Prophecy: Joseph Smith Chronological Timeline
April 28, 2008

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TODAY'S WORD This present "Florida Outpouring" is admittedly based upon the visitations of angels to its' founders. No testimony has come forth that these angels have been tested in the biblical way. It seems wise for us to review the historical events that happened in the life of Joseph Smith from the moment where he began to seek God, in 1820, at the age of 14, until the church he had founded was very obviously found to be manifested as a NOXIOUS WEED in 1835, with the publication of the DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS, where the doctrine of polygamy was first brought forth. The Mormon Church is the only American religion, to my knowledge, that began with an angelic visitation. It took 15 years for that plant to grow to the point where it was obviously foul. Please be aware of that fact. These notes were taken from the website at: http://www.pbs.org/mormons/timeline/ I have read approximately 400 books about Mormon history, and I believe this timeline is essentially accurate. I have added a few comments, where noted, in parenthesis. I have also removed some sections for the sake of brevity. Stephen L. Bening 1820 Joseph Smith, now 14, has become increasingly troubled by denominational differences among local Christians, but remains unsure which church is the right one to follow. One spring morning, he goes into the woods and witnesses a pillar of light descending from heaven, followed by an image of God and Jesus Christ (who are perceived by Joseph as separate "personages") forgiving his sins and warning Smith that all denominations have strayed from the truth and he should not join any of them. This event, known to Mormons as the First Vision, does not dramatically change Smith's life. He continues to work the farm and treasure hunt with his father, and when he mentions the vision to a local minister, he is scorned. Smith will not give his followers a detailed description of this vision until 1839. (Note From Stephen L. Bening-This is the first departure from scripture. Jesus Christ, according to scripture, is the fullness of Deity in bodily form. God the Father does not have a physical body, according to scripture) 1823 September 21: Fearing that he has fallen off the right path, Smith prays forgiveness for all his "sins and follies" and receives a vision of the angel named Moroni, who speaks of a book written on gold plates and buried in a nearby hillside. According to Moroni, the book describes the people who used to inhabit America and contains "the fullness of the everlasting Gospel." September 22: Guided by his vision, Smith locates the book in a box in the Hill Cumorah, just three miles from the Smith farm, but is told by Moroni that he cannot take the gold plates yet; instead he must return on September 22 for each of the next four years and be instructed on the mission God has in store for him. When Smith attempts to touch the box anyway, he receives a shock and is thrown to the ground. (Note from Stephen L. Bening-please note the presence of a power like electricity was mentioned in the ministry of William Branham, and is now being mentioned by Todd Bentley) November 19: Joseph Smith's eldest brother Alvin dies, putting greater financial strain on the family. 1825 October: Smith and his father join a treasure hunting expedition 135 miles away in Harmony, Pennsylvania. No treasure is found, but Smith meets and falls in love with 21-year-old Emma Hale while boarding at her father's house. 1826 March: A criminal complaint is sworn out against Smith for fraudulent use of seer stones. He admits to using them in the past but says he has now given up the practice. 1827 January 18: Joseph Smith and Emma Hale marry against her father's wishes. September 22: Now that four years have passed, Smith successfully digs up the gold plates. Warned by Moroni not to let anyone else see them, he does show his mother an unusual pair of spectacles with precious stones where the eyepieces would normally be. These stones are to help Smith translate the book from the "reformed Egyptian" in which it is written. But rumors of a golden Bible have begun to circulate in the neighborhood, so Joseph and Emma Smith must flee potential thieves. Financially assisted by a local farmer named Martin Harris, the couple sets out for Harmony, hiding the gold plates in a barrel of beans. December: Emma's father allows the couple to stay in a small house on his property, and Joseph begins the task of translating the writing of the gold book, using his interpretation device and dictating the results to Emma. 1828 April: Harris, who has followed Joseph Smith to Harmony, takes up work on the book, writing down Smith's dictation. Over the next two months, they produce 116 pages of text, but then Harris takes it back to Palmyra to show his doubting wife and loses the only copy. June 15: Emma gives birth to a child, Alvin, who dies that same day (only five of the couple's 11 children will live beyond infancy). When weeks pass with no word from Harris, Joseph heads back to Palmyra and discovers the loss. Begging for forgiveness, he is visited by an angel who takes the gold plates for a time as punishment for Smith's indiscretion. September 22: Smith gets the gold plates and interpretation device back. 1829 April 5: Young schoolteacher Oliver Cowdery arrives in Harmony and becomes a scribe for Smith as he resumes the translation of the gold plates. The two men finish work in June. May 15: In the midst of their translation, Cowdery and Smith take to the woods to pray and are visited by John the Baptist, who confers the Aaronic priesthood upon them. This is a critically important event in the history of the church since it precedes the restoration of the church. John the Baptist also tells the two young men that the Melchizedek Priesthood will also be restored and that when it is restored, it will give them power to "lay on hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost." Then, in anticipation of the organization of the "Church of Christ," John the Baptist announces that Smith will be "the first Elder of the Church" and Cowdery the second. The two men then baptize each other in the Susquehanna River. June: Smith, who has completed the translation at Peter Whitmer's farm in Fayette, New York, receives a copyright for The Book of Mormon. Eleven witnesses will later sign statements that they have seen the gold plates from which The Book of Mormon was translated; three of them, including Harris and Cowdery, further assert that they saw an angel bearing the plates. August: Smith locates a publisher for the Book of Mormon in Palmyra and typesetting begins. The 5,000 copy initial print run is financed by a $3,000 mortgage on Harris' farm. 1830 March 26: The Book of Mormon is published, each copy selling for $1.25. Young, a practicing Methodist who has moved to the area near Palmyra with his wife, reads the Book shortly after publication and will be baptized as a Mormon two years later. April 6: The first organization meeting of the LDS is held at the Whitmer farm with about 50 people in attendance. Smith and Cowdery are ordained "elders," and Smith will also become known as "prophet." The first four Mormon missionaries (including Cowdery) head west that October. June: Smith is arrested and charged with "being a disorderly person" for his preaching, but is acquitted. October: The missionaries taking The Book of Mormon's message to the Indians in Ohio and Missouri have stopped in Kirtland, Ohio. A Baptist minister named Sidney Rigdon decides to join the LDS and bring his 100-member congregation with him. Soon afterward, a vision instructs Smith to move the nascent Mormon community west to Kirtland. Other missionaries proceed to Missouri and settle in Independence. 1831 February: Joseph and Emma Smith reach Kirtland; other church members will join them in the spring. For the next six years, Smith will be based there and will announce some 65 revelations, most pertaining to church structure and organization. The concept of the gathering is put in place during this year. June: After missionaries reach Missouri and settle in Independence, Smith leads a group of Mormons from Kirtland west to Independence, which, according to the story, God has revealed will be the gathering place for Mormons and the site of a "New Jerusalem." In August they lay the cornerstone for a temple; within a year, more than 800 more church members have moved to the area. Yet Smith decides to keep his headquarters in Kirtland. Joseph Smith begins work on an inspired translation of the Bible. 1832 Smith and two counselors form the First Presidency of the Latter-day Saints, with authority over all church matters. Tarring and Feathering the Prophet from the Mormon Panorama. March 24: A mob resentful of growing Mormon influence tars and feathers Smith in front of his Kirtland house. 1833 Work begins on a grand Mormon Temple in Kirtland. It will take three years to complete and measure 55 by 65 feet, soaring 110 feet high. (Note From Stephen L. Bening-At the completion of this temple, tongues of fire rested upon the heads of the believers as they participated in the Temple Dedication Meeting in Kirtland, and they spoke in other tongues) The first collection of Smith's revelations is prepared for publication as The Book of Commandments. Summer: The Missouri Mormons begin to suffer violence at the hands of other locals; their printing press (on which The Book of Commandments is being printed) is destroyed in July. Mob violence will drive the Mormons out of Jackson County and across the Missouri River to Clay County in November. The pages of The Book of Commandments are rescued from the muddy streets and bound, creating the first published collection of Smith's revelations. September: Brigham Young, now a widower, arrives with his two young children in Kirtland. 1835 Doctrine and Covenants, Section 132 published (Note From Stephen L. Bening-D and C 132 was the "Polygamy Revelation", where any man who desired to have more than one wife was required to marry more than one wife in order to enter the Celestial Kingdom in Heaven, the highest heaven) One hundred thirty eight of Smith's revelations are published in a book called Doctrine and Covenants. Included among these are the sixty-five revelations published in The Book of Commandments, plus seven "Lectures on Faith" prepared by Joseph Smith, which are not described as revelations. Blessings, Stephen L. Bening		INTERACTIVE MAP Point Your Mouse Cursor On The Map And Open A Page Link HUNDREDS OF CONFIRMING PROPHETIC VOICES ORGANIZED BY SUBJECT AND GEOGRAPHY Troubled by a dream? You can compare it with the things that others have seen and heard, right here. (For example: Position your mouse cursor over California on the map, and click to see a page of California Earthquake Prophecies) TWITTER, FACEBOOK and YOUTUBE Tweets by usa_prophet "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by EVERY WORD that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" Matt 4:4 "Stephen Bening" on youtube ----Find us at "usaprophet" on Facebook

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