Mormon History Timeline
last revised June 12, 2006
last revised June 12, 2006
| New York Origins | |
| 1805 | Joseph Smith born in Sharon, Vermont |
| 1816 | The Smiths move to Palmyra, New York |
| 1817 | Erie Canal construction begins |
| 1823 | Visitations of the Angel Moroni |
| 1825 | Josiah Stowell treasure-digging expedition |
| 1826 | Joseph found guilty of fraud in Bainbridge, New York |
| 1827 | Joseph marries Emma Hale Joseph Smith begins his translation of the golden plates |
| 1830 | Publication of the Book of Mormon Organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The first missionaries begin to spread the word in upstate New York |
| 1831 | The Saints leave for Ohio |
| Kirtland | |
| 1831 | Settlement established in Kirtland, Ohio Settlement established in Independence, Missouri Joseph marries Nancy Marinda Johnson (?) Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon tarred and feathered |
| 1833 | The Saints driven out of Independence, flee to Clay County Missouri Organization of the Kirtland School of the Prophets (disbanded in 1837) |
| 1834 | Zion's Camp |
| 1835 | Ordination of the Twelve Apostles Joseph marries Fanny Alger (?) First public denials of polygamy |
| 1836 | Dedication of the Kirtland Temple Elijah Abel, first African American Mormon ordained an elder at Joseph Smith's direction Saints leave Clay County, establish settlement in Far West, Caldwell County, Missouri |
| 1837 | First foreign mission established in England Kirtland Safety Society Anti-Banking Company Scandal "The Kirtland Apostasy" |
| 1838 | Warrant issued for Joseph Smith's arrest on charges of fraud Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, and remaining followers flee Ohio |
| Missouri | |
| 1838 | Settlement established at Adam-ondi-Ahman Organization of the Danites under Sampson Avard Sidney Rigdon's "Salt Speech" Election day riot in DeWitt, Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs issues "extermination order" Haun's Mill Massacre Saints flee to Quincy, Illinois |
| 1839 | Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon and others in Liberty Jail Joseph escapes to Quincy |
| Nauvoo | |
| 1839 | Saints establish settlement in Nauvoo, Illinois |
| 1840 | Nauvoo charters granted by Illinois legislature Organization of the Nauvoo Legion John C. Bennett elected mayor |
| 1841 | Construction of Nauvoo temple begun Joseph marries Louisa Beaman (first "official" polygamous marriage) |
| 1842 | First official publication of the "First Vision" Book of Abraham published (March) Joseph Smith organizes the Female Relief Society (March) Joseph Smith is initiated into Freemasonry and organizes the Nauvoo Masonic Lodge (March) Revelation on theocratic government (April) Joseph organizes the Quorum of the Anointed (May) Shooting of Lilburn Boggs (May) Apostasy of John C. Bennett, revelations about polygamy (May) Church publicly denies practice of polygamy Joseph Smith and Porter Rockwell arrested in connection with Boggs shooting (August) Smith and Rockwell released by Nauvoo Municipal Court, then go into hiding (August) Springfield hearing, Judge Pope invalidates Missouri extradition Joseph is arrested again as an accessory in the Boggs shooting (December) |
| 1843 | Joseph is released again in Nauvoo (January) Legislation to revoke Nauvoo charters introduced to Illinois legislature Joseph petitions Congress to grant Nauvoo territorial status Joseph arrested under the old treason charges and then released again by a Nauvoo court (June) Polygamy revelation presented to Church High Council (July) Joseph organizes Nauvoo secret police force (the "Night Watch") (December) |
| 1844 | Joseph launches his bid for president of the United States (January) Apostasy of William Law (January) Organization of the Council of Fifty (March) Joseph sends ambassadors to Washington, D.C., France, England, Russia and Texas, sends scouts to Texas, California, and Oregon, as prelude to establishment of a western Mormon empire (March) Polygamy revelation approved by Council of Fifty Joseph secretly crowned "king on earth" in the Council of Fifty (April) Destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor (June 8) Arrest of Joseph Smith (June 24) Assassination of Joseph Smith in Carthage, Illinois (June 27) Church membership approximately 20,000 |
| The First Interregnum | |
| 1844 | Succession crisis Majority of Saints follow Brigham Young Approximately half of the Saints reject Brigham Young's leadership and eventually join other Mormon sects |
| 1845 | Nauvoo charters revoked U.S. annexes Texas Completion of Nauvoo Temple |
| 1846 | Outbreak of war with Mexico Brigham Young and the Saints make camp in Council Bluffs, Iowa The Mormon Battalion enlisted to fight in the Mexican War The sack of Nauvoo |
| 1847 | Brigham Young Church President The Great Westward Trek |
| The Great Basin Theocratic Kingdom | |
| 1847 | Salt Lake City settled |
| 1848 | Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, ending Mexican War; U.S. annexes the Utah territory |
| 1849 | Brigham Young territorial governor of Utah State of Deseret proposal to Congress rejected Provo settled Manti settled |
| 1850 | Ogden settled |
| 1851 | Polygamy legalized in Utah |
| 1852 | The church publicly avows the practice of polygamy |
| 1856 | Logan settled The beginning of a period of intense Mormon revivalism known as "the Utah Reformation" |
| 1857 | The Utah War Mountain Meadows Massacre Brigham Young removed as territorial governor |
| 1859 | The waning of the Utah Reformation |
| 1861 | St. George settled |
| 1862 | U.S. Congress passes Morrill Act, criminalizing bigamy in the territories |
| 1863 | Idaho Falls settled (originally Eagle's Rock settlement at Taylor's Ferry) |
| 1867 | School of the Prophets reorganized in Utah (disbanded again in 1874, then revived briefly in 1883) |
| 1869 | Transcontinental railroad completed at Promontory Point |
| 1870 | Women's suffrage in Utah (supported by opponents of polygamy in belief that Mormon women would vote against polygamy; they didn't) |
| 1875 | Brigham Young Academy founded in Provo (future Brigham Young University) |
| 1877 | Brigham Young dies, second interregnum |
| 1880 | John Taylor Church President |
| 1882 | U.S. Congress passes Edmunds Act, criminalizing "unlawful cohabitation" (more than 1,300 men ultimately imprisoned under the act) Church leaders go into hiding |
| 1883 | Rexburg settled |
| 1884 | Last meeting of the Council of Fifty |
| 1887 | Tucker Amendment to the Edmunds Act Mormon women disenfranchised under the Edmunds-Tucker Act John Taylor dies, third interregnum |
| 1889 | Wilford Woodruff Church President Starting with Woodruff's presidency, the church promotes the "gathering" concept less aggressively |
| 1890 | Wilford Woodruff issues "the Manifesto," publicly declaring the cessation of polygamy |
| 1891 | People's Party disbanded, Mormons encouraged to participate in national partisan politics |
| 1896 | Utah granted statehood |
| 1898 | Wilford Woodruff dies Lorenzo Snow Church President |
| 1900 | Church membership approximately 400,000 |
| 1901 | Lorenzo Snow dies |
| Modern Mormonism | |
| 1901 | Joseph F. Smith Church President |
| 1904 | The Smoot Hearings The "Second Manifesto," which ended post-Manifesto secret polygamy |
| 1916 | The First Presidency publishes "The Father and the Son: A Doctrinal Exposition," clarifying the modern, tritheistic theological position of the LDS church |
| 1918 | Joseph F. Smith dies Heber J. Grant Church President |
| 1936 | Church Welfare Program established |
| 1945 | Heber J. Grant dies George Albert Smith Church President |
| 1950 | Church membership more than 1,000,000 |
| 1951 | George Albert Smith dies David O. McKay Church President Starting with McKay's presidency, converts from abroad are actively encouraged to remain in their native lands |
| 1961 | Priesthood Correlation Program established |
| 1970 | David O. McKay dies Joseph Fielding Smith Church President |
| 1972 | Joseph Fielding Smith dies Harold B. Lee Church President |
| 1973 | Harold B. Lee dies Spencer W. Kimball Church President |
| 1974 | Special Affairs Committe organized to combat the Equal Rights Amendment |
| 1978 | Revelation opening the priesthood to males of African descent |
| 1979 | Excommunication of Sonia Johnson |
| 1982 | Church membership more than 5,000,000 |
| 1985 | Spencer W. Kimball dies Ezra Taft Benson Church President |
| 1986 | Local "Seventies" quorums disbanded, while the First Quorum of the Seventies is expanded and given an augmented administrative role |
| 1993 | Excommunication of six Mormon scholars for pro-feminist and modernist scholarship |
| 1994 | Ezra Taft Benson dies Howard W. Hunter Church President |
| 1995 | Howard W. Hunter dies Gordon B. Hinkley Church President "Proclamation on the Family" |
| 2000 | Church membership more than 11,000,000 |
| 2006 | The First Presidency issues a general statement encouraging Americans to support a federal constitutional amendment to define marriage as a union of "one man and one woman." |
©2003-07 John D. Gustav-Wrathall | home | blog | contact me