TODAY IN CHURCH HISTORY: 05 June

[Hemidakota]

1833 - George A. Smith hauled the first load of stone for the construction of the Kirtland Temple, and Hyrum Smith and Reynolds Cahoon commenced digging the trench for the walls. (History of the Church, 1:353).

1834 - Zion's Camp completes their crossing of the Mississippi River into Missouri and prepares for the final leg of the journey to Jackson County.

1841 - On his way home to Nauvoo from Quincy, the Prophet Joseph was arrested by a Sheriff King and a posse while he stayed overnight at the Heberlin's Hotel at Bear Creek about 28 miles south of Nauvoo. The officer from Missouri displayed such hatred for the Prophet that many of the posse left the group in disgust. The Prophet returned to Quincy and obtained a writ of habeas corpus and agreed to appear before Judge Stephen Douglas the following Tuesday. (History of the Church, 4:364-365)

1846 - U.S. President James K. Polk agrees to enlist Latter-day Saint men to form a battalion to fight in the Mexican War--later known as the Mormon Battalion.

1847 - William Clayton begins to leave markers every ten miles along the trail the remainder of the journey for the benefit of oncoming parties. Also, the second group of pioneers left Winter Quarters for the Rocky Mountains. Often referred to as the "Big Company," they were led by Parley P. Pratt and John Taylor.

1861 - Gustave Chaprix arrives in Brussels as the first missionary to Belgium.

1887 - The first ward in Mexico is organized at Colonia Juarez.

1976 - The Teton Dam fails, flooding Rexburg, Idaho, and surrounding areas. Church owned Ricks College is turned into a relief and refuge center for thousands who are rendered homeless by the flood. The campus cafeteria serves 386,000 free meals to the homeless and relief workers.

1980 - The first branch is organized in Trinidad and Tabago at Port of Spain.

1994 - Howard W. Hunter is ordained and set apart as the fourteenth President of the Church. Elders Gordon B. Hinckley and Thomas S. Monson are chosen as his counselors.

2006 - Elder Russell M. Nelson, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles joined other religious leaders in Washington, D.C., to speak in support of a constitutional amendment protecting marriage. At an Alliance for Marriage press conference at the U.S. Capitol building, he said: "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is pleased to be represented in this significant cause. While those of us here today represent a broad spectrum of religious diversity, we are firmly united in our declaration that marriage of a man and a woman is ordained of God. The sanctity of marriage and family constitutes the spiritual undergirding of lasting and successful societies. Together we share a duty to preserve marriage and family as established by God. The time has now come when a constitutional amendment is needed in this country to protect our divine inheritance. Such action does not reduce our regard for individuals who choose to live by other standards. But it confirms our conviction that marriage is the foundry for social order, the fountain of virtue and the foundation for eternal exaltation."

2007 - President Gordon B. Hinckley announced the appointment of Dr. Steven C. Wheelwright as president of Brigham Young University-Hawaii. He replaces President Eric B. Shumway.