April 24th

Apr 24, 1842 - Joseph Smith pronounces "a curse on the Merchants and the rich, who would not assist in building [the Nauvoo Temple]".

Apr 24, 1843 - Joseph Smith tells the Twelve, "wake up the people to the importance of building the Nauvoo House, as there is a prejudice against it in favor of the Temple." The Nauvoo House was to be, according to Smith, a hotel "where men of wealth, character, and influence from abroad can go and repose themselves."

Apr 24, 1844 - To help pay Joseph Smith's debts, apostles Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, George A. Smith, and Lyman Johnson star in the play PIZZARO OR THE DEATH OF ROLLA at the Nauvoo Masonic Hall. The play tells the tragic fate of the Incas (led by Rolla) in defending their king, country, religion, and lives against the rapacious Spanish Conquistador, Pizarro. Kimball's sixteen-year-old daughter Helen, a secret plural wife of Joseph Smith, plays one of the chorus of virgins in the production.

Apr 24, 1845 - Emma Smith argues that the Nauvoo high council is the presiding authority of the church and that William Marks is the lawful successor to her husband. She bases this on an 1835 revelation (D&C 107).
Brigham Young writes a letter to U.S. President James K. Polk asking, "Will it be too much for us to ask you to convene a special session of congress and furnish us an asylum, where we can enjoy our rights of conscience and religion unmolested?"

Apr 24, 1847 - On the trek westward Orson Pratt sets up his telescope and shows the pioneers the moons of Jupiter and other astronomical sights.

Apr 24, 1864 - Brigham Young tells the apostles, "I have ordained my Son Brigham [Jr.] to all the Power I hold as one of my Councilors." Brigham Young Jr. had been ordained an apostle by his father two months previously but not is not admitted to the quorum for four more years.

Apr 24, 1890 - "Apostle Brigham Young Jr. writes, "Presidency cannot Consent to have our people promise to obey the 'law,' repudiate all wives but one, tho' some of the brethren who are actually obeying the law want to know what the difference is. In our circle meeting this afternoon I had a strong intimation or impression, I thought of the spirit, that Joseph F. Smith & myself will wear this anti Polygamy law out, and ere long we shall ride in these streets with our wives and children." Five months later Wilford Woodruff issues the Manifesto.

Apr 24, 1898 - The day after President McKinley had called for 125,000 volunteers for the Spanish American war Apostle Brigham Young Jr. gives a talk in the Tabernacle: "It is wrong for us to think of sending our young men to Cuba to fight in the present conflict. The fact that they would go from these lofty mountains into the malarial swamps of the South would make them much more liable to catch fevers and perish than volunteers from almost any other part of the country. There are other ways in which we can show our patriotism than by sending our sons to fight for our country at this crisis. The United States needs money with which to prosecute this war, and it will be far better for us to subscribe to this $50,000,000 bond issue than to send volunteers to perish miserably and uselessly in the swamps of the Southern coast." The next day Young is chastised by President Wilford Woodruff for speaking without authorization and told not to oppose the enlistment of Mormon volunteers.

Apr 24, 1902 - Joseph F. Smith rules that he does not want to change "usual procedure" of ordaining man to priesthood office without first conferring Melchizedek priesthood, but he prefers LESS common practice of first conferring priesthood before ordaining to office.

Apr 24, 1939 - First Counselor J. Reuben Clark requests U.S. department of State to assist immigration of two Mormons: "She and her husband are Aryan natives and nationals of Switzerland." In contrast, Clark privately urges State Department not to help Jewish children to leave Nazi Germany if their parents are trying to send them to United States.

Apr 24, 1966 - Apostle Gordon B. Hinckley dedicates a specially constructed stage at the BYU film studio for filming a new version (known as "Project # 100") of the endowment ceremony. This is the second endowment film made. The first one was shot in the Salt Lake Temple. The cast of Project #100 is Adam: Max Mason Brown, Eve: Marielen Wadley Christensen; Lucifer: Lael Woodbury; Minister: Morris Clinger; Peter: Harold I. Hansen; James: Douglas Clawson; John: Max Golightly; Elohim voice: Dan Keeler; Jehovah voice: Carl Pope; Narrator: Glen Shaw. The production crew is Camera: Robert Stum and Dalvin Williams, Lighting: Grant Williams and R. Steven Clawson; Casting: Keith Atkinson, David Jacobs and Judd Pierson; Sound: Kenneth Hansen and Sharrol Felt; Set Design: Douglas Johnson and Robert Stum; Research: Scott Whitaker and Douglas Johnson; Script Girl: Marilyn Finch; Editing: Frank S. Wise; Director: Wetzel O. Whitaker.

Apr 24, 1981 - Apostle David B. Haight gives the keynote address at Annual Meeting of the Utah Association of Women. He states that Many of today's problems can be traced to the music of the Beatles in the early 1960s. "I witnessed the early developing of protests on college campuses, protests against the Vietnam War, with protestors using Beatle-type music to express their feelings against our government, against our military, and against authority in general."

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