-- May 18, 2003
[Hinckley] Dedicated Historic Kirtland (1)
-- 2003 15-Jun
[Hinckley] Dedicated Brisbane Australia Temple (1)
-- Jun 15, 2003
Brisbane Australia Temple; Location: Kangaroo Point, Queensland, Australia; Announcement: 20 July 1998; Dedication: 15 June 2003 by Gordon B. Hinckley; Style: Classic modern, single-spire design - designed by Phillips, Smith, Conwell (2)
-- 24 June-Jul 11, 2003
[Mormon Tabernacle Choir] The choir tours the Northeast United States on its most prestigious American tour ever. Almost 600,000 people are on the Charles River Esplanade on July 4 with the Boston Pops, and millions more watch the concert on local and national television. (3)
-- During June 2003
[Mormon Tabernacle Choir] The choir launches its second recording, Spirit of America, on its own label. (3)
[Mormon Tabernacle Choir] The choir receives the Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence from Chorus America. (3)
-- Jul 01, 2003
[U.S. Religious History] A three-judge panel of 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously rejected an appeal from Roy Moore in his effort to keep his Ten Commandments monument in the rotunda of the Alabama Judicial Building. The court considered what could happen if the monument were allowed: "Every government building could be topped with a cross, or a menorah, or a statue of Buddha, depending upon the views of the officials with authority over the premises." (4)
-- Jul 2, 2003
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir receives a Special Recognition Award from the International Radio and Television Society Foundation. (5)
-- Jul 2, 20Jul 2004, 0318
[Mormon Tabernacle Choir] On July 2, 2003, the choir kicks off a one-year celebration of 75 years of continuous network broadcasting of its weekly program, Music and the Spoken Word. The concert is held at Avery Fisher Hall in the Lincoln Center in New York; attendance is by invitation only. (3)
-- Jul 9, 2003
The Apia Samoa Temple was destroyed by fire, marking the first time in Church history an operational temple has burned. The First Presidency announced July 16 that the temple would be rebuilt. (6)
-- Aug 05, 2003
[U.S. Religious History] Gene Robinson, an openly gay man, was elected bishop-designate of New Hampshire by the Episcopal General Convention during its meeting in Minneapolis. This election sparked outrage by conservative Anglican Churches around the world and initiated moves towards a schism within Episcopal Church and conservative, evangelical churches tried to distances themselves from a leadership they felt had descended into heresy. (4)
-- Aug 20, 2003
[U.S. Religious History] This is the deadline given to Roy Moore to remove his Ten Commandments monument from the rotunda of the Alabama Judicial Building, but he refused to act. A crowd of monument supporters grows at the building over the course of several days and some are arrested for refusing to leave the monument. (4)
-- Aug 21, 2003
[U.S. Religious History] Because Roy Moore refused to remove his Ten Commandments monument by the August 20th deadline, the associate Justices of Alabama Supreme Court unanimously overruled Moore and ordered the monument removed by the building's manager. The eight justices wrote that they are "bound by solemn oath to follow the law, whether they agree or disagree with it." (4)
Footnotes:
1 - LDS Newsroom, Time line of Significant Events as President, http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/time-line-of-significant-events-as-president
2 - Wikipedia, List of Temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_temples_of_The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints#List_of_temples
3 - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Newsroom, http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=036eb2987ff92110VgnVCM100000176f620aRCRDvgnextchannel=9ae411154963d010VgnVCM1000004e94610aRCRD
4 - Cline, Austin, History of American Religion: Timeline
5 - Sherry Baker: Mormon Media History Timeline: 1827-2007, http://byustudies.byu.edu/showTitle.aspx?title=7984
6 - 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
Mormon History Timeline /Chronology
http://lds-church-history.blogspot.com/
