| Jan | Feb | March | April | May | June | July | Aug | Sept | Oct | Nov | Dec |
A review of 2003 events through Dec. 23 reflects a Church on the move with progress and change combined with an appreciation for what has transpired.
The Church continued its humanitarian efforts, including aid to starving people in Ethiopia. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir commenced a yearlong observance of 75 years of broadcasting, including a prestigious tour of the northeastern United States. In historic Kirtland, Ohio, six reconstructed or renovated visitor attractions were dedicated. A new BYU president was installed, the first satellite meeting specifically for Primary children was held and the Church announced a major revitalization of downtown Salt Lake City involving its properties.
Here is a month-by-month rundown of events in the Church for 2003:
January
Jan. 11: Priesthood leaders from throughout the world gathered in their stake centers and meetinghouses Jan. 11, 2003, to receive instruction from President Gordon B. Hinckley and members of the Quorum of the Twelve in the first global leadership training by satellite transmission.
Jan. 14: Homes of at least 11 Church members were destroyed and three LDS meetinghouses and two rented facilities where Church meetings were held were damaged when the 125-mph Typhoon Ami struck the Fiji Islands.
Jan. 21: Six member homes were destroyed in western Mexico by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that also caused minor damage to four LDS meetinghouses.
Jan 22: The Church began offering an approved Internet Web site format for use by local units in the United States and Canada to replace sites discontinued by the First Presidency in March 2001.
Jan. 25: A new Church Web site, featuring several elements of the Church's welfare efforts, was officially opened.
February
Feb. 7: At the annual satellite fireside for Church Educational System employees in the Salt Lake Tabernacle, seminary and institute teachers were asked by President Hinckley to cultivate within the hearts of Latter-day Saint youth a love for the Savior and a desire to follow His teachings.
Feb. 8: In the first Church satellite broadcast for children, President Hinckley told tens of thousands of children, ages 7 to 11, to "never forget . . . that you really are a child of God."
Feb. 16: Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve and Elders John H. Groberg and Ronald T. Halverson of the Seventy, in Tonga for a satellite conference that linked together 16 locations in the country, met with King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV; Prince 'Ulukalala Lavaka Ata, prime minister of Tonga; and Princess Salote Mafile'o Pilolevu Tuita.
Feb. 19: Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve met with Ghanaian Vice President Alhaji Mahama in Accra, Ghana, during a 10-day visit to West Africa where he dedicated a new stake center in Takarodi, Ghana.
March
March 1-2: President Hinckley addressed more than 10,000 members in two meetings in the lower Mississippi River area.
March 8: The Church announced the creation of two missions and the merging of two other missions. The Georgia Atlanta North Mission was created from the Georgia Atlanta and Georgia Macon missions; and the Mexico Guadalajara South Mission was created from the Mexico Guadalajara and Mexico Leon missions. In addition, the Germany Leipzig Mission was combined with the Germany Berlin Mission. The changes were effective July 1.
March 12: Two emergency shipments of Atmit, an Ethiopian porridge mix, were sent by the Church to help ease a hunger crisis caused by drought conditions in the east African nation. Another shipment was sent in June.
March 12: LDS teenager Elizabeth Smart, 15, who was kidnapped from her Salt Lake City home June 5, 2002, was found safe in Sandy, Utah, and returned to her family.
March 14: Cyclone Erica struck New Caledonia, causing extensive destruction including damage to 50 homes of LDS members.
March 17: A coordinated effort by members and missionaries involved the offer of a free DVD copy of "Finding Faith in Christ," a 28-minute production depicting the life and ministry of the Savior. The April 2003 Ensign included a personal copy of the DVD.
March 17: After recording more than 150 albums for industry labels, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir announced the creation of its own recording label, a milestone in the musical organization's 145-year history.
March 18: President Hinckley announced at BYU's weekly devotional that Elder Cecil O. Samuelson of the Presidency of the Seventy would succeed Elder Merrill J. Bateman as president of Brigham Young University on May 1, 2003.
March 29: President James E. Faust of the First Presidency addressed the General Young Women Meeting, offering "10 virtues to pursue" in their quest for excellence and happiness.
April
April 5: Due to the outbreak of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), a potentially deadly disease that originated in Asia, the Church announced it would temporarily stop sending missionaries to Hong Kong until further evaluations were made.
April 5-6: President Hinckley, speaking in general conference April 6, delivered a message of war and peace, saying that although "we of this Church are people of peace," the scriptures teach "there are times and circumstances when nations are justified, in fact have an obligation, to fight for family, for liberty, and against tyranny, threat and oppression." The address was given while the Iraqi war was going on in the Mideast.
On the first day of conference, April 5, Elder Merrill J. Bateman was sustained to the Presidency of the Seventy, filling the vacancy left by the appointment of Elder Cecil O. Samuelson as president of BYU. Elder Bruce D. Porter of the Second Quorum of the Seventy was sustained to the First Quorum of the Seventy, and five new General Authorities were called to the Second Quorum of the Seventy: Elders Mervyn B. Arnold, Shirley D. Christensen, Clate W. Mask Jr., William W. Parmley and W. Douglas Shumway.
April 22: Speaking to the theme, "Bridges to the Future," President Hinckley addressed 6,500 persons in Denver, Colo., as part of a yearlong series, sponsored by Colorado State University and the University of Denver, to promote values. He told them there is no more important foundation stone on which to build a bridge to the future than the family.
April 24: President Thomas S. Monson, first counselor in the First Presidency, addressed the largest graduating class in BYU history during spring commencement exercises. A total of 4,621 graduates from 50 states and 52 countries received bachelor's, master's or doctoral degrees.
April 25: President Monson rededicated the David O. McKay Building at BYU, which houses the College of Education. The entire interior of the building, originally dedicated in 1954, was refitted and remodeled; it previously was remodeled in 1979.
April 26: President James E. Faust, second counselor in the First Presidency, addressed BYU-Idaho commencement exercises, the first to feature a senior class receiving bachelor's degrees since Ricks College became BYU-Idaho in August 2001. Later in the day, President Faust presided at groundbreaking services for a new 56,200 square-foot building that will bear the name of early pioneer Thomas E. Ricks for whom Ricks College was named.
April 26: The Church announced the creation of the Chile Concepcion South Mission, effected by the reorganization of the Chile Concepcion, Chile Osorno and Chile Santiago South missions. The changes, which brought the total number of missions in the Church to 337, were effective Sept. 1.
April 29: BYU established the Marjorie Pay Hinckley Chair in Social Work and Social Sciences during a campus ceremony honoring Sister Hinckley for "her commitment to family and community."
April 29-30: Sixteen hundred Church members in northeast Argentina were among tens of thousands of people who were forced from their homes by the worst flooding in the region's history, caused by 48 hours of continual rainfall.
May
May: Because of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in China, BYU pulled its 70 volunteer teachers, who teach English, law, business and engineering classes in 17 universities in eight cities, out of the country in early May.
May 1-2: Fifteen thousand women attended the 2003 BYU Women's Conference and received a greeting from Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan, as well as hearing counsel from four General Authorities and three general Relief Society and Young Women leaders.
May 4: The roof of the Church's historic Liberty Jail and Visitors Center in Liberty, Mo., was damaged by one of the scores of tornadoes that touched down in eight central and southeastern U.S. states between May 4 and May 11.
May 9: The Church gave the Red Cross a $50,000 donation for disaster relief in Oklahoma, where a powerful twister ripped through the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore the day before.
May 18: Six recently constructed or renovated facilities in Kirtland, Ohio, were dedicated by President Hinckley, giving the historic site some semblance of the time when the Church was headquartered there from 1831-1838.
May 29: President Thomas S. Monson spoke to 1,500 professional and volunteer Scout leaders and heads of industry at the Duty to God Breakfast at the National Boy Scouts of America annual convention in Philadelphia, Pa.
June
June 10: The Salt Lake City Council voted to cede public easement on the Church's Main Street Plaza in exchange for land the Church owns in west Salt Lake City that would be used by the city for a community center. A 35-day grace period where either the city or the Church could back out of the deal followed the council's approval, which was formally published June 18.
June 14: The First Presidency announced the creation of the Utah Salt Lake City Area, the 30th area of the Church, effective Aug. 15, created from the Utah North Area. In addition, the reassignment of nine countries in Europe, Central America and Africa was announced, also effective Aug. 15. June 15: President Hinckley dedicated the Brisbane Australia Temple, the Church's 115th operating temple, in four sessions, which were attended by 6,504 Church members from Queensland and the northern areas of New South Wales.
June 16: Elder Robert K. Dellenbach of the Seventy presented 515 wheelchairs to Mulitalo Siafasua, Samoa's minister of health. The chairs were donated by the Church in cooperation with the Wheelchair Foundation.
June 16-19: After dedicating the Brisbane Australia Temple, President Hinckley traveled to the Australian island state of Tasmania on June 16, where he addressed about 1,500 members in Glenorchy, a suburb of the capital city of Hobart; to New Zealand, June 17, where he spoke to 6,500 members in Christchurch; and to Vanuatu, June 19 where he addressed another 2,212 members in Port Vila. He then made a brief stop June 19 on Christmas Island, part of the Kiribati island chain.
June 21: On the final stop of his Pacific trip, President Hinckley addressed the assembly at which 330 students graduated from BYU-Hawaii and was awarded an honorary doctorate of Christian service and leadership.
June 21: The second global priesthood training session of 2003, which originated from the auditorium of the Church Office Building, was telecast in 47 languages to priesthood leaders around the world.
June 23: The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the Church's appeal on its Main Street Plaza in Salt Lake City, thereby letting stand the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling that the Church could not restrict speech and conduct on the city's easement through the plaza.
June 24: Launching a yearlong commemoration of 75 years of continual network broadcasting of Music and the Spoken Word, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, with a 25-member ensemble from the Orchestra at Temple Square, embarked on the most prestigious and ambitious North American tour in its history. The choir performed 11 concerts in 10 northeastern U.S. cities, returning to Salt Lake City July 12. Appearances included a July 4 performance with the Boston Pops Orchestra and one at the Tanglewood Music Festival in Lennox, Mass.
June 24-26: One hundred and six new mission presidents, who were called in 2003, and their wives heard counsel from all three members of the First Presidency, as well as other General Authorities, at the annual New Mission Presidents Seminar in the Provo Missionary Training Center.
July
July 4: Members of the three stakes in the German, Italian and French speaking areas of Switzerland participated in a variety of activities to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Church in the central European nation.
July 9: The Apia Samoa Temple was destroyed by fire, marking the first time in Church history an operational temple has burned. The fire started during renovation of the temple to expand the baptistry, foyer and offices. The First Presidency announced July 16 the Church would rebuild temple, utilizing a more recent temple design.
July 12: President Hinckley was honored at a gathering in Salt Lake City of leaders from Utah's academic, religious and civic communities, celebrating a University of Utah endowment for British studies named for the Church president.
July 20: The Church's annual Pioneer Day Commemoration in the Conference Center was highlighted by an address by President Faust. Music by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square, along with guest appearances by violinist Jenny Oaks Baker and Crawford Gates, who, in 1947, composed the score for the now-famous musical "Promised Valley," graced the program.
July 28: Presiding Bishop H. David Burton and Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson signed an agreement that ceded the public easement on the Church's plaza on north Main Street in exchange for land the Church owned in west Salt Lake City. The agreement enables the Church to regulate public speech and behavior on the plaza, once a one-block portion of Main Street that the Church purchased in 1999 for $8.1 million. The American Civil Liberties Union later filed a new lawsuit over the agreement.
August
Aug. 6: The 100th anniversary of the dedication of Russia for the preaching of the gospel was commemorated in St. Petersburg, Russia, by hundreds of Church members and guests at special services near the dedication site in the scenic gardens surrounding Peter the Great's Summer Palace.
Aug. 11: U.S. President George W. Bush nominated Utah Gov. Michael O. Leavitt, a Church member, as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Aug. 15: Ground was broken by Elder Duane B. Gerrard of the Seventy for the Newport Beach California Temple, the seventh temple that will be built in California.
Aug. 15: A statue of the Angel Moroni was hoisted atop a tower next to the Copenhagen Denmark Temple, which is under construction with completion expected in 2004. The temple will include reconstructed portions of a meetinghouse that was on the site.
Aug. 22: A new Jacob Spori Building at BYU-Idaho in Rexburg, built on the site of the original building on campus with the same name, was dedicated by President. Monson. Earlier in the day, President Monson was the keynote speaker at the school's 2003 summer commencement exercises.
Aug. 22: Most members of the Kelowna 2nd Ward, Vernon British Columbia Stake, were among an estimated 30,000 people who were evacuated when a swift-moving forest fire swept through Kelowna, British Columbia.
Aug. 25-28: When Elder Russell M. Nelson visited Almaty, Kazakhstan; and Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, he became the first member of the Quorum of the Twelve to visit Central Asia. During his visit to the two cities, he met with government and community leaders; held a meeting in Almaty; and offered dedicatory prayers, leaving a blessing on the two lands and their people.
September
Sept. 9: President Hinckley formally installed Elder Cecil O. Samuelson of the Seventy as the 12th president of BYU during ceremonies in the Marriott Center.
Sept. 13: The family — as it is traditionally known — is a refuge of safety, said President Monson, the concluding speaker at an interfaith conference hosted by American Mothers Inc. in the Church's Conference Center in Salt Lake City.
Sept. 14: President Hinckley dedicated the Redlands California Temple, in an area that has deep roots in the history of the Church. The four dedicatory sessions of California's 5th temple and the 116th operating temple in the Church were attended by a total of approximately 23,000 members.
Sept. 17: The Church pledged to the Red Cross $3 million — $1 million a year for three years — in an effort to help eradicate measles in Africa.
Sept. 18: Hurricane Isabel hit the eastern coast of the United States, leaving Church members, along with other residents, without power for days and flooding or damaging hundreds of members' homes, some substantially.
Sept. 20: Church Humanitarian Services once again teamed up with the Wheelchair Foundation to deliver 450 wheelchairs to disabled persons in Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala, the Church News reported.
Sept. 27: Speaking at the annual Relief Society General Meeting, President Hinckley told the women of the Church they can provide a foundation for happiness for themselves as well as be a beacon for others by living a Christ-centered life.
Sept. 26: President Hinckley spoke at the General Relief Society Meeting, praising the accomplishments of women in the Church and invoking the blessings of heaven on them.
October
Oct. 4-5: At the 173rd Semiannual General Conference, President Hinckley declared that the work of the Lord knows no boundaries and is now touching the lives of people across the earth. Six General Authorities, three each from the First and Second Quorums of the Seventy, were released during the conference: Elders Angel Abrea, William R. Bradford, Cree-L Kofford, Duane B. Gerrard, J. Kent Jolley and D. Lee Tobler.
Oct. 8: The Church, a principal property owner in Salt Lake City, unveiled large-scale plans for revitalizing the downtown area, including renovation of the major shopping malls and relocation of the BYU Salt Lake Center and LDS Business College to facilities to be built two blocks west of Temple Square.
Oct. 19: Just three months after fire destroyed the Apia Samoa Temple, ground was broken for a new temple on the same site. Elder Dennis E. Simmons of the Seventy presided at the ceremony.
Oct. 19: The first stake in the Republic of Congo, the Brazzaville Republic of Congo Stake, was organized.
Oct. 21: In a news conference in downtown Salt Lake City, nearly two dozen pastors of Christian congregations in the Salt Lake area condemned the actions of street preachers who defiled temple garments and shouted insults at passersby going to and from general conference.
Oct. 24: The Polynesian Cultural Center celebrated its 40th anniversary. President Gordon B. Hinckley presided over the celebration.
Oct. 29: President Hinckley was honored at a dinner with the "Giant in Our City" Award, the highest honor given by the Salt Lake Chamber, for his love of and service to people and community.
Oct. 21-30: Wildfires broke out in Southern California affecting thousands of Church members, among others in the Los Angeles and San Bernardino areas. The Church joined humanitarian organizations to provide much-needed assistance.
November
Nov. 2: Speaking at the regular Church Educational System fireside for college-age young adults around the world, Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve said the gospel of Jesus Christ is revealed through the scriptures.
Nov. 3: Two members of the Quorum of the Twelve presided over separate special Sabbath meetings in California where they comforted victims of devastating wildfires. President Boyd K. Packer, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve, was present for the meeting in El Cajon, and Elder Henry B. Eyring for the one in San Bernardino.
Nov. 5: Olene S. Walker, a Latter-day Saint and the first female governor in Utah history, was sworn in to succeed Michael O. Leavitt, who was confirmed Oct. 29 as head of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Nov. 7: Speaking to the first worldwide gathering of BYU alumni, emanating by satellite from the Salt Lake Tabernacle, President Hinckley said the Church had made a significant investment in them and they had "returned it with interest."
Nov. 12: U.S. President George W. Bush awarded the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and nine other recipients the National Medal of Arts in a ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House. Also, it was announced that the choir's long-running radio program "Music and the Spoken Word" would be inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame April 20, 2004.
Nov. 18: The East African nation of Tanzania was blessed by Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve.
Nov. 21: An exhibit covering the 75 years of broadcasting history made by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir opened at the Museum of Church history and art, one of the events observing this landmark year in the choir's history.
Nov. 22: A new DVD with a 24-minute portrayal of the birth of Christ was distributed to Church members via Church magazines in December, the Church News reported. As was the DVD distributed in April prior to Easter, it was intended to aid members in sharing the gospel.
December
Dec. 1: The Church's first temple in West Africa, the Accra Ghana Temple, opened for public tours. Ghana president John A. Kufour visited Dec. 3.
Dec. 7: All three members of the First Presidency spoke at the annual First Presidency Christmas Devotional televised via satellite from the Conference Center with music provided by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square.
Dec. 8: "Calm as a Summer's Morning," A heroic-size statue of Joseph and Hyrum Smith astride horses was placed near the Nauvoo Illinois Temple.
Dec. 11-13: The annual Christmas concert of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square featured superstars from the opera world: soprano Frederica von Stade and baritone Bryn Terfel.
Dec. 12: In a letter to local priesthood leaders, the First Presidency announced a temple for the university town of Rexburg, Idaho.
Dec. 14: Some 5,000 Hispanic Church members gathered at the BYU Marriott Center for the second annual event of its kind and heard talks from Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve and others.
Dec. 22: A Church member, Marilyn Zafuto, 55, of the Paso Robles 2nd Ward, died in a 6.5 earthquake that shook Paso Robles, Calif.