Glimpse of the Past – LDS Church History Oct 1-7

Posted by on Sep 29, 2010 in Glimpse of the Past - LDS Church History |

October 3, 1805 – Oliver Cowdery, born in 3 October, 1805, in Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont October 1830 – Oliver Cowdery, Parley P. Pratt, Peter Whitmer, jun., and Ziba Peterson started westward as the first missionaries to the Lamanites. On their journey they established a large branch of the Church at Kirtland, Geauga Co., O. Among those baptized by Parley P. Pratt was Sidney Rigdon. October 4, 1838 (Thursday) – The Kirtland Camp arrived at its destination, Adam-ondi-Ahman. October 2, 1841 (Saturday) – An important general conference was commenced in the Grove at Nauvoo. It was continued till the 4th. Joseph Smith declared, as the will of the Lord, that the Church should not hold another general conference until the Saints could meet in the Temple. October 7, 1842 (Friday) – Joseph Smith again left home to elude the pursuit of his enemies, leaving his wife Emma sick. He returned on the 20th. October 3, 1843 (Tuesday) – Joseph Smith gave a dinner party in the Nauvoo Mansion to about two hundred Saints. October 6, 1845 (Monday) – The first general conference of the Saints for three years was commenced in the Nauvoo Temple, the Prophet Joseph having ordered that they should not hold another general conference until they could meet in that house. The conference continued for three...

Read More

Megiddo – Israel Tour, Site of the Week

Posted by on Sep 29, 2010 in Site of the Week - LDS Church History Tour |

MEGIDDO Tel el-Mutesellim means (“hill of the governor”) This was a royal city of the Canaanites, 22 miles, north of Shechem on the southwest edge of the plains of Jezreel, the most famous battlefield in the history of the world.  Thutmose III battled with Megiddo in 1468 B.C.; the walls of his temple at Thebes tell of his war plans.  His famous comment was, “Taking Megiddo is like taking a thousand cities.”  The mound, which was extensively excavated between 1925 and 1939 by the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, covers 13 acres and reveals 20 cities – each built on the ruins of the preceding one – dating from earliest times to 400 B.C.  Its water system dates back 2,800 years.  A shaft 120 feet deep connects with a spring outside the city walls by a tunnel 215 feet long, which protected the city’s water supply.  Sunken grain silos from the time of Jeroboam II protected the grain.  Exquisite ivories, a fragment of an Egyptian Stelle bearing the name of Shishak, an elaborate City Gate, and the Seal of Sheva, are among the important discoveries at Megiddo.  The Hebrew Seal of Sheva has the following words inscribed on it: Eved Yravam, which means “servant of Jeroboam.”  Although this seal is in a museum in Istanbul, most of the finds at Megiddo have been placed in the Rockefeller Museum and the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. For more Israel Sites – See our Israel Tour...

Read More

Glimpse of the Past – LDS Church History Sept 24-30

Posted by on Sep 29, 2010 in Glimpse of the Past - LDS Church History |

September 24, 1844 (Tuesday) – Seventy presidents to preside over the Seventies and fifty High Priests to preside in different sections of the country were ordained. September 24, 1845 (Wednesday) – As the persecutions in Hancock County continued to rage, the Saints commenced to leave their possessions in the smaller settlements and flee to Nauvoo for protection. The authorities of the Church made a proposition to the mob to have the Saints leave the State of Illinois the following spring. September 26, 1856 (Friday) – The first two companies of immigrating Saints, which crossed the plains with handcarts, arrived at G.S.L. City, in charge of Capt. Edmund Ellsworth and Daniel D. McArthur.  They were met and welcomed by the First Presidency of the Church, a brass band, a company of lancers, and a large concourse of citizens.  Capt. Ellsworth’s company had left Iowa City June 9th, and McArthur’s June 11th.  When they started, both contained 497 souls, with 100 handcarts, 5 wagons, 24 oxen, 4 mules and 25 tents. September 27, 1846 (Sunday) – The first public meeting at Winter Quarters was held.  By this time most of the Saints had removed from Cutler’s Park to Winter Quarters. September 30, 1978 – Revelation granting the priesthood to every worthy male member without regard to race or color sustained by...

Read More

Via Dolorosa – Israel Tour, Site of the Week

Posted by on Sep 15, 2010 in Site of the Week - LDS Church History Tour |

VIA DOLOROSA means (“WAY OF THE CROSS” or “WAY OF SORROWs)” Via Dolorosa refers to a pilgrim route that begins near the Lion’s Gate where some believe that Jesus appeared before Pontius Pilate and was tortured by the Romans.  It ends at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Catholic supposed site of crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus).  On Fridays, especially on Good Friday, Christian pilgrims process through the streets of the Old City of Jerusalem, carrying a cross, stopping to pray at the fourteen “stations of the cross” where it is thought that significant events associated with the passion of Jesus occurred.  Some of the logic for such piety can be traced back to the 14th century A.D.  But the origin of the current route and its fourteen stations only goes back to the 19th century!  Although the piety and devotion of the pilgrims are evident, there is unfortunately no historical evidence that Jesus followed this route.  Indeed, a Roman Catholic scholar used to lead “a protest procession” on Good Friday from the site of Herod’s Palace near Jaffa Gate — where he thought (probably correctly) that Jesus had appeared before Pilate—to the Church of the Holy...

Read More

Glimpse of the Past – LDS Church History Sept 16-23

Posted by on Sep 15, 2010 in Glimpse of the Past - LDS Church History |

September 17, 1877 (Monday) – The corner stones of the Logan Temple were laid. September 18, 1850 (Thursday) – Apostle Lorenzo Snow and Elders Joseph Toronto, Thos. B.H. Stenhouse and Jabez Woodard ascended a high mountain, which they named Mount Brigham, near La Tour, Valley of Luzerne, Piedmont, Italy, and organized themselves into the first branch of the Church in that country. September 18-21, 1839 (Wednesday) – Apostles Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball, Geo A. Smith and Elders Reuben Hedlock and Theodore Turley left Commerce and started on a mission to England, leaving their families sick and poverty-stricken. September 21-22, 1823 (Sunday – Monday, Palmyra) – Joseph Smith visited by angel Moroni and told of the Book of Mormon record. J oseph viewed the gold plates buried in a nearby hill (see JS-H 1: 27-54). September 22, 1827 (Saturday) – Joseph Smith obtained the gold plates from Moroni at the Hill Cumorah (see JS-H 1: 59). 1995, September 23 – “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” from the First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles was...

Read More