170 years ago today - Aug 20, 1842

[Amasa M. Lyman] Lyman was ordained an apostle at age 29 on 20 August 1842 by Brigham Young. He served twenty-five years as an apostle, including one and a half years in the church First Presidency as counselor to the prophet Joseph Smith. Amasa served with Zion's Camp, and was imprisoned with Joseph Smith in the Richmond jail. He was a regent of the University of Nauvoo, a justice of the peace, and a company captain in the first two pioneer treks to Utah. He helped to lead a detachment of the Mormon Battalion from Pueblo to the Great Salt Lake Valley, and helped to lay out the wards of Salt Lake City. He later served ten years in the Utah Territorial Legislature. He scouted the western and southern approaches to Utah and designed a defense against potential attack from enemies. He and Porter Rockwell evaluated the valley around Utah Lake for its first settlement.

[Source: Utah History Encyclopedia: Amasa M. Lyman, http://www.media.utah.edu/UHE/l/LYMAN%2CAMASA.html]