October 6

1838 – The Prophet Joseph arrives in DeWitt, Missouri, and finds the situation as bad as he had been told. The town is surrounded by an armed mob. He immediately seeks the help of the Governor to settle the situation. In Far West, general conference is held where John Taylor is sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. (History of the Church, 3:153)

1842 – The Prophet Joseph records that Emma is doing better and writes that he hopes the Lord will quickly restore her “that the heart of His servant may be comforted again.’

1844 – The first general conference without the Prophet Joseph was held in Nauvoo, Illinois, under the direction of the Twelve Apostles. Brigham Young declared, “Every spirit that confesses that Joseph Smith is a Prophet, that he lived and died a Prophet and that the Book of Mormon is true, is of God, and every spirit that does not is of anti-Christ. It is the test of our fellowship to believe and confess that Joseph lived and died a Prophet of God’ (History of the Church, 7:287).

1849 – The Deseret Dramatic Association is organized in Salt Lake City, Utah.

1867 – The first general conference is held in the nearly completed Tabernacle on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. Brigham Young asked Joseph Harris Ridges to build the organ and sixteen-year-old Joseph Daynes played the unfinished organ of 700 pipes. The completed building and organ would be dedicated in 1875.

1890 – During general conference, members of the Church would vote to accept President Wilford Woodruff’s “Manifesto,’ ending Church-sanctioned plural marriage.

1952 – The Presiding Bishopric issues a letter introducing the Senior Aaronic Priesthood program, which placed men over twenty-one years of age who did not hold the Melchizedek Priesthood in a separate Aaronic Priesthood Quorum.

1975 – Brigham Young University begins its observation of its centennial during Homecoming week.

2012 – President Thomas S. Monson announces changes to the missionary age for young men and women to serve missions. The age for young men was lowered to 18 for young men who have completed High School or its equivalent, and 19 for young women.

2018 – During General Conference, the Church announces a change to the meeting schedule on Sunday to a 2-hour block, and a new curriculum with an emphasis on a coordinated Christ centered teaching in the home supported by the Church.