-- During 1976
Joseph Smith‘s Vision of the Celestial Kingdom and Joseph F. Smith‘s Vision of the Redemption of the Dead are added to The Pearl of Great Price. (1)
The first Quorum of the Seventy is organized to help lead the growing Church. (1)
[Histories of Utah] In commemoration of the American Bicentennial, William B. Smart and Henry A. Smith edited Deseret, 1776-1976: A Bicentennial Illustrated History of Utah (1975). A work of art, the text was written by Deseret News staff writers on subjects of their expertise. Another work to come out in connection with the Bicentennial was Charles S. Peterson's Utah, A History (1977). Neither a textbook nor a conventional history, it was an interpretative synthesis of Utah history in the context of the national experience and was part of a national series of books. (2)
-- During 1976-
[Periodicals] Ensign Talking Book; Salt Lake City, Utah International Magazines (Periodical) (3)
-- During 1976
[Spencer W. Kimball] Oversees the addition of two revelations to the Pearl of Great Price. These revelations are later included in the Doctrine and Covenants as sections 137 and 138. (4)
[Topaz Japanese-American Relocation Center] In 1976 the Japanese-American Citizen League erected a monument near the site of the camp. (5)
-- Jan 1, 1977
The First Presidency announced a new format for general conferences. General sessions would be held on the first Sunday of each April and October and the preceding Saturday. Regional representative seminars would be held on the preceding Friday. (6)
General conferences shortened from three to two days. (7)
The First Presidency announces that General Conferences will be held on the first Sundays of each April & October, and on the preceding Saturdays, of each year. (8)
-- Jan 17, 1977
[Capital Punishment] On 17 January 1977 Gary Mark Gilmore became the first person executed in the U.S. after all those under sentence of death had been released from death rows around the country ten years earlier. His execution renewed the capital punishment process that continues to this day. Under more strict guidelines from the Supreme Court, capital punishment laws and procedures were reinstituted and death rows began again to fill. (9)
-- Feb 5, 1977
The First Presidency announced that the Quorum of the Twelve would oversee ecclesiastical matters and the Presiding Bishopric would have responsibility for temporal programs. (6)
-- Mar 5, 1977
[Quorum of the Twelve] Alvin R. Dyer dies. Although Dyer was an ordained Apostle, he was never made a member of the Quorum. (10)
-- May 14, 1977
A bishops central storehouse, the second in the Church and first outside of Salt Lake City, opened at Colton, Calif. Also, the Young Men program was restructured. (6)
Footnotes:
1 - Sherry Baker: Mormon Media History Timeline: 1827-2007, http://byustudies.byu.edu/showTitle.aspx?title=7984
2 - Utah Historical Encyclopedia: Utah History
3 - Ludlow, Daniel H. editor, Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol.4, Appendix 3: Church Periodicals
4 - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, Salt Lake City, Utah
5 - Utah Historical Encyclopedia: Topaz Japanese-American Relocation Center, http://www.media.utah.edu/UHE/t/TOPAZRELOCATION.html
6 - Church News: Historical chronology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
7 - Hemidakaota, "Church Chronology from 1800-2000," http://www.lds.net/forums/scripture-study-forum/12108-church-chronology-1800-2000-part-1-a.html#post214550
8 - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, United Kingdom, "On This Day," https://www.lds.org.uk/show_oda.php
9 - Utah Historical Encyclopedia: Capital Punishment, http://www.media.utah.edu/UHE/c/CAPITOLPUN.html
10 - 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)
Mormon History Timeline /Chronology
http://lds-church-history.blogspot.com/
