers and streams from which drinking water was
drawn—vermin andgerms multiplied, and disease of every kind, untreatableby the primitive
medical knowledge of the day, proliferated.A Florentinewriter of the era referred to it simply
as “the exterminating of humanity.” Finally, the early Middle Ages witnessed a stupefying
decline in levels of education and literacy from the Roman period. In the endemic warfare of
the period, human beings lost the skill of writing and, largely, of reading. “In the time of
Augustine’s youth [4th century AD] . . . even a Christian got a reasonably good classical
education. A few generations later, literacy was a rarity even among the ruling classes.”

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For example, during the 8th century, Charlemagne maintained that even the clergy
knew insufficient Latin to understand the Bible or to properly conduct Church services. ♦
Andrew Bernstein, The Tragedy of Theology: How Religion Caused and Extendedthe Dark Ages
A Critique of Rodney Stark’s The Victory of Reason
"Beyond the city walls,lawlessnessreigned absolute.. . Highwaymen plied their trade
. . . with near impunity. Soldiers, when not engaged in Crusades, dynastic feuds, or papal
ambitions, periodically swelled the ranks of highwaymen. Only walls provided a town with
effective protection against its lawless environs. Since walls were expensive, town life
crammed itself into as little space as possible. The streets, nothing more than narrow, open
sewers, teemed with townspeople and disease; the first demographers documented death
rates from infectious diseases that were twice as high inside the walls as they were outside.
"Most people lived in tiny villagesand worked smalladjacent fields. Notuntil 1500did
farmers clear the wolf-infested forests. Everyone, from toddlers to the aged, performed
backbreaking field work, usuallyunaided by the plow. Until A.D. 900, it was the rare peasant
who could afford to harness horses and oxen with collars for fieldwork.
"The squalorof medieval dwellings wasunimaginable. Accordingto the greatestof all
Renaissance humanists, Erasmus of Rotterdam, 'Almost all the floors are of clay and rushes
from the marshes, so carelessly renewed that the foundation sometimes remains for twenty
years, harboring,therebelow, spittle andvomit and wine of dogsandmen, beer . . . remnants
of fishes, and other filth unnamable. Hence, with the change of weather, a vapor exhales
which in my judgment is far from wholesome.'
"Families slept together in one foul bed, and chimneys were almost unknown. Soot
covered the walls of all but the newest huts. Lack of proper exhaust resulted in house fires
that brought roaring death to large numbers of villagers, particularly women, who, clad in
highly flammable dresses, tended wood-fired pits and stoves.
"The past few paragraphsdescribethe circumstances of peasantswho were relatively
well-off. The less fortunatehad little or no shelterat all. In the subsistence-levelpre-modern
society, famine and pestilence knocked constantly at the door. During times of extreme
famine, cannibalism was not unknown; travelers were occasionally killed for their flesh, and
there were even reports of gallows being attacked for sustenance. "Pestilence regularly
engulfed the continent. The most famous episode occurred in 1347 . . . Within a few decades
it [bubonic plague] had killed nearly one in three Europeans.” ♦ William Berenstien, Birth of
Plenty

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597 AD
St. Augustineof Canterburylandsat Kent
700 AD
The Psalmsand some of the Gospels are the first to be translatedin a new languagecalled
English.
735 AD
On the day he died a man named Venerable Bede finishes the first complete translationof a
New Testament book into English (thebook of John).
1066 AD
Norman Invasion
1213 AD
King John of England Surrendersto the Pope

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The Reformation and Age of Discovery
A Candle lit in Darkness (No Modern light)…
Prelude to theRestoration—Eph.1:9-10;D&C 5:10;Dan. 2:44; Moses7:58-62; 1 Ne. 13:10,13, 15-
16, 17,18-20; 1 Ne. 13:35-40;1 Ne.14:25-26; D&C 107:56;Ether 3:25-26; Joel 2:28-29; Isa. 2:1-2; Isa.
29; Isa. 49:1; Dan 7; Ezekiel 37:15-17; Gen. 49:26
1225-1274
Thomas Aquinas , the supreme theologian of Catholicism, was born near Naples in 1225 to a
noble family, he was enrolled in the Benedictine monastery of Monte Cassino at the tender
age of five, andat seventeen became a Dominican novice. Soon after this he was kid-napped
and detained for nearly two years by his own brothers. At the instigation of his mother, they
tried to turn him away from his vocation, and even tempted him with a woman. He drove her
from his room with a brand snatched from the fire. After more than a year and a half of
captivity, it became apparent that he would not relent, and he was released back to the
Dominicans. After studies in Naplesand Paris he was appointed as a master at the University
of Paris in 1257. His period of writing was a brief sixteen years, butextraordinarily productive.
On December 6 1273, while celebrating mass in the chapel of St Nicholas in Naples, he had a
heavenly revelation: “I can do no more. Such things have been revealed to me that all that I
havewritten seems to meas so much straw.” From thatday he wroteno more. He died shortly
afterwards,on March7,1274, atthe ageof 49. (ConsideralsoGalileo, see Eph. 1:9-10;D&C 5:9-
10)
1269
The Age of Discovery:

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The Polos stayed in Kubilai's court for a year- answeringhis questions aboutthe rulersof
Europe and the Christian religion. Kubilai Khan became sufficiently intrigued by Christianity
to dispatch them back to Europe with a requestto the Pope for 100 doctors of divinity to
teach him and his people about this strangereligion. In addition the Khan, who was a great
collector of religiousrelics of allkinds, asked them to bringback a sample of holy oil from
Jerusalem.When the Polos arrived back in Europe they found that Pope Gregory had died
and the religious situationwas in a disarray.
Finally after numerousarrangementsfor acquiring religious instructorsfell through,the
brothersconcluded they had no choice but to returnto Cathay and explain their failure to
the Khan. However, according to researcher Richard Humble, they were able to obtain the
holy oil he had requested,a feat which much impressed the Khan and deepened his trustin
them (Marco Polo 111).
1305
“Babylonian Captivity” of the Papacy begins
1316-1334
The Sale of Indulgences UnderJohn XXII
"Bishops and cardinalsamassed fabulousfortunes from the sale of tithes and indulgences. .
. . John XXII, who wore the papal tiara from 1316 to 1334, exhibited a legendary appetite for
goldclothandfur. [that'sright -clothmade of gold!] Noblefamilies purchasedappointments
to the priesthoodfor smallchildren, and twenty-year-old archbishopswere notunknown. Of
624 papal dispensations of legitimacy granted in 1342-43, 484 went to the offspring of
clergy. In partsof sixteenth-century England,theclergy were indicted for almosta quarterof
all sex crimes, more than ten times their proportion of the population. From Birth of Plenty,
33-34
1327

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Accession of Edward the III
1328
Birth of John Wycliffe born in the villageof Hipswell in the NorthRiding of Yorkshire,
England.
1329-84
John Wycliffe—English reformer who opposed the Catholic Church and the doctrine of
transubstantiation. He felt that priests were not needed to mediate with God for people and
initiated the translation of the Latin Vulgate Bible into English. (The Wycliffe Bible)
Vernacular Bible
Some paid whateverthey couldfor the scripturesin English, “to tastethe sweetnessof God’s
Holy Word…Some paid more, some paid less: some gave a loadof hay for few chapters of St.
Paul or St. James. Thousands(perhaps tens of Thousands)read of went into secret readings
of them. . . . (Benson Bobrick, Wide as the Waters, The Story of the English Bible and the
Revolution it Inspired, 73)
1338
Hundred years war begins
1347-1350
The Bubonic Plague—Between 1347 and 1350, for example, the bubonic plague—the
infamous “Black Death”—spread by the fleas that infest rats, ravaged Western Europe,
obliterating roughly 20 million people, fully one-third of the human population. Norman
Cantor, the leading contemporary historian of the Middle Ages, states: “The Black Death of
1348–49 was the greatest biomedical disaster in European and possibly in world history.”

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1374-1415
Jan Hus—Was a Martyrfor thecause of reformation andCzech Nationalism.Stressedthe role
of scripture as authoritative for doctrine; defended the clergy but taught that only God can
forgive sin. He condemned the corruptness of the clergy and the sale of indulgences.
He embraced the teachingsof Wycliffe and taughtthegospel as he understoodit from the
scriptures. He was burned at the stake because of his religious beliefs, proclaiming "What I
taught with my lips I now seal with my blood."2 . (Elder M. RussellBallard, The Tapestry of
God’s Hand Joseph Smith Memorial Fireside, LoganInstitute of Religion – February 13, 2011)
1378
Great Schism begins
1381
Peasants’ revolt
1382-84
John Wycliffe, a theology professor at Oxford, is fired for believing the Bible ratherthan the
Pope is ourultimateauthority. Because of this conviction Wycliffe andhis followersproduced
the first complete Bible in English. Wycliffe died of a stroke the same year his Bible was
completed. The Wycliffe Bible is a translation from the Latin Vulgate.
Associates of Wycliffe, after his death, finish his translation.The Church at the time said only
the priests can rightlyinterpret the Bible so it was illegal to have the Bible in a languageother
than Latin. Many of Wycliffe’s associates were burned at the stake with their English
translations tied around their necks.
1395
Wycliffe Bible Second Edition
2see Martyrs, 140-143

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1401
Act DeHaeretico Comburendo; (2Hen.4 c.15)wasalaw passedby ParliamentunderKingHenry
IV of England in 1401, punishing heretics with burning at the stake. This law was one of the
strictest religious censorship statutes ever enacted in England.
The statute declared there were "...divers false and perverse people of a certain new
sect...they make and write books, they do wickedly instructand inform people...and commit
subversion of the said catholic faith". The sect alluded to is the Lollards, followers of John
Wycliffe.
De heretico comburendourged "...thatthis wicked sect, preachings, doctrines, andopinions,
should from henceforth cease and be utterly destroyed...", and declared "...that all and
singular having such books or any writings of such wicked doctrine and opinions, shall really
with effect deliver or cause to be delivered all such booksand writings to the diocesan of the
same placewithin forty days from thetime of the proclamationof thisordinanceandstatute."
"And if any person...suchbooks in the form aforesaid do notdeliver, then the diocesan of the
same place in his diocese such person or persons in this behalf defamed or evidently
suspectedand every of them may by the authority of the said ordinance and statutecause to
be arrested...". If they failed to abjure their "heretical" beliefs, or relapsed after an initial
abjuration, they would "...be burnt, that such punishment may strike fear into the minds of
others..."( Text of the Statutes of the Realm, 2:12S-28: 2 Henry IV).
1408
A law is passed in Englandbanningthe translationof the Bible into English.
1412
Joan of Arc—It was around1424, when she was 12, that Joan said she began to have visions.
♦ James E. Faust, “Personal Epiphanies,” Fireside address was given at Brigham Young
University on 7 January 1996.

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1415
Council of Constance condemns Wycliffe as a heretic –They gave orders for his bones to be
dugup and burned; JanHus is burnedat the stake.The Council of Constancedeclared
Wycliffe (on4 May 1415)a stiff-necked heretic and underthe ban of the Church.It was
decreed thathis books be burnedand his remains be exhumed. The exhumationwas carried
out in 1428 when, at the command of Pope Martin V, his remains were dug up, burned,and
the ashes cast into the River Swift, which flows throughLutterworth.
1428 – 1444
Years after Wycliffe died his bones were exhumed and burned for having translatedthe
Bible into English (they were really mad).
“To Lutterworth they come, Sumner, Commissarie, Official, Chancellour, Proctors,
Doctors, andthe Servants … take, what was left, out of the grave, and burnt them to
ashes, and cast them into Swift a NeighbouringBrook running hard by. Thus this Brook
hath conveyed his ashes into Avon; Avon into Severn; Severn into the narrow Seas; they,
into the main Ocean. And thusthe Ashes of Wickliff are the Emblem of hisDoctrine, which
now, is dispersed all the World over.”
To make sure the skull and bones were burned to ashes, the executioner broke them up
with a mattock. At lastthe ashes were carefully swept into a barrow andtaken to the little
bridge and cast into the Swift, a tributary of the Avon. The vexation was deep. And old The
Catholic Churchunderstoodexactly what Wycliffe’s presence meant, thatthere was
something insidious and unstoppableaboutthis troublemaking little man. (David Teems,
Majestie: The King behind the King James Bible, P.220-222)
1440-1455
JohannesGutenberg inventsthePrintingPress withmoveable type. It is nolongernecessary
to make hand-writtencopies of the Bible. Within just fifty years of his first press,over twelve
million books had been printed in over one thousand print shops. “The incunabula”...five
years after his invention he was forced into bankruptcy. He was befriended in poverty died in

20
relative obscurity and his graveno longereven exists. 500 years later he was honoredas the
“man of the millennium.” (33rd Annual Sperry Symposium, p.271)
1453
Fall of Constantinopletothe Turks
1455
First printing of the Latin Bible with moveable type.
1456
Gutenberg Bible—A Latin Bible produced at Mainz, Germany. First book produced in
moveable metal type. First bible that could be mass produced. Within just fifty years of his
first press,overtwelvemillion bookshadbeen printedin morethanone thousand printshops.
Five years after his invention , he was forced into bankruptcy. He died in relative obscurity
about ten years later. ♦ Keith Wilson, From Gutenburg to Grandin, Prelude to the Restoration,
269-285
1483-1546
Martin Luther—GreatGerman Reformer. In 1517 the spirit of Christ moved upona Catholic
priest living in Germany. Martin Lutherwas among the growing number of thoughtful
clergymen who were disturbedby how far the churchhad strayed from the gospelas taught
by Christ.Luther created a good deal of controversywhen he publicly called for reformation
by postingon his churchdoor in Wittenberg a list of issues thathe felt needed to be
debated. He organized a churchthat abolishedconfession, and he translatedtheNew
Testament into German while in exile. Spoke againstHoly Relics andworshipping saints.
When Lutherwas ordered to give up his work, he boldly declared:
“UnlessI be refuted by Scripturaltestimonies, or by clear arguments—forI believe neither
the Pope nor the councils alone, since it is clear that they have often erred and contradicted
one another—I am convinced by the passagesof Scripture, which I have cited, and my

21
conscience is boundin the word of God. I cannotand will not recant anything;since it is
insecure and dangerousto act againstconscience.”
He died from an illness following exposure to icy weather. Martyrs, 159-166
Dieter F. Uchtdorph
In fact, my son recently discovered that one of our family lines connects back to Martin
Luther himself.
1481-1808
Martyrdom of Rank and file Christians
4 And it came to pass that I saw among the nations of the Gentiles the formation of a great church.
5 And the angel said unto me: Behold the formation of a churchwhich is most abominable above all
other churches,whichslayeth the saints of God, yea,and tortureth them and bindeth themdown, and
yoketh them with a yoke of iron, and bringeth them down into captivity.
6 And it came to passthatI beheld thisgreat andabominable church;and I saw the devil that
he was the founder of it.
7 And I also saw gold,and silver, and silks,and scarlets,and fine-twined linen, and allmanner
of precious clothing; and I saw many harlots.
340,0000tortured;32,000 burnedat the stake; nations captive to false doctrine and priest-
crafts . . .♦ E. Ward, The Hand of Providence,121
1484-1531
Huldreich Zwingli—Swiss reformer. Died in battleagainst the Catholics, he rejected much of
Catholicism and Lutheranism, he believed that Christ was spiritually present at the Eucharist
and that the secular ruler had a right to act in church matters.
1492-1536

22
William Tyndale— Educated at Oxford and Cambridge, he felt the only way to bring his
countrymen to an understanding of the word of God was "if the Scripture were turned into
the vulgar speech, that the poor people might read and see the simple, plain Word of God."
He wasdenouncedas a heretic andfled to Germanyto complete theEnglishtranslationof the
Bible and have it printed. (Elder M. RussellBallard,The Tapestry of God’s Hand Joseph Smith
Memorial Fireside, Logan Institute of Religion – February 13, 2011)
Sailing from Antwerpto Hamburgoff the Coastof Holland,Tyndale lost the first five books of
his Old Testamenttranslationwhenhe was shipwrecked. He had to startover. (Wilcox, Fire in
the Bones; p.126)
He wasarrestednear Brussels,Belgium, in 1535andcondemned by Sir Thomas Mooreand the
Churchof England. He was imprisoned for 18monthsbefore being strangledbythe hangman
and his body burned.3
William Tyndale, who gave us the first printed English Bible, was brought before the church
after having been betrayed by a supposed friend, strangled, and then burned at the stake.
Such has been the fate of many martyrs who have dared declare the truth to a bigoted and
unbelieving world.
Hugh Latimer & Bishop Ridley
Perhaps you have heard of the valiant protestor by the name of Hugh Latimer. He was an
English reformer who was educated at the University of Cambridge. He was tried and
condemned.
There was another protestor or reformer by the name of Bishop Ridley who was also tried
and condemned. He and Bishop Latimer were brought together and asked to recant their
cries for people to be able to read the Bible in their common language. They refused. While
tied at the stake, their last recorded words were these as Bishop Latimer turned to his
companion Bishop Ridley andsaid: "Be of goodcomfort, MasterRidley, andplay theman. We
shallthis day light such a candle, by God'sgrace, in England,as I trustshallnever be put out."
At that point, the wood was torched, and the two men gave their lives.4

23
He became very active in the promulgation of his ideas and the sale of his publications. The
Church forbade the publication of the scriptures, declaring both the writings and doctrines
taughtbyTyndale to be heretic. His replywas: "I defythe Pope and all hislaws," anddeclared
that if Godwould spare his life he would make the plow-boyto know more of the scriptures
than the Pope himself knew.
Reformers did not restore the gospel
“Such were the teachings and lives of the great reformers. Their deeds were heroic, their
contributionsmany, their sacrifices great—but they did not restore the gospel of Jesus
Christ.” —President Thomas S. Monson, First Counselor in the First Presidency, “They
Showed the Way,” Ensign, May 1997, 51.
1492
Christopher Columbus…
“The spirit of God came down andwroughtupon the man ♦ 1 Nephi 13
“The Lord was well disposed to my desire, and he bestowed upon me courage and
understanding. Knowledgeof . . . theLordunlockedmy mind, sent me uponthesea, andgave
me fire for the deed. Those who heard of my enterprise called it foolish, mocked me and
laughed.But who can doubtbutthatthe Holy Ghostinspired me? ♦ Boston:Little, Brown, and
Co., 1930, pp.19-20; 1 Ne.13
“God will cause thy name to be wonderfully resounded throughout the earth; and will give
thee the keys to the ocean which are held with strong chains.” ♦ J. H. Ward, The Hand of
Providence, 1883, 80
1517
October31, 1517
A young RomanCatholic monk named Martin Lutherchallengesthe church hierarchy of his
day, like Wycliffe, by nailing his 95 theses to the church doorsin Wittenberg, Germany. This
act sparksthe ProtestantReformation.

24
Part of the reformation passion is allowing every person to read the Bible in their own
language. Martin Luther translates the Bible into German for his country.
1488
Birth of Miles Coverdale
Ca. 1495
Birth of William Tyndale
1509
Ascension of Henry the VIII
1509-64
John Calvin—Genevan reformer. He devoted much of his energy to settling differences with
Protestantism; claimed that even before the Creation God chose some of his creations for
salvation and others for destruction.
1505-72
John Knox—He helped awaken Scotland to Lutheranism;studied under Calvin; attacked the
Papacy, the Mass and the Catholic Idolatry; consolidated the Scot’s reformation with his
writings.
1516
Erasmus’edition of the New Testament

25
1517
Publication of Luther’sthesis on indulgences
he wrote the “Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences,”also known as
“The 95 Theses,” a list of questionsand propositions for debate. Popularlegend has it that
on October 31, 1517 Luther defiantly nailed a copy of his 95 Theses to the door of the
Wittenberg Castlechurch. Disputationof Doctor Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy
of Indulgences by Dr. MartinLuther (1517)
Published in:
Works of Martin Luther:
Adolph Spaeth,L.D. Reed,Henry Eyster Jacobs, et Al., Trans. & Eds.
(Philadelphia:A.J. Holman Company, 1915), Vol.1, pp. 29-38
1522
Commentary—Pope Adrian VI to the Diet of Nuremburg
“At every level of churchlife…there were signsof grave disorganization anddecay.”…every
thing could be obtained for money…however hurtful it might be to the general welfare of
the Church”. ♦ Benson Bobrick, Wide as the Waters, The Story of the English Bible and the
Revolution it Inspired, 31
1 Nephi 13:4 – 9
8 Andthe angel spake untome, saying: Behold the gold, andthe silver, and the silks, and the
scarlets,and the fine-twined linen, and the precious clothing, and the harlots,are the desires
of this great and abominable church.
9 Andalsofor the praiseof theworld dothey destroy thesaintsof God,and bringthem down
into captivity.
Francesco Petrarch (a devoutCatholic) described the Papalcourt as, “a receptacle of allthat
is most wicked and abominable. What I tell you is not from hearsay, but from my own
knowledgeand experience. In thiscity there is no piety, no reverence or fear of God, no faith,
no charity, nothing that is holy, just, equitable, or humane.” ♦ Benson Bobrick, Wide as the
Waters, The Story of the English Bible and the Revolution it Inspired, 34
1524-25

26
Peasants’ war in Germany
1525
William Tyndale, educated at Oxford and Cambridge and fluent in at least 6 languages
including ancient Hebrew and Greek, completes a translation of the New Testament into
English. He flees England to complete his translation in the friendlier protestant land of
Germany. This is thefirst EnglishtranslationoftheNewTestamentproducedfrom theoriginal
Greek.
1529
Sir Thomas Moore becomes Chancellorof England
1530
Tyndale’s Pentateuch
1533
Henry the VIII marries Anne Boleyn; Thomas Cranmerbecomes archbishop of Canterbury
1534
Act of Supremacy; The first Act of Supremacy was a piece of legislation that granted King
Henry VIII of EnglandRoyalSupremacy, which means thathe was declaredthe supreme head
of theChurchof England.It is stillthe legalauthority of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom.
RoyalSupremacy is specifically usedto describe thelegalsovereignty of thecivil lawsover the
laws of the Church in England.
1535
Thomas Cromwell becomes Chancellor;Coverdale’sBible

27
1536
Tyndale famously says he wishes a plowboy to know as much about God as the
Pope. Tyndale is burned at the stake for translating the Bible into English. His dying words
are, “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes!” Tyndale’s translation was so good 90% of it
would reappear in the King James Version (the King of England’s Version).
1537
Matthew’sBible
1539
An English translation called The Great Bible appears to try to give churches at least one
English Bible in their possession. It is named “Great” because of its very largesize. Act of Six
Articles.
1540
Execution of ThomasCromwell
1543
Nicolaus Copernicus (German: Nikolaus Kopernikus; in his youth, Niclas Koppernigk;
Polish: Mikołaj Kopernik; Italian: Nicolò Copernico; 19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a
Renaissance astronomerand the first to formulate a comprehensive heliocentric cosmology,
which displaced the Earth from the center of the universe.
1546
Ann Askew
There were women protestors who were heroic. You may have heard the name of Ann
Askew. Ann Askew was the daughterof Sir William Askew, the Knight of Lincolnshire.

28
Listen to what she said: "I had ratherto read five lines in the Bible, thanto hearfive masses
in the temple. . . because the one did greatly edify me, andthe other nothingat all." The
King sent one of his representativeswith a pardonfor her if she would recant her beliefs.
She answeredthat she had not come to deny her Lord and Master. AnnAskew was burned
at the stake in 1546.Martyrs, 228
1547
Accession of Edward the VI
1552
Book of Common Prayer
1553
Accession of Mary Tudor
1556
Cranmer Burned at the Stake
1559
Accession of Elizabeth I Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity
1560
The Geneva Bible becomes the first English Bible where the entire Bible (not just the New
Testament) is translated from the original Greek AND Hebrew. It is also the first translation
done by a committee of people.
At the end of the 1500’sEnglandwas torn between two Bible translations. Mostpeople used
the GenevaBible butthe clergy felt it was below them touse the commonersGeneva Bible. A
solution was needed.

29
1563
Thirty-nine Articles; John Foxe’s Book of Martyrs
1568
Bishops’Bible
1582
Rheims (Douai) New Testament
1587
Execution of Mary Queen of Scott’s
1603
Queen Elizabeth dies and King James VI, who had ruledScotland for 37 years, becomes King
James I of England.
1604
Hampton Court Conference; King James summonsthe religious leaders of Englandtogether
to settleon a common Englishtranslationthatcan be usedby bothclergy and the masses. 47
men stationedat Oxford, Cambridge and WestminsterAbbey workedon the translationfrom
original Greek and Hebrew manuscripts. The translators, additionally, relied heavily on the
Tyndale and Geneva Bibles. Nearly 90% of Tyndale’s New Testament translation was used in
the King James Version.
1605
Gunpowder plot; Gunpowder Treason Plot, or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination
attempt against King James I of England and VI of Scotland by a group of provincial English
Catholics led by Robert Catesby.

30
1607
Founding of Jamestown (The Light and the Glory)
1609-10
Douai Old Testament
1611
The King James Version, known in EnglandastheAuthorizedVersion, is publishedfor thefirst
time. The purposeof the translatorswasnot to make an entirely new translationof the Bible
but, “to make a good one better, or out of many good ones, one principal good one.”
1620
Pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock ; The Lord was writing the story of the restoration and the
birth of this nation long before the ink was dry on the parchment of the Mayflower
compact. Hidden among those signatures were men and women whose foreordained
descendant’swould fulfill the prophecies of the ancients, revolutionize religiousand political
thought,andchangethe course of history forever. God had his eyes upon these families from
before the foundationsof theearth. One of Gordon B.Hinckley’sancestors,StephenHopkins,
sailed on the Mayflower in 1620; he was the fourth signature on the Mayflower compact.
(Note: Thomas Hinckley, progenitor of President Hinckley, became governor of Plymouth
colony.)
Seven of Joseph Smith’s progenitors sailed with the Pilgrims on the Mayflower; three of the
seven signed the Mayflower Compact which contained the words “in the Name of God”. This
would prove the beginning of American Religious Democracy. The Saints had arrived at the
Peninsula of Living Waters. The first Hinckley to arrive in America was Samuel Hinckley, in
1635, fifteen years after the Mayflower’s landing at Plymouth bay. Samuel’s son, Thomas,

31
would become the Governor of the Plymouth Colony from 1681-1692. He was considered “a
man of more than ordinary ability and influence.” ♦ Governors of New Plymouth, 202
During their Atlantic voyage, John, fifth great grandfather of the Prophet Joseph, narrowly
escaped drowningat sea. Duringa violent storm,the Mayflower was pitching androllingwith
the waves. Young John was walking above the gratings on deck, and his youthful body was
hurledinto the briny sea. “But it pleased God,” wrote the ‘Pilgrim Chronicler’“thathe caught
holdof thetop sail Hilliard’s which hungoverboard.” Holding with a vice like grip to the rope,
he was plunged into the water. In the fury of the storm he hung on until some of his
friends managed to rescue him by pulling him back into the boat. For days he suffered after
this harrowing experience. The ship finally arrived in Cape Cod on a Saturday. However they
did not disembark until Mondayso they could worship God on Sunday, “Him whom they had
come to trust and serve.” As a youth John Howland was a servant of John Carver, first
governorof Plymouthcolony. JohnHowland died at Plymouth in February 1673. In his words
he described why he had come to America: “to keep a good conscience and to walk in sucha
way as God has prescribed in His words is the thingto which I prefer to life itself.” ♦ WalterC.
Erdman, Sources of Power in Famous Lives, (Nashville Cokesbury Press, 1937)
1630
Foundingof Boston
1631
The Wicked Bible, sometimes called The Adulterous Bible or The Sinners' Bible, is a term
referring to the Bible published in 1631by Robert Barker and Martin Lucas, the royal printers
in London,which wasmeant to be a reprint of the King James Bible. The name is derived from
thecompositors' mistake:the word not in thesentence "Thoushaltnotcommit adultery"was
omitted, thus changing the sentence into "Thou shalt commit adultery".
1632
John Lathrup arrested, fettered and confined to the Newgate prison in Egerton England.
Reverend Lathrup was a minister in the town of Egerton in the early 17th century. When he

32
could no longerassent to what was taughtby the Church of England,he became the leader
to a large group of “Seekers,” so called because they were seeking for the a religion which
taught the faith of the ancients with apostles, prophets, the Holy Ghost and a fulness of the
truthsfound in the scriptures. The seekers who followed Lathrupwere called Independents.
Foreight years they metin Londonuntilthe persecutiongotso badthey couldnolongermeet
publicly. The hiding place of the Independents was discovered by the Bishop of London.
During the beginning of the evening service of Rev. Lathrup, the officers of the state church
of London rushed in and arrested Rev. Lathrup and 42 members of the Independent faith.
They were fettered and taken to the old Clink Prison in Newgate. Two years later all were
releasedexcept Rev.Lathrup. While he languishedinthe filthy oldprison his wife succumbed
toa terminalsickness.He was allowedtosee herbefore herdeathandprovidetendercomfort
as shepassed away. After his wife’s internmenthe returnedto the loathsomeconfinement of
the Clink Prison. His children were now left without a father or mother, orphaned,wretched
and starving, and uncared for by the community, perhaps because of the threat of state
reprisal. When their destitute circumstances were made known to the Bishop of London,he
hadsympathy onJohnandreleasedhim. Rev. Lathrupfledwith hischildren toAmerica where
he could worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience. In New England he
became widely knownasthe “BelovedPastor.”♦ArchibaldF. Bennett,Lathrup Genealogy,The
Utah GenealogicalandHistoricalMagazine, SaltLake City, Utah: The Utah genealogical Society,
April 1929, 49-51
1638
Robert Smith. JosephSmith’s first paternalancestor to leave Englandfor America, arrived in
Massachusetts ♦Joseph Smith and the Restoration, 15
1660’s
The King James Bible is not immediately a success. It takes 50 years for the King James to
surpassthe Geneva Bible as the English Bible used by most people.
The King James Version has endured the test of time. It has been referred to as, “the single
greatest monument to the English language.” What makes the King James so good? In one
word, elegance. It is not the most accurate, but it is the most beautiful.

33
Since 1611 the KJV has been “fixed” about100,000 times to give us the translationof the KJV
we have today. Almost all of these “fixes” are minor spelling and punctuation changes.
It is impossible to gaugehow many King James Bibles havebeen sold;estimates are simply in
the hundredsofmillions. The King Jameswill be the leadingEnglishBible translationformore
than300 years untilbeing surpassedinthe late 1900’sby the New InternationalVersion (NIV)
1669
John Mack, Joseph Smith’s first maternal ancestor to leave England for America, arrived in
Massachusetts
1681-1692
Governor of Plymouth Colony is Thomas Hinckley, ancestor of Gordon B. Hinckley, who
married RuthMerrick,greatgrand-daughterofStephenHopkinswho sailedon theMayflower
in 1620 at age 35. He was the fourteenth signer of the Mayflower compact.
1686
King James II revokes the Massachusetts Bay Colony’s Charter and installs Sir Edmunds
Andros as Governor.
1689
Bostoniansforce Governor Andros to resign
1734
First Awakening
1756-1763

34
Seven Years War (French and Indian War) drainsthe British Treasury
1761
James Otis argues againstthe writs of assistance in a court trialat the Old State House.
1763
Faneuil Hall is dedicated to the “Causeof Liberty” by Otis
1765
Stamp Act passed. The Stamp Act of 1765 (short title Duties in American Colonies Act 1765; 5
George III, c. 12) was the fourth Stamp Act to be passedby theParliament of Great Britain and
required all legal documents, permits, commercial contracts, newspapers wills, pamphlets,
and playing cardsin the American colonies to carry a tax stamp. The Act was enacted in order
to defray the cost of maintaining the military presence protecting the colonies. Britain also
needed money to repay the suppliersfrom the War, which hadbeen very costly, even though
Great Britain had been victorious in 1763 (see Treaty of Paris (1763).Riotsoccur in Boston and
other cities. An effigy of the stamp agent, Andrew Oliver, was hanged and then burned; his
home wasbroken into,andhis office, alongwiththe stamps,wasburned.The mob even went
onto vandalizethehome of LieutenantGovernor ThomasHutchinson,destroyingrecordsand
forcing him and his family to seek refuge at Fort William. (The elm tree used to hang Oliver's
effigy laterbecame known asthe "Liberty Tree" (Wikipedia).The Stamp Act wasParliament's
first serious attempt to assert governmental authority over the colonies. Great Britain was
faced with a massive nationaldebt following theSeven YearsWar. Thatdebt had grownfrom
£72,289,673 in 1755 to £129,586,789 in 1764*
1766
Stamp Act Repealed; greatcelebrations

35
1767
Townsend Acts Passed; Taxes on glass, paint, oil, lead, paper, and tea were applied with the
design of raising £40,000 a year for the administration of the colonies. The result was the
resurrectionof colonial hostilities created by the Stamp Act. Reaction assumed revolutionary
proportions in Boston, in the summer of 1768, when customs officials impounded a sloop
owned by JohnHancock, for violationsof the trade regulations.Crowdsmobbed thecustoms
office, forcing the officials to retire to a British warship in the Harbor. Troops from England
and Nova Scotia marched in to occupy Boston on October 1, 1768. Bostonians offered no
resistance. Rather they changed their tactics. They established non-importation agreements
that quickly spread throughout the colonies. British trade soon dried up and the powerful
merchantsofBritain once againinterceded onbehalf of thecolonies; nonimportationboycott
begins.
1768
June 10
JohnHancock’s ship Liberty is seized in a disagreementover payment of customsduties;
Violent protests againstunpopularBritish taxes.
October1
The British arrive in Boston to maintain order.
1770
BostonMassacre occurred when royal troops fired on a belligerent crowd.
1772
Committees of Correspondence formed to oppose “despotism” of Gov. Hutchinson in a
dispute over his salary.

36
1773
Tea Act
December16
BostonTea Party
1774
“Intolerable Acts” passed to punishBoston for the destroyed tea closed the town’sport and
abolished all elected popular government. Gen. Thomas Gage was appointed Governor by
King George III ; patriots practice military art and organize the Minute Men.
September
The First ContinentalCongress Meets in Philadelphia
The American Revolution
1775
April 19, 1775 Lexington and Concord
British troops march to Concord to seize rebel supplies. Alarm by Paul Revere and William
Dawes (RobertNewman). The minute men standon Lexington Green. After the Boston Tea
Party, the confrontation on Lexington Green. On the morning after Paul Revere’s famous
midnight ride, the “shot heard round the world” unleashed in Lexington and Concord later
that day sparked the American Revolution. Siege of Boston begins ♦ Richard Neitzel
Holzapfel , Old Palmyra, 32
June 17, 1775
The Battleof Bunker Hill. Americans fortify Charlestownoverlooking Bostonfrom theNorth.
The British suffer over 1000 casualties as they take the American’s fort.

37
July 2, 1775
Gen. George Washingtonarrives at Cambridge to take command of the Continental Army.
1776
January 1776
Common Sense wasfirst publishedanonymouslybyThomas Paine. It is regardedasthe most
influential piece of literature leading to the American Revolution.Paine wrote that “We have
it in our power to begin the world over again.”
March 4-5, 1776
Americans fortify Dorchester Heights, overlookingBoston from the south.
March 17, 1776
Evacuation Day the British troops and government officials and loyalists sail out of Boston.
Harbor, never to return.
July 4, 1776
Declaration of Independence signed and adoptedin Philadelphia.
July 8, 1776
PersonalLife—Birth of Lucy Mack
1781
Battle of Yorktown
1776-83
American Revolution
1783

38
May 18, 1783
Martin Harris is born
1787
The Constitutionof the United States
1791
The Bill of Rights
1796
January 24, 1796
PersonalLife—JosephSmith Sr. married Lucy Mack
1797
Second Awakening: 1800 - 7% of American’s belong to an organized religion. ♦ Porter and
Black, The Prophet Joseph, 23
1800
“The dams and dykes seemed to be swept away, and irreligion, immorality, skepticism and
infidelity came in like a flood.” A young college man who belonged to a church in 1800 was
looked uponas a phenomenon. Only one of that years graduatingclassat Yale belongedto a
church (Ivan Barrett, Joseph Smith and the restoration p. 2).

39
1805-1829
1805
Birth of JosephSmith in SharonTownship Windsor County Vermont. The Smith family lived in
seven locations between Joseph’s birth and the first vision: Sharon, Tunbridge and South
Royalton,Vermont;WestLebanon,New Hampshire; Norwich, Vermont;the villageof Palmyra
and Palmyra Township, New York.
July 10, 1804
Personal Life—Emma Hale, wife of Joseph Smith and the first Relief Society president, was
born.
December23, 1805 (Monday) Sharon, Vermont
Personal Life—Joseph Smith Jr. was born to Lucy Mack Smith and Joseph Smith Sr. ♦ History
of the Church, 1:2
1808
The Erie Canal - “At De Witt’s [the surveyor general of New York] direction he [Geddes, a
surveyor] spent the summer of 1808...surveying the lands between the Mowhawk and Lake
Ontario and alongthe Niagara River. He turned finally in December to the critical part of the
interior route, ‘the spot of great difficulty and uncertainty’ between the Genesee River and
MudCreek (Palmyra),where it was presumed thathighgroundintervened.With anexplorers
excitement he pronounced the interior route practicable. To his great ‘joy and surprise’
Geddes found the only problem that of carrying the water of the Genesee across the
Irondequoit Valley. And here the canal could be carried ‘on a surface not surpassed,perhaps
in the world for singularity,’ over a series of ridges, ‘in many places of sufficient height and
width for its support.’” (Shaw)
In an editorialized account,Chalmers describes Geddes as being the first Euopean to ever set
foot in the Irondequoit creek valley. “With a canal it would be saved for the union; the Canal

40
would spread‘happiness andvirtue’ and ‘raise up adorersto God, where the pantherand the
wolf now prowl.’” (Shaw, Ronald E. Erie Water West: A History of the Erie Canal. University
Press of Kentucky, 1966.)
1810
March 4, 1810
Personallife—Joseph’s brother,Ephraim, dies at the age of 11 days old ♦ (History of Joseph
Smith, 350
1811
PersonalLife—The Smith family moves to LebanonNew Hampshire. JosephSmith Sr. has a
series of 7 inspired dreams. ♦ Church History in the Fulness of Times, 22
1812
The War of 1812—Washingtonis burned,including the White House; Martin Harris fights in
two battles.
1813 West Lebanon, New Hampshire
Pride and Prejudice Originally published: January 28, 1813
Author: Jane Austen
Personal Life—After suffering from complications of typhoid, seven-year-old Joseph Smith’s
leg was operated on by Dr. Nathan Smith of Dartmouth Medical School. In convalescence
Josephtraveledwith his uncleJesse Smith to Salem, Massachusetts,torecover. He remained
on crutchesfor three years ♦ Lucy Smith, History of Joseph Smith, ch. 16; Wirthlin, BYU Studies
21:2: 131-54;ChurchHistory in theFulness of Times, 23; History of Joseph Smith,54 Joseph Smith’s
Boyhood Operation; 9 BYU Studies copyright 1981

41
1815
Volcanic Eruption of Mount Tambora
The mostdestructive explosion on earth in the past10,000years was the eruption of an
obscure volcanoin Indonesia called MountTambora. More than13,000 feet high, Tambora
blew upin 1815and blasted 12 cubic miles of gases, dustand rock into the atmosphereand
onto the island of Sumbawa andthe surroundingarea.Rivers of incandescent ash poured
down the mountain’s flanksand burnedgrasslandsandforests. The groundshook, sending
tsunamisracing across the Java Sea. An estimated 10,000of the island’sinhabitants died
instantly.It’s the eruption’sfar-flung consequences, however, thathave most intrigued
scholarsand scientists. They have studied how debris from the volcanoshroudedand chilled
partsof the planet for many months,contributingto crop failure and famine in North
America and epidemics in Europe. Climate experts believe that Tambora was partly
responsible for the unseasonablechill thatafflicted much of the NorthernHemisphere in
1816,known as the “year without a summer.” By RobertEvans
Smithsonian Magazine July 2002
Late 1816 Palmyra, New York
PersonalLife—Joseph Smith moved with his mother andsiblings to Palmyra, New York, from
Norwich, Vermont. JosephSr.hadgone toPalmyraearlier in theyear to investigatethemove.
♦ Lucy Smith, History of Joseph Smith, ch. 16; Porter, Origins of the Church, 10
1816
PersonalLife—Smith’s moved from Norwich, Vermont to Palmyra, New York; Joseph walked
40 miles a day in the snow with his bad leg. Caleb Howard made him walk “in my weak state
through the snow 40 miles per day for several days, during which time I suffered the most
excruciating weariness & pain.” ♦ Manuscript History of the Church, cited in Dean C. Jessee,
The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith , 666

42
1817
PersonalLife—Joseph’sgrandma,Lydia Mack, dies at age 83
1818
Illinois became the twenty-first state in the U.S.
Visions and Revelations –Martin Harris
Looking on himself as an unchurchedChristian,Harris chose to follow God on his own. As a
"restorationist," he looked for the returnof biblical Christianity. He stated that"in the year
1818…I was inspired of the Lord and taughtof the Spirit that I shouldnot join any church"
(interview by Edward Stevenson,Sept. 4, 1870,StevensonMicrofilm Collection,Vol.
32, HDC ).
1819
Revivals intensified in Palmyra vicinity
1819
Personal life—Joseph Smith Sr. has his last visit from the messenger of his dreams and tells
him he has one thing in his life that is still needful for Salvation ♦ Church History in the
Fulness of Times, 26
February 6, 1819 Palmyra, New York
Legal Events—JosephSmith Jr.appeared as a credible witness in the case of JosephSmith Sr.
v. Jeremiah Hurlbut. The jury awarded the Smiths $40.78. ♦ LDS Church Archives, Joseph
Smith Legal Papers series. The significance of this case is not limited to the fact that a New
York judge found the young Joseph, just a year prior to his First Vision, to be competent and
credible as a witness. Also, the suit being brought against a prominent Palmyra family and
involving two other prominent community leaders as sureties on appeal may have

43
contributed to Joseph Smith Jr.’s memory of his family’s estrangement from much of the
Palmyra community. Walker: Joseph Smith’s Introduction to the Law 117
February 22, 1819
Spain ceded Florida to the U.S.
1820
Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to a friend about the need for restoration…. “I hope that
thegenuine andsimple religion of JesusChrist may be restored,forit hathbecome somuffled
up in mysteries that it is concealed from the vulgar eyes. ♦ Ivan J. Barrett, Joseph Smith and
the Restoration , 5
Commentary-- William J. Berenstein:
Beginningaround1820,thepace of economic advancepicked upnoticeably,making theworld
a better place to live in. What happened? an explosion in technological innovation the likes
of which had never before been seen. The lot of the averageindividual, measured as real per
capita GDP, did not change at all during the first millennium after the birth of Christ.
Over the next500 years, between A.D. 1000and1500,things did notget much better. Before
1820, therehad been only minusculeprogressfrom decade todecade andcentury to century.
After 1820, the world steadily became a more prosperousplace…[The] growth of the global
economy took off, bringing prosperity despite the repeated devastation of war, civil strife,
and revolution. ♦ William J. Berenstein, The Birth of Plenty, pp 15, 18-19)
We live in a period of history to which that misunderstood and much overused word,
“awesome,” truly applies. This is the season of fulness and fulfillment. The world has been
linked together as never before. Scientific understanding has reached ever greater heights
and most of the technical inventions of mankind have occurred since 1820. Most of the per
capita wealth of mankind has been generated since 1820, as have 85% of all the people that
have ever lived. It is hard for a Latter-day Saint to think that this onrush of knowledge,
invention, wealth, population, and political-economic integration since 1820 is but
coincidental. What anexciting time to live, an agein which prophetsandseers of ancient time
wished to have lived! ♦ Isa. 29:13-14; note from the Hebrew-Joseph…

44
Spring 1820 Farmington, New York
(It was not untilApril 16,1822, that Manchester
Township was divided off from Farmington)
Visions and Revelations –God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to the fourteen-year old
Joseph Smith in answer to his prayer about which church he should join. ♦ History of the
Church, 1:3-8; JS-H 1:5-26; Opening the Heavens, 1-7
The First Visitation –JSH
Spring1830
Joseph’sTheophonywith theFatherandtheSon ManchesterTownship,OntarioCounty,New
York
John Alger Account
[February 2, 1893] Brother John Algersaid while speaking of the Prophet Joseph Smith, that
when he, John, was a small boy he heard the Prophet Joseph relate his vision of seeing the
Father and the Son, [and] that God touched his eyes with his finger and said "Joseph, this is
my Beloved Son, hear Him." As soon as the Lord had touched his eyes with his finger he
immediately saw the Savior. After meeting, a few of us questioned him aboutthe matter and
he told usat the bottomof the meeting house stepsthathe was in the houseof FatherSmith
in Kirtland when Joseph made this declaration, and that Joseph while speaking of it put his
finger to his right eye, suiting the action with the words so as to illustrate and at the same
time impress the occurrence on the minds of thoseuntowhom he was speaking. We enjoyed
the conversation very much, as it was somethingthat we had never seen in churchhistory or
heard of before. Heard Joseph testify of the FirstVision, saying God the Fatherappeared first
andtouched hiseye, enabling him to see theSon. ♦ A. Karl LarsonandKatharine Miles Larson,
Diary of CharlesLowell Walker,2 vols. (Logan,Utah:UtahState University Press,1980),2:540.
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 130:20
22 The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's; the Son also…
Bruce R. McConkie Commentary:
Now and then in a peaceful grove, apart from the gaze of men, heaven and earth share a
moment of intimacy, and neither are ever the same. Such a moment occurred on that

45
beautiful clear morning, in the spring of 1820 in a groveof trees near Palmyra New York. Man
asked and God answered. Joseph Smith saw the Father and the Son. (Bruce R. McConkie,
Ensign, November 1975, 18)
1820
August 23, 1820
Personal Life—Joseph’s grandfather, Solomon Mack dies at age 87
1821-1828
These eight years may be termed the preparatoryperiod preceding the restorationof the
Priesthood andthe organization of the Churchof Christ on the earth.The angelMoroni
appeared to the Prophet JosephSmith, Jr., severaltimes and finally delivered to him the
plates of the Book of Mormon.The translationof the sacred records was begun, and Joseph
commenced to receive revelations. ♦ Andrew Jenson, Church Chronology
1822
Hieroglyphs were deciphered by Thomas Young and Jean-François Champollion using the
Rosetta Stone.
1823
September 21-22, 1823 Palmyra, New York
Visions and Revelations—The angel Moroni visited Joseph Smith three times in the night in
the Smith family log home, telling JosephSmith aboutthe goldplates (theBook of Mormon)
and the Lord’s divine mission for him. Some of his instruction about the coming of Elijah is
recorded in D&C 2 ♦ JS-H 1:27-47; D&C 2, Rich, BYU Studies 10.3:257

46
September22, 1823 (Sunday) Palmyra and Manchester,
New York
Visions and Revelations—The angel Moroni visited Joseph Smith again during the day and
“related unto [him] all that he had related to [him] the previous night,” after which Joseph
Smith went to the hill and first saw the plates. ♦ History of the Church, 1:14-16; JS-H 1:48-54
About November 19, 1823 Palmyra, New York
PersonalLife—JosephSmith’sbrotherAlvindied at age25. He hadbeen ill with “bilious colic”
and was given a dose of calomel, which may havekilled him. ♦ History of the Church, 1:2, 16-17;
Lucy Smith, History of Joseph Smith, ch. 20
December 2, 1823
The Monroe Doctrine, proclaiming that European powers should not colonize or interfere
with countries in the Americas was issued.
1824
Martin Harris built a new farm house and hired the Smiths to hoe corn at .50 cents a day
May 7, 1824
Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 premiered in Vienna.
September 22, 1824 Manchester, New York
Visions and Revelations—Joseph Smith met with Moroni at Hill Cumorah one year after
Moroni’s initial visits. ♦ JS-H 1:54; Baugh, Opening the Heavens, 308
1825
Martin Harris hires Joseph Sr. and Hyrum to dig a well he learnsof Joseph’sFirst Vision

47
Visions and Revelations—Joseph Smith met with Moroni at Hill Cumorah two years after
Moroni’s initial visits. ♦ JS-H 1:54; Baugh, Opening the Heavens, 308
October
Personal Life—Joseph worked for Josiah Stowell, boarded with the Issac Hale family in
Harmony and met Emma Smith. Joseph is accused of using magic and being a money digger.
October 26, 1825
The Erie Canal opened, allowing passage from Albany, New York, to Lake Erie.
November or December 1825 Manchester, New York
PersonalLife—JosephSmith’s family moved into the frame home that Joseph’sbrotherAlvin
had begun before his death in 1823. The home was completed sometime after October 25,
1825. ♦ Porter, Origins of the Church, 27.
November17, 1825 Harmony, Pennsylvania,and near South Bainbridge, New York
Personal Life—Joseph Smith’s employment for Josiah Stowell at the mining excavations in
Harmony, Pennsylvania, ended. Joseph then continued to work for Stowell at his farm near
South Bainbridge, New York. ♦ History of the Church, 1:17; Porter, BYU Studies, 10.3:367
December 20, 1825 Manchester, New York
Legal Events—The Smiths’ home and 99.5-acre farm were sold to Lemuel Durfee, who kept
the Smiths as tenants. ♦ LDS Church Archives, Joseph Smith Legal Papers series
1826
February 13, 1826
The American Temperance Society was founded, and by 1831 it had over two thousand
chapters.
March 20, 1826 South Bainbridge, New York
Legal Events—JosephSmith was tried and acquitted by Justice of the Peace Albert Neely Jr.
of a charge of being a disorderly person, meaning not acceptably employed and “pretending
todiscover where lostgoodsmaybe found.”The lawdefined adisorderly personasavagrant,

48
or a seeker of “lostgoods”. The prophethad been accused of both;the first chargewas false
and was made simply to cause trouble; Joseph’s use of the Seer Stone to see things others
could not see with the naked eye brought the second charge. Josiah Stowell, Joseph’s
employer, testified thatJosephcouldbetrusted. (Itis believed thatJosephfoundaseerstone
digging awell for WillardChase.)♦Madsen,BYUStudies30.2:106;LDS ChurchArchives,Joseph
Smith Legal Papers series
Visions and Revelations—Joseph Smith met with Moroni at Hill Cumorah three years after
Moroni’s initial visits. ♦ JS-H 1:54: Baugh, Opening the Heavens, 308
1827
January 18, 1827 South Bainbridge, New York
PersonalLife—Joseph Smith was married to Emma Hale by Esquire Zacharia Tarble,Justice of
the Peace. ♦ History of the Church, 1:17; Jessee, BYU Studies 17.1:32.
August 12, 1827
William Blake, English poet and artist, died.
September22, 1827 Manchester, New York
Visionsand Revelations—JosephSmithreceived thegoldplatesfrom the angelMoronion the
hill where they were buried. ♦ History of the Church, 1:18; JS-H, 1:59; H of JS, p 102-3
Reminiscence: Lucy Mack Smithand the Breastplate
Afterreceiving the gold plates—
He handed me the breastplatespokenof in his history. It was wrapped in a thin muslin
handkerchief, so thin that I couldsee the glistening metal andascertain its proportions
without any difficulty. It was concave on one side and convex on the other,and extended
from the neck downwards as far as the center of the stomach of a man of extraordinary
size. It had four strapsof the same material for the purposeof fastening it to the breast,two
of which ranback to go over the shoulders,andthe other two were designed to fasten to
the hips. They were just the width of two of my fingers (for I measured them), andthey had
holes in the end of them to be convenient in fastening. The whole platewas worth at least
five hundreddollars.After I had examined it, Josephplaced it in the chest with the Urim and
Thummim. History of Joseph Smith by his mother,Chapter23

49
December1827
PersonalLife—Josephmoves to Harmony Pennsylvania
December 1827 to February 1828 Harmony, Pennsylvania
Writings—JosephSmithcopied charactersfrom the bookof Lehi onthe platesandtranslated
them using the Urim and Thummim. ♦ History of the Church, 1:19
1828
February 8, 1828
Jules Verne, French author, was born.
February 1828
Martin Harris visited Charles Anthonin New York City
February-June 1828
116 pagestranslatedand LostManuscript
February 15, 1828 Harmony Pennsylvania
Writings—Joseph Smith gave Martin Harris a transcript of characters from the book of Lehi
onthe goldplatesandtheirtranslation,which Harristookto showscholarsin AlbanyandNew
York City. ♦ History of the Church 1:20; Welch, Opening the Heavens, 86, Kimball, BYU Studies
10.3:325
April 12, 1828 Harmony, Pennyslvania
Writings—Martin Harris returned to Joseph Smith’s home in Harmony, where he began to
help with the translation of the 116 Book of Mormon pages from the book of Lehi that were
later lost. Joseph Smith commences translation of the Book of Mormon with Martin Harris
as his scribe, Harmony Susquehanna County, Pennsylvannia. ♦ History of the Church 1:20;
Welch, Opening the Heavens, 86
Martin Harris and the Seer stone-Dark as Egypt

50
From April 12 to June14, Josephtranslatedwhile Martinwrote, with only a curtainbetween
them. On occasion they tookbreaks from the arduoustask,sometimes going to the river
and throwingstones. Once Martinfound a rock closely resembling the seerstoneJoseph
sometimes usedin place of the interpreters and substitutedit without the Prophet’s
knowledge. When the translationresumed,Joseph pausedfor a long time andthen
exclaimed, “Martin, what is the matter,all is as darkas Egypt.” Martin thenconfessed that
he wished to “stop the mouthsof fools” who toldhim that the Prophetmemorized
sentences and merely repeated them. Millennial Star, 44:87.
May 19, 1828
Congress passed the Tariff of 1828, which Southerners called the “Tariff of Abominations.”
June 14, 1828 Harmony, Pennsylvania
Writings—JosephSmithcompleted thetranslationofthebookof Lehi, andMartinHarris took
the 116 manuscript pages to Palmyra, New York, to show selected members of his family as
bound by covenant. ♦ History of the Church, 1:20-21; Welch, Opening the Heavens, 88.
June 14, 1828
Martin Harris leaves Harmony with 116 pages (the Book of Lehi). Pages are stolen, altered,
and it is suggested that they were burned.
June 15, 1828 Harmony, Pennsylvania
Personal Life—Joseph and Emma Smith’s first child, a boy later named Alvin, was born but
died within hours. ♦ Porter, Origins of the Church, 146; Welch, Opening the Heavens, 87; Lucy
Smith, History of Joseph Smith, ch. 24, p 125
About July 1, 1828 Manchester, New York
Writings—Joseph Smith arrived at his father’s farm and learned from Martin Harris that the
116 manuscript pages of the book of Lehi had been lost. ♦ History of the Church, 1:20-21; Lucy
Smith, History of Joseph Smith, ch. 24; Preface, Book of Mormon (1830)
About July 8, 1828 Harmony, Pennsylvania
VisionsandRevelations—JosephSmithreceived throughtheUrimandThummin Doctrine and
Covenants 3, a revelation calling him to repentance after entrusting Martin Harris with 116

51
pages of translation from the book of Lehi, which were lost. ♦ History of the Church, 1:21-23;
D&C 3
July
Writings—D&C - 3 - Lost 116-Joseph’s First recorded Revelation
Summer1828
Writings— D&C 10 - Wicked Designs - Foreknowledge of God (see Words of Mormon 1:7);
Joseph learns that the manuscripts are lost—loses power to translate. ♦ History of Joseph
Smith, 129)
Visions and Revelations—Joseph Smith received Doctrine and Covenants 10, a revelation
aboutthe designs of wicked men who had made alterationsto the 116lost manuscriptpages.
♦ History of the Church, 1:23-28; D&C 10
July
Interpretersand plates are taken from the prophet by the angelMoroni
September 9, 1828
Leo Tolstoy, Russian writer, was born.
September1828
Joseph regained the gift to translate and the Urim and Thummim received from Moroni ;
Emma served as scribe ♦ History of Joseph Smith, 135
1829
1829
British Parliament gave Catholics full political rights in Great Britain.
1829
Ireland’s government restored religious freedom.

52
1829
The accordion was patented by Cyrill Demian in Vienna.
1829
Duringthis year the translationofthe Book of Mormonwas completed by JosephSmith, Jun.,
who was assisted by Oliver Cowdery as scribe; the plateswere shownto the Three Witnesses
and the Eight Witnesses; the Aaronic Priesthood was restored to the earth by John the
Baptist, and,later, the Melchizedek Priesthoodby Peter, Jamesand John;JosephSmith, Jun.,
and Oliver Cowdery also commenced to preach and baptize
About February 1, 1829 Harmony, Pennsylvania
Visions and Revelations—Joseph Smith received Doctrine and Covenants 4, a revelation for
his father, Joseph Smith Sr., containing qualifications for missionary service. ♦ History of the
Church, 1:28; D&C 4
February 26, 1829
Levi Strauss, clothing designer, was born.
March 2, 1829 Harmony, Pennsylvania
Visions and Revelations—At the urging of Martin Harris, who sought assurance that Joseph
Smith had the goldplates, Josephreceived the revelationfound in Doctrine and Covenants5.
Three witnesses to the Book of Mormon are promised. ♦ History of the Church, 1:28-31; D&C 5
March 4, 1829
Andrew Jackson succeeded John Quincy Adams as U.S. President.
April 5, 1829 (Sunday) Harmony, Pennsylvania
PersonalLife—JosephSmithmet Oliver Cowdery for thefirst time ♦ History of the Church, 1:32;
Welch, Opening the Heavens, 163
April 6, 1829 Harmony, Pennsylvania
Legal Events—Joseph Smith incurred a debt in purchasing a small home and land from his
father-in-law, Isaac Hale. ♦ LDS Church Archives, Joseph Smith Legal Papers series

53
About April 7, 1829 (Tuesday) Harmony, Pennsylvania
Writings—Joseph Smith, Jr., resumed the translation of the Book of Mormon, assisted by
Oliver Cowdery as scribe, at Harmony. Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery received through
the Urim and Thummim Doctrine and Covenants7, a revelation answering their inquiry as to
whether Johnthe Beloved had tarried in the flesh or had died. ♦ History of the Church, 1:35-36;
D&C 7
April 10, 1829
William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, was born.
About April 10, 1829 Harmony, Pennsylvania
Visions and Revelations—Joseph Smith received Doctrine and Covenants 8, a revelation for
Oliver Cowdery granting to him the gift of translation. ♦ History of the Church, 1:36-37, D&C 8
April 14, 1829
Harmony, Pennsylvania
Writings—Joseph Smith commenced the second week of dictating the translation of the
Book of Mormon to Oliver Cowdery. ♦ History of the Church, 1:35-36
About April 16, 1829 Harmony, Pennsylvania
directing Oliver Cowdery to be content to write ratherthanattempt to translate. ♦ History of
the Church, 1:37-38, D&C 9
April 21 to about May 10, 1829 Harmony, Pennyslvania
Writings—JosephSmith continued dictating the translationof the Book of Mormonto Oliver
Cowdery. ♦ History of the Church, 1:35-36, 39
May 1829
Writings—D&C 11 to Hyrum; D&C 12 to Joseph Knight
About May 10, 1829 Harmony, Pennsylvania
Writings—JosephSmith and Oliver Cowdery ran out of suppliesduring the translationof the
Book of Mormon and went to Colesville, New York, to obtain provisions from Joseph Knight
Sr. ♦ Jessee, BYU Studies 17.1:36; Welch, Opening the Heavens, 93

54
Writings—JosephSmith translatedthe account of the appearanceof the resurrected Savior
in 3 Nephi 11 in the Book of Mormon. ♦ Welch, Opening the Heavens,93
May 15, 1829 (Friday) SusquehannaRiver, Pennsylvania
Visions and Revelations—Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery received the Aaronic Priesthood
from John the Baptist. Joseph proceeded to baptize Oliver, after which Oliver baptized
Joseph. Joseph was then instructed to ordain Oliver to the Aaronic Priesthood, after which
Oliver ordainedJoseph. ♦ Historyof theChurch, 1:39-44;D&C13;Cannon,Openingthe Heavens,
216-18
May 17, 1829
JohnJay, first U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice, died.
About May 24, 1829 Susquehanna River, Pennsylvania
Visions and Revelations—After Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery received the Aaronic
Priesthood, the Melchizedek Priesthood was also conferred upon them by the ancient
Apostles, Peter, James and John along the banks of the Susquehanna River between
Colesville, New York, and Harmony, Pennsylvania. It should be noted that some historians
place the Melchizedek Priesthood restorationat a later date. ♦ History of the Church, 1:39-46;
Cannon, Opening the Heavens, 218-25, History of the Church, Vol 1:41
May 25, 1829 Harmony, Pennsylvania
Ecclesiastical Duties—Joseph Smith baptized his brother Samuel H. Smith just ten days after
JosephandOliver Cowdery had received the AaronicPriesthoodand were baptized. ♦ History
of the Church, 1:44
Visions and Revelations—Joseph Smith received Doctrine and Covenants 12, a revelation to
JosephKnightSr. aboutlaborerswishingtoassistin the vineyard. ♦ History of the Church, 1:47-
48; D&C 12

55
May or June 1829 Lyons, New York
Legal Events—MartinHarris’s wife, Lucy, filed a complaint againstJoseph Smith, attempting
to prove that he never had gold plates. ♦ Lucy Smith, History of Joseph Smith, ch. 28
June-July1829
Travels—Joseph returnedhome to be with Emma.
About June 1, 1829 Harmony, Pennsylvania
Personal Life—David Whitmer arrived, met Joseph Smith for the first time, and satisfied
himself of the Prophet’s divine inspiration. ♦ Welch, Opening the Heavens, 94
About June 1, 1829 Fayette, New York
Writings—Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery moved into the home of Peter Whitmer Sr.,
where Joseph resumed translation of the Book of Mormon. ♦ History of the Church, 1:49-51
June 1, 1829
Travels—Joseph, Oliver and Emma move to Fayette to complete the translation. Miracle of
the sowing of Plasterat the Whitmers; Moroni appeared alongthe way and later to sister
Whitmer. ♦ History of Joseph Smith, 151
Visions and Revelations—Joseph Smith received Doctrine and Covenants 14, 15, and 16,
revelations for David, John, and Peter Whitmer Jr., respectively, concerning their calls to
missionary labor.Thethree areto choosetheTwelve; the first Apostlesin1800years. ♦ History
of the Church, 1:49-51; D&C 14, 15, 16
Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and Martin Harris that prepared them to become witnesses
of the gold plates and other sacred objects. ♦ History of the Church, 1:52-53; D&C 17
June 11, 1829 Utica, New York
LegalEvents—RichardR.Lansing,clerkof theNorthernDistrict Court,enteredJosephSmith’s
copyright application for the Book of Mormon. ♦ History of the Church, 1:58-59; Wadsworth,
BYU Studies 45.3:77-99

56
June 16, 1829
Geronimo, Apache leader, was born.
Visions and Revelations—JosephSmith was present as the Three Witnesses were shown the
plates by the angel Moroni. About this same time, Joseph Smith received Doctrine and
Covenants 18, a revelation to himself, Oliver Cowdery, and David Whitmer. The mission and
calling of the Twelve Apostles were revealed, and Oliver and David were directed to “search
out” the Twelve. ♦ History of the Church, 1:56, 62-64; D&C 18
June 1829
Three witnesses view the plates,see the angelMoroni, hearthe Voice of God in the Chamber
of Old father Whitmer ♦ DC 128:19-21; Testimony of the three Witnesses; History of Joseph
Smith, 151-3
June
The eight witnesses view the plates (Testimony of the Eight Witnesses)
About June 24, 1829 Palmyra, New York
Visions and Revelations—JosephSmith showed the Eight Witnesses the gold platesnear the
Joseph Smith Sr. log home. ♦ History of the Church, 1:57; Testimony of the Eight Witnesses,
Book of Mormon
June 26, 1829 Palmyra, New York
Writings—EgbertB. Grandin published the title page of the Book of Mormonas a “curiosity”
in the Wayne Sentinel. History of the Church, 1:71; Wayne Sentinel (Palmyra, New York),June
26, 1829
June 27, 1829
British mineralogist James Smithson died, leaving money to the U.S. that was used later to
fund the Smithsonian Institution.
About July 1, 1829 Fayette, New York

57
Writings—On or before this date, Joseph Smith completed the translation of the Book of
Mormon. ♦ Welch, Opening the Heavens, 148
August 25, 1829 Fayette, New York
Legal Events—Martin Harris mortgaged his farm in order to assure payment to Egbert B.
Grandin of $3,000 to print 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon. ♦ Welch, Opening the
Heavens, 98
October 22, 1829 Harmony, Pennsylvania
Writings—JosephSmith wrotea letter toOliver Cowdery abouthis safe arrivalin Harmony on
October 4 and progress made toward the publication of the Book of Mormon. ♦ Personal
Writings of Joseph Smith¸ 251-52
November6, 1829 Manchester, New York
Writings—In a letter to Joseph Smith at Harmony, Pennsylvania, Oliver Cowdery wrote, “The
printing goes ratherSlow yet as the type founder has been sick but we expect that the type
will be in and Mr. Granden still think he will finish printing by the first of February.” ♦ Welch,
Opening the Heavens, 98
November 28, 1829
Anton Rubinstein, Russian pianist and composer, was born.
1830
In the beginning of this year the Book of Mormon was printed and published in the English
language. This first edition of the book, consisting of 5,000 copies, was printed by Egbert
Grandin, at Palmyra, New York. Soon afterwards the Church was organized—the first
conferences were held,the first missionaries sentoutto preachthe fulnessof the gospel,and
severalrevelationsgiven for the governmentof the Church;alarge branchwas establishedat
Kirtland, Ohio, etc. ♦ Andrew Jenson, Church Chronology: A Record of Important Events
Pertaining to the History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [Salt Lake City:
Deseret News, 1914]

58
Early 1830
The Reflector (Palmyra) prints extracts from the unpublished Book of Mormon in January.
The prophet travels to Palmyra from Harmony to stop the unauthorized publishing. Squire
Cole.
January 1830 Palmyra, New York
Legal Events—JosephSmith v. Abner Cole. Joseph won an arbitration against Cole, who had
copied passagesfromthe Book of Mormonhe hadfound atGrandin’sprintshop andincluded
them in his newspaper, The Reflector. ♦ LDS Church Archives, Joseph Smith Legal Papers
series
About March 14, 1830 Palmyra, New York
Writings—Joseph Smith wrote what became the preface to the first edition of the Book of
Mormon. ♦ Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, 253–54
1830
Temperance activist Sylvester Graham advocated a diet based on vegetables and whole
wheat.
About March 21, 1830 Palmyra, New York
Martin Harris concerning repentance and the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Martin was
commanded topay thedebt thathe hadcontractedwith the printerfor the publicationof the
Book of Mormon. ♦ History of the Church, 1:72–74; D&C 19
1830
Camorra,a secret Italian criminal association in Naples,came to light.
March 26, 1830 Palmyra, New York
Writings—The Book of Mormon was advertised for sale at Egbert B. Grandin’s bookstore. ♦
History of the Church, 1:75–76; Wayne Sentinel, March 26, 1830
April 6, 1830 (Tuesday) Fayette, New York
Ecclesiastical Duties—Joseph officially organized the Church of Christ in Peter Whitmer Sr.’s
home and recorded Doctrine and Covenants 20 concerning Church organization and
government. Joseph also received Doctrine and Covenants 21. ♦ History of the Church, 1:62–
80; D&C 20, 21; Peterson, BYU Studies 35.4: 222; Carmack, Ensign (Feb. 1989): 14–19
1830

59
Bohemian peasantsdeveloped the polka.
April 11, 1830 Fayette, New York
Ecclesiastical Duties—Joseph Smith attended the first public sermon given after the
organization of the Church, preached by Oliver Cowdery in the Peter Whitmer Sr. home. ♦
History of the Church, 1:81
April 13, 1830 Palmyra, New York
directing converts who had been previously baptized in other churches to be rebaptized as
members of the Church. ♦ History of the Church, 1:79–80; D&C 22
April 14, 1830 Palmyra, New York
Oliver Cowdery, Hyrum Smith, Samuel H. Smith, Joseph Smith Sr., and Joseph Knight Sr.,
calling them to preach the gospel and strengthen the Church. ♦ History of the Church, 1:80;
D&C 23
April, June 1830 Manchester area
Samuel Smith laboredas a missionary
April 18, 1830 (Sunday) Colesville, New York
Ecclesiastical Duties—First miracle –JosephSmith castsa devil out of Newel Knight ♦ Church
History in the Fulness of Times, 69-70
May 28, 1830
President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act, forcibly removing tens of
thousands of Native Americans to the West.
June 1830 Colesville, New York
Visions and Revelations—Joseph Smithreceivedbyrevelationwhat is now the first chapterof
the book of Moses in the Pearlof GreatPrice. The translationof the Bible (JST) is an ongoing
project. ♦ History of the Church,1:98–101; Matthews, “A PlainerTranslation,” 26–27; RofP, 4
June 9, 1830 Fayette, New York
Ecclesiastical Duties—Joseph Smith conducted the first conference of the Church since its
organization, with about thirty members assembled. Newell Knight saw the Savior seated on

60
the right hand of the Father. ♦ Church History in the Fulness of Times, 70-71; History of the
Church, 1:84–86
June 26-28, 1830 Colesville, New York
Baptisms and persecution ♦ Church History in the Fulness of Times, 71
June 28, 1830 Colesville, New York
Personal Life—Joseph Smith’s wife, Emma, and twelve others were baptized by Oliver
Cowdery at the Joseph Knight farm. ♦ History of the Church, 1:87–88
1830
The cancanbecame popularin Paris.
Between June 28 and July 2, 1830 Colesville and South Bainbridge, New York
Legal Events—Joseph Smith was arrested in Colesville on a charge of being a “disorderly
person.”This arresttookplace in the evening of June28 before thosewho hadbeen baptized
that day could be confirmed, and he was taken to South Bainbridge, Chenango County, for
trial.Joseph wasacquitted by Justice of the Peace JosephChamberlain,butas soonas hewas
acquitted, he was arrested on a second warrant and was taken to Colesville, where he was
tried and again acquitted. ♦ History of the Church, 1:85–96; Walters, Westminster Theological
Journal 36.2: 124–25; LDS Church Archives, Joseph Smith Legal Papers series
June 30, 1830 Fayette, New York
Travels—JosephSmith’s BrotherSamuel departedon oneof thefirst missions for the Church,
travelinginto Ontario, Monroe,and Livingston counties in New York. ♦ Lucy Smith, History of
Joseph Smith, ch. 33
30 June-1830-Mar. 1831
Writings--Moses2-8 ♦ Church History in the Fulness of Times, 72
July 1830 Manchester area
Joseph Smith, Sr., and Don Carlos Smith left to do missionary work. ♦ Church History in the
Fulness of Times, 67, 75
relating to his and Oliver Cowdery’s callings. ♦ History of the Church, 1:101–3; D&C 24

61
directing Emma, the “elect lady,” to assemble the first hymnbook for the Church. ♦ History of
the Church, 1:103–4; D&C 25; Poulter, BYU Studies 37.2
regarding scripture study and common consent. ♦ History of the Church, 1:104; D&C 26
July 20, 1830
Jews received citizenship in Greece.
About August 5, 1830 Harmony, Pennsylvania
concerning the sacrament. ♦ History of the Church, 1:106–8; D&C 27
Aug. 9, 1830
Louis-Philippe, the “Citizen King,” accepted the crown in France in the wake of the July
Revolution.
August 25, 1830 Montrose, Pennsylvania
Legal Events—George H. Noble v. Joseph Smith. Joseph Smith executed a promissory note
payable to George H. Noble for $190.95 to enable Joseph to purchase from his father-in-law,
Isaac Hale, thirteen acres and the home where Josephand Emma had been living and where
he had translatedmuch of the Book of Mormon. See entry for April 6, 1829. ♦ Porter, Origins
of the Church, 134,citing Deed Book 8,59–60,SusquehannaCountyCourthouse,Pennsylvania;
LDS Church Archives, Joseph Smith Legal Papers series
August 26, 1830 Harmony, Pennsylvania
Legal Events—George H. Noble v. Joseph Smith. An amicable judgment was entered in favor
of GeorgeH. Noble to secure his creditor rightsfor the $190.95owed to him by JosephSmith.
Jesse Lane was judge as well as notary on the deed, filed with Court of Common Pleas in
Montrose,Pennsylvania.Satisfied in full June3, 1831.♦ Porter,Origins of theChurch, 134,citing
Deed Book 8, 59–60, Susquehanna County Courthouse, Pennsylvania; LDS Church Archives,
Joseph Smith Legal Papers series
August 29, 1830 Between Colesville, New York, and Harmony, Pennsylvania
Travels—While travelingto Colesville, New York, from Harmony, Pennsylvania,Joseph Smith
and his company were miraculously delivered from their enemies, who were blinded and
unable to identify them. ♦ History of the Church, 1:108–9; Newel Knight, Autobiography, 63

62
August 31, 1830
The lawnmower was patented by Edwin Beard Budding.
Late August, 1830 Harmony, Pennsylvania
Travels—With Emma, JosephSmith left Harmony for Fayette for the last time
September1, 1830 Manchester area Parley
P. Pratt Conversionand baptized ♦ Church History in the Fulness of Times, 67, 75
About September 20, 1830 Fayette, New York
Oliver Cowdery, in responseto Hiram Page’sprofessed revelations,directing that noone was
to receive revelation for the Church save the Prophet. ♦ History of the Church, 1:109–11; D&C
28
Visions and Revelations—In the presence of six elders, Joseph Smith received Doctrine and
Covenants 29, a revelation concerning the Millennium. ♦ History of the Church, 1:111–15; D&C
29
Visions and Revelations—JosephSmithreceived Doctrine and Covenants30, a revelation for
David Whitmer, Peter Whitmer Jr., and JohnWhitmer concerningtheir callingsand duties in
the Church.♦ History of the Church, 1:115–16;D&C 30
September 26, 1830 Fayette, New York
Ecclesiastical Duties—Joseph Smith conducted the second conference of the Church at the
Peter Whitmer Sr. home. ♦ History of the Church, 1:110, 115
1830
Alexander Duff, Scottish missionary to India, opened a mission college in Calcutta.
calling Thomas B. Marsh to “declare gladtidings of great joy unto this generation.” ♦ History
of the Church, 1:116–17; D&C 31

63
October1830 Manchester area
Oliver Cowdery and others leave on Mission to the Indians
October4, 1830
The ProvisionalGovernmentin Brusselsdeclared the independent state of Belgium, in revolt
againstthe Netherlands.
About October 8, 1830 Fayette, New York
regardingthe mission of Parley P. PrattandZiba Petersonto teach the Lamanites. ♦ History of
the Church, 1:118–20; D&C 32
October 21, 1830 Fayette, New York
callingEzra Thayre andNorthropSweet to serveproselyting missions. ♦ History of the Church,
1:126–27; D&C 33
October 31, 1830 Manchester area
PersonalLife—Joseph’sgrandpa,AsaelSmith, dies at the age of 86. ♦ History of Joseph Smith,
348
November 4, 1830 Fayette, New York
calling Orson Pratt to the ministry. ♦ History of the Church, 1:128; D&C 34
November 30, 1830 Fayette, New York
Visions and Revelations—TheLord revealed to Joseph Smith what is now Moses 5:62–6:18 in
his inspired translationof the Bible. ♦ Faulring,Jackson, Matthews,eds., Joseph Smith’s New
Translation of the Bible, 57; Moses 5–6
December 1, 1830 Harmony, Pennsylvania
Visions andRevelations—TheLordrevealed to JosephSmith whatis now Moses6:19–52in his
inspired translation of the Bible. ♦ Faulring, Jackson, Matthews, eds., Joseph Smith’s New
Translation of the Bible, 57; Moses 6
About December 8, 1830 Fayette, New York
Visions andRevelations—While workingon his inspired translationof the Bible, JosephSmith
received by revelation the latter portion of chapter 6 in the Book of Moses. ♦ Faulring,
Jackson,Matthews, eds., Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible, 57; Moses 6

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