Church History: 04 September

[Hemidakota]

 1833 - The Prophet Joseph Smith wrote a letter to Vienna Jacques, who had just immigrated to Independence, Missouri, thanking her for her contributions to the Church. (History of the Church, 1:407-409)

1837 - The Prophet Joseph Smith receives a revelation at Kirtland, Ohio, warning Church historian John Whitmer and stake presidency member W. W. Phelps that if they did not repent they would be removed from their places. Both soon leave the Church. However, W. W. Phelps returns to full activity in the Church at Nauvoo and continues to be one of the Prophets closest friends, speaking at the Prophet's funeral and writing the song, "Praise to the Man."

1838 - After counseling with General Atchison and Alexander Doniphan, the Prophet Joseph Smith and Lyman Wight agreed to appear in the court of Judge King of Daviess County, Missouri. (History of the Church, 3:69)

1843 - The Prophet Joseph Smith took his family to a circus performance in Nauvoo. He also records in his journal a copy of an article about him in the New York Sun that said, "This Joe Smith must be set down as an extraordinary character, a prophet-hero, as Carlyle might call him. He is one of the great men of this age, and in future history will rank with those who, in one way or another, have stamped their impress strongly on society." The article then went on to say that his followers were deceived and that the growth of Mormonism was a threat "causing serious alarm to every patriot." (History of the Church, 6:2-3)

1947 - Missionaries arrive and begin preaching the gospel in Guatemala.

1950 - Latter-day Saint car racer Ab Jenkins shatters twenty-six world and American records on the Bonneville Salt Flats of Utah in his Mormon Meteor III. Also, the first early-morning seminary, with 198 students, is organized in southern California under the direction of Ray L. Jones.

1983 - The first branch is organized on the Azores Islands in the Atlantic Ocean 800 miles off the coast of Portugal.

1999 - The Columbus Ohio Temple is dedicated by President Gordon B. Hinckley. It is the first temple in Ohio since the Saints built the Kirtland Temple in early Church history.

2005 - Just two years after the original Apia Samoa Temple burned to the ground, President Gordon B. Hinckley dedicates the rebuilt Apia Samoa Temple.

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