Painterly illustration of a sunlit grove of tall trees in spring, golden light falling through fresh green leaves

1820 to today · Two centuries of Restoration history

From a grove in New York to a worldwide faith

The history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, from Joseph Smith's First Vision in 1820 through the pioneer exodus, the Utah years, and the growth of a global church of more than 17 million members. Tap any event to read its story right where you are.

1820First Vision, Palmyra, New York
1830Church organized, April 6
17.5M+Members worldwide (2024)
350+Temples dedicated, under construction, or announced (Oct 2024)

How to read this timeline

Events are grouped into eight eras. Use the era buttons or search to jump to what you are studying, and open any card for the fuller account, with the scripture or record it rests on. Details open inside the card itself, so you never have to scroll away from the event you picked.

No events match that search in the selected era. Try a different word, or choose “All eras.”

Presidents of the Church

Eighteen prophets have led the Church since 1830. The First Presidency is reorganized after each president's death, with the senior apostle called as his successor.

Sources and further study

This timeline follows the Church's own published histories. Dates, places, and quotations were checked against these records.

Prepared as a study companion in the spirit of focuschrist.com: source material drawn from the Church's official histories and scriptures. Traditional sites are identified as traditional where the exact location is not known by revelation. Temple and membership figures are the Church's published year-end counts for 2024, the most recent complete year at the time of writing.