Mormon History, 1829 mid-Apr.

/Mormon History Chronology/
-- 1829 mid-Apr.
[Oliver Cowdery] Joseph Smith, Jr. (at Harmony, Susquehanna, PA) claimed to receive a message from God directed to Oliver Cowdery (LDS D&C Sec. 9). Cowdery was told in the text that God said "... it is not expedient that you should translate at this present time." Apparently Cowdery had begun to "translate" some part of the "golden plates" or some supplemental record associated with them and had thus disregarded his primary work "to write for my servant Joseph." (1)

-- Tuesday, Apr 21, 1829
D&C 6 [from Alma 37?] (2)

-- about Friday, Apr 24, 1829
D&C 7 [from Alma 45:18-19 ?] (2)

-- Monday, Apr 27, 1829
D&C 8 ? (2)

-- Wednesday, Apr 29, 1829
D&C 9 ? (2)

-- 1829, May
Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery received the Melchizedek Priesthood from Peter, James, and John near the Susquehanna River between Harmony, Pennsylvania, and Colesville, New York (see D&C 128: 20). (3)

-- May 1829
Joseph Smith receives revelation that the first 116 pages should not be retranslated because wicked men may have the original and would change its words to disagree with the re-translation and claim that Joseph Smith was a fraud, so he's to replace the 116 pages with the small plates of Nephi (book of Lehi). (4)

[Wight, Lyman] Joined Sidney Rigdon and Campbellite movement May 1829. Entered into covenant of "common stock" with Isaac Morley and Titus Billings. (5)

-- May or June 1829
[Joseph Smith] Joseph receives the Melchizedek Priesthood and is ordained an apostle by Peter, James, and John in Harmony, Pennsylvania. (6)

-- May 1-31 1829
[Revelations] Harmony, Pennsylvania. Doctrine and Covenants 12. For Joseph Knight. Great and marvelous work , field is white , whoever will is called. Ask, knock. Establish Zion. Qualifying virtues.
Book of Commandments 11 heading: A Revelation to Joseph (K. ,) in Harmony, Pennsylvania, May, 1829, informing him how he must do, to be worthy to assist in the work of the Lord.
1835 Doctrine and Covenants 38 heading: Revelation given to Joseph Knight, Sen. May, 1829. (7)

-- May 1-31, 1829
[Revelations] Harmony, Pennsylvania. Doctrine and Covenants 10. Book of Mormon manuscript pages lost. Joseph lost his gift, now restored. Pray to conquer satan, escape his servants. Satan's servants and Martin tried to destroy Joseph. Satan inspired them to change text. Satan's persuasion techniques. Cannot always tell the wicked from the righteous. Plates of Nephi not condensed. Book of Mormon purpose to convert Lamanites to the gospel. Other nations to occupy this land blessed; Nephites blessed them. Lord's church to be established. Church is those who repent and come to the Lord-nothing more nor less.
Book of Commandments 9 heading: A Revelation given to Joseph, in Harmony, Pennsylvania, May, 1829, informing him of the alteration of the Manuscript of the fore part of the book of Mormon.
1835 D&C 36 heading: Revelation given to Joseph Smith, jr. May, 1829, informing him of the alteration of the Manuscript of the fore part of the book of Mormon.
See Max Parkin, "A Preliminary Analysis of the Dating of Section 10," Seventh Annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium: The Doctrine and Covenants (Provo: BYU, 1979), 68-84. (7)

[Revelations] Harmony, Pennsylvania. Doctrine and Covenants 11. Great and marvelous work , field is white. Whoever will is called. Establish Zion. Teach nothing but repentance. Wait to preach until called. Believers become sons of God.
Book of Commandments 10 heading: A Revelation given to Hyrum, in Harmony, Pennsylvania, May, 1829.
1835 Doctrine and Covenants 37 heading: Revelation given to Hyrum Smith, May, 1829. (7)

-- 1829 early May?
[Oliver Cowdery] Joseph Smith, Jr. (at Harmony, Susquehanna, PA) claimed to receive a message from God directed to himself (LDS D&C Sec. 10). Smith was told that the material in the lost 116 pages of the supposedly ancient record could be replaced, more or less, by his translating "the plates of Nephi" which would "throw greater views upon my gospel." (1)

[Oliver Cowdery] Oliver Cowdery wrote a letter to David Whitmer, in Fayette, Seneca, NY, relating his experiences in working with Joseph Smith, Jr. Cowdery confessed to Whitmer that Joseph seemed to know "his secret thoughts, and all he had meditated upon before going to see him..." It is possible that some intimate confidant of Oliver's revealed some of his secrets to Smith during this period. Between late Apr. and early June Sidney Rigdon's whereabouts were unaccounted for, except that Lyman Wight claimed to have been baptized by Rigdon in OH some time during May. (1)

Footnotes:
1 - http://olivercowdery.com/history/Cdychrn1.htm
2 - http://www.eldenwatson.net/BoM.htm
3 - http://scriptures.lds.org/chchrono/contents
4 - http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgv482t8_0d5hdn5cv
5 - Lyndon W. Cook, The Revelation of the Prophet Joseph Smith: A Historical and Biographical Commentary of the Doctrine and Covenants, Seventy's Mission Bookstore, Provo UT, 1985
6 - http://www.prophetjosephsmith.org/joseph_smith_timeline
7 - http://saintswithouthalos.com/s/_dc.phtml

LDS History

A lighter version of this blog:
http://lds-church-history.blogspot.com/

Current Issues:
http://mormon-chronicles.blogspot.com/

Clair Barrus

Mormon History, Apr 5, 1829

/Mormon History Chronology/
-- Apr 5, 1829
[Oliver Cowdery] According to Oliver, this was the afternoon when "my natural eyes, for the first time beheld [Joseph Smith, Jr] this brother..." at the Isaac Hale farm in Harmony, Susquehanna, PA. (1)

-- Sunday, Apr 05, 1829
Harmony, O Cowdery and Samuel arrive (about sundown). (2)

-- Apr 06, 1829 to June 16, 1829
Translation of the Book of Mormon (2)

-- Apr 6, 1829
[Lucy Mack Smith] Joseph buys 13.5 acres from Isaac Hale, securing title on 25/26 August 1830. (3)

-- Monday, Apr 06, 1829
Oliver assists Joseph w/business. (2)

-- Apr 7, 1829
Joseph Smith resumed translation of the Book of Mormon with Oliver Cowdery as scribe. (4)

Joseph Smith resumes translating the gold plates (from where he left off) with Oliver Cowdery transcribing. The missing part was re-translated last but with different content. Cowdery desires the gift of translation. (5)

[Joseph Smith] Cowdery acts as a scribe to Joseph Jr. Seven revelations are given during April and May (BC 5-11; LDS D&C 6-12; RLDS D&C 3, 6-11). Dictation continues during the summer of 1829 at Harmony, Pennsylvania, and concludes at Fayette, New York, about 1 July 1829. (6)

[Oliver Cowdery] Oliver began working with Joseph Smith, Jr. in the "translation" and recording of the supposedly ancient record. Apparently they began where the lost 116 pages had left off in the book's narrative and worked through to the end of the record before "translating" the replacement source for the lost pages. At some point Oliver also produced a second "printer's manuscript" copy, apparently working directly from the original "dictated manuscript." (1)

-- April 7-30, 1829
[Revelations] Harmony, Pennsylvania. Doctrine and Covenants 6. For Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. Great and marvelous work to be performed. All willing are called of God. Ask, knock, receive. Seek wisdom, not riches. Declare only repentance. Oliver to use his gift to learn the mysteries. The Lord reassured Oliver on the night that he prayed for it. Like Joseph, he can translate ancient records, including those that have not yet been revealed.
Oliver and Samuel H. Smith arrived in Harmony on April 5 ( Oliver's History of the Church) and Oliver began writing for Joseph on the 7th. Verse 17 indicates Oliver had begun writing at the time of this revelation.
Book of Commandments 5 heading: A Revelation to Oliver, given in Harmony, Pennsylvania, April, 1829, when employed [as] a scribe fo[r] Joseph, while translating the book of Mormon.
1835 Doctrine and Covenants 8 heading: Revelation given April, 1829, to Oliver Cowdery, and Joseph Smith jr. (7)

[Revelations] Harmony, Pennsylvania. Doctrine and Covenants 7. Jesus grants John his wish not to die. He will live on earth, preaching Jesus returns. John's wish is better than Peter's, which was to to go to heaven with Jesus right away. John will be like a ministering angel to heirs of salvation on earth. Peter, James, and John have the keys of this ministry until the second coming (added in 1835).
Manuscript.
The manuscript, in LDS Church Archives, occupies a little less than the top half one page. Description of the bottom half:/Selected collections 1:19.
After the revelation, a horizontal line across the page.
Question asked in English & answered in hebrew.
English question For it grieveth me that I should loose this tree & the fruit thereof.
"Hebrew" answer (transliteration) Am. ofin Zimin ezmon E, Zer oms ifs veris etzer ensvones vinerie - - - -.
Translation (?) English Brethren I bid you adieu.
"Hebrew" Am efs E Zamtri.
Horizontal line across the page.
Book of Mormon characters/"Characters on the book of Mormon" and one line of characters under headings "The book of Mormon" and "The interpretation of Languages. " Two characters appear under each heading.
Interpretation.
Lehi's route, Jerusalem to Chile The course that Lehi traveled from the city of Jerusalem to the place where he and his family took ship, they traveled nearly a south south east direction untill they come to the nineteenth degree of North Lattitiege, then nearly east to the sea of Arabia then sailed in a south east direction and landed on the continent of south America in Chili thirty degrees south Lattitude.
Horizontal line across the page, near the bottom.
New Testament Background.
Peter's wish, John's wish/Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me. Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true. And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen. /John 21:20-25 (concluding verses of the Gospel of John). (7)

[Revelations] Harmony, Pennsylvania. Doctrine and Covenants 8. Oliver Cowdery has the gift of revelation and the gift of working with the rod. He is to ask about the mysteries of ancient records and the Lord will reveal them to him.
Book of Commandments 7 heading: A Revelation given to Oliver, in Harmony, Pennsylvania, April, 1829.
1835 Doctrine and Covenants 34 heading: Revelation given April, 1829. (7)

[Revelations] Harmony, Pennsylvania. Doctrine and Covenants 9. Because Oliver Cowdery interrupted his own translation to write for Joseph, he should continue in that capacity until it is finished. He may help translate other records, but now he doesn't need to translate. Oliver thought all he had to do was ask, and the Lord would give him the translation. He should have tried to figure it out himself, then ask if he got it right. If the translation was correct, the Lord would cause him to feel that it was right. If it was wrong, a stupor of thought would make him forget it. That way, he could only write what was from the Lord. If he had known that, he could have translated, but it is not necessary now-Joseph can do it.
Book of Commandments 8 heading: A Revelation given to Oliver, in Harmony, Pennsylvania, April, 1829.
1835 Doctrine and Covenants 34 heading: Revelation given to Oliver Cowdery April, 1829. (7)

-- 1829 mid-Apr.
[Oliver Cowdery] Joseph Smith, Jr. (at Harmony, Susquehanna, PA) claimed to receive a message from God directed to Oliver Cowdery (LDS D&C Sec. 6). Cowdery was told in the text that God had given him a "gift" by which he (Oliver) would "assist in bringing to light" "those parts of the scriptures which have been hidden..." He was further told that his "gift" would allow him "to translate, even as my servant Joseph" and that he would receive no greater witness of the supposedly ancient record. It is possible that the "gift" mentioned in the "revelation" pertained in some way to Oliver's using a diving rod to locate and/or "translate" ancient scriptural records (see below). (1)

Footnotes:
1 - http://olivercowdery.com/history/Cdychrn1.htm
2 - http://www.eldenwatson.net/BoM.htm
3 - Lucy's Book: A Critical Edition of Lucy Mack Smith's Family Memoir, Edited by Lavina Fielding Anderson, 2001, Signature Books
4 - http://www.lds.net/forums/scripture-study-forum/12108-church-chronology-1800-2000-part-1-a.html#post214550
5 - http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgv482t8_0d5hdn5cv
6 - Inventing Mormonism:Tradition and the Historical Record, H. Michael Marquardt Wesley P. Walters. A Chronology of Mormon Origins, p.xxvi
7 - http://saintswithouthalos.com/s/_dc.phtml

LDS History

A lighter version of this blog:
http://lds-church-history.blogspot.com/

Current Issues:
http://mormon-chronicles.blogspot.com/

Clair Barrus

Mormon History, March 1-31, 1829

/Mormon History Chronology/
-- March 1-31, 1829
[Revelations] Harmony, Pennsylvania. Doctrine and Covenants 5. Martin Harris wants proof of the plates. Joseph Smith himself is the proof. May not show plates without permission. Joseph's only gift is gift of translation. After ordination, preach. Later generations may receive further evidence, but this generation only gets word of the Lord through Joseph. Three witnesses to be called and ordained. They will be empowered to see by the Spirit and hear God testify from heaven. If world won't accept their testimony earth will be scourged until empty. Joseph not to yield to enticements of men. Martin may see if he humbles himself, otherwise he will be condemned. Cease translating for a time. Enemies lie in wait to kill Joseph.
Newel K. Whitney Papers, Box 1, fd. 1.
Book of Commandments 4 heading: A revelation to Joseph and Martin, in Harmony, Pennsylvania, March, 1829 when Martin desired of the Lord to know whether Joseph had, in his possession, the record of the Nephites.
1835 Doctrine and Covenants 32 heading: Revelation given March, 1829. (1)

-- Mar 4, 1829
Andrew Jackson becomes U.S. President. (2)

-- about Sunday, Mar 15, 1829
Harmony, Translation of the Book of Mosiah is complete. (3)

-- about Friday, Mar 27, 1829
Manchester, O Cowdery completes 16 weeks of teaching school. (3)

-- about Sunday, Mar 29, 1829
Harmony, Joseph Knight Sr. and wife bring provisions. (3)

-- about Tuesday, Mar 31, 1829
Manchester, O Cowdery and Samuel Smith leave Manchester for Harmony. (3)

-- Apr. 1829
[Lucy Mack Smith] The Smith family moves from the frame house into their former cabin, now occupied by Hyrum and Jerusha Smith. Their daughter Lovina is now about eighteen months old and Jerusha is pregnant with Mary, who will be born in June. Lemuel Durfee Sr.'s daughter, Mary Durfee Nichols, and her husband Roswell move into the frame house. (4)

-- Apr 1, 1829
[Lucy Mack Smith] Oliver Cowdery and Samuel Smith leave the Smith home in Manchester on foot and reach Joseph's and Emma's home in Harmony, Pennsylvania, on 5 April. (4)

-- 1829 c. Apr. 2
[Oliver Cowdery] Having departed the Smith residence in Manchester a day or two before, Samuel H. Smith and Oliver Cowdery reached the David Whitmer home in Fayette, Seneca, NY and no doubt spent the night there. David Whitmer requested Oliver to share with him any new information on the Oliver might gain regarding the supposedly ancient record, during Oliver's upcoming visit with Joseph Smith, Jr. (5)

-- 1829 c. Apr. 3
[Oliver Cowdery] Joseph Smith, Jr. later said that he appealed to God for a scribe to help him in the translation of the supposedly ancient record at about this time -- and that God assured him that such a scribe would soon be provided. (5)

-- Apr 5, 1829
Oliver Cowdery travels to Harmony, PA with Samuel Smith to meet Joseph Smith. (2)

[Joseph Smith] Oliver Cowdery arrives to help Joseph by acting as a scribe for the translation of the Book of Mormon. (6)

[Joseph Smith] Samuel Smith and Oliver Cowdery arrive at Harmony, Pennsylvania. [HARMONY,] (7)

[Joseph Smith] (age 23)Oliver Cowdery arrives in Harmony to serve as scribe for the Book of Mormon; translation resumes on April 7. (8)

Footnotes:
1 - http://saintswithouthalos.com/s/_dc.phtml
2 - http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgv482t8_0d5hdn5cv
3 - http://www.eldenwatson.net/BoM.htm
4 - Lucy's Book: A Critical Edition of Lucy Mack Smith's Family Memoir, Edited by Lavina Fielding Anderson, 2001, Signature Books
5 - http://olivercowdery.com/history/Cdychrn1.htm
6 - http://www.prophetjosephsmith.org/joseph_smith_timeline
7 - Inventing Mormonism:Tradition and the Historical Record, H. Michael Marquardt Wesley P. Walters. A Chronology of Mormon Origins, p.xxvi
8 - Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah

LDS History

A lighter version of this blog:
http://lds-church-history.blogspot.com/

Current Issues:
http://mormon-chronicles.blogspot.com/

Clair Barrus

Mormon History, 1829

/Mormon History Chronology/
-- 1829
[Oliver Cowdery] early Mar.? Martin Harris traveled from Palmyra to Harmony, Susquehannah, PA in order to obtain "a greater witness" of the truthfullness of the supposedly ancient record then in Joseph Smith, Jr.'s possession. (1)

[Sydney Rigdon] Peter's Creek Church congregation adopted the Philadelphia Baptist Confession of Faith as a measure against recent inroads by Campbellism (2)

-- about Tuesday, Jan 27, 1829
Palmyra, J Smith Sr. and Samuel leave Palmyra for Pennsylvania. (3)

-- about Saturday, Jan 31, 1829
Pennsylvania, J Smith Sr. and Samuel arrive at Joseph Knight's home. (3)

-- 1829 Feb.
[Oliver Cowdery] Joseph Smith, Jr. (at Harmony, Susquehannah, PA) claimed to receive a message from God directed to his father, Joseph Sr. (1)

-- 1829 February
[Joseph Smith] Lucy and Joseph Sr. travel to Harmony, Pennsylvania. A revelation is received at Harmony (BC 3; LDS and RLDS D&C 4). [HARMONY,] (4)

-- Feb. 1829
[Lucy Mack Smith] Joseph Sr. and Samuel Smith visit Joseph and Emma at Harmony; Samuel may have acted as scribe during this visit. Joseph Jr. receives a revelation for his father, now D&C 4. (5)

-- about Sunday, Feb 01, 1829
J Smith Sr. and Samuel arrive with Mr. Knight at Joseph's (3)

-- about Monday, Feb 02, 1829
Harmony, Joseph Knight returns home. (3)

-- Feb 4, 1829
[Revelations] Harmony, Pennsylvania. Doctrine and Covenants 4. For Joseph Smith Sr. Serve the Lord, the field is white, thrust in your sickle eye single to the glory of God. Ask, knock.
Book of Commandments 3 heading: A Revelation given to Joseph, the father of Joseph, in Harmony, Pennsylvania, February, 1829, saying:.
1835 Book of Commandments 31 heading: Revelation given to Joseph Smith, Sr. , given February, 1829. (6)

-- about Wednesday, Feb 04, 1829
J Smith Sr. and Samuel leave Harmony for home. (3)

-- about Thursday, Feb 12, 1829
Manchester, J Smith Sr. and Samuel arrive at home in Manchester. (3)

-- 1829 Mar.
[Oliver Cowdery] Joseph Smith, Jr. (at Harmony, Susquehannah, PA) claimed to receive a message from God directed to himself and Martin Harris. Harris was told in the text that God had caused Smith to "enter into a covenant with me that he should not show them [the golden plates] except I command him..." and that Smith should "...pretend to no other gift" than the translation of the supposedly ancient record. (1)

-- 1829 March
[Joseph Smith] Martin Harris travels to Harmony and wants to know if Joseph Jr. "had, in his possession, the record of the Nephites." A revelation is received (BC 4; LDS and RLDS D&C 5). Harris returns to Palmyra. Isaac Hale describes the manner in which the record was dictated: a stone placed in a hat. [HARMONY,] (4)

Footnotes:
1 - http://olivercowdery.com/history/Cdychrn1.htm
2 - http://sidneyrigdon.com/Rigdchrn.htm
3 - http://www.eldenwatson.net/BoM.htm
4 - Inventing Mormonism:Tradition and the Historical Record, H. Michael Marquardt Wesley P. Walters. A Chronology of Mormon Origins, p.xxvi
5 - Lucy's Book: A Critical Edition of Lucy Mack Smith's Family Memoir, Edited by Lavina Fielding Anderson, 2001, Signature Books
6 - http://saintswithouthalos.com/s/_dc.phtml

LDS History

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http://lds-church-history.blogspot.com/

Current Issues:
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Clair Barrus

Mormon History, about Monday, Nov 24, 1828

/Mormon History Chronology/
-- about Monday, Nov 24, 1828
Manchester, L Cowdery contracts to teach school for 16 weeks. (1)

-- about Tuesday, Nov 25, 1828
Manchester, Oliver Cowdery to replace L Cowdery as teacher. (1)

-- Winter 1828
and 1829 Oliver Cowdery (son and brother of Royal Arch Mason Initiates) works as a teacher in Manchester, NY with Joseph Smith Sr. as one of his students. Cowdery stays with the Smiths (customary for teachers to board with a student's family) and learns of the "golden bible" story. (2)

-- about Monday, Dec 01, 1828
Manchester, O Cowdery begins 16 weeks of teaching school. (1)

-- Monday, Dec 22, 1828
Manchester, O Cowdery, no school Christmas week. (1)

-- 1828 Winter
[Sydney Rigdon] Sydney Rigdon brings Baptist "teachers" Darwin Atwater and Zeb Rudolph from northern Portage Co. to Mentor, to attend his instructional classes -- the two students notice that Rigdon is frequently absent from that place (parts of Jan-Mar.) (3)

-- 1829
Martin Harris goes to Rochester to find a printer. (2)

Sidney Rigdon converts Parley P. Pratt to Reformed Baptist (Rigdon acknowledges that he doesn't have the proper religious authority) [per Parley P. Pratt]. (2)

[Heber C. Kimball] Meets Brigham Young in Mendon. (4)

[U.S. Religious History] Emancipation of Roman Catholics (1829) (5)

[Young, Brigham] Moved to Mendon, New York, 1829. (6)

-- 1829-1838
John Whitmer -- primary scribal author for this period. Writings used in assembling The History of the Church (often cited as HC) (originally entitled History of Joseph Smith; first published under the title History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; nicknamed Documentary History of the Church or DHC) (7)

Oliver Cowdery -- primary scribal author for this period. Writings used in assembling The History of the Church (often cited as HC) (originally entitled History of Joseph Smith; first published under the title History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; nicknamed Documentary History of the Church or DHC) (7)

-- 1829-1848
[Deseret] The Old Spanish Trail which enters Utah about fifteen miles east of Monticello, and continues roughly northwesterly to about the town of Green River, crosses the Colorado River just northwest of Moab and eventually crosses desert and wash region until it reaches the Green River. (8)

Footnotes:
1 - http://www.eldenwatson.net/BoM.htm
2 - http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgv482t8_0d5hdn5cv
3 - http://sidneyrigdon.com/Rigdchrn.htm
4 - On the Potter's Wheel: The Diaries of Heber C. Kimball, Stanely B. Kimball editor. Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, Salt Lake City, 1987. Chronology
5 - Milton Backman, Regional Studies, British Isles, Birth of Mormonism, p.27. Preliminaries to the Restoration: Chronology
6 - Lyndon W. Cook, The Revelation of the Prophet Joseph Smith: A Historical and Biographical Commentary of the Doctrine and Covenants, Seventy's Mission Bookstore, Provo UT, 1985
7 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Church
8 - http://historytogo.utah.gov/timeline/trapperstradersandexplorers.html

LDS History

A lighter version of this blog:
http://lds-church-history.blogspot.com/

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Clair Barrus

Mormon History, Monday, Sep 22, 1828

/Mormon History Chronology/
-- Monday, Sep 22, 1828
Harmony, BoM plates and U&T returned, D&C 10:1-5 received. (1)

-- Sep 22, 1828
[Lucy Mack Smith] Joseph Jr. begins translating again using either the Urim and Thummim or (more probably) his seer stone. (2)

-- 1828 Fall-Winter
[Joseph Smith] Samuel Smith, Emma Hale Smith, and Reuben Hale each serve as scribes to Joseph. [HARMONY,] (3)

-- ca. Oct. 1828
[Lucy Mack Smith] Oliver Cowdery is hired to teach school at Manchester and boards with the Smith family. (2)

-- 1828 fall
[Oliver Cowdery] Oliver was accepted by the Manchester School Board as the new schoolmaster in the village. His teaching work probably began soon after the Oct. harvest season was over. He moved in with the Joseph Smith, Sr. family, who lived a mile from the Manchester School. From the Smiths Oliver learned about the supposedly ancient record then being translated by Joseph Smith, Jr. in Harmony, Susquehannah, PA. (4)

[Oliver Cowdery] The Manchester, Ontario, NY School Board of Trustees (which included Hyrum Smith) purportedly offered the Hon. Lyman Cowdery of Arcadia, Wayne, NY the position of schoolmaster in Manchester. Lyman was said to have accepted the position, but soon afterwards backed out of the job, offering his brother, Oliver, as a possible substitute for himself. (4)

-- 1828 Nov.-Dec.
[Oliver Cowdery] Between mid-Oct. and the end of the year Sidney Rigdon's whereabouts were unaccounted for. (4)

-- 1828 c. Nov.
[Oliver Cowdery] David Whitmer, a farmer from Fayette twp., Seneca, NY visited the Palmyra area on a business trip and there met Oliver Cowdery. Cowdery told Whitmer about the supposedly ancient record then being translated by his second cousin, Joseph Smith, Jr. Cowdery made plans to visit Joseph and to call upon David Whitmer while on his way to Harmony, Susquehannah, PA. The 1830 Federal Census recorded a John Cowdrey, living in Waterloo, Seneca, NY., adjacent to Fayette twp. This was probably "Col. John Jr. Cowdery" (1757-1835) a second cousin of Oliver's father. (4)

-- about Sunday, Nov 02, 1828
Palmyra, J Smith Sr. and Lucy leave Palmyra for Harmony. (1)

-- about Thursday, Nov 06, 1828
Harmony, J. Smith Sr. and Lucy arrive at Harmony. (1)

-- about Monday, Nov 10, 1828
Harmony, J Smith Sr. and Lucy leave Harmony for home. (1)

-- about Friday, Nov 14, 1828
Manchester, J. Smith Sr. and Lucy arrive home in Manchester. (1)

-- about Sunday, Nov 16, 1828
Joseph and Emma go to visit Joseph Knight. (1)

-- about Thursday, Nov 20, 1828
Manchester, Lyman Cowdery visits Hyrum about teaching school. (1)

Footnotes:
1 - http://www.eldenwatson.net/BoM.htm
2 - Lucy's Book: A Critical Edition of Lucy Mack Smith's Family Memoir, Edited by Lavina Fielding Anderson, 2001, Signature Books
3 - Inventing Mormonism:Tradition and the Historical Record, H. Michael Marquardt Wesley P. Walters. A Chronology of Mormon Origins, p.xxvi
4 - http://olivercowdery.com/history/Cdychrn1.htm

LDS History

A lighter version of this blog:
http://lds-church-history.blogspot.com/

Current Issues:
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Clair Barrus

Mormon History, Jul 1828

/Mormon History Chronology/
-- Jul 1828
Joseph Smith reports his first revelation (reportedly by using his seer stone) where he is rebuked [presumably] for letting Martin Harris take the translations. Says he lost the privilege of translating for one season. (1)

-- July 1828
[Revelations] Harmony, Pennsylvania. Doctrine and Covenants 3. God's work cannot fail though prophets may fall. Joseph feared man more than God and transgressed God's law. Watch out or fall. Rebuke for entrusting pages from the Book of Mormon manuscript to "a wicked man" (Martin Harris). Plates were preserved so the testimony of the Nephites might convert the Lamanites. Eight months later, Martin pressures Joseph to show him the plates (D&C 5).
Book of Commandments 2 heading: A Revelation given to Joseph, in Harmony, Pennsylvania, July, 1828, after Martin had lost the Manuscript of the forepart of the book of Mormon, translated from the book of Lehi, which was abridged by the hand of Mormon, saying:.
1835 Doctrine and Covenants 30 heading: ON PRIESTHOOD AND CALLING, / Revelation to Joseph Smith, jr. given July, 1828, concerning certain manuscripts on [sic] the first part of the book of Mormon, which had been taken from the possession of Martin Harris. (2)

-- Summer 1828
Sidney Rigdon reportedly seen with Samuel Lawrence at Lawrence's by Lorenzo Saunders. (1)

-- 1828 early July
[Oliver Cowdery] Joseph Smith, Jr. left Harmony, Susquehannah, PA by stagecoach for Manchester, Ontario, NY and arrived at his father's house within a day or two. He may have previously received a message informing him that Martin Harris had lost the 116 pages of transcript which had been entrusted to his care. After his arrival (with the help of a mysterious stranger) Martin told Joseph of the loss. (3)

-- ca. Jul 7, 1828
[Lucy Mack Smith] Joseph goes to Manchester and learns that Martin Harris has lost the 116 transcribed pages. The Urim and Thummim are taken from him but returned a few days later. Joseph receives two chastising revelations (D&C 3 and D&C 10; the latter is dated as late summer 1828 in HC and as May 1829 in the Book of Commandments). (4)

-- about Tuesday, Jul 8, 1828
Harmony, Joseph Smith leaves for Palmyra in search of M Harris. (5)

-- about Friday, Jul 11, 1828
Manchester, Joseph arrives in Manchester to see Martin Harris. (5)

-- about Saturday, Jul 12, 1828
Manchester, Joseph Smith begins his return to Harmony. (5)

-- about Tuesday, Jul 15, 1828
Joseph arrives back at his home in Harmony (5)

-- about Wednesday, Jul 16, 1828
Joseph loses BoM plates and Urim and Thummim, (5)

-- 1828 September
[Joseph Smith] Lucy, Hyrum, and Samuel Smith stop attending Palmyra's Presbyterian church. (6)

-- Sep 11, 1828
[Lucy Mack Smith] Dr. Gain Robinson notes medicine and consultation "for Boy Harrison." Hyrum has been caring for the younger children. (4)

-- .after Sep 22, 1828
[Lucy Mack Smith] Joseph Sr. and Lucy visit Joseph Jr. and Emma at Harmony and have a cordial visit with the Hales. They return home to find that Sophronia and Samuel have been very ill. (4)

-- Monday, Sep 22, 1828
BoM translation begins (about 3 pages/week). (5)

Footnotes:
1 - http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgv482t8_0d5hdn5cv
2 - http://saintswithouthalos.com/s/_dc.phtml
3 - http://olivercowdery.com/history/Cdychrn1.htm
4 - Lucy's Book: A Critical Edition of Lucy Mack Smith's Family Memoir, Edited by Lavina Fielding Anderson, 2001, Signature Books
5 - http://www.eldenwatson.net/BoM.htm
6 - Inventing Mormonism:Tradition and the Historical Record, H. Michael Marquardt Wesley P. Walters. A Chronology of Mormon Origins, p.xxvi

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http://lds-church-history.blogspot.com/

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Clair Barrus

Mormon History, 1828 c. Apr. 26

/Mormon History Chronology/
-- 1828 c. Apr. 26
[Oliver Cowdery] Lucy Harris left her husband in Harmony and returned to Palmyra, convinced that Joseph Smith, Jr. was an impostor who had no golden plates. (1)

-- 1828 June/July
[Joseph Smith] Joseph Jr. travels to Manchester and learns that the manuscript is lost. (2)

-- Monday, Jun 02, 1828
Book of Lehi, 095 (3)

-- Jun 14, 1828
Joseph Smith completes 116 pages (foolscap-size) of translation from the gold plates (the book of Lehi), with Martin Harris transcribing with a blanket stretched between them. (4)

[Joseph Smith] Harris takes the manuscript pages home. At Palmyra he reads from the manuscript in the evenings to his family and some friends. (2)

-- After Jun 14, 1828
Joseph Smith looses the Urim and Thummim, through trangression. (4)

Martin Harris repeatedly asks Joseph Smith to borrow the transcript. Smith refuses twice but relents (by revelation) on the third request but makes Harris agree to a covenant to only show his family. Harris brings the 116 page translation from the gold plates back to Palmyra and shows them to his wife, Lucy Harris, but he looses the transcripts (says they were stolen). (Lucy Harris was suspected of hiding or destroying them.) (4)

-- Jun 15, 1828
Emma gives birth to a child, Alvin, who dies that same day (only five of the couple's 11 children will live beyond infancy). When weeks pass with no word from Harris, Joseph heads back to Palmyra and discovers the loss. Begging for forgiveness, he is visited by an angel who takes the gold plates for a time as punishment for Smith's indiscretion. (5)

[Joseph Smith] Joseph and Emma have their first child, a boy named Alvin. He dies within a few hours. (6)

[Joseph Smith] A male child is born to Joseph and Emma but dies the same day at Harmony. Emma hovers near death. (2)

-- Thursday, Jun 20, 1828
Palmyra, M Harris arrives in Palmyra with the 116 pages. (3)

-- about Sunday, Jun 29, 1828
Harmony, Emma starts to recover (3)

-- 1828 July
The first 116 pages of the Book of Mormon manuscript translated by Joseph Smith Jr. and transcribed by Martin Harris are stolen or lost. (7)

-- 1828 July-Aug.
[Oliver Cowdery] Between mid-June and Sep. 7 Sidney Rigdon's whereabouts were unaccounted for, except that he attended the Mahoning Baptist Association's annual meeting at Warren, Trumbull, OH from Aug. 29 to 31. (1)

Footnotes:
1 - http://olivercowdery.com/history/Cdychrn1.htm
2 - Inventing Mormonism:Tradition and the Historical Record, H. Michael Marquardt Wesley P. Walters. A Chronology of Mormon Origins, p.xxvi
3 - http://www.eldenwatson.net/BoM.htm
4 - http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgv482t8_0d5hdn5cv
5 - http://www.pbs.org/mormons/timeline/
6 - http://www.prophetjosephsmith.org/joseph_smith_timeline
7 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19th_century_(Mormonism)

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Clair Barrus

Mormon History, about Thursday, Mar 06, 1828

/Mormon History Chronology/
-- about Thursday, Mar 06, 1828
Harmony, M Harris departs Harmony to return home. (1)

-- about Monday, Mar 10, 1828
Palmyra, M Harris arrives home after 40 days traveling. (1)

-- about Wednesday, Mar 12, 1828
Palmyra, M and L Harris leave Palmyra for Harmony visit. (1)

-- about Sunday, Mar 16, 1828
Harmony, M and L Harris arrive, to visit J and E Smith (1)

-- about Monday, Mar 17, 1828
Harmony, Lucy searches Joseph Smith home for plates. (1)

-- about Tuesday, Mar 18, 1828
Harmony. Lucy continues her search outside the house. (1)

-- Monday, Mar 31, 1828
Harmony, M and L Harris leave Harmony, after 2 week visit. (1)

-- 1828 Apr
[Sydney Rigdon] Adamson Bentley accompanied Sydney Rigdon back to Mentor and assisted in implementing the "ancient gospel" within Grand River Associations congregations such as Kirtland and Mentor -- many new converts were brought into the "Reformed Baptist" ranks (2)

-- 1828 April
Harris, who has followed Joseph Smith to Harmony, takes up work on the book, writing down Smith's dictation. Over the next two months, they produce 116 pages of text, but then Harris takes it back to Palmyra to show his doubting wife and loses the only copy. (3)

-- Spring 1828
Martin Harris goes to Harmony, PA as scribe (says plates not in room, and that Joseph Smith used his seer stone to translate) [per Harris' 1859 interview]. BOM Isaac Hale says used his seer stone in his hat over his face to translate the plates, while the plates were hid in the woods [per Hale's affidavit]. (4)

-- about Friday, Apr 04, 1828
Palmyra, M and L Harris arrive in Palmyra from Harmony. (1)

-- about Tuesday, Apr 08, 1828
Palmyra, M Harris leaves Palmyra to return to Harmony. (1)

-- Apr 12, 1828
[Joseph Smith] Harris becomes a scribe at Harmony. The contents of the book are for the first time dictated by Joseph Jr. (5)

-- Saturday, Apr 12, 1828
Translation of the Book of Lehi (1)

Footnotes:
1 - http://www.eldenwatson.net/BoM.htm
2 - http://sidneyrigdon.com/Rigdchrn.htm
3 - http://www.pbs.org/mormons/timeline/
4 - http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgv482t8_0d5hdn5cv
5 - Inventing Mormonism:Tradition and the Historical Record, H. Michael Marquardt Wesley P. Walters. A Chronology of Mormon Origins, p.xxvi

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Clair Barrus

Mormon History, After 1827

/Mormon History Chronology/
-- After 1827
Orson Hyde joins Campbellites and moves in with Sidney Rigdon. (1)

-- ca. Jan. 1828
[Lucy Mack Smith] Martin Harris and Hyrum go to Harmony to visit Joseph Jr. and get a transcript of some Book of Mormon characters. Mrs. Lucy ("Dolly") Harris, enraged that Martin went without her, arranges for her future son-in-law, Flanders Dykes, to copy Martin's transcript. (2)

-- about Tuesday, Jan 29, 1828
Palmyra, Martin Harris leaves Palmyra for Harmony. (3)

-- 1828 Feb.
[Oliver Cowdery] Martin Harris and Hyrum Smith traveled to see Joseph Smith, Jr. in PA. Harris obtained from Joseph a copy of "characters" purportedly copied from the "golden plates." (4)

-- 1828 February
Martin Harris showed Book of Mormon characters to Charles Anthon and Samuel L. Mitchill. (5)

-- February 1828
[Joseph Smith] A transcript and partial translation of the Book of Mormon is taken to academics by Martin Harris. (6)

-- ca. Feb. 1828
[Lucy Mack Smith] Martin and Dolly Harris visit Joseph Jr. in Harmony for about two weeks. Martin takes Mrs. Harris home, then returns. (2)

-- about Saturday, Feb 02, 1828
Harmony, Martin Harris arrives in Harmony to see Joseph. (3)

-- about Monday, Feb 04, 1828
Harmony, M Harris departs for Albany, New York City, etc. (3)

-- about Saturday, Feb 23, 1828
New York City, M Harris visits with Dr. Samuel Mitchill. (3)

-- about Monday, Feb 25, 1828
New York City, M Harris visits with Professor Charles Anthon. (3)

-- about Tuesday, Feb 26, 1828
New York City, M Harris departs New York City for Harmony. (3)

-- 1828 Mar
[Sydney Rigdon] Sydney Rigdon visits Adamson Bentley and Walter Scott at Warren, OH and accepts Scott's "ancient gospel" method of evangelizing -- it is possible that Rigdon asked for a second baptism (for the remission of sins) during this visit (7)

-- about Tuesday, Mar 04, 1828
Harmony, M Harris arrives back at the Joseph Smith Farm. (3)

Footnotes:
1 - http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgv482t8_0d5hdn5cv
2 - Lucy's Book: A Critical Edition of Lucy Mack Smith's Family Memoir, Edited by Lavina Fielding Anderson, 2001, Signature Books
3 - http://www.eldenwatson.net/BoM.htm
4 - http://olivercowdery.com/history/Cdychrn1.htm
5 - http://www.lds.net/forums/scripture-study-forum/12108-church-chronology-1800-2000-part-1-a.html#post214550
6 - http://www.prophetjosephsmith.org/joseph_smith_timeline
7 - http://sidneyrigdon.com/Rigdchrn.htm

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Clair Barrus

Mormon History, about Dec 2, 1827

/Mormon History Chronology/
-- about Dec 2, 1827
[Joseph Smith] Harmony, Pennsylvania. Joseph Smith spent much of the month copying characters off of the plates and translated them using the Urim and Thummin. (1)

-- about Thursday, Dec 06, 1827
Harmony, Joseph and Emma arrive at the Isaac Hale home. (2)

-- about Monday, Dec 10, 1827
Harmony, Joseph and Emma move into the old Jesse Hale house. (2)

-- Dec 30, 1827
[Lucy Mack Smith] Sophronia marries Calvin Stoddard at Palmyra (3)

-- 1827 Winter 1827-28
[Joseph Smith] Joseph Jr. tells his wife's neighbors about the gold plates. (4)

-- 1828
[Gause, Jesse] Wife, Martha, died 1828. One known child. (5)

Joseph Smith gives Martin Harris a copy of a part of the gold plates; Martin Harris shows copy to Prof. Charles Anthon of Columbia University. Anthon (after hearing the story) says it's no known language. Joseph Smith says it's Reformed Egyptian. (6)

Joseph Smith reportedly applies for membership in (his wife's) Methodist Church. (6)

King James Bible with the Apocrypha and the 1769 revisions is printed by H. & E. Phinney Co. in Cooperstown, NY. (6)

[Partridge, Edward] United with Campbellites in 1828. (5)

[Phelps, William Wines] Moved to Canandaigua, New York, by 1828; there published anti-Masonic Ontario Phoenix. (5)

[Taylor, John] Emigrated to Toronto, Canada, 1828-29. Four children: George John, Mary Ann, Joseph James, and Leonora Agnes. (5)

[U.S. Religious History] Emancipation of Protestant dissenters (1828) (7)

-- About 1828
Joseph Smith tells Emma's cousins Hiel and Joseph Lewis that while trying to get the Plates, he was knocked down three times and a man appeared, like a Spaniard, with a long beard and his throat cut from ear to ear with blood flowing down (6)

Footnotes:
1 - BYU Studies Journal, volume 46, no. 4: A Chronology of the Life of Joseph Smith
2 - http://www.eldenwatson.net/BoM.htm
3 - Lucy's Book: A Critical Edition of Lucy Mack Smith's Family Memoir, Edited by Lavina Fielding Anderson, 2001, Signature Books
4 - Inventing Mormonism:Tradition and the Historical Record, H. Michael Marquardt Wesley P. Walters. A Chronology of Mormon Origins, p.xxvi
5 - Lyndon W. Cook, The Revelation of the Prophet Joseph Smith: A Historical and Biographical Commentary of the Doctrine and Covenants, Seventy's Mission Bookstore, Provo UT, 1985
6 - http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgv482t8_0d5hdn5cv
7 - Milton Backman, Regional Studies, British Isles, Birth of Mormonism, p.27. Preliminaries to the Restoration: Chronology

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Clair Barrus

Mormon History, 1827 c. Nov.

/Mormon History Chronology/
-- 1827 c. Nov.
[Oliver Cowdery] Martin Harris began to assist the Joseph Smith, Sr. family financially. He gave Joseph, Jr. fifty dollars at about this time, so that Joseph and Emma could move back to Harmony, Susquehanna, PA. (1)

-- About Nov 1827
Joseph Smith answers Isaac Hale question (as to who will be the first to see the plates) that a child will be the first to see them. Isaac Hale demands to see the plates if Joseph is to stay at his house, Joseph Smith refuses and hides the plates in the woods [per Hale's 1834 affidavit]. (2)

Joseph Smith tells Isaac Hale that he's given up "glass-looking" [per Hale's 1834 affidavit]. (2)

-- Oct Nov 1827
Joseph and Emma Smith move back to Harmony, PA with Alva (Emma's brother)'s help. Martin Harris pays Smith's debts and finances the trip [per Harris's 1859 interview]. (2)

-- Thursday, Nov 01, 1827
Manchester, Plates are concealed under the cooper's shop floor. (3)

-- Sunday, Nov 04, 1827
Manchester, Plates are removed to the cooper's shop loft. (3)

-- Sunday, Nov 25, 1827
Manchester, Alva Hale arrives to help Joseph Move to Harmony. (3)

-- about Monday, Nov 26, 1827
Manchester, Martin Harris gives Joseph Smith $50 in silver (3)

-- 1827 Dec
[Lucy Mack Smith] Joseph and Emma move to Harmony. Martin Harris gives them $50. (4)

-- 1827 December
Emma's father allows the couple to stay in a small house on his property, and Joseph begins the task of translating the writing of the gold book, using his interpretation device and dictating the results to Emma. (5)

Joseph Smith Jr. begins translation of the gold plates. (6)

-- Dec. 1827
[Lucy Mack Smith] Alva Hale arrives from Harmony and takes Joseph and Emma back with him, carrying the plates concealed in a barrel of beans. Martin Harris remembers the date of the move as the last of October or first of November; Joseph Knight recalls it as November. (7)

-- Dec. Feb 1827, 1828
[Lucy Mack Smith] Emma and Reuben Hale act as scribes. Joseph refuses to show Isaac Hale the plates. Joseph and Emma move into a small house behind the Hale farm. (7)

-- about Saturday, Dec 01, 1827
Manchester, Joseph and Emma begin their move to Harmony. (3)

Footnotes:
1 - http://olivercowdery.com/history/Cdychrn1.htm
2 - http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgv482t8_0d5hdn5cv
3 - http://www.eldenwatson.net/BoM.htm
4 - History of Joseph Smith by His Mother: Revised and Enhanced by Scot Facer Proctor Maurine Jensen Proctor
5 - http://www.pbs.org/mormons/timeline/
6 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19th_century_(Mormonism)
7 - Lucy's Book: A Critical Edition of Lucy Mack Smith's Family Memoir, Edited by Lavina Fielding Anderson, 2001, Signature Books

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Clair Barrus

Mormon History, After Sep 22, 1827

/Mormon History Chronology/
-- After Sep 22, 1827
Joseph Smith tells Henry Harris that he used the seer stone upon instructions from an angel to find the plates [per Henry Harris]. (1)

-- Sep 23, 1827
Joseph Smith goes on a job to Macedon to help put a wall in a well and some other labor for widow Wells. (1)

-- After Sep 23, 1827
10-12 money-diggers are clubbed with Willard Chase (a Methodist Class leader) who send for their own conjuror (Samuel Lawrence) to determine where the plates are hidden. Joseph Smith, Sr. investigates and finds the group at Lawrence's house [per Lucy Mack Smith]. (1)

-- about Wednesday, Sep 26, 1827
Manchester, J Smith returns home, retrieves the plates. (2)

-- 1827 October
[Joseph Smith] The Martin Harris family hears about the gold plates from Lucy. Mrs. Harris and her daughter go to the Smith home. Martin talks to members of the Smith family and Joseph Jr. about how the book was found. Joseph says that an angel appeared to him and told him it was God's work and that he located the plates by looking in the stone found on the Chase property. The angel told him he must quit the company of the money-diggers, translate the plates, and publish them to the world. Martin responds, "If the Lord will show me that it is his work, you can have all the money you want." (3)

-- Autumn 1827
Sidney Rigdon seen with Joseph Smith in Palmyra by Lorenzo Saunders (identified by Jugegsah) [per Saunders]. (1)

-- Early Oct 1827
Joseph Smith doing work for Peter Ingersoll [per Harris's 1859 interview]. (1)

Martin Harris hears of gold bible from his brother, Preserved Harris, and visits Joseph Smith and agrees to finance its publication. Says Smith told him that he used his seer stone, from the well of Mason Chase (neighbor) to discover the plates, and Smith told him that he used the spectacles to see that Martin Harris was the man who would assist him to get the book. Harris says Luck Mack Smith came to see him and that Joseph wanted Harris to come see him. [per Harris's 1859 interview]. Martin Harris gives Smith $50 to finance translation (reportedly enraging his wife, Lucy Harris). (1)

-- Oct.-Nov. 1827
[Lucy Mack Smith] The family exerts considerable ingenuity to keep the plates from the mob. (4)

-- about Monday, Oct 01, 1827
Manchester, Joseph Smith resumes his work on his father's farm. (2)

-- About Oct 2, 1827
Emma Smith rides to Macedon and tells Joseph about the money-diggers plan. Joseph looks in to his seer stone and says the plates are safe. Joseph and Emma return to Smith's. Joseph walks to hill and retrieves plates from his hiding place, while carrying them back through the woods (off regular path) is attacked by a man who sprang up and hit him with a gun, knocking him down, Joseph leveled him and ran home, knocking several more down as he ran. Dislocated his thumb which was reset by Joseph Smith, Sr. Joseph relays the story to Joseph Knight and Josiah Stowell then goes to Willard Chase's house and tells him the story [per Joseph Smith per Lucy Mack Smith]. Smith tells Willard Chase that it was two men that attacked him and that if not for the stone that he got from Chase's well, he would not have obtained the book [per Willard Chase]. Smith tells Martin Harris that he was attacked by what appeared to be a man who wanted the plates and struck him with a club [per Martin Harr
is]. (1)

-- about Friday, Oct 12, 1827
Manchester, Joseph Smith retrieves the breastplate. (2)

-- Sunday, Oct 28, 1827
Manchester, The plates and breastplate are buried under the hearth. (2)

-- 1827 November/ December
[Joseph Smith] Martin Harris gets Joseph Jr. out of debt and gives him $50. Alva Hale comes from Harmony to pick up Joseph and Emma. Alva moves them to Harmony. The plates are placed in a barrel containing beans. (3)

Footnotes:
1 - http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgv482t8_0d5hdn5cv
2 - http://www.eldenwatson.net/BoM.htm
3 - Inventing Mormonism:Tradition and the Historical Record, H. Michael Marquardt Wesley P. Walters. A Chronology of Mormon Origins, p.xxvi
4 - Lucy's Book: A Critical Edition of Lucy Mack Smith's Family Memoir, Edited by Lavina Fielding Anderson, 2001, Signature Books

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Clair Barrus

Mormon History, Jul 17, 1827

/Mormon History Chronology/
-- Jul 17, 1827
[Sydney Rigdon] Silas Engles died at age 46 (probably in or near Pittsburgh); if Engles had been aware of Lambdin, or anybody else, having once loaned Rigdon a Spalding MS, he was nolonger alive to tell of that transaction (1)

-- 1827 August
[Joseph Smith] Joseph Jr. works two days mowing for Lemuel Durfee, Sr. (2)

-- Aug. 1827
[Lucy Mack Smith] Joseph gets Emma's possessions from Harmony. (3)

-- 1827 September
[Joseph Smith] Joseph Jr. goes to Macedon and works for Mrs. Wells. (2)

-- 1827 September/ October
[Joseph Smith] Joseph Jr. takes the gold plates from the hiding spot in the fallen tree top and runs home with them. He tells Willard Chase that if it had not been for the stone, he would not have obtained the book. A group of treasure seekers begins looking for the plates. Lucy Smith mentions that Joseph hid the plates in a wood box which was smashed by people searching for the record. (2)

-- Sep 16, 1827
[Lucy Mack Smith] Lovina Smith, Hyrum and Jerusha's oldest daughter, is born. (3)

-- Sep 20, 1827
Joseph Knight and Josiah Stowell come to stay at Joseph Smith's house as they know about Smith's plans to retrieve the plates on 22-Sep (4)

-- Sep 21, 1827
[Oliver Cowdery] This is the date Joseph Smith, Jr. claimed to have received the "golden plates" from which the text of the Book of Mormon was derived -- the eve of the fall equinox. Sidney Rigdon's whereabouts were unaccounted for between Sep. 13 (when he was in Ashtabula, OH) and Oct. 9 (when he was in Mentor, OH). (5)

-- Early Sep 22, 1827
Joseph Smith took Knight's horse and wagon and went with Emma to the hill (a glacial drumlin). Knight was upset that his horse and wagon were gone [per Lucy Mack Smith]. (4)

-- Sep 22, 1827
Now that four years have passed, Smith successfully digs up the gold plates. Warned by Moroni not to let anyone else see them, he does show his mother an unusual pair of spectacles with precious stones where the eyepieces would normally be. These stones are to help Smith translate the book from the "reformed Egyptian" in which it is written. But rumors of a golden Bible have begun to circulate in the neighborhood, so Joseph and Emma Smith must flee potential thieves. Financially assisted by a local farmer named Martin Harris, the couple sets out for Harmony, hiding the gold plates in a barrel of beans. (6)

Heber C. Kimball, in Mendon, has a vision of armies marching in the heavens. (4)

Joseph Smith says, while Emma prayed (staying with the wagon), he retrieved the gold plates and hid them in an old black hollow oak tree top [per Harris]; in a birch log [per Lucy Mack Smith] meanwhile, Joseph Smith Sr. and Josiah Stowell were digging for money. [per Harris' 1859 interview]. (4)

[Joseph Smith] Joseph Jr. visits a nearby hill taking Emma with him in Joseph Knight's wagon. He finds gold plates in a stone box and hides the plates in a fallen tree top. He also finds with the plates a sword, breastplate, and a pair of spectacles (also called Urim and Thummim). Joseph tells Joseph Knight the plates "appear to be Gold" and through the glasses or spectacles "I can see any thing." (2)

[Lucy Mack Smith] Soon after midnight, Joseph Jr. and Emma take Joseph Knight's wagon to the Hill Cumorah where Joseph receives the plates while Emma prays. (3)

Footnotes:
1 - http://sidneyrigdon.com/Rigdchrn.htm
2 - Inventing Mormonism:Tradition and the Historical Record, H. Michael Marquardt Wesley P. Walters. A Chronology of Mormon Origins, p.xxvi
3 - Lucy's Book: A Critical Edition of Lucy Mack Smith's Family Memoir, Edited by Lavina Fielding Anderson, 2001, Signature Books
4 - http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgv482t8_0d5hdn5cv
5 - http://olivercowdery.com/history/Cdychrn1.htm
6 - http://www.pbs.org/mormons/timeline/

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Mormon History, Jan 18, 1827

/Mormon History Chronology/
-- Jan 18, 1827
[Joseph Smith] Joseph Smith Jr. marries Emma Hale in South Bainbridge, New York. (1)

[Joseph Smith] [Joseph Smith] Marries Emma Hale at South Bainbridge, New York. (2)

[Joseph Smith] Joseph Jr. and Emma Hale are married at South Bainbridge, New York. (3)

[Joseph Smith] (age 21)Marries Emma Hale of Harmony, Pennsylvania; they are married in South Bainbridge, New York. (4)

[Lucy Mack Smith] Joseph Jr. and Emma are married by "Squire Tarbill" [Zachariah Tarbell] at South Bainbridge without her father's permission. They go to Manchester and work on the family farm for the next spring and summer. (5)

[Lucy Mack Smith] Marriage of Joseph Jr. to Emma Hale at S. Bainbridge, N.Y. (6)

[Oliver Cowdery] Joseph Smith, Jr. and Emma Hale were married at S. Bainbridge, Chenango, NY. Sideny Rigdon's whereabouts between mid-Dec. and Jan. 27 were unaccounted for. (7)

[Polygamy] to 27 Jun 1844 Marriage - Joseph to Emma Hale. Smith enlisted the help of a third treasure-seeker to obtain Emma Hale as a wife according to the requirement of Moroni. Emma did not mention her father's claim that this happened while he was away from home on business, but later told her children, "I was visiting at Mr. [Josiah] Stowell's, who lived at Bainbridge, and saw your father there. I had no intention of marrying when I left home; but, during my visit at Mr. Stowell's, your father visited me there. My folks were bitterly opposed to him; and, being importuned by your father, aided by Mr. Stowell, who urged me to marry him, and preferring to marry him to any other man I knew, I consented." The couple eloped on 18 January 1827 (1879, 289; I. Hale 1834, 363; HC 1:17; D. Hill 1977, 69; Youngreen 1982, 5-6). In commenting about this, Mormons typically speak of romance and Smith's love for Emma as the reason for their elopement (e.g. Cadwell 1879). It is more probab
le, however, that Smith risked alienating his parents-in-law from his new bride by elopingnot for love alonebut to fulfill the requirement of Moroni. PLACE: South Bainbrudge, NY SOURCE: Early Mormonism and the Magic World View, p.140-141 (8)

-- Mar 10, 1827
[Joseph Smith] Joseph Jr. receives a receipt for credit of four dollars on Abraham Fish's account. (3)

-- About Mar 15, 1827
Sidney Rigdon seen at Smith's by Lorenzo Saunders (identified by Harrison Smith). (9)

-- 1827 Spring
[Sydney Rigdon] Sydney Rigdon apparently split his time between visits to Mentor and preaching obligations in northern Portage Co. Before summer he relocated his family from Bainbridge to Mentor, occupying a cabin on the Orris Clapp farm in that village. (10)

-- Apr 16, 1827
[Joseph Smith] Samuel Harrison Smith begins to work for Lemuel Durfee, Sr., in payment for use of the house where the Smiths reside. (3)

[Lucy Mack Smith] Lemuel Durfee notes that Samuel H. Smith begins working seven months to pay him for the Smith family's continued residence on their farm. (5)

-- 1827 June
[Joseph Smith] Joseph Sr. tells Willard Chase that some years previous a spirit had appeared to his son Joseph Jr. and informed him about a book or record of gold. (3)

Footnotes:
1 - http://www.prophetjosephsmith.org/joseph_smith_timeline
2 - http://josephsmithpapers.org/TimelineOfEvents.htm
3 - Inventing Mormonism:Tradition and the Historical Record, H. Michael Marquardt Wesley P. Walters. A Chronology of Mormon Origins, p.xxvi
4 - Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah
5 - Lucy's Book: A Critical Edition of Lucy Mack Smith's Family Memoir, Edited by Lavina Fielding Anderson, 2001, Signature Books
6 - History of Joseph Smith by His Mother: Revised and Enhanced by Scot Facer Proctor Maurine Jensen Proctor
7 - http://olivercowdery.com/history/Cdychrn1.htm
8 - http://www.i4m.com/think/polygamy/JS_Polygamy_Timeline.htm
9 - http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgv482t8_0d5hdn5cv
10 - http://sidneyrigdon.com/Rigdchrn.htm

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Clair Barrus

Mormon History, 1827

/Mormon History Chronology/
-- 1827
[Joseph Smith] Peter Ingersoll moves Emma's furniture from Harmony, Pennsylvania, to Manchester. Joseph Jr. tells his father-in-law he will give up glass-looking. (1)

[Murdock, John] Joined with Sidney Rigdon in Campbellite movement about 1827. Five children: Orrice, John Riggs, Phebe, Joseph, and Julia. (2)

-- 1827 January
[Joseph Smith] Josiah Stowell moves Joseph and Emma to Manchester. (1)

-- 1827 Jan
[Lucy Mack Smith] Joseph and Emma move in with the Smiths at the Manchester farm. (3)

-- 1827-28
[Sydney Rigdon] Winter Sydney Rigdon brings Baptist "teachers" Darwin Atwater and Zeb Rudolph from northern Portage Co. to Mentor, to attend his instructional classes -- the two students notice that Rigdon is frequently absent from that place (parts of Jan-Mar.) (4)

-- Jan 17, 1827
[Polygamy] Emma Hale (Smith) age 22, The only woman to whom Joseph Smith, Jr. was legally married and whom he claimed publicly was his only spouse.Continued church activity within the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Throughout life and on her deathbed denied Joseph Smith, Jr. had plural wives. Claimed that the very first time she ever became aware of a polygamy revelation being attributed to Joseph Smith was when she read about it in Orson Pratt's booklet The Seer in 1853. (5)

-- Jan 18, 1827
Joseph Smith married Emma Hale in South Bainbridge, New York. (6)

Joseph Smith and Emma Hale marry against her father's wishes. (7)

-- After Jan 18, 1827
Joseph Smith and Emma living with Joseph Smith's family in Manchester, NY. (8)

Joseph Smith and Emma return to Harmony with Peter Ingersol to get Emma's things. (8)

-- Before Jan 18, 1827
Joseph Smith reportedly uses seer stone to determine that Emma is right person to bring to the hill to retrieve the plates. (8)

-- Jan 18, 1827
Joseph Smith (21) elopes with Emma Hale (against her father's wishes) and marries her in Bainbridge, NY. (8)

Joseph Smith, Jr. elopes with his wife, Emma Hale. (9)

[Joseph Smith] South Bainbridge, Chenango County, New York. Joseph Smith married Emma Hale. (10)

Footnotes:
1 - Inventing Mormonism:Tradition and the Historical Record, H. Michael Marquardt Wesley P. Walters. A Chronology of Mormon Origins, p.xxvi
2 - Lyndon W. Cook, The Revelation of the Prophet Joseph Smith: A Historical and Biographical Commentary of the Doctrine and Covenants, Seventy's Mission Bookstore, Provo UT, 1985
3 - History of Joseph Smith by His Mother: Revised and Enhanced by Scot Facer Proctor Maurine Jensen Proctor
4 - http://sidneyrigdon.com/Rigdchrn.htm
5 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_wives_of_Joseph_Smith,_Jr.
6 - http://www.lds.net/forums/scripture-study-forum/12108-church-chronology-1800-2000-part-1-a.html#post214550
7 - http://www.pbs.org/mormons/timeline/
8 - http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgv482t8_0d5hdn5cv
9 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19th_century_(Mormonism)
10 - BYU Studies Journal, volume 46, no. 4: A Chronology of the Life of Joseph Smith

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A glimpse at "The Book of Commandments and Revelations"

Excerpts from  Lecture Notes: Underwood on the Book of Commandments and Revelations (New Manuscript Volume)  at The Junenile Instructor by Ben.

Underwood began his lecture by discussing the overall agenda of the Joseph Smith Papers Project: to gather "all materials pertaining to Joseph Smith." As part of this, they sent a request through the Church Archives to hand over any Joseph-related document—a request that also included the First Presidency Vault. As a result, the Vault was catalogued and an interesting document was found: an early manuscript that served as a basis for the 1833 Book of Commandments. This volume contains the earliest manuscripts for literally dozens of the earliest revelations.

It appears that JS would dictate a revelation, they would write it down, soon afterward copy it into the Book of Commandments and Revelations (BCR). It is obvious that this volume was taken to Missouri by John Whitmer and used as a printer's copy for the Book of Commandments.

Though the discovery of this volume comes as a tremendous shock, we have had hints that such a collection exists. For starters, the Community of Christ has had in their possession several sheets that were torn out of the BCR, and many thought that they were a part of a much larger collection of revelations. Also, Ezra Booth wrote in 1831 about "the 27th commandment to Emma," hinting to the idea that there was a collection of revelations that he was speaking of. 

So, what's new in the volume? First, it contains the revelation to Oliver, Hyrum, and Josiah Stohl to "go to Kingston…I grant unto my servant the privilege that he may sell a copyright through you"—the much sought after Canadian copyright revelation. It also includes the revelation, given after the section we know as D&C 77 and following the question & answer style, that Orson Pratt later referred to when speaking about the Adamic names for God, Christ, and man; it begins: "What is the name of God in pure language? Awman."

Another interesting insight in the volume is how it demonstrates the "composition" of several revelations. Many smaller revelations received on the same day would be combined together in the printed edition, and the manuscript would have something like "connected" written between them to show as much. This is especially the case with D&C 42, though Underwood gave many more examples.

According to Underwood, the most significant thing that can be learned from this volume is how the revelations were edited and revised. A great example of this is D&C 6, a revelation given to Oliver Cowdery. This section is known for its reference to Oliver's "rod," but it was not originally recorded that way. Instead of "rod," it was written "sprout." Instead of "rod of nature," it was written "this thing of nature." Another instance includes changing the phrase that Joseph had "right to translate" to Joseph had "sight and power to translate."

The entire article can be read here.

Mormon History, Sep 22, 1826

/Mormon History Chronology/
-- Sep 22, 1826
[Lucy Mack Smith] Moroni meets with and teaches Joseph Jr. at Hill Cumorah. (1)

-- 1826 Fall
[Joseph Smith] Joseph Jr. works for Joseph Knight at Colesville, New York. (2)

-- Fall 1826
[Lucy Mack Smith] Joseph Jr. and Samuel Lawrence go to Pennsylvania where Joseph proposes to Emma Hale and is rebuffed by Isaac Hale. (3)

-- 1826 Oct.
[Oliver Cowdery] At about this time Sidney Rigdon took over the pastorate of the Baptist church in Mentor, Geauga, OH. (4)

-- Nov. 1826
[Lucy Mack Smith] Joseph farms for Joseph Knight Sr. of Colesville and becomes close friends with Newel Knight. (3)

-- Nov 2, 1826
[Lucy Mack Smith] Hyrum Smith marries Jerusha Barden. (3)

[Sydney Rigdon] Sydney Rigdon solemnized the marriage of Julia Giles and John G. Smith at Mentor -- apparently Rigdon became the new presiding elder for the Baptist congregation at Mentor about this time (5)

-- Nov 23, 1826
[Oliver Cowdery] Lyman Hervey Cowdery born to Warren & Patience Cowdery in LeRoy, Genesee, NY. Although Warren lived on his farm in Freedom, Cattaraugus, NY he and his wife may have resided temporarily at LeRoy on various occasions between 1819 and 1827. (4)

-- 1827
Orson Hyde joins Methodists. (6)

Sidney Rigdon seen at Smith's several times and several months apart by Mrs. S. F. Anderick, while visiting Sophronia Smith [per Anderick]. (6)

Sidney Rigdon seen several times at Smith's by Abel Chase. (6)

William Morgan (an anti-Mason) disappears (was writing an expose of Masons). (6)

-- Between 1823 and 1827
Hyrum Smith joins Masons. Masonic Mysteries tell of carved golden plate in arched stone vault. (6)

-- 1827
[Hyde, Orson] Member of Methodist Church 1827. Resided with Sidney Rigdon for indefinite period. Joined Campbellite movement. (7)

Footnotes:
1 - History of Joseph Smith by His Mother: Revised and Enhanced by Scot Facer Proctor Maurine Jensen Proctor
2 - Inventing Mormonism:Tradition and the Historical Record, H. Michael Marquardt Wesley P. Walters. A Chronology of Mormon Origins, p.xxvi
3 - Lucy's Book: A Critical Edition of Lucy Mack Smith's Family Memoir, Edited by Lavina Fielding Anderson, 2001, Signature Books
4 - http://olivercowdery.com/history/Cdychrn1.htm
5 - http://sidneyrigdon.com/Rigdchrn.htm
6 - http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgv482t8_0d5hdn5cv
7 - Lyndon W. Cook, The Revelation of the Prophet Joseph Smith: A Historical and Biographical Commentary of the Doctrine and Covenants, Seventy's Mission Bookstore, Provo UT, 1985

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Clair Barrus

Mormon History, 1826-27

/Mormon History Chronology/
-- 1826-27
[Sydney Rigdon] Sydney Rigdon reportedly was visited in Ohio by the young Joseph Smith, Jr. -- During this period Rigdon carried on periodic preaching for Baptist a congregation in northern Portage Co., Ohio -- he also visited Mentor, in northern Geauga Co. on occasion. (1)

-- Feb 13, 1826
[U.S. Religious History] The first The American Temperance Society was founded in Boston. It would later be renamed the American Temperance Union and would become a national cause. Within a decade there were over 8,000 like-minded groups with more than 1.5 million members. (2)

-- 1826 March
A criminal complaint is sworn out against Smith for fraudulent use of seer stones. He admits to using them in the past but says he has now given up the practice. (3)

-- Mar 3, 1826
Wayne Sentinel prints discussion to exclude the Apocrypha from scriptures. (4)

-- Mar 20, 1826
Joseph Smith tried and acquitted on charge of being a disorderly person at South Bainbridge, NY. [See din Bookstore. (5)

Joseph Smith (20) the "Glass Looker" (a minor) tried for "money digging" (a misdemeanor) in Bainbridge, NY. by Justice Neely under Vagrant Act. Charged by Peter G. Brigdman. Accused of palpable deceptions with the stone, such as reading pages from a closed book, etc. No sentence, but "condemned" and required to leave area. Told: "Off Off" (Also known as "leg bail.") Trial fee: 2.68. (4)

[Joseph Smith] Joseph is put on trial for disorderly conduct. Charges are dismissed. (6)

[Joseph Smith] During a court examination before Justice Albert Neely, Joseph Jr. states that by looking at a stone he can discover treasures hidden in the bowels of the earth, gold mines, coined money, and lost property. (7)

[Lucy Mack Smith] Joseph Jr. is summoned to a judicial hearing at South Bainbridge, New York. Peter G. Bridgeman, Josiah Stowell's nephew, charges him with being a "disorderly" person. Joseph Sr. is a witness. (8)

-- Summer 1826
or 27 Sidney Rigdon reportedly tells Alexander Campbell and Adamson Bentley that a golden book will come out (Bentley says it was in 1827, Campbell recalls it as 1826). (4)

-- 1826 Aug.
[Oliver Cowdery] The office of the Batavia Advocate was burned and publication of William Morgan's Ilustrations of Masonry was delayed until late in 1826. It is possible that Oliver Cowdery lived temporarily with his brother Warren A. Cowdery in LeRoy, Genesee, NY at this time. Oliver may have been hired by the Batavia Advocate (or by William Morgan himself) to prepare a printer's manuscript of Morgan's book. Oliver may have introduced Morgan to Joseph Smith, Jr. at this time also. (9)

-- Aug 24, 1826-27
[Sydney Rigdon] Sydney Rigdon preached a funeral service for deceased Baptist Rev. Warner Goodell in Mentor: he then attended the annual meeting of Mahoning Baptist ministers at Canfield, OH (evidently as an observer representing the adjacent Grand River Assoc.) (1)

-- Sep 19, 1826
[Oliver Cowdery] William Morgan disappeared after having been arrested on Sep. 10 and abducted by Masons at Canandiagua on Sep. 12. He was taken to Fort Niagara on the Canadian border. Rumors soon circulated saying that he had been murdered. (9)

-- Sep 22, 1826
[Lucy Mack Smith] Joseph Jr. makes his fourth visit to the Hill Cumorah. Moroni tells him that if he meets the Lord's requirement he can have the plates next year. From his seer stone, Joseph learns that he should bring Emma Hale with him. (8)

Footnotes:
1 - http://sidneyrigdon.com/Rigdchrn.htm
2 - http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/religion/blrel_amrel_chron.htm
3 - http://www.pbs.org/mormons/timeline/
4 - http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgv482t8_0d5hdn5cv
5 - Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol. 4, Appendix 2: A Chronology of Church History
6 - http://www.prophetjosephsmith.org/joseph_smith_timeline
7 - Inventing Mormonism:Tradition and the Historical Record, H. Michael Marquardt Wesley P. Walters. A Chronology of Mormon Origins, p.xxvi
8 - Lucy's Book: A Critical Edition of Lucy Mack Smith's Family Memoir, Edited by Lavina Fielding Anderson, 2001, Signature Books
9 - http://olivercowdery.com/history/Cdychrn1.htm

LDS History

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Clair Barrus

Mormon History, Nov 17, 1825

/Mormon History Chronology/
-- Nov 17, 1825
[Lucy Mack Smith] The company disbands. Joseph Jr. lives with Josiah Stowell during the winter of 1825-26, probably doing farm work in exchange for his board, and attending school. (1)

-- Nov 19, 1825
Joseph Smith leaves Hale's but visited several times afterward [per Hale's affidavit]. (2)

-- 1825 December
[Joseph Smith] The Smiths' farm, on which they are delinquent, is sold to Lemuel Durfee. The Smiths remain as renters. (3)

-- Dec. 1825
[Lucy Mack Smith] John Greenwood sells the Smith farm to a group of three men because the family's payments are in arrears. The new titleholders agree on 15 December to let Hyrum try to raise $1,000. (1)

-- 1825 Dec
[Lucy Mack Smith] Smith family loses farm by fraud and become tenants on their own land. (4)

-- 1825 Dec?
[Sydney Rigdon] Sydney Rigdon moved out of Pittsburgh and relocated in Bainbridge twp., Geauga Co., OH -- a new tannery had recently opened at that place and Rigdon evidently did piece-work leather finishing at home to pay for groceries. Although Sydney Rigdon was reportedly called to Bainbridge by the small Bainbrigge Baptist congregation, he reportedly did no preaching during his first winter there. (5)

-- Dec 20, 1825
[Lucy Mack Smith] Quaker Lemuel Durfee Sr. takes over ownership of the farm and house and allows the family to live there until the spring of 1828 in exchange for Samuel's labor. (1)

[Oliver Cowdery] The Joseph Smith, Sr. family lose the the title to their farm in Manchester. Lemuel Durfee, Sr., the new owner allows the Smiths to remain on the property as tenant farmers. (6)

-- 1826
[Bennett, John Cook] Initiated into Masonry in Ohio 1826. After obtaining charter, with others founded nonsectarian Christian College in New Albany, Indiana. Name of college changed to Indiana University. Gave instruction, but sold many diplomas. After two years in Indiana, returned to Ohio. (7)

[Deseret] Jedediah Smith leads the first overland expedition to California. (8)

Ethan Smith visits Palmyra, NY. (2)

Joseph Smith (20) reportedly carries Jupiter Talisman. (2)

-- Between 1821 and 1826
Ethan Smith (author of View of the Hebrews) is a minister at Poultney, VT. Congressional Church, attended by Oliver Cowdery's family (Step Mother and 3 sisters). (2)

-- 1826
[Lucy Mack Smith] Joseph Jr. works most of the year for Josiah Stowell and Joseph Knight Sr. (4)

Footnotes:
1 - Lucy's Book: A Critical Edition of Lucy Mack Smith's Family Memoir, Edited by Lavina Fielding Anderson, 2001, Signature Books
2 - http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgv482t8_0d5hdn5cv
3 - Inventing Mormonism:Tradition and the Historical Record, H. Michael Marquardt Wesley P. Walters. A Chronology of Mormon Origins, p.xxvi
4 - History of Joseph Smith by His Mother: Revised and Enhanced by Scot Facer Proctor Maurine Jensen Proctor
5 - http://sidneyrigdon.com/Rigdchrn.htm
6 - http://olivercowdery.com/history/Cdychrn1.htm
7 - Lyndon W. Cook, The Revelation of the Prophet Joseph Smith: A Historical and Biographical Commentary of the Doctrine and Covenants, Seventy's Mission Bookstore, Provo UT, 1985
8 - http://historytogo.utah.gov/timeline/trapperstradersandexplorers.html

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Clair Barrus

Mormon History, 1825 October

/Mormon History Chronology/
-- 1825 October
Smith and his father join a treasure hunting expedition 135 miles away in Harmony, Pennsylvania. No treasure is found, but Smith meets and falls in love with 21-year-old Emma Hale while boarding at her father's house. (1)

-- 1825 October-November
[Joseph Smith] Joseph goes with his father to southern New York and near Harmony (now Oakland), Pennsylvania, to obtain money to pay off their Manchester farm; they hunt for a gold/silver mine with a number of treasure seekers. At home of Isaac Hale, Joseph Jr. meets Hale's daughter Emma. The treasure seeking company stays at Hale's home. (2)

-- 1825 October to March 1826
[Joseph Smith] Joseph Jr. works for Josiah Stowell for five months and goes to school. He uses two stones to search for treasure and prays for help in the endeavor. (2)

-- Oct. 1825
[Lucy Mack Smith] Josiah Stowell/Stoal, of Chenango County, New York, hires Joseph Jr. to look for a Spanish treasure mine in Pennsylvania. Joseph boards at the home of Isaac Hale at Harmony and meets Emma. (3)

-- Oct.-Nov. 1825
[Lucy Mack Smith] The frame house begun by Alvin is completed and the family moves in. (3)

-- 1825 Oct
[Lucy Mack Smith] Joseph Jr. hires with Josiah Stowell and works in Harmony, Pa. (4)

-- 1825 Oct.
[Oliver Cowdery] Josiah Stowell, a farmer from S. Bainbridge, Chenango, NY visted the Joseph Smith, Sr. family in Manchester, Ontario, NY for the first time. Joseph Smith, Sr. and his son Joseph, Jr. agreed to accompany Stowell back to S. Bainbridge and to work for him there by locating and excavating a lost silver deposit. (5)

[Oliver Cowdery] Sidney Rigdon and his brother-in-law Richard Brooks dissolved their tannery partnership in Pittsburgh. Rigdon was likely in Pittsburgh during the months of Oct. and Nov. He probably departed PA for the Western Reserve of OH at about the end of the year. (5)

[Oliver Cowdery] The Erie Canal completed, dedicated and opened for commerce between Albany and Buffalo. Palmyra, Wayne, NY was on the canal route, a day from Buffalo. (5)

-- 1825 fall?
[Oliver Cowdery] William Morgan moved from Genesee, Allegany, NY to LeRoy, Genesee, NY where he was accepted as a member of the local Masonic Lodge. Soon after he moved to neighboring Batavia, but was not admitted by the Masonic Lodge there. Morgan then joined with David C. Miller, the publisher of the Batavia Advocate, and others, in writing and preparing for publication a book exposing the rituals of Freemasonry (Ilustrations of Masonry Batavia, N.Y.: David Miller, 1826; reprinted 1827, Rochester, NY). (5)

-- Nov 1, 1825
[Bennett, John Cook] Licensed as physician by Twelfth District Medical Society 1 November 1825. (6)

[Lucy Mack Smith] Joseph Sr., Joseph Jr., and seven others sign "Articles of Agreement" for a treasure-seeking company in Harmony, Pennsylvania. (3)

-- Nov 10, 1825
Hiram Page marries Catherine Whitmer. (7)

-- Nov 17, 1825
[Joseph Smith] Near South Bainbridge, New York. Joseph Smith continued his employment on Josiah Stowells farm, although the mine excavation in Harmony, Pennsylvania, had ended. (8)

Footnotes:
1 - http://www.pbs.org/mormons/timeline/
2 - Inventing Mormonism:Tradition and the Historical Record, H. Michael Marquardt Wesley P. Walters. A Chronology of Mormon Origins, p.xxvi
3 - Lucy's Book: A Critical Edition of Lucy Mack Smith's Family Memoir, Edited by Lavina Fielding Anderson, 2001, Signature Books
4 - History of Joseph Smith by His Mother: Revised and Enhanced by Scot Facer Proctor Maurine Jensen Proctor
5 - http://olivercowdery.com/history/Cdychrn1.htm
6 - Lyndon W. Cook, The Revelation of the Prophet Joseph Smith: A Historical and Biographical Commentary of the Doctrine and Covenants, Seventy's Mission Bookstore, Provo UT, 1985
7 - http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgv482t8_0d5hdn5cv
8 - BYU Studies Journal, volume 46, no. 4: A Chronology of the Life of Joseph Smith

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Clair Barrus

Mormon History, By Nov Mar 20, 1825

/Mormon History Chronology/
-- By Nov Mar 20, 1825
1826 Joseph Smith lives at Josiah Stowell's in Bainbridge, NY, while working for him as a treasure hunter. (1)

-- 1825 Spring
Four members of Joseph Smith, Jr.'s family join the Presbyterian Church, including Hyrum Smith and his mother, Lucy Mack. (2)

[Joseph Smith] Lucy, Hyrum, Samuel Harrison, and Sophronia Smith join Palmyra's Presbyterian church. Joseph Jr. is inclined toward the Methodist faith. (3)

-- 1825 spring
[Oliver Cowdery] Revival meetings were held near Palmyra, Wayne, NY. It is likely that Oliver Cowdery and his cousin Joseph Smith, Jr., both attended some of these meetings. It is possible that the Rev. Sidney Rigdon journeyed from Pittsburgh to Wayne Co., NY to participate in these revival meetings. His whereabouts for the spring of 1825 remain unknown. (4)

-- Apr 20, 1825
[Oliver Cowdery] Lyman Cowdery married Eliza Alexander April 20, 1825 in Arcadia, Wayne, NY. Shortly thereafter Lyman studied law and began a legal practice a couple of years later in the same town. He was eventually elected to two terms in the NY State Legislature. (4)

-- 1825 summer
[Oliver Cowdery] Bricklayer William Morgan was living in Genesee, Allegany, NY when his son Thomas was born there on Jul 4, 1825. Morgan was apparently a member of the Masonic Lodge in neighboring Olean, Cattaraugus, NY. It is possible that Oliver Cowdery worked briefly for the Olean Hamilton Recorder in 1824-25. The newspaper had been previously published by Oliver's second cousin Benjamin Franklin Cowdery. (4)

-- Jul 19, 1825
[U.S. Religious History] Liberal members of Congregational churches in New England founded the American Unitarian Association. (5)

-- Aug 1, 1825
[Oliver Cowdery] Jonathan Harrison Lambdin, former business partner of Robert Patterson, died in Pittsburgh at the age of 26. (4)

[Sydney Rigdon] J. Harrison Lambdin died at age 27 (probably at Pittsburgh); if Lambdin had loaned or given a Spalding MS to his friend Rigdon, he was no longer alive to tell of that transaction (6)

-- Sep 14, 1825
[Heber C. Kimball] Joins Masonic Lodge, Victor Village, Victor Township, Ontario County, New York. (7)

-- Sep 22, 1825
[Joseph Smith] Manchester, New York. Joseph Smith met with Moroni at Hill Cumorah on this same day for three years to receive instructions until he could obtain the plates. (8)

[Lucy Mack Smith] Joseph Jr. makes his third visit to the Hill Cumorah. Either he was alone or, Quinn suggests, he may have taken Samuel Lawrence with him and Moroni refused to appear. (9)

[Lucy Mack Smith] Moroni meets with and teaches Joseph Jr. at Hill Cumorah. (10)

-- 1825, October
Joseph Smith hired by Josiah Stowell to work at Harmony, PA. Boarded at Isaac Hale's and met Emma Hale. (11)

Footnotes:
1 - http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgv482t8_0d5hdn5cv
2 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19th_century_(Mormonism)
3 - Inventing Mormonism:Tradition and the Historical Record, H. Michael Marquardt Wesley P. Walters. A Chronology of Mormon Origins, p.xxvi
4 - http://olivercowdery.com/history/Cdychrn1.htm
5 - http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/religion/blrel_amrel_chron.htm
6 - http://sidneyrigdon.com/Rigdchrn.htm
7 - On the Potter's Wheel: The Diaries of Heber C. Kimball, Stanely B. Kimball editor. Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, Salt Lake City, 1987. Chronology
8 - BYU Studies Journal, volume 46, no. 4: A Chronology of the Life of Joseph Smith
9 - Lucy's Book: A Critical Edition of Lucy Mack Smith's Family Memoir, Edited by Lavina Fielding Anderson, 2001, Signature Books
10 - History of Joseph Smith by His Mother: Revised and Enhanced by Scot Facer Proctor Maurine Jensen Proctor
11 - Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol. 4, Appendix 2: A Chronology of Church History

LDS History

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Clair Barrus

Mormon History, 1825

/Mormon History Chronology/
-- 1825
Oliver Cowdery (known as a law pettifogger) moves to western NY. (1)

View of the Hebrews reprinted. (1)

-- About 1825
Sidney Rigdon leaves Pittsburgh, moves to Ohio and continues as a Campbellite preacher (later called Disciples of Christ or Newlight), and converts nearly 1000. Reportedly preaches elements of what becomes Mormon doctrine. (1)

Story of Smith family's attempts to retrieve a golden bible begins to spread. (1)

-- After 1824
Sidney Rigdon at odds with Alexander Campbell. (1)

-- By 1825
Joseph Smith gets a brown seer stone from the well of Willard Chase (neighbor). Mason Chase (son of Willard) claimed the stone was his and that Lucy Mack Smith got the stone from Mason's mother [per Abel Chase (Mason's brother) in an 1881 interview]. Sally Chase (sister of Mason and Abel) has a seer stone of her own [per Abel Chase and Ezra Pierce]. (1)

-- 1825
In both 1824 and 1825, major religious revivals continue to take place in the Palmyra region. (2)

[John Taylor] Becomes a Methodist exhorter, or lay preacher. Receives a strong impression that he will go to America to preach the gospel. (3)

[Joseph Smith] (age 19)Moves with his family from the log home to a newly built frame home on their farm in Manchester Township, New York. (4)

-- 1825-1830
[U.S. Religious History] England, Repeal of Corporation and Test Acts (5)

[U.S. Religious History] England,U.S. - Increase in Millennarianism. U.S. Rise of Disciples of Christ, Organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (5)

[U.S. Religious History] Rise of United Brethren, Plymouth Brethren, and Irvingites. (5)

-- Mar 4, 1825
John Q. Adams becomes U.S. President. (1)

Footnotes:
1 - http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgv482t8_0d5hdn5cv
2 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19th_century_(Mormonism)
3 - Teachings of Presidents of the Church: John Taylor, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah
4 - Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah
5 - Milton Backman, Regional Studies, British Isles, Birth of Mormonism, p.27. Preliminaries to the Restoration: Chronology

LDS History

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Mormon History, Sep 22, 1824

/Mormon History Chronology/
-- Sep 22, 1824
but without Alvin (died) so was told to return in one year with a person that would be known to him. Smith decided the person was Samuel T. Lawrence (another treasure seeker and a seer). Lawrence told Smith to use his seer stone to look into the box and asks Smith if he sees anything else in the box, Smith says no, Lawrence asks him to look again and asks Smith if he sees a large pair of specks with the plates; Smith says he sees the specks. Lawrence says the plates should not be seen by anyone for about two years. Joseph Smith changes his mind about Samuel Lawrence being the right man to bring. [per Chase]. Joseph Smith later (in or after 1825) tells a similar story to Joseph Knight but no mention of the toad like creature; says he looked into his glass (seer stone) and saw that the right person to bring was Emma Hale [per Joseph Knight]. Joseph Smith later tells Henry Harris that he had a revelation from God that the plates were hid in a certain hill and he looked in his st
one and saw them, but an angel said he couldn't get them until he was married [per Henry Harris]. (1)

Joseph Smith (18) tells of second attempt to get plates (no Alvin), told to return in one year with another that would be known to him as the right person. (1)

[Lucy Mack Smith] Joseph Jr. makes his second visit to the Hill Cumorah without Alvin. Quinn suggests that Lucy's detailsabout the plates disappearance when he puts them on the groundactually happened during the first visit. (2)

[Lucy Mack Smith] Moroni meets with and teaches Joseph Jr. at Hill Cumorah. LucyM

-- Sep 25, 1824
Wayne Sentinel prints Joseph Smith Sr.'s account that reports of Alvin's grave being disturbed were untrue, as he and others checked. (1)

-- Sep 29, 1824
[Lucy Mack Smith] Joseph Smith Sr. publishes a paid advertisement in the Wayne Sentinel for six weeks, announcing that he dug up Alvin's body on 25 September, disproving rumors that someone had mutilated or dismembered the body. The advertisement also runs on 6, 13, 20, 27 October and 3 November 1824. (2)

-- 1824 fall?
[Oliver Cowdery] Oliver Cowdery probably worked as a typesetter on one or more small newspapers published west of Ontario Co., NY. While thus employed he may have printed tracts and pamphlets which he sold, traveling on foot throughout western NY, Ontario, the PA panhandle and possibly eastern OH. (3)

-- Oct 8, 1824
[Brigham Young] Brigham Young, aged 23, marries Miriam Angeline Works (1806-1832) (aged 18); first marriage; 2 children; died prior to Young becoming a Latter Day Saint (4)

-- 1825
[Deseret] American trappers affiliated with William H. Ashley and led by Johnson Gardner and Peter Skene Ogden of the rival Hudson's Bay Company, a British outfit, met imperviously at Mountain Green on the Weber River. (5)

[Deseret] William H. Ashley arranged for his men to meet at Henry's Fork of the Green River for what became the first annual rendezvous. The next three rendezvous were held in Utah--one in Cache Valley and the next two on the south end of Bear Lake. (5)

Isaac Hale's affidavit of 20-Mar, 1834, says that Joseph Smith boarded with him while he was employed by money-diggers as a seer, by means of putting a stone in his hat then putting the hat over his face. Hale says Smith was insolent to his father. (1)

J. Harrison Lambdin dies. (1)

Joseph Smith (19) and father go to Pennsylvania and join a band of money diggers hunting for Spanish treasure. (1)

Joseph Smith Sr. (a cooper) defaults on mortgage. (1)

Footnotes:
1 - http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgv482t8_0d5hdn5cv
2 - Lucy's Book: A Critical Edition of Lucy Mack Smith's Family Memoir, Edited by Lavina Fielding Anderson, 2001, Signature Books
3 - http://olivercowdery.com/history/Cdychrn1.htm
4 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Brigham_Young%27s_wives
5 - http://historytogo.utah.gov/timeline/trapperstradersandexplorers.html

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