Feb 14, 1829 - Eliza R. Snow publishes a poem in the Ravenna, Ohio WESTERN COURIER containing the stanzas: "But lo! a shining Seraph comes!/Hark! 'tis the voice of sacred Truth;/He smiles, and on his visage blooms,/Eternal youth.//He speaks of things before untold,/ Reveals what men nor angels knew,/The secret pages now unfold/To human view." Eliza, a future plural wife of both Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, has not yet heard of Mormonism (The Book of Mormon is over a year away from being published). Later, after accepting Mormonism, she changes the words "secret pages" to "long seal'd pages," to make more explicit the reference to the coming of the "Seraph," as the angel Moroni who brings the "long-sealed" plates of the Book of Mormon.

Feb 14, 1831 - THE PALMYRA REFLECTOR publishes an account from "our Painesville correspondent" of Mormon missionaries, saying that "they then proclaimed that there had been no religion in the world for 1500 years,--that no one had been authorized to preach and for that period,--that Joseph Smith had now received a commission from God for that purpose . . . . Smith (they affirmed) had seen God frequently and personally--Cowdery and his friends had frequent interviews with angels . . .commissions and papers were exhibited, said to be signed by Christ himself!!! . . ."

Feb 14, 1835 - Joseph Smith tells a meeting of Zion's Camp veterans and others about "The coming of the Lord, which was nigh--even fifty-six years should wind up the scene [in the year 1891]." The newly organized Quorum of Twelve Apostles includes astrologer John F. Boynton, rodsman Heber C. Kimball, amulet-wearer Brigham Young, and treasure-quest enthusiasts Luke S. Johnson and Orson Hyde. They are ordained apostles by the BOOK OF MORMON's three witnesses, rodsman Oliver Cowdery, seer stone enthusiast David Whitmer, and treasure-quest participant Martin Harris. 41 years later Wilford Woodruff notes in his Journal that six of the original Twelve apostatized.
The three witnesses bless Lyman Johnson "that he shall live until the gathering was accomplished according to the Holy Prophets. And that he should be like unto Enoch. And your faith shall be like unto his, and he shall be called great among all the living and Satan shall tremble before thee, and that he shall see the Saviour come and stand on the Earth with power and great glory."
They bless Brigham Young "that he may do wonders in the name of Jesus, that he may cast out devils, heal the sick, raise the dead, open the eyes of the blind, go forth from land to land and from sea to sea, and that heathen nations shall even call him God himself, if he did not rebuke them."
Heber C. Kimball is blessed "That many millions may be converted by his instrumentality. That Angels may waft him from place to place and that he may stand unto the coming of our Lord and receive a crown in the kingdom of our Lord, that he be made acquainted with the day when Christ shall come, . . ."
William McLellin is blessed "He shall be mighty in the hands of God, and shall convince thousands that God has sent him; and his days may be prolonged until the coming of the Son of Man. He shall be wafted as on eagles' wings, from country to country, and from people to people; and be able to do wonders in the midst of this generation."

Feb 14, 1835 - Wilford Woodruff writes in his journal: "was suddenly Called to a house of mourning which was Mr. Alexander Akeman's. He had walked out of his house and droped dead upon the ground. In a few moments all his Sons and daughters were present." Later in his autobiography Woodruff amplifies the incident: " I was warned three times by the Lord, to go to Mr. Akeman, and bear testimony unto him of the truth of 'Mormonism,' and the wickedness of his course in opposing it; and the last time I called upon him, he was filled with wrath against me, and when I left his house, he followed me in a rage, apparently with some evil intent. When I had got a few rods from his door, he was nearly treading on my heels, and fell dead at my feet, as though he had been struck with lightning; he swelled, and immediately turned black. This created a great wailing and mourning among his family."

Feb 14, 1843 - Wilford Wodruff writes: "At about half past Seven oclock in the evening the sword which had made its appearance for several evenings past moved up near the moon & formed itself into a large ring around the moon. Two Balls immediately appeared in the ring opposite of each other sumthing in the form of sundogs. Another half ring is hung from those Balls sumthing in the shape of a horse shoe extending outside of the first ring with one line running through the center of the moon." He draws a picture in his journal of the phenomenon. Four days earlier he had written, "I Wilford Woodruff testify that about 7 oclock PM I discovered a stream of light in the south west quarter of the heavens. The rays of Light were in the form of a Broadsword with the hilt downward . . .The following is the declaration of Joseph the Seer conserning the foregoing sign: As sure as there is a God who sits enthroned in the heavens & as sure as he ever spoke to me So sure there will be a spe[e]dy & Bloody war & the broad sword seen last evening is the sure sign thereof."

Feb 14, 1845 - John M. Bernhisel is appointed as a "Traveling Bishop" to visit and regulate wards.
Hosea Stout, Nauvoo chief of police and head of Temple Guard, records in his diary, "Today Lucretia Fisher came to live with me." They are married a little over two months later.

Feb 14, 1853 - Ground is broken for the construction of the Salt Lake Temple. Brigham Young says, "If you ask if I have received a revelation or vision upon the subject [of building the temple] I would answer yes I have been in vision much of the time upon the subject. . . . If the people needed it I would give them a written Revelation upon the subject but do you not know that it is your duty to build up Houses for your own benefit?" Heber C. Kimball "dedicated the ground unto God. . . .The ground being frozen President Heber C Kimball comm.[ence]d breaking the ground with a pick" followed by the counselors and the Twelve. "Then the ground was broke & President Young took out the first turf. While taking it out [a] silver Dollar was flung from some one in the congregation which stru[c]k in the hole. Brother Kimball said that was an Omen that we should have plenty of mon[e]y to build the temple with." The temple would take forty years to construct--twice the time to construct the Great Pyramid at Giza, Egypt.
"After leaving the Temple ground . . . .the Presidency and Twelve [went] to see the New sugar works operate . . . It was a splendid establishment . . . $50,000 to purchase the machinery & apparatus & get it to the valley."

Feb 14, 1886 - The Quorum of Twelve and First Presidency counselors meet "and we decided to get rid of the Church property." Church property was put into newly-formed corporations to avoid seizure by the federal government.
First Counselor George Q. Cannon is arrested for polygamy in Nevada. He is injured when he tries to escape by jumping from the train transporting him back to Utah.

Feb 14, 1896 - Apostle Brigham Young Jr. writes in his journal: "Our conversation during the entire day was of the most interesting character. He [Heber J. Grant] said I & Lyman & J[ohn] H[enry] S[mith] have decided in our own minds that Jos[eph] F. S[smith] should be placed ahead of you in the Quorum. He thinks that, tho' a man may be ordained an apostle he takes rank when he comes into the Quorum" Brigham Jr. had been secretly ordained an apostle by his father long before he became a member of the Quorum of Apostles. This re-ordering makes Joseph F. Smith president of the church upon the death of Lorenzo Snow instead of Brigham Young Jr.

Feb 14, 1900 - U.S. president William McKinley promises Apostle John Henry Smith to defeat proposed U.S. amendment against polygamy and polygamous cohabitation in exchange for Utah-s vote in the Nov. election. Smith "told him I would do all I could for him but that he must not overestimate my strength."

Feb 14, 1901 - At a meeting of the Twelve in the Salt Lake Temple "Bro. H[eber} J. Grant talked against vac[c]ination." At 11 a.m. the first presidency joins them and Heber J Grant "was selected to go to Japan on a Mission."

Feb 14, 1906 - Probable date of first plural marriage performed without claiming authority from current First Presidency. Second and third such marriages are on June 13-14, 1906. This is early stage of what became Mormon Fundamentalist movement.
Former U.S. Senator Charles J. Faulkner (W.V.) tells Apostle John Henry Smith "we aut [ought] to drop J[ohn] W. Taylor and M[atthias] F. Cowley and . . . from their positions [in the Quorum of Twelve] but not cast them out of the Church. He says this is the view of a number of the Senators." The fact that Taylor and Cowley had performed post manifesto plural marriages but had not been disciplined indicated to the federal government that the church was not serious in its claim to be stopping polygamy. Three weeks later "The apostles met and had a long talk over the situation of John W. Taylor, M. F. Cowley. . . . We came to the conclusion to suspend the[m] rather than to accept their resignation."

Feb 14, 1911 - To counter accusations that his teaching of evolution will destroy faith, embattled BYU professor William Chamberlin publishes "The Theory of Evolution as an Aid in Faith in God and Belief in the Resurrection" in the BYU campus paper WHITE AND BLUE. He is dismissed anyway

Feb 14, 1970 - First Presidency and Presiding Bishopric launch first organized effort to "provide sufficient security for the Church headquarters building." Next day First counselor Lee meets with Salt Lake City officials "to discuss the coordination between Church security personnel and the city police in handling emergencies that might arise."

Feb 14, 1978 - Florida police arrest Ted Bundy. He is charged in the Chi Omega murders and in the sexual assault and murder of twelve-year-old Kimberly Diane Leach. Bundy attended the University of Utah for awhile, converted to Mormonism and was ordained to the priesthood. He is executed in Florida's electric chair eleven years later.

Feb 14, 1991 - Amy Baird is president of Brigham Young University's "Student Service Association." In remarks on campus next day, former U.S. president Ronald Reagan praises students for electing first female as president of BYU's student body.

Feb 14, 1992 - The BYU Department of Sociology writes a memo to university president Rex E. Lee: "We wish to express concern over the possibility that disciplinary action, whether through ecclesiastical or university channels, might be taken against BYU faculty members for scholarly discussion of Mormonism, . . . We wish to express concern over the possibility that disciplinary action, whether through ecclesiastical or university channels, might be taken against BYU faculty members for scholarly discussion of Mormonism, . . . For example, if one of us presents at the Sunstone Symposium next year and our bishop or stake president judges us unworthy of a temple recommend or as deserving disciplinary action, such action could affect our position at the University given current policies as we understand them. . . . A serious professional contribution to the scientific knowledge concerning the Church, even one that is highly supportive of Church positions, is viewed as having the potential of costing one his or her position at BYU."