Timeline

Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805 – June 27, 1844)

1805 Born in Sharon, Vermont.

Parents poor farmers

1811 Move to Lebanon, New Hampshire.

1812 Contracted Typhoid

Infected bone removed from leg. Limps for the rest of his life.

1816 Moves to Palymra, Western New York

Time of Second Great Awakening.

c.1819 Treasure Hunts - learnt occult practice of divining from his father Joseph Smith Sr. and Walter Lore.

Smith used seer stones which he put in a white top hat and saw messages in the reflections in the hat that enabled him to locate lost and buried treasure.

Received payment from people to do this.

1820 Claimed to have seen a vision of God and Jesus Christ.

Asked ‘which denomination should he join’.

Answered ‘none’. All denominations regarded as Apostate.

1823 September 21 – Claimed to have had his first visitation from Moroni.

Moroni (died 421 AD) was supposedly the son of the prophet Mormon who was killed fighting with the Nephites against the Lamanites c.385 AD.

Mormon supposedly gave the plates to his son Moroni who came 1400 years later as an angel to show Joseph Smith where they were hidden.

Revealed location of the golden plates on the hill Cumorah.

1823 September 22 – found golden plates but not allowed to take them

Claimed to have received 4 more visits from Moroni instructing him.

1826 Smith charged with fraudulent use of seer stones. He is acquitted after saying he had now given up the practice.

1827 January 18, married Emma Hale.

Eventually had 7 children (3 died soon after birth).

1827 Told others about the visitation of Moroni and existence of the golden plates.

The plates were supposedly written in a form of Egyptian hieraglyphics and described a visit of Jesus to the lost tribes of Israel who now inhabited North America.

A breastplate was also found with the plates

Smith was claimed he was able to decipher the plates by using divining stones.

1. By gazing into one stone in a top hat.

2. By using special glasses made of two stones which he called the Urim and Thummin.

1827 Faced opposition in Palymra. In December move to Harmony, Pennsylvania. Live with Emma’s parents

1828 April 12 – June 14 Translated the plates to his wife who acted as scribe with the help of a neighbour from Palmyra, Martin Harris.

Harris lost the only copy (116 pages) after taking it back to Palmyra to show his wife Lucy in order to eradicate her scepticism.

Smith made a new translation with his wife, Emma.

1829 Oliver Cowdrey joined Smith in Harmony. Helped with the work of writing down Smith’s translation.

1829 Cowdrey and Smith receive the Aaronic Priesthood from John the Baptist when praying in the woods.

Baptise each other.

1829 Received the Melchisedek Priesthood from Peter, James and John.

Harris mortgaged his farm to pay $3000 for the publication of the Book of Mormon.

1830 March 26, Smith published the Book of Mormon

1830 Sidney Rigdon and his 100 member Baptist Church joins Mormons in Kirkland, Ohio.

Smith has HQ in Kirkland, Ohio.

1833 begin to build temple in Kirkland.

Financial collapse and conflict.

Moved to Missouri

1838 Mormon War

Mormons leave Missouri; settle in Nauvoo, Illinois.

Begin building second temple.

1844 Smith assassinated

To study issues concerning Mormonism in more detail go to this website: Utah Lighthouse Ministry