Table of contents:
Chronological family history events from 1831-2022. 1
“Firsts” ordinance activites: 5
Temple ordinance events in the restoration: 6
Other temples to be built (ground dedicated) during the Restoration period: 7
Modern-day Temples and specific ordinances performed in them.. 8
Chronological family history events from 1831-2022
1831– Members promised to be endowed with power from on high.
1831 -A first endowment: Men ordained to the High Priesthood for the first time (Cannon and Cook, 6-7), which ordination “consisted [of] the endowment–it being a new order–and bestowed authority” (Wikipedia)
1831 to 1839 – other temple spots: Designation of spot for Independence Temple (dedicated cornerstone Aug 3, 1831); Far West Temple (cornerstone 1838 & 1839); and Adam-ondi-Ahman Temple lot (public square dedicated 1838)
1832 – Newel K Whitney Store (Kirtland, Ohio)- Washings and anointings as part of the School of the Prophets
1832 – Commanded to build a temple (Kirtland)
1836 – Dedication of Kirtland Temple. No ordinances were revealed yet. — primarily a place of meetings of the saints and heavenly visits. Note: Living ordinances: Sacrament, washings of feet. Preparatory purifying and washings (in homes) then anointings with consecrated oil and blessings sealed with uplifted hands in the Temple. No ordinances for the dead. There were no provisions for the sacred ceremonies that were yet to be revealed. The building at Kirtland was abandoned by the saints and is now used by a religious group that has no activity in temple work.
1840 – the doctrine of salvation of the dead was fully revealed that the saints could perform ordinances for their dead kindred (Joseph Fielding Smith, JFieldS14); first mentioned when Joseph Smith preached the funeral sermon of Seymour Brunson (Joseph Smith, JS50)
1840 – First baptisms for the dead – Mississippi River (only for your own family members). Joseph Smith and others were baptized in the Mississippi River for their dead. The baptisms had to be redone since there was no recorder. (Wilford Woodruff, WW11)
1841 – Nov. 21, 1841 — First baptisms for the dead performed in the Nauvoo Temple. Baptisms for the dead ceased outside the temple. (Joseph Fielding Smith, JFieldS14)
1842 – May 4, 1842 – First live endowments performed in the upper room of the Red Brick Store by Joseph Smith. First living endowments, first living marriage sealings.
1844 – Joseph and Hyrum Smith murdered
1845 – Nauvoo Temple: First live Endowments in a temple: Dec. 1845 -The first endowments are performed in the attic of the otherwise unfinished temple. Some baptism for the dead performed. Primarily a place of ordinances for the living: Washings, anointings, Endowments, Celestial marriages and Sealing of living children to parents
1845 – Dec 1845 thru March 1846 massive temple activity- During the short, eight-week period of the temple’s operation, some 5,634 Saints received their temple endowments and 2,000 couples were sealed.)
1846 – Feb. 8, 1846 – Dedication of Nauvoo Temple: Brigham Young held an informal dedication of the Nauvoo Temple — the first of three total dedications — of the temple
1846 – First live sealing to living parents and sealing to living spouse
1846 – May 1-3, 1846 — Public dedication ceremony of the Nauvoo Temple, with dedicatory prayer offered by Orson Hyde.
1846 – Sep 1846 Church driven out of Nauvoo, temple abandoned, later burned.
1847 Saints arrive in Salt Lake Valley
Between 1847-1855 some live endowments – Ensign Peak (North edge of Salt Lake valley) Endowments were first given on Ensign peak. (Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 2, pp. 231-257. from McConkie’s Mormon Doctrine, p. 780)
1855 Endowment House (1855-1889) First sealings of couples for the dead. Baptisms for the dead. Washings, Anointings and Endowments for the living, prayer circles, outgoing missionaries received instruction. 54,000 received their endowments.
1877 – Jan 9, 1877 St George Temple dedicated (first in Utah)
– Baptisms for the dead; Sealing of couples for the dead;
1877 – First endowments for the dead (1877)
1877 – all vicarious ordinances expanded to include people not in your own family – members could help each other (1877). Living ordinances: washings, anointing, endowments, celestial marriage, sealing of living children to parents.
1877 – Women sealed to their own spouse, rather than to a prominent church leader (the law of adoption/seal to church leaders was changed by revelation to the sealing to one’s own spouse)
1884, 1888, 1893 – dedication of Logan, Manti, Salt Lake Temples in Utah
1919, 1923, 1927 – Dedication of Hawaiian, Alberta and Mesa Temples
1927 – TIB endowment card file initiated: an alphabetical card file was instituted to index all endowments performed (1842-1970) . The index was maintained through 1969. It was called the Temple Records Index Bureau (TIB) (and was rolled into FamilySearch.org.) (Russell M. Nelson, RMN3)
1938 – Church began microfilming genealogical records; moved to Granite Vault in 1963; began digitizing 1998
1965 – the three-generation program: the Priesthood Genealogy Committee announced the three-generation program. Each family in the Church was asked to prepare documented family group record forms for the first three generations and submit them to the church.
1969 – GIANT recording endowments: new endowments were recorded in the first major computer system, identified by the acronym GIANT. It was used for more than two decades. (Russell M. Nelson, RMN3)
1969 – Creation of the IGI (International Genealogical Index) which was compiled from several sources (indexed records, ancestral files, temple names) to help track temple ordinances; first published in 1973; Initially available on microfiche (1975-34 million names), then compact discs (1988- 147 million names, then 1993 CD-Rom – 200 million names – sent to wards; searchable only by country), then 1999 on the internet – 284 million names which became FamilySearch.org, now with over 5.4 billion searchable names (2016).
1972 – Four Generation program: The three-generation program was expanded to a four-generation program. It was later rolled into FamilySearch.org
1973 – Remain in your own country: President Kimball announced that all members should remain in their own countries and build up Zion there. (prior to that, many new members migrated to Utah; Elder McConkie, Conference Report Apr 1973; Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, pp 438-40)
1973 — Temple Ready: Temple names were gathered from the ancestral file by disks and sent to the wards, Called Temple Ready disks
1979 – Ancestral File: the church began accepting paper submissions for the Ancestral File which replaced the four-generation program. It was discontinued in 2003 and grew to 40 million names. It was rolled into FamilySearch.org.
1990 – clear temple names in the ward, no longer have to send them to church headquarters (Richard G. Scott, RGS2)
1994 – Personal Ancestral File (PAF) software released for individual databases; discontinued 2015; replaced by FamilySearch.org which is a collaborative family tree database
1998 – smaller temples – President Hinckley announced in General Conference the construction of 30 smaller temples (Gordon B. Hinckley, GBH20)
1999 – LDS church website initiated; 2001 started a 2nd website; 2005 familysearch.org began its beta testing; 2009 new.familysearch.org was made; 2013 family tree added to website; 2014 partnerships with major genealogical database companies; 2017 discontinued distributing microfilm to family history centers;
2002 First interactive software programs (FamilyInsight) that could compare temple ready disks (sent to wards) to an individuals’ personal database comparing temple ordinances done and those ready for submission to the temple.
2016 Members are providing all the names for temple work; no longer necessary to rely on extracted names. (Quentin L. Cook, QLC5)
2018 – May 2018 FamilySearch.org added and digitized their 2 Billionth record. It is a collaborative family tree (over 1 billion names) and contains over 5.4 billion searchable names. (Wikipedia)
2021 – Rootstech was held virtually throughout the world and enjoyed one million attendees learning about family history. Participants from over 235 countries and territories registered for the three day event which held more than 1,500 sessions.
2022 – There are 1.5 billion individuals in the familysearch.com collaborative family tree, making it the largest family tree in the world. Familysearch.org has 8 billion searchable records.
“Firsts” ordinance activites:
anciently
-Live baptism – Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden
-Live sealing husband to wife – Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p118)
First live baptism– 1829 Susquehanna River- Oliver Cowdery
First baptism for the dead – 1840- Mississippi river
First baptism for the dead in a font – 1845 – Nauvoo Temple
First baptism for the dead of someone other than your own family members – 1877- St. George Temple
First washing and anointings – 1832 – Kirtland (Whitney Store)
First preliminary live endowment– 1831- Kirtland (ordination to the High Priesthood was referred to as an “endowment”)
First live partial endowment – 1836 – Kirtland Temple
First live full endowment – 1842 – Nauvoo (Joseph Smith office/Red Brick Store)
First live endowment in a temple – 1845- Nauvoo Temple
First live endowment after arrival at the Salt Lake Valley – _____ – Ensign Peak
First live endowments in a building after arrival at Salt Lake – 1855 – Endowment House
First endowment for the dead – 1877 – St. George Temple
First endowment for the dead for someone other than your own family members – 1877- St. George Temple
First live sealing of spouses – 1842 – Nauvoo (Joseph Smith office/Red Brick Store)
First sealing of spouses for the dead – 1855 – Salt Lake Endowment House
First sealing of spouses for the dead of someone other than your own family members- 1877 – St. George Temple
First live sealing of children to parents – 1845 – Nauvoo Temple
First sealing of children to parents for the dead – 1877 – St. George Temple
First sealing of children to parents for the dead of someone other than your own family members – 1877 – St. George Temple
After 1877 (the first temple built in Utah, the St. George Temple), all ordinances for both the living and the dead (both for your own family members and assisting others with their family members) were performed in all subsequent temples.
(for the dead) –
note: no work for the dead was performed prior to the resurrection of Christ
Temple ordinance events in the restoration:
(Kirtland Temple dedicated 1836: keys restored and a partial endowment given – D&C 110)
Baptism for the Dead, Doctrine first taught in August 1840, and during the following month the ordinance was first performed in the Mississippi River.
Sealing of living couples began April 5, 1841.
Endowments for the living were first given in Joseph Smith’s private office in Nauvoo on May 4, 1842.
(Nauvoo Temple dedicated _____)
Sealing of living children to parents began in the Nauvoo Temple on January 25, 1846.
Endowments, for instance, following the latter-day exodus, were first given on Ensign peak. (Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 2, pp. 231-257. from McConkie’s Mormon Doctrine, p. 780)
Sealing of couples for the dead was first recorded in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City in 1855.
Endowment House: Baptisms and marriage sealings for the dead; washings, anointings, endowments for the living. Could not seal children to parents without a temple. (Brigham Young, Discourse delivered at Franklin, Idaho, September 1, 1873; J. D., Vol. 16:185-7)
Endowments for the dead were inaugurated in the St. George Temple on January 11, 1877.
Sealings of children to parents were resumed for the living and inaugurated for the dead in the St. George Temple on March 27, 1877.
Adoptions refer to children being sealed to other than their natural parents. Since 1963 these have been reported with regular sealings of children to parents.
Other temples to be built (ground dedicated) during the Restoration period:
– Independence, Jackson Co., Missouri – ground dedicated ______. In July, 1831, the Lord designated the spot for the temple in Independence Co., Missouri. (D&C 57:3)
Ten Tribes to receive their endowments from the Children of Ephraim in Zion – ( Wilford Woodruff, Discourse delivered in Salt Lake City, February 22, 1857; J. D., Vol. 4:231-2)
– Far West Temple – cornerstone laid July 4, 1838 and relaid April 26, 1839 (Articles of Faith, p 155)
– Adam-ondi-ahman – Temple lot dedicated by Brigham Young (Life of Heber C. Kimball, by Orson F. Whitney, pp. 221-2)
Outside the western hemisphere:
– Temple at Jerusalem to be rebuilt prior to the Second Coming of Christ
Modern-day Temples and specific ordinances performed in them
– 1831- Members promised to be endowed with power from on high.
– 1831 -A first endowment: Men ordained to the High Priesthood for the first time (Cannon and Cook, 6-7), which ordination “consisted [of] the endowment–it being a new order–and bestowed authority” (Wikipedia)
– 1832 – Whitney Store- Washings and anointings as part of the School of the Prophets
– 1832 – Commanded to build a temple
– 1836 – Kirkland Temple – primarily a place of meetings of the saints and heavenly visits.
Living ordinances: Sacrament, washings of feet. Preparatory purifying and washings (in homes) then anointings with consecrated oil and blessings sealed with uplifted hands in the Temple. No ordinances for the dead. There were no provisions for the sacred ceremonies that were yet to be revealed. The building at Kirtland was abandoned by the saints and is now used by a religious group that has no activity in temple work.
– 1840 – Mississippi River – First baptisms for the dead (only your own family members).
– 1842-1844 – Joseph Smith upper room above the red brick store – Nauvoo. First living endowments, first living marriage sealings.
– 1845 – Nauvoo Temple (1845-, burned down)- Some baptism for the dead performed. Primarily a place of ordinances for the living: Washings, anointings, Endowments, Celestial marriages and Sealing of living children to parents. From Dec. 1845, during the next 8 weeks, 5,500 persons received their endowments prior to the exodus. The Temple at Nauvoo was abandoned by the saints and eventually destroyed through malicious incendiarism.
– 1845-1847 En route to Salt Lake ???????????
– Ensign Peak (North edge of Salt Lake valley) Endowments, for instance, following the latter-day exodus, were first given on Ensign peak. (Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 2, pp. 231-257. from McConkie’s Mormon Doctrine, p. 780)
– 1855 Endowment House (1855-1889) First sealings of couples for the dead. Baptisms for the dead. Washings, Anointings and Endowments for the living, prayer circles, outgoing missionaries received instruction. 54,000 received their endowments.
– 1877 St. George Temple – Baptisms for the dead; Sealing of couples for the dead; First endowments for the dead (1877); all vicarious ordinances expanded to include people not in your own family – members could help each other (1877). Living ordinances: washings, anointing, endowments, celestial marriage, sealing of living children to parents.
– 1884 Logan – All ordinances for the living and dead
– 1988 Manti – All ordinances for the living and dead
– 1893 Salt Lake – All ordinances for living and dead
… Hawaiian (1919), Alberta (1923) and Mesa (1927), etc
