-- 1983
Church Membership at end of year: 5,351,724
New Converts : 189,105
Percent Change from previous year: 3.66% (1)
-- During 1983 to 1986
[African Americans in Utah] Williams was the first African American to serve in the Utah Senate, representing Senate District One from 1983 to 1986. (2)
-- During 1983-1988
[Fundamentalist] J. Marion Hammon, Leader, Centennial Park "Second Ward". Under Leroy Johnson's leadership, Marion Hammon and Alma Timpson were dismissed from the Short Creek community in 1983; they went on to create the "Second Ward" in Centennial Park, Arizona, so named to distinguish it from the FLDS Church, which they call the "First Ward". (3)
-- During 1983
Stake welfare properties placed under general Church control. (4)
Bonneville Telecommunications is formed as a division of Bonneville International. It is later sold to Broadcast International in 1990. As of this date, Bonneville International owns nine radio stations. (5)
Church produced made-for-television movie ―The Last Leaf which airs on network television. (5)
Fiber-optic cable is used for long-distance digital audio transmission, linking New York and Washington, D.C. (5)
Public Affairs Department merges with Church‘s Special Affairs, renamed Public Communications/Special Affairs. (5)
[University of Utah] Enrollment increased from 11,515 in 1960, to 14,364 in 1983, to 23,500 students in 1990. (6)
-- Jan 7, 1984
Premier Zhao Ziyang of the People's Republic of China visited the BYU-Hawaii campus and the adjacent Polynesian Cultural Center during the first visit of a Chinese premier to the United States since the People's Republic of China was formed in 1949. (7)
-- Jan 11, 1984
Elder Mark E. Petersen dies. (8)
[Quorum of the Twelve] Mark E. Petersen dies. (9)
-- Mar 25, 1984
A new program â€" the Four-Phase Genealogical Facilities Program â€" was announced, enabling wards and branches to establish genealogical facilities in their meetinghouses. (7)
Footnotes:
1 - 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
2 - Utah History Encyclopedia: African Americans in Utah, http://www.media.utah.edu/UHE/a/African_Americans.html
3 - Wikipedia, Mormon Fundamentalist Leaders, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormon_Fundamentalist_Leaders
4 - Hemidakaota, "Church Chronology from 1800-2000," http://www.lds.net/forums/scripture-study-forum/12108-church-chronology-1800-2000-part-1-a.html#post214550
5 - Sherry Baker: Mormon Media History Timeline: 1827-2007, http://byustudies.byu.edu/showTitle.aspx?title=7984
6 - Utah History Encyclopedia: University of Utah, http://www.media.utah.edu/UHE/u/UNIVERSITYOFUTAH.html
7 - Church News: Historical Chronology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/58765/Historical-chronology-of-The-Church-of-Jesus-Christ-of-Latter-day-Saints.html
8 - Wikipedia, 20th Century (Mormonism), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20th_century_(Mormonism)
9 - 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/
