This Compendium being designed for the elucidation of theological rather than of historical subjects, we have only given the dates of a few important events in the development of the great latter-day work.
1805.—Joseph Smith, Jun., was born on the 23d of December, in Sharon, Windsor Co., Vermont.
1820.—Early in the Spring, Joseph Smith, Jun., had his first vision.
1823.—September21; Joseph Smith, Jun., had his second vision, in which the existence of the Plates of the Book of Mormon was revealed to him. The following day he opened the place where the Plates were deposited, and saw them.
1827.—September22. Joseph Smith, Jun., obtained the Plates of the Book of Mormon, the Urim and Thummim, and Breastplate.
1828.—February; Martin Harris showed some of the characters transcribed from the Plates, and the translation of them to Professor Anthon and Dr. Mitchell, of New York.
1829.—May15; Joseph Smith, Jun., and O. Cowdery were ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood, by John the Baptist, and were baptized by each other.
1830.—April6. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized, Elders were ordained, the Sacrament was administered, and, for the first time in the Church, hands were laid on for the reception of the Holy Ghost.
June1. The Church held its first Conference, in Fayette, Seneca County, New York. In October the first missionaries to the Lamanites were appointed.
1831.—January. Joseph Smith, Jun., moved to Kirtland, Ohio where he arrived about the first of February.
August2. The land of Zion was consecrated and dedicated by prayer for the gathering of the Saints.
August4. The first Conference of the Church in the land of Zion was held.
1832.—April26. Joseph Smith, Jun., was acknowledged President of the High Priesthood, at a General Council of the Church.
May1. At a Council held at Independence, it was decided to publish the Book of Doctrine and Covenants.
June. The first periodical, "The Evening and Morning Star," was published by the Church in Independence.
1833.—February2. Joseph Smith, Jun., completed the translation of the New Testament.
March18. The Quorum of High Priests was first organized in Kirtland.
July2. Joseph Smith, Jun., finished the translation of the Bible.
July23. The corner stones of the Lord's house in Kirtland were laid.
September11. It was decided to publish a paper in Kirtland, entitled "The Latter-day Saints' Messenger and Advocate." Bishop Edward Partridge was acknowledged head of the Church in Zion.
December18. Joseph Smith, Sen., was ordained Patriarch.
1834.—February17. A First Presidency of three and a High Council of twelve were first organized.
May3. At a Conference of Elders in Kirtland, the Church was first named "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."
May5. Zion's Camp left Kirtland for Missouri.
1835.—February28. The organization of the Quorums of Seventies commenced.
May3. The Twelve left Kirtland on their first mission.
July. In the early part of this month the rolls of Egyptian papyrus, which contained the writings of Abraham and Joseph in Egypt, were obtained.
August17. At a general assembly at Kirtland, the Book of Doctrine and Covenants was accepted as a rule of faith and practice.
1836.—January21. The authorities of the Church attended to the ordinances of anointing and blessing each other in the Kirtland Temple.
March27. The House of the Lord in Kirtland was dedicated.
April3. In the House of the Lord in Kirtland, the Savior, Moses, Elias and Elijah appeared to Joseph Smith, Jun., and Oliver Cowdery.
1837.—June. In this month Heber C. Kimball, O. Hyde and W. Richards were set apart for a mission to England. This was the first foreign mission of the Church.
July1. The mission for England sailed from New York on the shipGarrick.
July20. The English mission landed in Liverpool, England.
July30. The first baptism in England, by divine authority took place in the River Ribble.
August4. The first confirmation of members in the Church took place in England, in Walkerfold, Chaidgley.
September27. Joseph Smith, Jun., left Kirtland to visit the Saints in Missouri and establish gathering places. He arrived in Far West about the last of October, or first of November.
December10. About this time Joseph Smith, Jun., arrived in Kirtland from Missouri.
December25. The first Conference of the Latter-day Saints in England was held in the Cock Pit, Preston. During this month a somewhat extensive apostacy took place in Kirtland.
1838.—March14. Joseph Smith, Jun., and family arrived at Far West.
July6. 515 Saints left Kirtland for Missouri.
October27. Governor Boggs' exterminating order was issued.
October30. The massacre at Haun's Mill took place.
October31. Joseph Smith, Jun., and others were betrayed by G. M. Hinckle.
November1. Joseph Smith, Jun., and others condemned to be shot. Far West plundered.
1839.—February14. Brigham Young fled from Far West to Illinois.
April15. Joseph Smith, Jun., and his companions in bonds, left Davies for Broome County, and on their way made their escape from the guard.
April26. The Saints commenced evacuating Far West.
April22. Joseph Smith, Jun., arrived in Quincy, Illinois.
June11. The first house was put up by the Saints in Commerce, afterward named Nauvoo.
September18. Elder Brigham Young, accompanied by H. C. Kimball, left Nauvoo on his first mission to England.
October29. Joseph Smith, Jun., and others left Nauvoo for Washington, D.C., as delegates from the Church to the general government.
November28. Joseph Smith, Jun., arrived in Washington.
1840—March4. Joseph Smith, Jun., arrived in Nauvoo from Washington.
1840.—April15. Elder O. Hyde left Commerce, on his mission to Jerusalem.
May27. The first number of "The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star" was published at Manchester, England.
June6. The first company of emigrating Saints, from Europe, sailed from Liverpool for New York.
July20. The company of Saints who left Liverpool in June arrived in New York.
About the first of this month, the first English edition of the Latter-day Saints' Hymn Book was published.
September14. Joseph Smith, Sen., died in Nauvoo.
December16. The charter of the city of Nauvoo became a law.
1841.—January. During this month the first English edition of the Book of Mormon was published.
November8. The Baptismal Font in the Nauvoo Temple was dedicated.
1842.—December7. Elder O. Hyde returned from his mission to Jerusalem.
1844.—June27. Joseph and Hyrum Smith were assassinated in Carthage jail.
1845.—September24. The authorities of the Church made a treaty with the mob, to evacuate Nauvoo the following spring.
1846.—February. In the beginning of this month, the exodus of the Saints from Nauvoo commenced.
May16. The Pioneer camp of the Saints arrived at Mount Pisgah, Iowa Territory.
June. A call was made, by the general government, for the Mormon Battalion.
September10, 11, 12. Battles took place between the citizens of Nauvoo and the mob.
September16. The Trustees of the Church, in Nauvoo, made a treaty with the mob for the surrender of the city, and its immediate evacuation by the remnant of the Saints.
1847.—April14. The Pioneers left Winter Quarters for the Rocky Mountains.
July24. The Pioneers entered Great Salt Lake Valley.
December23. The Twelve sent forth an epistle to the Saints to recommence the gathering.
1848.—May. Presidents B. Young and Heber C. Kimball left Winter Quarters, the second time, for Great Salt Lake Valley.
September20. Presidents B. Young and H. C. Kimball arrived, the second time, in Great Salt Lake Valley.
November19. The Nauvoo Temple was burned.
1849.—October6. The organization of the P. E. Fund Company was commenced.
1850.—June14. The first missionaries to Scandinavia landed in Copenhagen, Denmark.
June15. The first number of the "Deseret News" was published.
August12. The first baptisms in Denmark, by legal authority, in this dispensation, took place.
September9. The "Act" for organizing the Territory of Utah became a law.
October13. The first company of P. E. Fund emigrants arrived in Salt Lake City, from the United States.
December7. The first branch of the Church, in France, was organized at Paris.
1851.—January9. Salt Lake City was incorporated.
January13. The first settlers of Iron County, U.T., arrived on Centre Creek, near where the city of Parowan now stands.
1852.—August29. The revelation on the law of Celestial Marriage was first made public.
September3. The first company of P. E. Fund emigrants from Europe arrived in Utah.
December13. The Legislative Assembly of Utah Territory met, for the first time.
1853.—January25. Elders O. Spencer and J. Houtz, missionaries, arrived in Berlin, Prussia, and were banished from there on the second of February following.
February14. The Temple Block in Salt Lake City was consecrated.
March7. The first missionaries to Gibraltar arrived there.
November1. The first number of the "Journal of Discourses" was published in England.
1854.—May23. Patriarch John Smith died.
June28. John Smith, son of Hyrum Smith, was appointed Patriarch over the Church.
1855.—May5. The Endowment House in Salt Lake City was dedicated.
October. A branch of the Church was organized in Dresden, Germany.
During this year grasshoppers and drouth caused a great failure of crops in Utah.
October29. The First Presidency of the Church, in their General Epistle, proposed, for the Saints who should emigrate by the P. E. Fund, to cross the plains with handcarts.
1856.—During this year the practice of paying tithing was generally introduced among the Saints in Europe. During the winter and spring there was a great scarcity of food in Utah, and many domestic animals perished.
September26. The first company of Saints, who crossed the plains with handcarts, arrived.
1857.—April23. A company of about seventy missionary elders left Salt Lake City to cross the plains with handcarts.
July11. A. Cumming, of Georgia, was appointed governor of Utah.
July23. Messrs. J. Stoddard and A. O. Smoot arrived from Independence without the mails, the postmaster there having received orders not to forward them. They brought the news that General Harney, with over 2000 men, was ordered to Utah.
Near the close of the year, the U. S. army, under General Johnson, took possession of Fort Bridger.
1858.—March21. The citizens of Utah, living north of Utah County, agreed to abandon their homes and move south. This was deemed advisable as a defensive measure.
In the meantime Col. Thos. L. Kane had arrived in Salt Lake City, via California, for the purpose of bringing about a peaceful solution of the difficulties between the U. S. and Utah.
April19. Gov. Cumming and Col. Kane visited the Utah library, where they were shown the records and seal of the U.S. court, which was said to have been destroyed.
June7. Messrs. Powell and McCullough, sent out as peace commissioners, by the general government, arrived in Salt Lake City.
June26. The "Army of Utah," under Col. Johnson, passed through Salt Lake City and camped on the west side of the river Jordan.
June30. The people who had moved south began to return to their homes.
October28. Jacob Hamblin, with eleven men, left Southern Utah to open intercourse with the Indians on the east side of the river Colorado.
1861.—April23. Two hundred wagons, with four yoke of cattle each, carrying 15,000 pounds of flour, started for the Missouri river, to bring the poor of the Saints to Utah.
October18. President B. Young sent the first message over the overland wire to the U.S.
October24. The first telegram was sent to San Francisco. In the autumn of this year a large colony of Saints was sent to southern Utah.
1862.—October24. Camp Douglas, near Salt Lake City, was located by Col. P. E. Connor.
1863.—Col. P. E. Connor defeated a band of the Shoshone Indians near Bear river.
March3. Great mass meeting held in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, to protest against the infamous course of U.S. officials.
1864.—April10. Moves were made for building a telegraph line in Utah.
1866.—January1. The first number of the "Juvenile Instructor" was issued in Salt Lake City.
1867.—The Deseret Telegraph Company was organized.
1868.—June19.—Ground was broken in Weber Canyon, on the U. P. Railroad.
October16. Co-operative Mercantile Institution was organized. B. Young, president.
March8.—U.S. Land Office opened in Salt Lake City.
March15. A company was partially organized for building a railroad between Ogden and Salt Lake City.
May9. The last rail was laid connecting the U. P. and C. P. railroads, thus completing the first railroad across the continent.
May17. The first ground was broken for the Utah Central Railroad.
June25. The first company of Latter-day Saint emigrants reached Ogden, per U. P. R. R.
December24. In the evening street lamps were first used in Salt Lake City.
1870.—January10. The last rail of the Utah Central Railroad was laid.
January13. General mass meeting of the ladies of Salt Lake City, to protest against the passage of the Cullom bill.
February12. "An act conferring the elective franchise upon women," became a law of Utah Territory.
April27, An abandoned child was left at the door of Mrs. The first circumstance of the kind known in Salt Lake City.
August12. A discussion commenced, in Salt Lake City, between Professor O. Pratt and Dr. J. P. Newman, chaplain of the U.S. Senate. Question, "Does the Bible sanction polygamy?"
September15. Gov. J. W. Shafer issued a proclamation, forbidding the assembly of the militia of Utah Territory for any purpose except by his orders.
1871.—May1. Ground was first broken for the Utah Southern Railroad.
June30. Acting-Governor of Utah, George A. Black, issued a proclamation forbidding any of the militia of the Territory to assemble for the purpose of celebrating the ninety-fifth anniversary of American Independence.
October10. President B. Young was arrested by U.S. Marshal on an indictment founded on a charge of "lascivious cohabitation."
1872.—June1. The first number of the "Woman's Exponent was issued in Salt Lake City.
September3 Ground was dedicated and broken for the Salt Lake City water works.
October14. President G. A. Smith and others left Salt Lake City on their Palestine tour.
1873.—February24. President Smith and party arrived in Jerusalem.
June18. President Smith arrived in Salt Lake City.
The publications of the church show that, commencing with the year 1840 and ending with the year 1883, there have been emigrated from the European countries to the United States, by the church emigration agencies, 78,219 souls, who have crossed the sea in 243 sail vessels and steamships.
These have come in companies of varied numbers, from a dozen or two at a time to as many as eight hundred or more, which latter number has embarked several times on double decked ships.
We regret our inability to give a tabulated statement of the number of persons from each country of their nativity. The greater proportions have been from Great Britain and Scandinavia, while Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Iceland, Finland, East India, South Africa and other countries have contributed to make up the number.
A very remarkable feature in this work of gathering Israel is that of all these vessels that have gone to sea, no one with a Latter-day Saint on it has ever gone down. Some have been driven back to Port before they could get out of the Irish channel, one was dismasted before reaching New Orleans, but all have yielded up their precious souls and freight to the ports of their destination.
The organization, cleanliness and consequent health, peace and safety, have rendered the Saints' emigration notorious and proverbial among European shippers and ship captains, many of whom have been heard to say that a company of Mormon emigrants on their ship they considered better insurance than the underwriters at Lloyd's could give.
The Book of Mormon is the name of a record which was engraved upon plates of gold, about 400 years after the crucifixion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, by a celebrated prophet named Mormon. These plates were deposited by his son, Moroni, in a stone box, in a hill in the western part of the State of New York, called by the Nephites, Cumorah. The language in which this record was made was said by Mormon to be Reformed Egyptian. On the 22d of September, 1823, Moroni discovered the stone box which contained these plates, the Urim and Thummim, a sword and breastplate, to the young Prophet, Joseph Smith, Jr., and he, by the aid of the Urim and Thummim, translated the record from the plates into the English language. This is the most ancient, the most accurate and reliable history of America, its ancient inhabitants and its antiquities, that is now extant; and has since been translated from the English into the French, German, Italian, Danish, Swedish, Welsh, Kanaka, Hindostanee, Dutch and Spanish. It has also been printed and published in all those languages except Spanish, Hindostanee and Dutch, and will soon be published in the Spanish also.