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A Nephite prophet named Mormon had been writing the story of his people on golden plates for his son, Moroni. The Book of Mormon were sealed after being completed in 421 AD.
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Joseph Smith was born in Sharon, Vermont. -
At 14, Joseph Smith goes into the woods and witnesses a pillar of light descending from heaven, followed by an image of God and Jesus. This is known as the first vision -
Joseph Smith receives a vision of the angel named Moroni, who speaks of a book written on gold plates and buried in a nearby hillside but he is instructed by the angel to not take any yet. -
After 4 years, Smith digs up the gold plates but is warned by the angel to not let anyone else see them. Using stones, Joseph Smith is able to translate the book from the "reformed Egyptian" in which it is written. Rumors of these golden plates spread throughout his town so Smith and his wife fled. -
The first organization meeting of the Latter-day Saints was held at a farm in New York with about 50 people in attendance. Joseph Smith is ordained as a church elder along with Oliver Cowdery however Smith is named as a prophet. -
A schoolteacher named Oliver Cowdery starts to work for Smith and helps him translate the golden plates. -
The Book of Mormon is published, each copy selling for $1.25. -
God had revealed that Independence, Missouri be the gathering place for Mormons and the site of a "New Jerusalem." They lay the cornerstone for a temple; within a year, more than 800 more church members have moved to the area. Yet Smith decides to keep his headquarters in Kirtland, Ohio.
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Work begins on a grand Mormon Temple in Kirtland. It will take three years to complete and measure 55 by 65 feet, soaring 110 feet high. Smith also prepares to publish his revelations called the The Book of Commandments -
Missouri Mormons begin to suffer violence at the hands of the locals and their printing press gets destroyed but Smith’s Book of Commandments were saved.
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One thousand worshippers begin a week of temple dedication ceremonies in Kirtland. Churcher goers testify to seeing visions and prophets appear to them during these ceremonies. -
Joseph Smith escapes prison. In Illinois, he buys land for a new settlement named Nauvoo on the banks of the Mississippi River.
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Smith escapes Kirtland after being attacked by a mob and heads for Missouri and other Ohio Mormons follow. They settle in Caldwell County. Smith makes plans for a new temple and excommunicates old friends and current adversaries including Cowdery, who has turned against him, accusing him of adultery.
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Non-Mormons attempt to prevent church members from voting, leading to a bloody fight. In the charged aftermath of the violence, Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs orders all Mormons to either be driven from the state or wiped out.
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Stirred up by the governor's decree, an anti-Mormon mob massacres church members at Haun's Mill, killing 17. Smith is arrested, charged with treason, and sentenced to death, his life was only spared when the officer ordered to carry out the execution refuses. Smith instead spent the next five months in jail.
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Smith travels to Washington to meet President Martin Van Buren. He demands compensation for the Mormon losses in Missouri. Van Buren expresses sympathy but says he "can do nothing.
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Led by Brigham Young, who was a senior apostle, the Missouri Mormons reach safety in Illinois where they are welcomed by the population.
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The Mormons receive a city charter establishing expansive home rule and a local militia. After the first mayor is excommunicated, Smith becomes both mayor and military leader. Many European converts join.
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Smith announces revelations about two new practices. First, the dead can be baptized. Second polygamy is not only permissible but in certain cases required. This causes a rift in the Mormon community, with Brigham Young stating his strong opposition but later embraces this practice.
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Smith declares that he will run for president of the United States, announces in a sermon that those who obey God's commands can become gods themselves, and orders the destruction of an opposition newspaper, the Nauvoo Expositor. This causes severe backlash and leads to criminal charges, and after starting to flee, Smith changes his mind and surrenders to state authorities.
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While in jail, Joseph Smith and his brother are shot and killed by members of a mob. This causes a struggle for leadership now that the Mormon leader is dead. During this time many of the Mormons who settled in Nauvoo leave, but some remain.
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Brigham Young leads the Mormons who chose to follow him 300 miles to temporary quarters along the Missouri River. -
Thousands of Mormons travel from Winter Quarters to the Great Salt Lake Valley to create a "kingdom in the tops of the mountains." Brigham Young sends groups of Mormons to settle in various parts of the intermountain west.
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Brigham Young is appointed governor of the Utah territory. -
President James Buchanan, reacting to reports that Young is ruling Utah as a personal theocracy, declares the territory in rebellion and sends 2,500 soldiers west from Kansas
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Mormon militia led by John Lee and acting in tandem with a group of Native Americans attack a wagon train of settlers from Arkansas, slaughtering 120 men, women, and children in what becomes known as the Mountain Meadows massacre. Young is believed to have covered up the truth of the crimes committed -
Brigham Young died but the First Presidency was not re-organized until 1880, when he was succeeded by John Taylor. -
The Edmunds Act declares polygamy a felony and disenfranchises all who practice it. By the next decade more than a thousand Mormons have been convicted of "unlawful cohabitation.
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In the Manifesto, church president Wilford Woodruff renounces polygamy on behalf of the Latter-day Saints, although this act is never described as a revelation. -
The church threatens polygamists with excommunication and subsequently cooperates with federal authorities in prosecuting them.
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The Latter-day Saints Church reaches 1 million members.
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There are nearly 17 million members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints worldwide, with more church members living outside than inside the United States.