September 16

1842 – The Prophet Joseph spent the day at home having a portrait done by Brother David Rogers. This portrait would take the next several days to complete. (History of the Church, 5:164)

1843 – The Prophet Joseph rode out to his farm on the outside on Nauvoo where a general parade of the Nauvoo Legion was held. He inspected the Legion, spoke to them and encouraged them to increase their numbers, and then rode home “highly delighted with the day’s performance.’ (History of the Church, 6:34)

1845 – Driven from his home in Carthage, Illinois, the night before for trying to end the house-burning activities of the mob, Sheriff Jacob Backenstos, a non-member of the Church, flees for his life. He meets Orrin Porter Rockwell and John Redding who were heading to help some of the burnt-out families. As Backenstos entered Hamilton, Illinois, with the mob right behind him, he asked for help and deputized Rockwell and Redding. Rockwell then turned his gun towards the advancing mob. The Sheriff ordered the mob to stop, but they continued forward. He ordered Rockwell to fire. Rockwell did so, aiming at the clasp of the belt on one of the mob who turned out to be Frank A. Worrell, one of the leaders of the mob and who was also the militia lieutenant in charge of protecting Joseph Smith when the he was assassinated the year before. Worrell fell dead off of his horse. The mob then brought up a wagon, put Worrell’s body into it, and left.

1978 – The first closed-circuit Church-wide meeting for women age twelve and older is held in the tabernacle on Temple Square. It is broadcast via satellite to meetinghouses throughout the world.

1993 – Ethiopia officially recognizes the Church.

1995 – The Cardston Alberta Temple is listed as a Canadian Historic Site.

2009 – Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve was hosted by ministers of the Scottish Parliament at the Holyrood Parliament Building. Brian Adam, MSP, Government Chief Whip, welcomed Elder Bednar in a meeting discussing religious conviction, pressing moral issues, and fundamental teachings of the Church on the importance of the family. (Church News, October 3, 2009, p. 7)