[Quorum of the Twelve] Lyman Wight excommunicated. (1)
-- 1848
Church Membership at end of year: 40,477
New Converts : 5,783
Percent Change from previous year: 16.67% (2)
-- During 1848 December
Apostle Lyman Wight is excommunicated from the church for not following Brigham Young. (3)
-- During 1848
[Deseret] Samuel J. Hensley discovers a route from Salt Lake City to the California Trail near the City of Rocks in Idaho, which came to be known as the Salt Lake Cutoff. (4)
[Deseret] A Mormon trading post at Genoa is the first permanent settlement in Nevada. (5)
The State of Deseret, incorporated by the Mormons, includes Utah, most of Nevada and Arizona, and parts of Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, New Mexico, and Colorado (5)
[Deseret] In May millions of crickets descended on Salt Lake Valley eating the pioneer's crops. Seagulls from the Great Salt Lake ate most of the crickets, saving the crops. (6)
[Deseret] In order to provide a satisfactory circulating medium for the early settlers of Utah, Brigham Young and his associates in the LDS Church established a church mint and circulated paper money backed by the treasury and officials of the LDS Church. (6)
[Deseret] Isaac and Jane James became the parents of Mary Ann, the first black child born in Utah. (6)
[Deseret] U.S. wins Mexican War and the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo is signed which cedes Utah to the United States. (6)
Mormon Battalion members who stay behind in California to raise money discover gold in Sutter's Mill. News of the find spreads, starting the 1849 California gold rush. (3)
The Nauvoo Temple is burnt down. The remnants are destroyed by a tornado. (3)
[OREGON TRAIL] A massive Mormon exodus swells the ranks of the emigrants to some 4000 pioneers, though it's an off year for the Oregon Trail side of the Platte River as cholera strikes Independence. Council Bluffs and St. Joseph replace Independence as the leading jumping-off points. The discovery of gold in California draws off more than three-quarters of the male population of Oregon, but most return before the arrival of the 49ers the following year. (7)
[Utah Statehood] Victorious in the Mexican War, the United States set the terms of peace. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed on February 2, 1848, ceded a vast territory claimed by Mexico to the United States, including the land settled by the Mormons. LDS leaders began to plan their first statehood attempt. (8)
[West] Oregon became a U.S. Territory. (9)
[West] Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo: Mexico surrenders California, Nevada, Utah and part of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming to the U.S. (9)
Footnotes:
1 - Wikipedia, Chronology of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (LDS Church), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronology_of_the_Quorum_of_the_Twelve_Apostles_(LDS_Church)
2 - Wikipedia, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Membership History, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints_membership_history
3 - Wikipedia, 19th Century (Mormonism), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19th_century_(Mormonism)
4 - History to Go, Trappers, Traders and Explorers, http://historytogo.utah.gov/timeline/trapperstradersandexplorers.html
5 - Legends of America, Old West Timeline, http://www.legendsofamerica.com/WE-TimeLine2.html
6 - History to Go, Pioneers and Cowboys, http://historytogo.utah.gov/timeline/pioneersandcowboys.html
7 - Clackamas Heritage Partners, http://www.historicoregoncity.org/HOC/index.php?option=com_contentview=articleid=107Itemid=75
8 - Thatcher, Linda, History to Go, Statehood Chronology, http://www.onlineutah.com/statehoodchronology.shtml
9 - Hale, Van, Mormon Miscellaneous, Rocky Mountain Prophecy, http://www.mormonmiscellaneous.com/radioprogramblog/id8.html
Mormon History Timeline /Chronology
http://lds-church-history.blogspot.com/
