1830 - Joseph Smith, 24, first published "The Book of Mormon." Having derived it from golden plates he had discovered with the aid of the angel Moroni, Smith maintained that the plates were written in "Reformed Egyptian" which he had translated with the aid of "Urim and Thummim" two stones hrough which he had viewed the writings.
1840 - Birth of George Smith, famed English Assyriologist. During several expeditions to the site of ancient Nineveh, (1873Â74), Smith unearthed over 3,000 cuneiform tablets, including one which told the story of an ancient deluge, similar to Noah's Flood.
1862 - Hymnwriter Joseph H. Gilmore, 27, a professor of Hebrew at Newton Theological Seminary in Massachusetts, penned the words to the enduring hymn, "He Leadeth Me."
1929 - The Congregation of the Sacraments within the Catholic Church published a document instructing that a plate of silver or metal gilt be held under the chin of the communicant at the reception of the Holy Communion.
1957 - Dr. Basil W. Miller founded the Basil Miller Foundation in Altadena, CA. In 1959 its name was changed to World-Wide Missions.
© 1987-2009, William D. Blake. Used by permission of the author, from
Almanac of the Christian Church
