[Brigham Young]
"I say to the Saints, kill every white man you see stealing and not kill the Indian for it, for the white men know better."
[The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young, Ed. Richard S. Van Wagoner, Smith-Pettit Foundation, Salt Lake City (2009), http://bit.ly/BY-discourses]
[Nauvoo Temple]
A newspaper reported that a man in Fort Madison, Iowa, expressed no hesitation in saying that the Temple must be destroyed, and he had powder ready for that purpose.
[Brown, Lisle (compiler), Chronology of the Construction, Destruction and Reconstruction of the Nauvoo Temple]
Letter, Orson Hyde to Joseph Smith Smith, London: "I retired to my bed one night ... the vision of the Lord, like clouds of light burst into my view. The cities of London, Amsterdam, Constantinople, and Jerusalem, all appeared in succession before me; and the spirit said unto me, 'Here are many of the children of Abraham whom I will gather to the land that I gave to their fathers; and here also, is the field of your labors. Take therefore proper credentials from my people, your brethren, ... and go ye forth to the cities which have been shown you, and declare these words unto Judah, and say. 'Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, gather together, and say, assemble yourselves and let us go into the defended cities. Set up the standard towards Zion ..."
[Grunder, Rick, Mormon Parallels: A Bibliographic Source]
Joseph receives a letter from Orson Hyde recounting his travels on the way to Jerusalem. Hyrum Smith and William Law, on a mission in Pittsburgh, learn that John C. Bennett has an estranged wife and child (he had claimed to be unmarried). This is reported to Joseph. Soon afterward, Joseph confronts Bennett with these facts, and Bennett takes poison in an attempted suicide. However, many assume that because he is a doctor, he knows how much he can consume and stay alive. At any rate, he does survive the suicide attempt. Joseph accepts his dramatic show of repentance and allows him to remain in power in the Church and in the city.
[Conkling, Christopher J., Joseph Smith Chronology]
Chief U.S. District Judge James Ware said Tuesday that former Chief Judge Vaughn Walker did not have to divulge whether he wanted to marry his own gay partner before he declared last year that voter-approved Proposition 8 was unconstitutional. The decision struck down a brief filed by those backing Prop 8 who argued Walker should have recused himself.
[Prop 8 Timeline, NBC San Diego, http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/politics/Proposition-8-Timeline-History-California--138796454.html]
[David O. McKay]
... In his letter, Elder Christiansen also states that two Temple Presidents have recently inquired regarding permitting couples to be married civilly before traveling from their home to the Temple within a few days to have the sealing solemnized in the Temple. We decided to send a letter to Presidents of Temples informing them that the First Presidency must be consulted in regard to any proposed civil marriage of couples desiring to go to the Temple to be sealed.
[David O. McKay diary, June 14, 1966, in Anderson, Devery; The Development of LDS Temple Worship, 1846-2000: A Documentary History, http://amzn.to/TempleWorship]
President McKay rejects a proposal to merge the Assistants to the Twelve with the First Council of the Seventy, now that the latter are also high priests.
[The Mormon Hierarchy - Extensions of Power by D. Michael Quinn, [New Mormon History database (http://bit.ly/NMHdatabase)]]
[George F. Richards]
Attended Council meeting in the temple from 10 A.M. until 3 P.M. Question.
Was Moses Thatcher's Priesthood taken from him? Ans[wer]--
Pres[iden]t. Smith Jos[eph]. F. said his understanding is that the only way one's priesthood can be taken from him is by
excommunication from the Church. Parley P. Pratt held that in trying an elder in the Sandwitch [sic] islands who was charged with attempted rape. Pres[iden]t Geo[ge] Q. Cannon was present there and entertained a different view & contended later for same. Pres[iden]t. Smith's understanding is that a man may be silenced and prohibited from the exercise of his Priesthood and such is the Case of Moses Thatcher. Geo[rge] Albert Smith testified that that is the idea Moses has as he Geo[rge]. A[lbert]. had heard Moses express himself.
From the above I deduce the fol[lowing]--A man can be deprived of his priesthood only by excommunication from the Church.
[George F. Richards, Diary]
[John Henry Smith]
Frank Marsh, youngest son of Thomas B. Marsh, called upon us. he claimed to be in the faith. he says that about one month before Emma Hale Smith died he called upon her. he asked her if the Prophet Joseph had more wives than one. She broke into tears and said my son has accepted the Presidency of the Reorganized Church.
He also said he had met with a body of Masons in London. A gentleman present by the name of Hamilton gave a wonderfull testimony of the character and Mission of the Prophet. Said He Joseph Smith Initiated me into the Secrets of Masonry and I esteem him among the great men of the World.
[Jean Bickmore White (editor), Church, State, and Politics: The Diaries of John Henry Smith, Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, Salt Lake City, 1990, http://bit.ly/johnhenrysmith]
[Wilford Woodruff]
14 I spent the day at the Endowment House. We Baptized 634 for the dead. W Woodruff sealed 144 Couple for the dead the greatest Number I Ever sealed in one day in my life. Joseph F Smith sealed 28 Couple. Total 172 Couple. It made me nearly Sick.
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
The ship Thornton arrives in New York City with 764 Saints led by James G. Willie. Most in the company are those who later make up the ill-fated Martin and Willie handcart companies, which become stranded on their way to Utah later that year.
On the ship Brooklyn, filled with Latter-day Saints bound for California, a baby girl is born to Phebe and John Robbins and is named Georgiana Pacific Robbins. "Pacific" was used as part of the name because they were in the Pacific ocean, just as "Atlantic" had been used as part of the name of another baby born earlier in the voyage.
Several hundred men gathered at the temple with their firearms because a large mob had assembled at nearby Golden Point and were threatened to attack the temple. When the temple bell rang, the defenders met at the green near the temple. Stephen Markham led the troops into the temple and rallied them together. On this occasion the mob dispersed and did not dare approach the city. But these renewed threats prompted many families to quickly leave their homes and start their journey to the west.
[Brown, Lisle (compiler), Chronology of the Construction, Destruction and Reconstruction of the Nauvoo Temple]
[Charles Penrose to Reed Smoot]
Excitement over removals, etc. has died out, but would you believe it, there are still efforts put forth to obtain consent to forbidden marriages.
[Charles W. Penrose, Letter to Reed Smoot, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1835-1951, Electronic Edition, 2015]
[Rudger Clawson]
... I referred to the matter of non-tithe-payers and felt that some action should be taken relative to those who bear the priesthood, as by experience I had been led to believe that those who rejected the law of tithing, or failed to honor it, were indifferent, generally, to their duties in the church. The question was pretty fully discussed, and though no formal action was taken, it seemed to be the mind of the brethren that while it would be unwise and injudicious at present to relieve men of their priesthood, who failed to observe the law of tithing, it would certainly be proper to call for the resignation of non-tithe-payers, who were officiating in various prominent positions in the church.
[Stan Larson (editor), A Ministry of Meetings: The Apostolic diaries of Rudger Clawson, Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, Salt Lake City, 1993, http://bit.ly/rudgerclawson]
[Marriner W. Merrill]
I attended meeting with the First Presidency and seven of the Apostles. It was decided to ordain High Councilmen as High Priests and set them apart as High Councilmen; also decided that it be the rule in the Church for those administering the sacrament, for only one to kneel when asking the blessing on the bread and water, as in our circumstances the whole congregation cannot kneel.
[Notes from the Miscellaneous Record Book, 1886-1906: Selected diary notes from the journal books of Marriner Wood Merrill, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
David Whitmer writes to the KANSAS CITY JOURNAL to correct some items in a recently-published interview: "I did not say that Smith used 'two small stones' as stated nor did I call the stone 'interpreters.' I stated that 'he used one stone (not two) and called it a sun stone.' . . .My statement was and is that in translating he put the stone in his hat and putting his face in the hat so as to exclude the light and that the light and characters appeared in the hat together with the interpretation which he uttered and was written by the scribe and which was tested at the time as stated." [On This Day in Mormon History, http://onthisdayinmormonhistory.blogspot.com]
The case of George Reynolds, convicted and sentenced to the penitentiary under the anti-bigamy law, was argued before the Supreme Court of the Territory, on appeal. [Jenson, Andrew, Church Chronology]
Mark E. Littman and Joel Izatt of the Hansen Planetarium assist artists Sydney E. King and V. Russell Capson in their efforts to place the stars in the heavens on a mural on the rotunda ceiling above where the Christus will be placed in the North Visitors' Center on Temple Square. The stars are painted to appear as they would have on April 6, 1830, the day the Church was organized.
At 11 am attended prayer circle in the temple. ... I brought up the question of our people joining the third or Populist party, and when the brethren who spoke on the matter expressed themselves that it was a mistake for the brethren to join the Populist party, yet they did not feel that it would be wise to make a public declaration to this effect as it might be considered an interference by the church in political matters. [Heber J. Grant, Diary]