1820s (mormonism)

1820

Spring: Joseph Smith, Jr. claims he saw Jesus Christ and God the Father near his home in upstate New York (a.k.a. the First Vision ). Several versions of the ''First Vision'' are reported (in 1832, 1835, 1840, and 1842), showing clear content and theology that reflects the ideas of Joseph Smith and his religion (see The History of Joseph Smith, the Prophet for more information).

1821

Fall: The log cabin on the Farmington land is built and the Smith family moves in.

1823

September 21: Joseph Smith, Jr. claims to receive a visit from an angel named Moroni in the upstairs room of the cabin in which he lived. It is claimed that during this visit Joseph received instructions on where he could find the gold plates. The following day he claims to have received another visit after which he claims he went to the Hill Cumorah and located the plates. According to his story, he was not allowed to remove the plates until 1827.

November 19: Alvin Smith, Joseph Smith, Jr.'s older brother, dies from poor treatment by a doctor for an upset stomach. Alvin's death is later used by Joseph as one of the reasons why he is not allowed to take the gold plates. Joseph claims the angel demanded that Joseph bring a special person with him to retrieve the plates and that special person was Alvin. It isn't until Joseph elopes with Emma in 1827 that he finally retrieves the plates.

1825

In both 1824 and 1825, a series of major religious revivals took place in the Palmyra region.

Spring: Four members of Joseph Smith, Jr.'s family join the Presbyterian Church, including Hyrum Smith and his mother, Lucy Mack.

1826

March: Joseph Smith, Jr. is convicted of being a ''disorderly person'' and ''imposter'' in South Bainbridge, NY for his treasure seeking activities (Bushman 2005; Vogel 2004). Smith was using a peepstone (i.e., rock) to search for buried treasure; in the process he bilked local people out of money and resources as the expeditions he led never found any buried treasure.

1827

January 18: Joseph Smith, Jr. elopes with his wife, Emma Hale, against the wishes of her father and family.

December: Joseph Smith Jr. and his new wife, Emma, move to Harmony, Pennsylvania.

December: Joseph Smith Jr. begins translation of the gold plates. Joseph began translating the plates as early as 1827 and, according to his mother, Lucy Mack Smith , Joseph told stories about the origins of the Native Americans while a teen.

1828

June: Joseph Smith, Jr. joins the Methodist Church but participates for only a short while. This is a little odd considering Joseph later claims that he was told during the First Vision (1820) that he should join no church for they were all wrong.

July: The first 116 pages of the Book of Mormon manuscript produced by Joseph Smith Jr. and Martin Harris are stolen or lost. Harris, who mortgaged his farm to pay for the publication of the book, blames his wife, who was skeptical of the entire proceedings. His marriage later falls apart as a result of his involvement with Joseph Smith Jr. and Mormonism.

1829

Joseph Smith, Jr. claims Peter, James, and John, three apostles of Jesus, appear to him and Oliver Cowdery and confer upon them the Melchizedek Priesthood .

February: Martin Harris claims to have visited Dr. Charles Anthon , a professor at Columbia University , to verify the authenticity of the characters Joseph Smith Jr. was claiming to translate.

May: Joseph Smith, Jr. claims John The Baptist appeared to him and Oliver Cowdery and conferred upon them the Aaronic Priesthood .

July: According to David Whitmer, the translation of the Book of Mormon was completed. Oliver Cowdery copied the manuscript so two versions existed in case the original was lost (again).

Augusts 25: A contract is drawn up with E.B. Grandin to print 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon for $3,000. Martin Harris agrees to mortgage his farm to pay for the printing.

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