Chronology of the Restoration Updated July 2013

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Church History Chronology and Stories Complied and
Adapted by Doug Maughan Ed.D.
For Religion 341-Spring 2013
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 ranged from the normal and mundane to 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 chronology lists events that can be tied to specific days or weeks. Of course,
other events could be added, including many that cannot 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sources are historical documents, most of which have been published, though a few reside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, Joseph Smith received a revelation (D&C 87) containing prophecies
about wars, most notably the forthcoming American Civil War. Only three days later, the
revelation known as the “Olive Leaf” (portions of D&C 88) was received, containing “the
Lord’s message of peace to us.” On June 29, 1840, William W. Phelps wrote a letter to the
Prophet, admitting the wrongs he had committed against him and asking for his forgiveness.
Less than two weeks later, on July 11, Joseph Smith gave instructions to the high council

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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-coding in this chronology helps categorize the Prophet’s activities and
shows trends during these years. For example, in 1834, travel dominated Joseph’s life, as he
was involved with Zion’s Camp; in 1835, entries related to Ecclesiastical Duties and writing
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 margins of this chronology contain information to help place the Prophet
in his era [entries are coded 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 supplemental information can be found in history books and on the Internet, Chad M.
Orton and William W. Slaughter have published a readily accessible and highly
recommended study of Joseph Smith’s era that discusses many topics such as these.1
As extensive as this chronology already is, it is still a work in progress. A few dates
and locations differ from what has been published in traditional histories because we have
relied on primary sources for such information. Moreover, dozens of scholars are busily
researching 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 Church history. As further work is done, perhaps scholars will be able
to pinpoint 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. For example, a sampling of the Prophet’s many legal encounters has been
added, 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, Joseph Darowski, Kay Darowski, and many staff members at BYU Studies for their
work on this chronology.
“The fingerprints of God on the parchment of history, reveal a love story, fraught
with enough faith, sacrifice and divine intervention, to ignite an everlasting flame of
gratitude, and patriotism in the hearts of all who seek to understand the invisible hand of
divine 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 course or the subject, then the 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 (Translation of 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 translation is 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
Martyrdom of 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 prison and afterwards crucified at Heliopolis in Phyrgia
60 AD
Matthew was slain with a Halberd (battle axe) at Nadabah Ehtiopia

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?
James the Less was beaten and stoned by the Jews and had his brains dashed out with a
fullers club
?
Matthias (chosen to replace Judas) was stoned at Jerusalem, then beheaded
?
Andrew (brother of Peter) was crucified at Edessa
After 65 AD
Mark was dragged to pieces in the streets of 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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Matthew was 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 was Crucified 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 Testament in Greek are produced all over 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 cauldron of boiling oil; that this cruel sentence was carried out as fully as it was in
the power of men to execute it. The cauldron of oil was heated to boiling heat, and the
great 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 that he suffered
no harm and 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
Evidences of the Great Apostasy
Rejection and Removal of Priesthood Keys
The Bible Ends and Manuscripts Corrupted
Absence of Spiritual Gifts
Primitive Church Organization lost
Evils of the Great and Abominable Church
Unenlightened kingdoms of the earth
Retrogression of Civilization and Science
100-200 AD
The Bible Ends and Manuscripts Corrupted
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
hand into our own language without error, or deviation from the original. ♦ Anthony W.
Ivins, Relationship of "Mormonism" and Freemasonry, 64
How we Lost the Plain and Precious Truths:
24 And the angel of the Lord said unto me: Thou hast beheld that the book proceeded forth
from the mouth of a Jew; and when it proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew it contained
the fulness of the gospel of the Lord, of whom the twelve apostles bear 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 abominable above all other churches; for behold, they have taken away from the
gospel 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, thou seest that after the book hath gone forth through the hands of 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.1 Nephi 13:24-27
(Ehartman Misquoting Jesus, Margret Barker- We have seen this pattern of uninspired purge
before in the time of Josiah…)
Promise of the Lord- 56 Thou shalt ask, and my scriptures shall be given as I have appointed,
and they shall be preserved in safety; (D&C 42:56)
Emma also carried with her the manuscripts of Joseph's translation of the Bible carried in
two cotton bags and tied under her long skirt which she received from Ann Scott. Ann had
received the manuscripts from the Prophet's secretary James Mulholland (James giving the
manuscripts to Ann in hopes the mobs wouldn't search her).

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Understanding of Heavenly Fathers Plan was lost
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 Heresies III, 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 having expunged this passage from their
scripture in order to damage the Christian cause, from which it would appear that the
doctrine of salvation for 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 earth centered universe flourished for fourteen hundred
years as “gospel truth”. ♦ Tad Callister, The Inevitable Apostasy and Promised Restoration, 1,
note p. 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 Martin Luther a opposed Copernicus and supported the Catholic viewpoint: “People
give ear to an upstart astrologer who strove to show the earth revolves , not the heavens of
firmament, the sun and the moon… This fool wishes to reverse the entire scheme of

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astrology; but sacred scripture tells us that Joshua commanded the sun to stand still 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
Renaissance brought with it a flowering of learning, art, and science. There came a
movement of bold and courageous men and women who looked heavenward in
acknowledgment of God and His divine Son. We speak of it as the Reformation.” ♦ President
Gordon B. Hinckley, “The Dawning of a Brighter Day,” Ensign (CR), May 2004, 81
June 325
Council of Nicea - Emperor Constantine called the Nicea Council, held way back in 325 A.D.
when 318 bishops spent four weeks in discussion and debate over the divinity and
personality of Jesus Christ 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 spending four weeks in debate to decide that question. 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 Canon Established
382-1500 AD
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.

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400-800 AD
It is a well known historical fact that from about 400 to 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 Church of 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
Retrogression of Civilization
European sewage and sanitation regressed back 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 such luxuries 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 and germs multiplied, and disease of every kind, untreatable by the
primitive medical knowledge of the day, proliferated. A Florentine writer 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.”
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 Extended the Dark Ages
A Critique of Rodney Stark’s The Victory of Reason

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"Beyond the city walls, lawlessness reigned 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 villages and worked small adjacent fields. Not until 1500
did farmers clear the wolf-infested forests. Everyone, from toddlers to the aged, performed
backbreaking field work, usually unaided 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 squalor of medieval dwellings was unimaginable. According to the greatest of
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, there below, spittle and vomit and wine of dogs and men, 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 paragraphs describe the circumstances of peasants who were
relatively well-off. The less fortunate had little or no shelter at all. In the subsistence-level
pre-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
597 AD
St. Augustine of Canterbury lands at Kent

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700 AD
The Psalms and some of the Gospels are the first to be translated in a new language called
English.
735 AD
On the day he died a man named Venerable Bede finishes the first complete translation of a
New Testament book into English (the book of John).
1066 AD
Norman Invasion
1213 AD
King John of England Surrenders to the Pope

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The Reformation and Age of Discovery
A Candle lit in Darkness (No Modern light)…
Prelude to the Restoration—Eph. 1:9-10; D&C 5:10; Dan. 2:44; Moses 7:58-62; 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, and at 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 Naples and Paris he was appointed as a
master at the University of Paris in 1257. His period of writing was a brief sixteen years, but
extraordinarily 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 have written seems to me as so much straw.” From that day he
wrote no more. He died shortly afterwards, on March 7, 1274, at the age of 49. (Consider
also Galileo, see Eph. 1:9-10; D&C 5:9-10)
1269
The Age of Discovery:
The Polos stayed in Kubilai's court for a year- answering his questions about the rulers of
Europe and the Christian religion. Kubilai Khan became sufficiently intrigued by Christianity
to dispatch them back to Europe with a request to the Pope for 100 doctors of divinity to
teach him and his people about this strange religion. In addition the Khan, who was a great
collector of religious relics of all kinds, asked them to bring back a sample of holy oil from

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Jerusalem. When the Polos arrived back in Europe they found that Pope Gregory had died
and the religious situation was in a disarray.
Finally after numerous arrangements for acquiring religious instructors fell through, the
brothers concluded they had no choice but to return to 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 trust in
them (Marco Polo 111).
1305
“Babylonian Captivity” of the Papacy begins
1316-1334
The Sale of Indulgences Under John XXII
"Bishops and cardinals amassed fabulous fortunes from the sale of tithes and indulgences.
. . . John XXII, who wore the papal tiara from 1316 to 1334, exhibited a legendary appetite for
gold cloth and fur. [that's right - cloth made of gold!] Noble families purchased
appointments to the priesthood for small children, and twenty-year-old archbishops were
not unknown. Of 624 papal dispensations of legitimacy granted in 1342-43, 484 went to the
offspring of clergy. In parts of sixteenth-century England, the clergy were indicted for
almost a quarter of all sex crimes, more than ten times their proportion of the population.
From Birth of Plenty, 33-34
1327
Accession of Edward the III
1328

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Birth of John Wycliffe born in the village of Hipswell in the North Riding 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 whatever they could for the scriptures in English, “to taste the sweetness of
God’s Holy Word…Some paid more, some paid less: some gave a load of 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.”
1374-1415

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Jan Hus—Was a Martyr for the cause of reformation and Czech Nationalism. Stressed the
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 teachings of Wycliffe and taught the gospel as he understood it 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. Russell Ballard, The Tapestry of
God’s Hand Joseph Smith Memorial Fireside, Logan Institute 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 rather than the
Pope is our ultimate authority. Because of this conviction Wycliffe and his followers
produced 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 rightly interpret the Bible so it was illegal to have the Bible in a language
other 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
2
see Martyrs, 140-143

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1401
Act De Haeretico Comburendo; (2 Hen.4 c.15) was a law passed by Parliament under King
Henry 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 instruct and inform people...and commit
subversion of the said catholic faith". The sect alluded to is the Lollards, followers of John
Wycliffe.
De heretico comburendo urged "...that this wicked sect, preachings, doctrines, and opinions,
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 books and writings to the diocesan of
the same place within forty days from the time of the proclamation of this ordinance and
statute."
"And if any person...such books in the form aforesaid do not deliver, then the diocesan of
the same place in his diocese such person or persons in this behalf defamed or evidently
suspected and every of them may by the authority of the said ordinance and statute cause
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 England banning the translation of the Bible into English.
1412
Joan of Arc—It was around 1424, 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
dug up and burned; Jan Hus is burned at the stake. The Council of Constance declared
Wycliffe (on 4 May 1415) a stiff-necked heretic and under the ban of the Church. It was
decreed that his books be burned and his remains be exhumed. The exhumation was 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 through Lutterworth.
1428 – 1444
Years after Wycliffe died his bones were exhumed and burned for having translated the
Bible into English (they were really mad).
“To Lutterworth they come, Sumner, Commissarie, Official, Chancellour, Proctors,
Doctors, and the Servants … take, what was left, out of the grave, and burnt them to
ashes, and cast them into Swift a Neighbouring Brook 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 thus the Ashes of Wickliff are the Emblem of his Doctrine, 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 last the ashes were carefully swept into a barrow and taken to the little
bridge and cast into the Swift, a tributary of the Avon.The vexation was deep. And old The
Catholic Church understood exactly what Wycliffe’s presence meant, that there was
something insidious and unstoppable about this trouble making little man. (David Teems,
Majestie: The King behind the King James Bible, P.220-222)
1440-1455
Johannes Gutenberg invents the Printing Press with moveable type. It is no longer
necessary to make hand-written copies of the Bible.

20
1453
Fall of Constantinople to the 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, over twelve million books had been printed in more than one thousand print
shops. 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—Great German Reformer. In 1517 the spirit of Christ moved upon a Catholic
priest living in Germany. Martin Luther was among the growing number of thoughtful
clergymen who were disturbed by how far the church had strayed from the gospel as taught
by Christ. Luther created a good deal of controversy when he publicly called for reformation
by posting on his church door in Wittenberg a list of issues that he felt needed to be
debated. He organized a church that abolished confession, and he translated the New
Testament into German while in exile. Spoke against Holy Relics and worshipping saints.
When Luther was ordered to give up his work, he boldly declared:
“Unless I be refuted by Scriptural testimonies, or by clear arguments—for I 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 passages of Scripture, which I have cited, and my
conscience is bound in the word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything; since it is
insecure and dangerous to act against conscience.”
He died from an illness following exposure to icy weather. Martyrs, 159-166

21
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 church which is most abominable above all
other churches, which slayeth the saints of God, yea, and tortureth them and bindeth them down,
and yoketh them with a yoke of iron, and bringeth them down into captivity.
6 And it came to pass that I beheld this great and abominable 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 all
manner of precious clothing; and I saw many harlots.
340,0000 tortured; 32,000 burned at 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 battle against 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
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 was denounced as a heretic and fled to Germany to complete the English translation of

22
the Bible and have it printed. (Elder M. Russell Ballard, The Tapestry of God’s Hand Joseph
Smith Memorial Fireside, Logan Institute of Religion – February 13, 2011)
Sailing from Antwerp to Hamburg off the Coast of Holland, Tyndale lost the first five books
of his Old Testament translation when he was shipwrecked. He had to start over. (Wilcox,
Fire in the Bones; p.126)
He was arrested near Brussels, Belgium, in 1535 and condemned by Sir Thomas Moore and
the Church of England. He was imprisoned for 18 months before being strangled by the
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 and said: "Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the
man. We shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England, as I trust shall never
be put out." At that point, the wood was torched, and the two men gave their lives.4
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
taught by Tyndale to be heretic. His reply was: "I defy the Pope and all his laws," and
3
4

23
declared that if God would spare his life he would make the plow-boy to 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
contributions many, 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 and wrought upon the man ♦ 1 Nephi 13
“The Lord was well disposed to my desire, and he bestowed upon me courage and
understanding. Knowledge of . . . the Lord unlocked my mind, sent me upon the sea, and
gave me fire for the deed. Those who heard of my enterprise called it foolish, mocked me
and laughed. But who can doubt but that the Holy Ghost inspired 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
October 31, 1517
A young Roman Catholic monk named Martin Luther challenges the church hierarchy of his
day, like Wycliffe, by nailing his 95 theses to the church doors in Wittenberg, Germany. This
act sparks the Protestant Reformation.
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.

24
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
1517
Publication of Luther’s thesis on indulgences

25
1522
Commentary—Pope Adrian VI to the Diet of Nuremburg
“At every level of church life…there were signs of grave disorganization and decay.”…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
8 And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the gold, and the 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 And also for the praise of the world do they destroy the saints of God, and bring them
down into captivity. 1 Nephi 13:4 – 9
Francesco Petrarch (a devout Catholic) described the Papal court as, “a receptacle of all that
is most wicked and abominable. What I tell you is not from hearsay, but from my own
knowledge and experience. In this city 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
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 the first English translation of the New Testament produced from the
original Greek.

26
1529
Sir Thomas Moore becomes Chancellor of England
1530
Tyndale’s Pentateuch
1533
Henry the VIII marries Anne Boleyn; Thomas Cranmer becomes archbishop of Canterbury
1534
Act of Supremacy; The first Act of Supremacy was a piece of legislation that granted King
Henry VIII of England Royal Supremacy, which means that he was declared the supreme
head of the Church of England. It is still the legal authority of the Sovereign of the United
Kingdom. Royal Supremacy is specifically used to describe the legal sovereignty of the civil
laws over the laws of the Church in England.
1535
Thomas Cromwell becomes Chancellor; Coverdale’s Bible
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’s Bible

27
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 large size. Act of
Six Articles.
1540
Execution of Thomas Cromwell
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 astronomer and 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 daughter of Sir William Askew, the Knight of Lincolnshire.
Listen to what she said: "I had rather to read five lines in the Bible, than to hear five
masses in the temple. . . because the one did greatly edify me, and the other nothing at
all." The King sent one of his representatives with a pardon for her if she would recant her
beliefs. She answered that she had not come to deny her Lord and Master. Ann Askew was
burned at the stake in 1546. Martyrs, 228
1547
Accession of Edward the VI

28
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’s England was torn between two Bible translations. Most people
used the Geneva Bible but the clergy felt it was below them to use the commoners Geneva
Bible. A solution was needed.
1563
Thirty-nine Articles; John Foxe’s Book of Martyrs
1568
Bishops’ Bible

29
1582
Rheims (Douai) New Testament
1587
Execution of Mary Queen of Scott’s
1603
Queen Elizabeth dies and King James VI, who had ruled Scotland for 37 years, becomes King
James I of England.
1604
Hampton Court Conference; King James summons the religious leaders of England together
to settle on a common English translation that can be used by both clergy and the masses.
47 men stationed at Oxford, Cambridge and Westminster Abbey worked on the translation
from 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.
1607
Founding of Jamestown (The Light and the Glory)
1609-10

30
Douai Old Testament
1611
The King James Version, known in England as the Authorized Version, is published for the
first time. The purpose of the translators was not to make an entirely new translation of 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’s would fulfill the prophecies of the ancients, revolutionize religious and political
thought, and change the course of history forever. God had his eyes upon these families
from before the foundations of the earth. One of Gordon B. Hinckley’s ancestors, Stephen
Hopkins, 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,
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 drowning at sea. During a violent storm, the Mayflower was pitching and rolling
with the waves. Young John was walking above the gratings on deck, and his youthful body
was hurled into the briny sea. “But it pleased God,” wrote the ‘Pilgrim Chronicler’ “that he
caught hold of the top sail Hilliard’s which hung overboard.” 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

31
after this harrowing experience. The ship finally arrived in Cape Cod on a Saturday.
However they did not disembark until Monday so 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 governor of Plymouth colony. John Howland 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 such a way as God has prescribed in His words is the thing to which I prefer to life
itself.” ♦ Walter C. Erdman, Sources of Power in Famous Lives, (Nashville Cokesbury Press,
1937)
1630
Founding of Boston
1631
The Wicked Bible, sometimes called The Adulterous Bible or The Sinners' Bible, is a term
referring to the Bible published in 1631 by Robert Barker and Martin Lucas, the royal printers
in London, which was meant to be a reprint of the King James Bible. The name is derived
from the compositors' mistake: the word not in the sentence "Thou shalt not commit
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
could no longer assent to what was taught by 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
truths found in the scriptures. The seekers who followed Lathrup were called Independents.
For eight years they met in London until the persecution got so bad they could no longer
meet 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

32
years later all were released except Rev. Lathrup. While he languished in the filthy old
prison his wife succumbed to a terminal sickness. He was allowed to see her before her
death and provide tender comfort as she passed away. After his wife’s internment he
returned to the loathsome confinement 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 had sympathy on John and
released him. Rev. Lathrup fled with his children to America where he could worship God
according to the dictates of his own conscience. In New England he became widely known
as the “Beloved Pastor.” ♦ Archibald F. Bennett, Lathrup Genealogy, The Utah Genealogical
and Historical Magazine, Salt Lake City, Utah: The Utah genealogical Society, April 1929, 49-51
1638
Robert Smith. Joseph Smith’s first paternal ancestor to leave England for 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
surpass the 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.
Since 1611 the KJV has been “fixed” about 100,000 times to give us the translation of the KJV
we have today. Almost all of these “fixes” are minor spelling and punctuation changes.
It is impossible to gauge how many King James Bibles have been sold; estimates are simply
in the hundreds of millions. The King James will be the leading English Bible translation for
more than 300 years until being surpassed in the late 1900’s by the New International
Version (NIV)
1669

33
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 Ruth Merrick, great grand-daughter of Stephen Hopkins who sailed on the
Mayflower 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
Bostonians force Governor Andros to resign
1734
First Awakening
1756-1763
Seven Years War (French and Indian War) drains the British Treasury
1761
James Otis argues against the writs of assistance in a court trial at the Old State House.

34
1763
Faneuil Hall is dedicated to the “Cause of 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 passed by the Parliament of Great Britain
and required all legal documents, permits, commercial contracts, newspapers wills,
pamphlets, and playing cards in 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 suppliers from the War, which had been
very costly, even though Great Britain had been victorious in 1763 (see Treaty of Paris (1763).
Riots occur in Boston and other cities. An effigy of the stamp agent, Andrew Oliver, was
hanged and then burned; his home was broken into, and his office, along with the stamps,
was burned. The mob even went on to vandalize the home of Lieutenant Governor Thomas
Hutchinson, destroying records and forcing him and his family to seek refuge at Fort William.
(The elm tree used to hang Oliver's effigy later became known as the "Liberty Tree"
(Wikipedia). The Stamp Act was Parliament's first serious attempt to assert governmental
authority over the colonies. Great Britain was faced with a massive national debt following
the Seven Years War. That debt had grown from £72,289,673 in 1755 to £129,586,789 in 1764*
1766
Stamp Act Repealed; great celebrations
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
resurrection of colonial hostilities created by the Stamp Act. Reaction assumed
revolutionary proportions in Boston, in the summer of 1768, when customs officials

35
impounded a sloop owned by John Hancock, for violations of the trade regulations. Crowds
mobbed the customs 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 merchants of Britain once again interceded on behalf of the
colonies; non importation boycott begins.
1768
June 10
John Hancock’s ship Liberty is seized in a disagreement over payment of customs duties;
Violent protests against unpopular British taxes.
October 1
The British arrive in Boston to maintain order.
1770
Boston Massacre 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.
1773
Tea Act
December 16
Boston Tea Party

36
1774
“Intolerable Acts” passed to punish Boston for the destroyed tea closed the town’s port
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 Continental Congress 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 (Robert Newman). The minute men stand on 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 Battle of Bunker Hill. Americans fortify Charlestown overlooking Boston from the
North. The British suffer over 1000 casualties as they take the American’s fort.
July 2, 1775
Gen. George Washington arrives at Cambridge to take command of the Continental Army.
1776
January 1776

37
Common Sense was first published anonymously by Thomas Paine. It is regarded as the
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, overlooking Boston 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 adopted in Philadelphia.
July 8, 1776
Personal Life—Birth of Lucy Mack
1781
Battle of Yorktown
1776-83
American Revolution
1783
May 18, 1783
Martin Harris is born
1787

38
The Constitution of the United States
1791
The Bill of Rights
1796
January 24, 1796
Personal Life—Joseph Smith Sr. married Lucy Mack
1797
Second Awakening: 1800 - 7% of American’s belong to an organized religion. ♦ Porter and
Black, The Prophet Joseph, 23
1805-1829
1805
Birth of Joseph Smith in Sharon Township Windsor County Vermont. The Smith family lived
in seven locations between Joseph’s birth and the first vision: Sharon, Tunbridge and South
Royalton, Vermont; West Lebanon, New Hampshire; Norwich, Vermont; the village of
Palmyra and Palmyra Township, New York.
July 10, 1804

39
Personal Life—Emma Hale, wife of Joseph Smith and the first Relief Society president, was
born.
December 23, 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
1810
March 4, 1810
Personal life—Joseph’s brother, Ephraim, dies at the age of 11 days old ♦ (History of Joseph
Smith, 350
1811
Personal Life—The Smith family moves to Lebanon New Hampshire. Joseph Smith Sr. has a
series of 7 inspired dreams. ♦ Church History in the Fulness of Times, 22
1812
The War of 1812—Washington is burned, including the White House; Martin Harris fights in
two battles.
1813 West Lebanon, New Hampshire
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
Joseph traveled with his uncle Jesse Smith to Salem, Massachusetts, to recover. He
remained on crutches for three years ♦ Lucy Smith, History of Joseph Smith, ch. 16; Wirthlin,
BYU Studies 21:2: 131-54; Church History in the Fulness of Times, 23; History of Joseph Smith, 54
Late 1816 Palmyra, New York

40
Personal Life—Joseph Smith moved with his mother and siblings to Palmyra, New York,
from Norwich, Vermont. Joseph Sr. had gone to Palmyra earlier in the year to investigate
the move. ♦ Lucy Smith, History of Joseph Smith, ch. 16; Porter, Origins of the Church, 10
1816
Personal Life—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
1817
Personal Life—Joseph’s grandma, Lydia Mack, dies at age 83
1818
Illinois became the twenty-first state in the U.S.
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

41
February 6, 1819 Palmyra, New York
Legal Events—Joseph Smith Jr. appeared as a credible witness in the case of Joseph Smith
Sr. v. Jeremiah Hurlbut. The jury awarded the Smiths $40.78. ♦ LDS Church Archives, Joseph
Smith Legal Papers series
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
the genuine and simple religion of Jesus Christ may be restored, for it hath become so
muffled up in mysteries that it is concealed from the vulgar eyes. ♦ Ivan J. Barrett, Joseph
Smith and the Restoration , 5
Commentary-- William J. Berenstein:
Beginning around 1820, the pace of economic advance picked up noticeably, making the
world 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 average individual, measured
as real per capita GDP, did not change at all during the first millennium after the birth of
Christ.
Over the next 500 years, between A.D. 1000 and 1500, things did not get much better.
Before 1820, there had been only minuscule progress from decade to decade and century to
century. After 1820, the world steadily became a more prosperous place…[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

42
coincidental. What an exciting time to live, an age in which prophets and seers of ancient
time wished to have lived! ♦ Isa. 29:13-14; note from the Hebrew-Joseph…
Spring 1820 Farmington, New York
(it was not until April 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
Spring 1830
Joseph’s Theophony with the Father and the Son Manchester Township, Ontario County,
New York
John Alger Account
[February 2, 1893] Brother John Alger said 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 about the matter
and he told us at the bottom of the meeting house steps that he was in the house of Father
Smith 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 those unto whom he was speaking. We
enjoyed the conversation very much, as it was something that we had never seen in church
history or heard of before. Heard Joseph testify of the First Vision, saying God the Father
appeared first and touched his eye, enabling him to see the Son. ♦ A. Karl Larson and
Katharine Miles Larson, Diary of Charles Lowell Walker, 2 vols. (Logan, Utah: Utah State
University Press, 1980), 2:540.
22 The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's; the Son also…
(Doctrine and Covenants | Section 130:22)

43
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
beautiful clear morning, in the spring of 1820 in a grove of 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 preparatory period preceding the restoration of the
Priesthood and the organization of the Church of Christ on the earth. The angel Moroni
appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith, Jr., several times and finally delivered to him the
plates of the Book of Mormon. The translation of 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

44
Visions and Revelations—The angel Moroni visited Joseph Smith three times in the night in
the Smith family log home, telling Joseph Smith about the gold plates (the Book 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
September 22, 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
Personal Life—Joseph Smith’s brother Alvin died at age 25. He had been ill with “bilious
colic” and was given a dose of calomel, which may have killed 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

45
1825
Martin Harris hires Joseph Sr. and Hyrum to dig a well he learns of Joseph’s First Vision
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
Personal Life—Joseph Smith’s family moved into the frame home that Joseph’s brother
Alvin had begun before his death in 1823. The home was completed sometime after October
25, 1825. ♦ Porter, Origins of the Church, 27.
November 17, 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

46
The American Temperance Society was founded, and by 1831 it had over two thousand
chapters.
March 20, 1826 South Bainbridge, New York
Legal Events—Joseph Smith 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
to discover where lost goods may be found.” The law defined a disorderly person as a
vagrant, or a seeker of “lost goods”. The prophet had been accused of both; the first charge
was 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 that Joseph could be trusted. (It is believed that Joseph found
a seer stone digging a well for Willard Chase.) ♦ Madsen, BYU Studies 30.2:106; LDS Church
Archives, 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
Personal Life—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.
Visions and Revelations—Joseph Smith received the gold plates from the angel Moroni on
the hill where they were buried. ♦ History of the Church, 1:18; JS-H, 1:59; H of JS, p 102-3

47
Reminiscence: Lucy Mack Smith and the Breastplate
After Receiving the gold plates—
He handed me the breastplate spoken of in his history. It was wrapped in a thin muslin
handkerchief, so thin that I could see the glistening metal and ascertain 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 straps of the same material for the purpose of fastening it to the breast, two
of which ran back to go over the shoulders, and the other two were designed to fasten to
the hips. They were just the width of two of my fingers (for I measured them), and they had
holes in the end of them to be convenient in fastening. The whole plate was worth at least
five hundred dollars. After I had examined it, Joseph placed it in the chest with the Urim and
Thummim. History of Joseph Smith by his mother, Chapter 23
December 1827
Personal Life—Joseph moves to Harmony Pennsylvania
December 1827 to February 1828 Harmony, Pennsylvania
Writings—Joseph Smith copied characters from the book of Lehi on the plates and
translated 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 Anthon in New York City
February-June 1828
116 pages translated and Lost Manuscript

48
February 15, 1828 Harmony Pennsylvania
Writings—Joseph Smith gave Martin Harris a transcript of characters from the book of Lehi
on the gold plates and their translation, which Harris took to show scholars in Albany and
New 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. (Story of Martin making it dark
as Egypt) ♦ History of the Church 1:20; Welch, Opening the Heavens, 86
May 19, 1828
Congress passed the Tariff of 1828, which Southerners called the “Tariff of Abominations.”
June 14, 1828 Harmony, Pennsylvania
Writings—Joseph Smith completed the translation of the book of Lehi, and Martin Harris
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)

49
About July 8, 1828 Harmony, Pennsylvania
Visions and Revelations—Joseph Smith received through the Urim and Thummin Doctrine
and Covenants 3, a revelation calling him to repentance after entrusting Martin Harris with
116 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
Summer 1828
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
about the designs of wicked men who had made alterations to the 116 lost manuscript
pages. ♦ History of the Church, 1:23-28; D&C 10
July
Interpreters and plates are taken from the prophet by the angel Moroni
September 9, 1828
Leo Tolstoy, Russian writer, was born.
September 1828
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.

50
1829
Ireland’s government restored religious freedom.
1829
The accordion was patented by Cyrill Demian in Vienna.
1829
During this year the translation of the Book of Mormon was completed by Joseph Smith,
Jun., who was assisted by Oliver Cowdery as scribe; the plates were shown to the Three
Witnesses and the Eight Witnesses; the Aaronic Priesthood was restored to the earth by
John the Baptist, and, later, the Melchizedek Priesthood by Peter, James and John; Joseph
Smith, 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 gold plates, Joseph received the revelation found in Doctrine and Covenants
5. 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
Personal Life—Joseph Smith met Oliver Cowdery for the first time ♦ History of the Church,
1:32; Welch, Opening the Heavens, 163

51
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
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 Covenants 7, a revelation answering their inquiry as to
whether John the 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
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 rather than attempt to translate. ♦ History
of the Church, 1:37-38, D&C 9
April 21 to about May 10, 1829 Harmony, Pennyslvania
Writings—Joseph Smith continued dictating the translation of the Book of Mormon to
Oliver Cowdery. ♦ History of the Church, 1:35-36, 39
May 1829
Writings—D&C 11 to Hyrum; D&C 12 to Joseph Knight

52
About May 10, 1829 Harmony, Pennsylvania
Writings—Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery ran out of supplies during the translation of 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
Writings—Joseph Smith translated the account of the appearance of the resurrected Savior
in 3 Nephi 11 in the Book of Mormon. ♦ Welch, Opening the Heavens, 93
May 15, 1829 (Friday) Susquehanna River, 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 ordained Joseph. ♦ History of the Church, 1:39-44; D&C 13; Cannon, Opening the
Heavens, 216-18
May 17, 1829
John Jay, 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 restoration at 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
Joseph and Oliver Cowdery had received the Aaronic Priesthood and were baptized. ♦
History of the Church, 1:44

53
Visions and Revelations—Joseph Smith received Doctrine and Covenants 12, a revelation to
Joseph Knight Sr. about laborers wishing to assist in the vineyard. ♦ History of the Church,
1:47-48; D&C 12
May or June 1829 Lyons, New York
Legal Events—Martin Harris’s wife, Lucy, filed a complaint against Joseph Smith, attempting
to prove that he never had gold plates. ♦ Lucy Smith, History of Joseph Smith, ch. 28
June-July 1829
Travels—Joseph returned home 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 Plaster at the Whitmers; Moroni appeared along the 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. The three are to choose the Twelve; the first Apostles in 1800 years. ♦
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

54
June 11, 1829 Utica, New York
Legal Events—Richard R. Lansing, clerk of the Northern District Court, entered Joseph
Smith’s copyright application for the Book of Mormon. ♦ History of the Church, 1:58-59;
Wadsworth, BYU Studies 45.3:77-99
June 16, 1829
Geronimo, Apache leader, was born.
Visions and Revelations—Joseph Smith 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 angel Moroni, hear the 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—Joseph Smith showed the Eight Witnesses the gold plates near 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—Egbert B. Grandin published the title page of the Book of Mormon as a “curiosity”
in the Wayne Sentinel. History of the Church, 1:71; Wayne Sentinel (Palmyra, New York), June
26, 1829
June 27, 1829

55
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
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—Joseph Smith wrote a letter to Oliver Cowdery about his safe arrival in Harmony
on October 4 and progress made toward the publication of the Book of Mormon. ♦ Personal
Writings of Joseph Smith¸ 251-52
November 6, 1829 Manchester, New York
Writings—In a letter to Joseph Smith at Harmony, Pennsylvania, Oliver Cowdery wrote, “The
printing goes rather Slow 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 sent out to preach the fulness of the gospel,
and several revelations given for the government of the Church; a large branch was

56
established at 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]
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—Joseph Smith v. Abner Cole. Joseph won an arbitration against Cole, who had
copied passages from the Book of Mormon he had found at Grandin’s print shop and
included 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 to pay the debt that he had contracted with the printer for the publication of
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

57
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
Bohemian peasants developed 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 labored as a missionary
April 18, 1830 (Sunday) Colesville, New York
Ecclesiastical Duties—First miracle –Joseph Smith casts a 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

58
Visions and Revelations—Joseph Smith received by revelation what is now the first chapter of
the book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price. The translation of the Bible (JST) is an ongoing
project. ♦ History of the Church, 1:98–101; Matthews, “A Plainer Translation,” 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
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 cancan became popular in 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 arrest took place in the evening of June 28 before those who had been
baptized that day could be confirmed, and he was taken to South Bainbridge, Chenango
County, for trial. Joseph was acquitted by Justice of the Peace Joseph Chamberlain, but as
soon as he was 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—Joseph Smith’s Brother Samuel departed on one of the first missions for the
Church, traveling into Ontario, Monroe, and Livingston counties in New York. ♦ Lucy Smith,
History of Joseph Smith, ch. 33

59
30 June-1830-Mar. 1831
Writings--Moses 2-8 ♦ 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
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 Joseph and Emma had been living and where
he had translated much of the Book of Mormon. See entry for April 6, 1829. ♦ Porter, Origins
of the Church, 134, citing Deed Book 8, 59–60, Susquehanna County Courthouse,
Pennsylvania; LDS Church Archives, Joseph Smith Legal Papers series
August 26, 1830 Harmony, Pennsylvania

60
Legal Events—George H. Noble v. Joseph Smith. An amicable judgment was entered in favor
of George H. Noble to secure his creditor rights for the $190.95 owed to him by Joseph
Smith. Jesse Lane was judge as well as notary on the deed, filed with Court of Common Pleas
in Montrose, Pennsylvania. Satisfied in full June 3, 1831. ♦ Porter, Origins of the Church, 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 traveling to 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
August 31, 1830
The lawnmower was patented by Edwin Beard Budding.
Late August, 1830 Harmony, Pennsylvania
Travels—With Emma, Joseph Smith left Harmony for Fayette for the last time
September 1, 1830 Manchester area Parley
P. Pratt Conversion and baptized ♦ Church History in the Fulness of Times, 67, 75
About September 20, 1830 Fayette, New York
Oliver Cowdery, in response to Hiram Page’s professed revelations, directing that no one
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
David Whitmer, Peter Whitmer Jr., and John Whitmer concerning their callings and duties in
the Church. ♦ History of the Church, 1:115–16; D&C 30
September 26, 1830 Fayette, New York

61
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 glad tidings of great joy unto this generation.” ♦ History
of the Church, 1:116–17; D&C 31
October 1830 Manchester area
Oliver Cowdery and others leave on Mission to the Indians
October 4, 1830
The Provisional Government in Brussels declared the independent state of Belgium, in revolt
against the Netherlands.
About October 8, 1830 Fayette, New York
regarding the mission of Parley P. Pratt and Ziba Peterson to teach the Lamanites. ♦ History
of the Church, 1:118–20; D&C 32
October 21, 1830 Fayette, New York
calling Ezra Thayre and Northrop Sweet to serve proselyting missions. ♦ History of the
Church, 1:126–27; D&C 33
October 31, 1830 Manchester area
Personal Life—Joseph’s grandpa, Asael Smith, 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

62
Visions and Revelations—The Lord revealed to Joseph Smith what is now Moses 5:62–6:18 in
his inspired translation of the Bible. ♦ Faulring, Jackson, Matthews, eds., Joseph Smith’s New
Translation of the Bible, 57; Moses 5–6
December 1, 1830 Harmony, Pennsylvania
Visions and Revelations—The Lord revealed to Joseph Smith what is now Moses 6:19–52 in
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 and Revelations—While working on his inspired translation of the Bible, Joseph
Smith 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
Dec. 10, 1830
Emily Dickinson, American poet, was born.
Personal Life—Joseph Smith welcomed Sidney Rigdon and Edward Partridge from Mentor
and Painesville, Ohio, respectively. ♦ History of the Church, 1:12
December 11, 1830 Seneca River, Seneca County, New York
Ecclesiastical Duties—Joseph Smith baptized Edward Partridge, who later became the first
bishop of the Church. ♦ History of the Church, 1:129
Visions and Revelations—Joseph Smith received by revelation extracts from the prophecy of
Enoch, which later became Moses 7 in the Pearl of Great Price. ♦ History of the Church, 1:133–
39; Faulring, Jackson, Matthews, eds., Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible, 57; Moses
7
calling Sidney Rigdon to be the Prophet’s scribe for the translation of the Bible. ♦ History of
the Church, 1:129–31; D&C 35
1830
Frédéric Chopin composed his Piano Concerto in E Minor.

63
containing a blessing and calling for Edward Partridge. ♦ History of the Church, 1:131; D&C 36
Visions and Revelations—Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon received Doctrine and Covenants
37, a revelation calling the Saints to gather in Ohio. ♦ History of the Church, 1:139; D&C 37
1831
The first Elders arrived in Jackson County, Missouri, and the Saints from the State of New
York and other places commenced to build up Kirtland, Ohio, where the Prophet Joseph also
located with his family. Jackson County, Missouri, was named by the Lord a land of Zion
where the New Jerusalem should be built, and where the Saints were to gather. The land
was dedicated for that purpose, a Temple site selected and dedicated, and the building of a
settlement commenced. The Elders also began to preach the gospel with great zeal.
January 1, 1831
William Lloyd Garrison published the first issue of The Liberator, an abolitionist newspaper
January 2, 1831 Fayette, New York
Visions and Revelations—During the third conference of the Church, which was held at the
Peter Whitmer Sr. home, Joseph Smith received Doctrine and Covenants 38 (after Moses 8),
a revelation calling the Saints to gather in Ohio; the Lord promises his Law and His
endowment ♦ History of the Church, 1:40-43; D&C 38
January 5, 1831 Fayette, New York
calling James Covill to be baptized and labor in Zion. ♦ History of the Church, 1:143-44; D&C
39
About January 6, 1831 Fayette, New York
Visions and Revelations—Joseph Smith received Doctrine and Covenants 40, an additional
revelation concerning James Covill, who had broken his covenant with the Lord. ♦ History of
the Church, 1:145; D&C 40
About January 15 1831 Fayette, New York

64
Visions and Revelations—Joseph Smith reportedly saw in vision the face of Newel K.
Whitney, who would later receive Joseph and his wife, Emma, In Kirtland, Ohio. ♦ Baugh,
Opening the Heavens, 311; History of the Church, 1:146 n.
1831
The electromagnetic current generator was developed by Michael Faraday.
Early February, 1831 Kirtland, Ohio
Travels—Joseph Smith arrived in Ohio by sleigh with Emma. “Thou art the Man.” ♦ Church
History and the Fulness of Times, 90
About February 1, 1831 Kirtland, Ohio
Personal Life—Joseph Smith and his wife, Emma, arrived in Kirtland, Ohio (from New York)
and were kindly received into the house of Newel K. Whitney. ♦ History of the Church, 1:145-
46; Staker, BYU Studies 42.1: 100
February 4, 1831 Kirtland, Ohio
calling Edward Partridge to be the first bishop of the Church. ♦ History of the Church, 1:146-
47; D&C 41
1831
The reaper was invented by Cyrus McCormick.
February 9, 1831 Kirtland, Ohio
containing the law of the Lord to his Church, including the law of consecration and
stewardship of property. ♦ History of the Church, 1:148-54; D&C 42
About February 14, 1831 Kirtland, Ohio
Visions and Revelations—In response to a visit by a woman who claimed to receive
commandments, laws, and other curious matters, Joseph Smith received Doctrine and
Covenants 43, a revelation about the Lord’s pattern of revelation. Conference set for June ♦
History of the Church, 1:154; D&C 43, D&C Institute Manual, 87

Chronology of the Restoration Updated July 2013

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Chronology of the Restoration Updated July 2013