http://www.mormonhistoricsitesregistry.org/ Recent News in Latter-day Saint Church History from the Mormon Historic Site Registry Fri, 10 Nov 2006 08:30:00 MDT en-us http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650205979,00.html Fri, 10 Nov 2006 08:30:00 MDT The Mormon Historic Sites Foundation will honor two LDS historians tonight for their devotion to documenting the early history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The foundation's annual Junius F. Wells Award will go to Karl Ricks Anderson and his brother, Richard Lloyd Anderson. Karl Anderson has become known as... http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650205979,00.html#08:30:00 http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Brighams_Rocker.html Sat, 04 Nov 2006 13:00:00 MDT Two great-great-great-grandsons of Brigham Young presented to the Mormon church an heirloom rocking chair that one of Young's many wives likely sat in to soothe their children. Brothers Bob and Skip Young say the chair has been cherished by their family, but its historical value would be better appreciated by the church and the residents of the city founded by... http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Brighams_Rocker.html#13:00:00 http://www.abc4.com/local_news/local_headlines/story.aspx?content_id=51AC5233-21A8-47C3-A556-D1C061F2DB5B Sat, 04 Nov 2006 13:00:00 MDT Two brothers who are descendants of Brigham Young donated a wonderful gift to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Friday: A rocking chair once owned by Brigham Young... http://www.abc4.com/local_news/local_headlines/story.aspx?content_id=51AC5233-21A8-47C3-A556-D1C061F2DB5B#13:00:00 http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650202073,00.html Fri, 27 Oct 2006 08:55:00 MDT To mark a 150-year milestone, the story of a group of Mormon pioneers on their way to Utah will be told through orchestral music and spoken word. The 1856 journey of the Edward Martin and James Willie pioneer handcart companies will be showcased through a newly composed orchestral chorus, written by a Utah composer and sung and played by Utah Valley State College Symphony Orchestra and A Cappella Choir this... http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650202073,00.html#08:55:00 http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/26/us/26pews.html?ref=us Thu, 26 Oct 2006 10:15:00 MDT When the historic Tabernacle, the egg-shaped building that is home to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, reopens next year after a lengthy face-lift and seismic retrofit, visitors will find something new: the pews. The loss of the original, and uncomfortable, pine pews, handmade in 1867 and meticulously etched and painted to look like oak, angers many... http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/26/us/26pews.html?ref=us#10:15:00 http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650200399,00.html Mon, 23 Oct 2006 09:05:00 MDT The John Whitmer Historical Association recently appointed Alexander L. Baugh, Brigham Young University associate professor of church history and doctrine, to be its president for 2006-07. The announcement was made during the annual conference held in Independence, Mo., Sept. 28-Oct. 1. The John Whitmer Historical Association was founded in 1973 to study the... http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650200399,00.html#09:05:00 http://columbiamissourian.com/news/story.php?ID=22225 Tue, 17 Oct 2006 10:00:00 MDT If it wasn't for the Mormon War of the late-1830s, Missouri, and not Utah, would probably be the Mormon capital of the world. In 1838 and 1839, following an 'extermination' order issued by Gov. Lilburn Boggs, 8,000 to 10,000 Mormons were driven out of Missouri. Boggs had declared Mormons in 'open and avowed defiance' of the state's laws and... http://columbiamissourian.com/news/story.php?ID=22225#10:00:00 http://www.abc4.com/local_news/local_headlines/story.aspx?content_id=74A2D1F0-7E62-4407-8D90-AFD118381392 Mon, 09 Oct 2006 08:50:00 MDT October 5, 1856. Conference weekend. Thousands of Mormons had gathered on Temple Square. Brigham Young was supposed to give a sermon. Instead, he put out an urgent call for volunteers to mount a rescue. Two handcart companies were still out on the trail - hundreds of miles from their destination in the Valley of the Great Salt Lake. Brigham Young had been over that trail himself. He knew the danger... http://www.abc4.com/local_news/local_headlines/story.aspx?content_id=74A2D1F0-7E62-4407-8D90-AFD118381392#08:50:00 http://mainstreetnewspapers.com/articles/2006/09/29/vinton/news/news08.txt Mon, 02 Oct 2006 10:45:00 MDT Karen Kappesser calls the kin people she located in Kent, England, 'my real cousins,' even though they grew up an ocean away from each other. 'The beauty of it is making the connection with people you've never heard of,' said Kappesser, who has visited her newly-found cousins in England three times and corresponds with them regularly. The Blue Ridge resident knew her great-grandmother had come from England, but had little else to... http://mainstreetnewspapers.com/articles/2006/09/29/vinton/news/news08.txt#10:45:00 http://www.abc4.com/local_news/local_headlines/story.aspx?content_id=4F28DEC9-9E3F-44CD-9C56-512DFEC641D0 Mon, 02 Oct 2006 10:45:00 MDT Saturday is a big day at the LDS Museum of Church History and Art as a powerful new exhibit opens. The exhibit honors the 150th anniversary of the Willie and Martin handcart companies. In 1856, Mormon handcart pioneers were making the trek from the midwest to Utah when hit by a sudden snowstorm. Although hundreds died, the rest were rescued and eventually made it to Utah... http://www.abc4.com/local_news/local_headlines/story.aspx?content_id=4F28DEC9-9E3F-44CD-9C56-512DFEC641D0#10:45:00 http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650194655,00.html Fri, 29 Sep 2006 08:45:00 MDT The historic Salt Lake Tabernacle will be missing pieces of its pioneer craftsmanship when it reopens next year. White pine benches painted to resemble oak will not be set back in the renovated building. Though uncomfortable, the pews were among the 139-year-old hall's signature features. Some of the original benches are being placed back into the building; others will be replaced with oak replicas to maintain historicity... http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650194655,00.html#08:45:00 http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650194147,00.html Thu, 28 Sep 2006 11:54:00 MDT Wiping the sweat from beneath their sunbonnets didn't wipe the smiles off the faces of a giggling group of fourth-grade girls who were among hundreds of handcart "trekkers" who made their way through Salt Lake City streets Tuesday, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the first LDS handcart pioneers to reach the valley. Their three-mile trek from This Is the Place Heritage Park to the historic LDS 10th Ward, and then on to the Conference Center, brought both... http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650194147,00.html#11:54:00 http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650194016,00.html Wed, 27 Sep 2006 12:20:00 MDT People who lived in Salt Lake City 150 years ago would hardly recognize the town. So much has changed. Even the streets wide enough to turn around a team of oxen have been narrowed for sidewalks, light rail and outdoor cafe seating, and there are a lot fewer oxen. People who lived in Salt Lake City 25 years ago, for that matter, would hardly recognize the town. So much has changed. The downtown malls are... http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650194016,00.html#12:20:00 http://newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/60965 Mon, 25 Sep 2006 10:20:00 MDT Visitors to This Is The Place Heritage Park will welcome next spring will ride trains around the park, and will be able to entertain their children at a new playground and petting zoo. Additionally, a new visitor's center will open during the 2007 season. The park, which began as only a wooden marker... http://newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/60965#10:20:00 http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060920/NEWS/609200373/1002/NEWS01 Wed, 20 Sep 2006 11:36:00 MDT Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will gather on the town green at 11 a.m. Saturday to celebrate the 200th birthday of one of the church's founders. Oliver Cowdery, born in Wells in October 1806, was the first "second elder" of the Mormon church at the time subordinate only to its Vermont-born founder... http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060920/NEWS/609200373/1002/NEWS01#11:36:00 http://www.columbiatribune.com/2006/Sep/20060916Feat003.asp Sat, 16 Sep 2006 10:15:00 MDT In 1838, Missouri Gov. Liburn Boggs issued an extermination order expelling Mormons from the state. Misunderstandings surrounding that order have, in the interim, contributed to an already painful episode in Mormon history. In an effort to heal those past wounds and facilitate future dialogue between Mormons and non-Mormons, a historical conference last weekend addressed... http://www.columbiatribune.com/2006/Sep/20060916Feat003.asp#10:15:00 http://www.sltrib.com/ci_4345166 Sat, 16 Sep 2006 10:15:00 MDT The entertainment technology that lets Cirque du Soleil performers float on trapezes in Las Vegas shows might seem out of place in the Salt Lake Tabernacle. It isn't. But should you see a daring young man suspended from the Tabernacle rafters, he's probably dangling there to clean the pipes of the mighty Tabernacle organ, and it's unlikely he'll perform any breathtaking somersaults. As a corollary to the seismic renovation that caused the venerable domed building on Temple Square to close last... http://www.sltrib.com/ci_4345166#10:15:00 http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,645201790,00.html Sat, 16 Sep 2006 10:15:00 MDT The 12th annual Leonard J. Arrington Mormon History Lecture at Utah State University will be Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Logan LDS Tabernacle, 50 N. Main. Historian Thomas G. Alexander will present this year's lecture. The event is free and... http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,645201790,00.html#10:15:00 http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,645201941,00.html Sat, 16 Sep 2006 10:15:00 MDT The "Utah War" of 1857-58 was not caused solely by anti-Mormon bigotry or false reports from disgruntled federal officials. Some historians now say Brigham Young and the Mormons should share more blame for the standoff between Utah Territory and the federal government. Papers asserting that opinion were delivered Thursday and Friday at the annual meeting of the Utah State Historical Society in the Salt Lake Public Library. Several workshops focused on the... http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,645201941,00.html#10:15:00 http://www.whig.com/331941985008766.php Mon, 11 Sep 2006 14:35:00 MDT Descendants of Israel Barlow will celebrate his 200th birthday Wednesday by dedicating a monument in Nauvoo. A meeting will be held at 10 a.m. in the Joseph Smith Academy Building in Nauvoo prior to the dedicatory service. Barlow was the first Mormon exile to meet with Dr. Isaac Galland, who owned property and lived in Commerce, the community known today as Nauvoo... http://www.whig.com/331941985008766.php#14:35:00 http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/religion/story/E403FD677B093889862571E300178F18?OpenDocument Fri, 08 Sep 2006 08:00:00 MDT On Oct. 27, 1838, Missouri Gov. Lilburn W. Boggs issued Executive Order 44 - what Mormons now refer to as the "Extermination Order" - in effect running members of that church out of the state. For Boggs, the issue was the so-called Mormon Wars - a decade of conflict between Missouri settlers and members of the fledgling religion. In his orders to Maj. Gen. John Clark, who... http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/religion/story/E403FD677B093889862571E300178F18?OpenDocument#08:00:00 http://www.whig.com/368991576775866.php Tue, 05 Sep 2006 08:40:00 MDT At the age of 10, Ken Crossley heard the story of his ancestor William Taylor and how the location of his grave was unknown. "I thought to myself someday I'll find his grave," Crossley said. "I did." Crossley's detective work into his family's past led to a new historical marker, set to be dedicated at 11 a.m. Saturday, the 167th anniversary of Taylor's death. The marker will be located at the southeast corner of Ill. 96 and Hancock County Road 600, eight miles south of Hamilton and seven miles north of Lima, at the site of the former community of Green Plains and far from Crossley's home in... http://www.whig.com/368991576775866.php#09:40:00 http://www.lds.org/library/display/0,4945,40-1-3493-6,00.html Mon, 28 Aug 2006 09:40:00 MDT As Church members commemorate the 150th anniversary of the handcart pioneers who moved west to the Salt Lake Valley, Saints in California are remembering the sacrifice of Latter-day Saint pioneers who journeyed to California, blazing trails of faith as some moved east to the Salt Lake Valley while others stayed and influenced the establishment of California. The California Pioneer Heritage Foundation produced a... http://www.lds.org/library/display/0,4945,40-1-3493-6,00.html#09:40:00 http://www.lds.org/library/display/0,4945,40-1-3493-7,00.html Mon, 28 Aug 2006 09:40:00 MDT More than 5,000 members of the Church of the Inland Northwest area gathered in Spokane, Washington, on Saturday, August 12, 2006, to celebrate 100 years of Latter-day Saint heritage in the area. Activities, which were hosted at the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center, included games for children, a film documenting Church history in the Inland Northwest, and a live... http://www.lds.org/library/display/0,4945,40-1-3493-7,00.html#09:40:00 http://www.lds.org/newsroom/showrelease/0,15503,4028-1-23915,00.html Mon, 28 Aug 2006 09:40:00 MDT Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Peru have celebrated the Church's 50-year anniversary by participating in a countrywide day of service. Mormons across the country worked together to serve their local communities by cleaning up streets, cemeteries, stadiums and plazas. In the cities Lima and Callao, more than 6,200 members participated in the... http://www.lds.org/newsroom/showrelease/0,15503,4028-1-23915,00.html#09:40:00 http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/city/3_1_EL21_A4TEMPLE_S10821.htm Mon, 21 Aug 2006 11:05:00 MDT Chandler Whipple recently logged his third 1,000-mile drive from Salt Lake City to this tiny, out-of-the-way town overlooking the Mississippi River, where history and faith have forged one of Illinois' hottest tourism draws. Fellow Mormons Mark and Holly Gold also made the long drive from Utah to western Illinois again this summer to revisit what they consider sacred ground, built by church founders who were chased west more than a century-and-a-half ago amid waves of... http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/city/3_1_EL21_A4TEMPLE_S10821.htm#11:05:00 http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,645193743,00.html Thu, 17 Aug 2006 11:25:00 MDT Artists, authors and at least one documentary filmmaker are slated to release their interpretations of events surrounding the Willie and Martin Handcart Co. disaster, in which scores of Latter-day Saint converts died of starvation and exposure on the high plains of Wyoming 150 years ago in... http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,645193743,00.html#11:25:00 http://www.eurekareporter.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?ArticleID=13973 Thu, 17 Aug 2006 11:25:00 MDT Michael Davenport may never have thought of himself as a pioneer. That is, until he started hearing stories of other pioneers, particularly those children who were part of what's called The American Exodus. So, when the invitation came, the 14-year-old from Eureka responded without blinking an eye. Davenport will be among about a hundred individuals participating in a four-day, 20-mile hike from Scotia to the Mattole Valley from today through Sunday as part of a Pioneer Days remembrance in... http://www.eurekareporter.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?ArticleID=13973#11:25:00 http://hjnews.townnews.com/articles/2006/08/16/news/news01.txt Wed, 16 Aug 2006 12:47:00 MDT When it was first performed as a community musical in 1983, few here might have guessed that "Martin Harris: The Man Who Knew" would one day draw crowds of almost 50 times the town's population each August. Around 30,000 people from near and far are expected to have visited the western Cache Valley town by the end of... http://hjnews.townnews.com/articles/2006/08/16/news/news01.txt#12:47:00 http://www.lamonitor.com/articles/2006/08/11/features/features01.txt Mon, 14 Aug 2006 10:10:00 MDT Last month, 17-year-old Aubrey Forsyth donned her best hiking shoes, a long skirt and a bonnet, and pulled a handcart across 30 miles of the Wyoming countryside. It didn't seem unusual... http://www.lamonitor.com/articles/2006/08/11/features/features01.txt#10:00:00 http://www.herkimertelegram.com/articles/2006/08/11/news/news03.txt Mon, 14 Aug 2006 10:10:00 MDT Youth from the Utica and Albany Stakes of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have a unique opportunity to learn about their pioneer heritage. They kicked off a three-day, 10-mile Handcart Trek from the Erie Canal Village Thursday. The Trek experience provides a connection to... http://www.herkimertelegram.com/articles/2006/08/11/news/news03.txt#10:00:00 http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/printarticle.asp?article=69724 Thu, 10 Aug 2006 14:30:00 MDT Teenagers from Fairfax County traveled to the Marriott Ranch in Hume, Va. to participate in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saint's Mormon Youth Trek. Drawing youth from McLean, Great Falls, Vienna, Arlington, and Falls Church, the trek, which... http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/printarticle.asp?article=69724#14:30:00 http://www.redbluffdailynews.com/news/ci_4156090 Wed, 09 Aug 2006 10:55:00 MDT Those visiting the open house of the new Sacramento California Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also get a healthy dose of California history, which includes a part Red Bluff's past. Included in the "Significant Mormon Contribution to Early California History" display was the story of... http://www.redbluffdailynews.com/news/ci_4156090#10:55:00 http://www.mariettatimes.com/news/story/new11_88200685304.asp Tue, 08 Aug 2006 09:15:00 MDT When she was a young woman living with her grandfather and studying nursing in Pennsylvania, Ellinor Scott Wallace, 75, of Lowell, would accompany the elderly man to local cemeteries, listening for hours to stories about her ancestors. The two stopped at one grave site after another, and what might seem boring or even ghoulish to some, became fascinating and... http://www.mariettatimes.com/news/story/new11_88200685304.asp#09:15:00 http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/storyprint.asp?StoryID=505817 Sat, 05 Aug 2006 09:15:00 MDT In 1856, Mormon pioneers left Iowa City and traveled across the Great Plains to what is today Salt Lake City, hauling their possessions in handcarts for 1,300 miles. They walked for months to join the growing Mormon community in Utah. Many died of... http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/storyprint.asp?StoryID=505817#09:15:00 http://www.eacourier.com/articles/2006/08/03/local_news/news05.txt Fri, 04 Aug 2006 10:22:00 MDT In the mid- to late 1800s, the Mormon pioneers traveled about 1,000 miles from Illinois to reach the Salt Lake Valley in Utah to escape angry mobs and religious persecution. Many of the mobs and attackers were uneasy about some of the beliefs of the Mormons, such as a visitation to Joseph Smith from... http://www.eacourier.com/articles/2006/08/03/local_news/news05.txt#10:22:00