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March 20

1826 – The Prophet Joseph Smith stands trial in South Brainbridge, New York, on a charge of being a “disorderly person.’ He is exonerated of the charges. This is the first of many legal situations that he would endure during his lifetime.

1832 – About this time the Prophet Joseph receive the revelation known as Doctrine and Covenants 78. Section 78 instructs the Saints on caring for the poor, that the Church should be independent of earthly powers, and that the faithful will inherit all things.

1839 – On this date, the Prophet Joseph Smith began to write a letter to the Saints from Liberty Jail that would later become the basis for the beautiful scriptures found in Doctrine and Covenants 121, 122, and 123. Joseph and his companions had been in Liberty Jail for several months when he wrote this letter of prayer, prophecy, and advice to the Saints who had fled to Illinois.

1841 – About this time, the Prophet Joseph Smith receives the revelation known as Doctrine and Covenants 125, concerning the will of the Lord for the Saints living in the Territory of Iowa across the river from Nauvoo, Illinois.

1842 – The Prophet Joseph Smith speaks to a large number of Saints in the grove on the west side of the Temple. The child of Windsor P. Lyon and his wife having died, the Prophet talked about life and death, the resurrection and the salvation of children. The Prophet taught that “Children will be enthroned in the presence of God and the Lamb . . . having been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb; they will there enjoy the fullness of that light, glory and intelligence, which is prepared in the celestial kingdom’ (History of the Church, 4:555-556). The Prophet also baptized 80 people in the Mississippi River near his home, including M. L. D. Wasson, a nephew of Emma Smith, the first of her family to join the Church.

1977 – The first stake in Rhode Island is organized at Providence.

2000 – The Church announces the shipment of 11 large shipping containers of clothing, food, and medical supplies to Mozambique and 10 containers to Zimbabwe in Africa to help in the humanitarian efforts after weeks of heavy rains cause widespread flooding.

2001 – The Brazil Chamber of Deputies (similar to the U.S. House of Representatives) recognized the 159th anniversary of the Relief Society. Three hundred members of the Relief Society were present at the session that was shown live on television throughout Brazil.

2009 – The Draper Utah Temple is dedicated by President Thomas S. Monson.

2012 – Elder Jeffrey R. Holland spoke to students at the Harvard Law School.

2016 – The Provo City Center Temple is dedicated by Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. It is the 150th Temple of the Church.

2020 – The First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles stated “In the coming weeks, based upon world conditions, substantial numbers of missionaries will likely need to be returned to their home nations to continue their service. This will be done in a systematic way based on the urgency of travel restrictions, level of COVID-19 concern, and other considerations. “Returning missionaries will go through a 14-day period of self-isolation and then may be assigned to serve within their home country, based on local conditions.  “The term of service for missionaries returning to or serving within the United States will likely be reduced to accommodate the large number of missionaries returning from around the world. Missionary Training Centers worldwide will not receive new missionaries. MTC training for missionaries will take place through technology, and missionaries will be sent to their assigned mission as soon as possible.’



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