Appropriate for a millennial year, transition characterized major events in the Church in 2000.
The new Conference Center, covering an entire city block, was dedicated at October general conference, having been used for the first time six months earlier for April general conference.
In addition to the Conference Center, completion and dedication of a new pedestrian walkway covering a former block of Main Street between Temple Square and the Church Office Building plaza gave a new look to Temple Square and its environs.
By year end, 102 temples were operating in the Church, exceeding by two the ambitious goal President Gordon B. Hinckley announced in 1999 to have 100 operating temples by the end of 2000.
President Hinckley turned 90 and celebrated by emceeing a gala event broadcast from the new Conference Center.
A new president was appointed for the Tabernacle Choir, completing a total change in leadership begun last year for that organization.
Legendary BYU head football coach Lavell Edwards retired. It was announced that Ricks College would become a four-year institution, with a new name: BYU-Idaho.
Here is a recap of these and other notable events in the Church during 2000.
January 2000
Jan. 1: The First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve — 15 special witnesses called to testify of Christ's divinity before all the world — issued their testimony of the Savior Jan. 1 in a document titled "The Living Christ." The "testimony of the apostles," which later was translated into 41 languages, was the first of two pronouncements issued by the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve during the year 2000. The second was a video production, "Special Witnesses of Christ," which was broadcast between general conference sessions April 1-2, 2000, and will be translated into 26 languages. It features each apostle bearing his testimony of the Savior.
Jan. 1: The first of two large shipments of food and other supplies donated by the Church arrived in northern Venezuela where floods killed thousands and left legions homeless. The first shipment was 225,000 pounds of food, hygiene kits and medical supplies. The second shipment, which arrived in mid-January, was 200,000 pounds of food and clothing.
Jan. 9: The first temple dedicated in the year 2000, the St. Paul Minnesota Temple, was dedicated by President Hinckley.
Jan. 15: Gaston Flosse, president of the Territory of French Polynesia; Edward Fritch, vice president; and 15 Tahiti government ministers attended a dinner at the LDS mission home in Papeete, Tahiti, that was hosted by mission President Ralph T. Andersen and stake and district presidents.
Jan. 22: On the first stop of a 10-day tour of the Pacific and Australia, President Hinckley spoke to more than 15,000 members in two regional meetings in Laie, Hawaii — during the sesquicentennial year of the establishment of the Church in the Hawaiian islands — and admonished them to live the gospel.
Jan. 23: The second temple in Hawaii, the Kona Hawaii Temple, was dedicated by President Hinckley.
Jan. 27: In the midst of his Pacific Rim travels, President Hinckley met with the president of Indonesia, Abdurranman Wahid, at a dinner in the presidential palace in Jakarta.
Jan. 31: Beaver Utah Stake, created in 1869 and the oldest stake in the Church after the Saints came West that had never been divided, was divided by Elder Dennis B. Neuenschwander of the Seventy and president of the Utah South Area to create the Milford Utah Stake.
February 2000
Feb. 1: President Hinckley returned to Salt Lake City after an eight-stop excursion of the Pacific and Australia that took him to Hawaii, Kiribati, Indonesia, Singapore, Guam and Australia. During the tour, he traveled 22,670 miles and gave nine major addresses to more than 26,600 people, in addition to dedicating a temple in Hawaii and meeting with the president of Indonesia.
Feb. 13: An estimated 3,200 gathered in the Assembly Hall on Temple Square to observe the 200th anniversary of the birth of Hyrum Smith, the loyal elder brother of the Prophet Joseph Smith, who was martyred with him in Carthage, Ill., in 1844. President Hinckley and Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve, a second-great-grandson of Hyrum, spoke.
Feb. 20: Speaking at a Missionary Satellite Broadcast that was carried throughout the United States, Canada and the Caribbean, as well as selected sites in Latin America for the first time, President Thomas S. Monson highlighted the hallmarks of a happy home, and emphasized that happiness is found at home.
Feb. 26-27: The first two of nine temples that are expected to be dedicated in Mexico in 2000 were dedicated by President Hinckley in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on Feb. 26 and in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, on Feb. 27. The Hermosillo temple was the 50th temple that President Hinckley has dedicated or rededicated.
March 2000
March 5: The Albuquerque New Mexico Temple, the first in New Mexico, was dedicated by President Hinckley.
March 8: Speaking at a sold-out National Press Club Newsmakers Luncheon in Washington, D.C., President Hinckley became the first president of the Church to address the club.
March 11-12: Two more temples in Mexico were dedicated by President James E. Faust: the Oaxaca Mexico Temple on March 11 and the Tuxtla Gutierrez Mexico Temple on March 12. The temple in Tuxtla Gutierrez is the Church's 75th operating temple.
March 19: The first temple in Kentucky, the Louisville Kentucky Temple, was dedicated by President Thomas S. Monson.
March 20: The Church had sent 11 shipping containers of clothing, food and medical supplies to Mozambique and 10 to Zimbabwe in Africa to help alleviate suffering caused by flooding as a result of weeks of heavy rains and cyclones, it was announced.
March 24: A new 60-minute movie — beyond the scale of any audiovisual product the Church has ever produced — entitled "The Testaments of One Fold and One Shepherd" opened to the public March 24 in the Legacy Theater in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City. The message of the film is the reality of the Atonement of Jesus Christ for all mankind and affirms that both the Bible and the Book of Mormon are testaments of the Savior as one fold and one shepherd. By August 2000, more than 470,000 people had seen the film.
March 25: Addressing the annual General Young Women Meeting in the Tabernacle on Temple Square, President James E. Faust told the young women of the Church that he hopes they will find joy in their womanhood during all stages of life. In addition to being telecast over the Church satellite system, the meeting, for the first time, was available as an audio broadcast over the Internet.
April 2000
April 1-2: The first general conference to be held in the new Conference Center in Salt Lake City, across the street north of Temple Square, convened in the new building although it was not completed. More than 400,000 requested free tickets to attend the conference, far exceeding the 21,000-seat capacity of the hall.
During the conference, two members of the Second Quorum of the Seventy were sustained April 1 to the First Quorum of the Seventy: Elders Lynn G. Robbins and Lance B. Wickman. Also called to the First Quorum of the Seventy were Elders Donald L. Hallstrom and Ronald A. Rasband. In addition, Elders Douglas L. Callister, Darwin B. Christenson, Keith Crockett, H. Aldridge Gillespie and Robert C. Oaks were called to the Second Quorum of the Seventy, and 39 new Area Authority Seventies were sustained to the Third, Fourth and Fifth Quorums of the Seventy.
Also during conference, President Hinckley announced six new temples to be built in Africa, South America, Europe and the United States in Aba, Nigeria; Asuncion, Paraguay; Helsinki, Finland; Lubbock, Texas; Snowflake, Ariz., and in the tri-cities area of Richland, Kennewick and Pasco, Wash.
April 6: The Palmyra New York Temple, built on what was once the 100-acre Joseph Smith Sr. farm and overlooking the Sacred Grove, was dedicated by President Hinckley, exactly 170 years after the Church was organized in 1830. The first session was transmitted over the Church satellite system in 12 languages to meetinghouses in six time zones. An estimated 1.3 million members participated in the session, either the live broadcast in the morning or during a rebroadcast in the evening. The Palmyra temple was one of six temples dedicated during the month, the first time in Church history that six temples were dedicated in one month.
April 9: The Fresno California Temple, the fourth temple in California and located in an area that has been termed "the breadbasket of the nation," was dedicated by President Hinckley.
April 16: The Medford Oregon Temple, the second temple in Oregon, was dedicated by President James E. Faust.
April 17: At a press conference in Kirtland, Ohio, it was announced that the Church plans to restore or reconstruct six facilities in Kirtland that were prominent in Church history in the 1830s. They include the construction of a new visitors center resembling a 19th century grist mill used by Samuel Whitney, restoration of the Newel K. Whitney home, the building of a replica of the John Johnson Inn on its original foundation, and the restoration of a tannery, ashery and school house.
April 22: The 100-millionth copy of the Book of Mormon, since it was first published in 1830, has been printed, it was announced by Kay W. Briggs, director of the Church's printing and distribution services. At year-end 1999, about 99.2 million copies of the book had been distributed and with about 15,000 books sent out each day, the date for reaching 100 million was estimated to be during late February or early March. Another milestone was reached in 2000 when the Book of Mormon was printed in its 100th language, although seven of the languages are no longer in print.
April 23: For the second time in Church history, two temples were dedicated on the same day. President Thomas S. Monson dedicated the Reno Nevada Temple and President James E. Faust dedicated the Memphis Tennessee Temple.
April 23: The rebuilt Gadfield Elm Chapel, the oldest LDS chapel in England that was constructed in 1836 by members of the United Brethren and given to the Church four years later after 600 members of that faith joined the Church en masse, was rededicated by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve.
April 26: More than 10,000 women, participating in the BYU Women's Conference 2000 in Provo, Utah, on April 27-28, gave service "across the world, across the street, and across the veil" the day before the conference began.
April 30: The Cochabamba Bolivia Temple was dedicated by President Hinckley, the sixth temple dedicated this month.
May 2000
May 3: In a meeting with Elder H. Bryan Richards of the Seventy in Jakarta, Indonesia, Alwi Shihab, the Indonesian minister of foreign affairs, expressed appreciation on May 3 to the Church for significant contributions of food, clothing and hygiene kits donated to assist some 100,000 East Timorese refugees who fled the recent conflict in their homeland.
May 5: A major new commemorative exhibit, "From New England to the Great Salt Lake: The Mormon Legacy of Faith," opened at the prestigious Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Mass. A joint effort of the museum and local members, the exhibit was shown through Aug. 27, 2000.
May 10-12: More than 800 Church members in two wards were among the 20,000 people, in the path of the Los Alamos, N.M., wild fire, who had to be evacuated. A total of 260 homes were destroyed in the blaze, including 10 homes of LDS families.
May 12-14: More than 200 young single adults from 11 major Russian cities, including Moscow and St. Petersburg, attended a conference in Zvenigorod, Russia.
May 20-21: Three temples were dedicated in two days, the first time in the history of the Church that has occurred. President Thomas S. Monson dedicated the Tampico Mexico Temple on May 20, and on the next day, he dedicated the Villahermosa Mexico Temple and President James E. Faust dedicated the Nashville Tennessee Temple, the second temple in Tennessee.
May 25: Near the spot where the Prophet Joseph Smith dedicated the temple lot in Independence, Mo., civic, Church and historical association leaders gathered to dedicate the first plaque in a project known as the Missouri Mormon Walking Trail.
June 2000
June 1: The Church's Family History and Historical Departments were consolidated into one department — the Family and Church History Department.
June 4: The Montreal Quebec Temple was dedicated by President Hinckley and the San Jose Costa Rica Temple was dedicated by President James E. Faust, the fourth time that two temples have been dedicated on the same day.
June 8-19: On an extended tour of Asia and the South Pacific, President Hinckley traveled 22,200 miles, visited six countries, dedicated four temples, met with the Thailand prime minister and Bangkok governor, and addressed more than 8,850 members in four member meetings. It was the first time in Church history that a Church president dedicated four temples during an overseas tour. He dedicated the Fukuoka Japan Temple (the 20th temple dedicated this year) June 11; the Adelaide Australia Temple June 15; the Melbourne Australia Temple (the 90th operating temple in the Church) June 16; and the Suva Fiji Temple, June 18. He held meetings with members in Bangkok, Thailand, June 13; Darwin, Australia, June 14; Noumea, New Caledonia, June 17; and Pago Pago, American Samoa, June 17 (after crossing the International Dateline). In Bangkok, a pre-birthday celebration was held in President Hinckley's honor.
June 9: Shipments of wheat, prepared by members from five stakes in England, began arriving in the drought-stricken nations of Ethiopia and Eritrea, helping those threatened with starvation in the two African countries.
June 18: The first LDS building in Bulgaria, which includes a meetinghouse, offices of the Bulgaria Sofia Mission and a home for the mission president and his wife, was dedicated in Sofia by Elder Charles Didier of the Seventy and president of the Europe East Area.
June 21: President Hinckley announced that Church-owned Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho, would again become a four-year college and would be renamed Brigham Young University-Idaho. Ricks, which was started in 1888 as a stake academy, has been a junior college for most of its existence, but was a four-year college for seven years, from 1949 to 1956.
June 21: At a press conference in Salt Lake City two days before his 90th birthday, President Hinckley told members of the media, "This is a great season in the history of the Church. There has never been a better season than this."
June 23: President Hinckley commemorated his 90th birthday by giving a party for 21,000 persons in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City and thousands of others who watched "An Evening of Celebration" over the Church's satellite system. Featuring distinguished LDS musicians of international reputation, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and the Orchestra at Temple Square, the celebration, explained President Hinckley, was his opportunity to give something back to the community and to the "many wonderful people here and throughout the world." Performers included singers Michael Ballam, Vanessa Ballam, Stanford Olsen, Robert Peterson, Gladys Knight, Ariel Bybee, and JoAnn Ottley, and violinist Jenny Oaks Baker.
June 30: A monument, honoring 410 Icelanders who immigrated to America from 1854 to 1914 was dedicated by Elder Wm. Rolfe Kerr of the Seventy near "Mormon Pond," a tide pool on the rocky coast of the Westmann Islands where many of the early Icelander converts were baptized.
July 2000
July 3-4: A museum devoted to LDS Church history was opened as part of the new Icelandic Emigration Center in Hofsos, Iceland, on July 3. The next day, on July 4, the first LDS meetinghouse in Iceland was dedicated in Garoabaer, a suburb of the capital city of Rejkjavik. Elder Wm. Rolfe Kerr of the Seventy dedicated the building, which houses two branches of the Church. Iceland's president, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, participated in both events.
July 4-6: The 150th anniversary of the Church in Scandinavia was celebrated in Denmark during the first week of July with a series of firesides, dances, reunions and the unveiling of two statues depicting early LDS Danish emigrants. The first statue, unveiled July 4 in Denmark's only national park in the hills of Rebild, is titled "The Family" and symbolizes a Mormon family as they prepare to make the long voyage to Utah in the late 1800s. The second statue was unveiled July 6 in the harbor area of Copenhagen, where many of the Saints boarded sailing ships for the journey to America. Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve participated in the commemorative events.
July 8-9: President Thomas S. Monson dedicated two temples in Mexico, the 9th and 10th temples in that country. On July 8, he dedicated the Merida Yucatan Mexico Temple, and on July 9, the Veracruz Mexico Temple.
July 16: The Baton Rouge Louisiana Temple was dedicated by President Hinckley near a wetlands nature reserve in the state's capital city.
July 25-26: Church members in Sweden marked the 150th anniversary of the first baptism in that country with a musical concert and a re-enactment in Gavle of the conversion of Peter Forsgren by his brother, a missionary of the Church, John E. Forsgren
July 30: The Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temple, the 95th temple in operation in the Church, was dedicated by President James E. Faust.
August 2000
Aug. 15: Elder Dennis B. Neuenschwander, 60, a General Authority since 1991, began serving in the Presidency of the Seventy. Released from the Presidency of the Seventy was Elder Harold G. Hillam, who had served in the presidency since Aug. 15, 1995. He was called as second counselor in the Europe West Area presidency.
Aug. 20: Announced in 1995, the Caracas Venezuela Temple was dedicated Aug. 20 by President Hinckley.
Aug. 26: President Hinckley dedicated the Houston Texas Temple.
September 2000
Sept. 1: Sometime in September, two significant membership milestones were reached, according to Church statisticians. The Church reached 11 million members and, for the first time in its 170-year history, it had more non-English-speaking members than English-speaking. English, however, is still the most-spoken language in the Church with about 5.5 million English-speaking members. Spanish is second with about 3.3 million. Other languages are spoken by about 2.2 million members. Based on present membership growth rates, Spanish will become the most-spoken language in the Church by 2020.
Sept. 3: President Hinckley dedicated the Birmingham Alabama Temple.
Sept. 17: The Santo Domingo Dominican Republic Temple, announced in 1993, was dedicated Sept. 17, 2000, by President Hinckley.
October 2000
Oct. 1: The Boston Massachusetts Temple, located in the western suburbs of Boston, became the 100th operating temple in the Church when it was dedicated by President Hinckley. The dedication came only 2 1/2 years after President Hinckley announced ambitious plans in general conference in April 1998 to have 100 temples in operation by the year 2000. At the time of the 1998 announcement, there were 51 temples in operation. Thirty-two of the 100 temples — in 10 countries on four continents — were dedicated during the first nine months of 2000.
Oct. 7-8: The new 21,000-seat Conference Center in Salt Lake City, across the street north of Temple Square, was dedicated during general conference by President Hinckley. The building was first announced by President Hinckley in April 1996, and ground was broken on July 24, 1997, during the sesquicentennial of the arrival of the Mormon pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley.
Also during the conference, three members of the First Quorum of the Seventy were granted emeritus status: Elders F. Enzio Busche, Loren C. Dunn and Alexander B. Morrison; and four members of the Second Quorum of the Seventy were released: Elders Eran A. Call, W. Don Ladd, James O. Mason and Richard E. Turley Sr.
A new general presidency of the Sunday School was sustained at the conference. Elder marlin K. Jensen of the Presidency of the Seventy was called as general president, succeeding Elder Harold G. Hillam. Sustained as counselors to Elder Jensen were Elder Neil L. Andersen, first counselor and Elder John H. Groberg, second counselor, both of the Seventy. They previously served as counselors to Elder Hillam.
Oct. 10: UNITUS, a non-profit organization of Church members organized to eliminate poverty, honored President Gordon B. Hinckley as the "Humanitarian of the Millennium."
Oct. 11: Elder Bernard P. Brockbank, an emeritus General Authority, died. He was 91.
November 2000
Nov. 1: The Illinois Nauvoo Mission was created from a division of the Illinois Peoria Mission. The new mission focuses on the specific needs of this area so important to the history of the Church.
Nov. 5: President Gordon B. Hinckley presided over the dedication of all four cornerstones of the new Nauvoo Illinois Temple now under construction. The ceremony was patterned to some extent after the cornerstone ceremony for the original Nauvoo Temple in 1841.
Nov. 12: More than 21,000 youth and young adults in the Church filled the new Conference Center and hundreds of thousands more tuned in by satellite to hear a landmark address from President Hinckley, who admonished them to be grateful, smart, clean, true, humble and prayerful."
Nov. 12: After 17 years of service, Wendell M. Smoot was honorably released as Tabernacle Choir president. He was succeeded by F. MacRay Christensen.
Nov. 15: A 234,000-square-foot expansion to the Harold B. Lee Library at BYU was dedicated by President Gordon B. Hinckley.
Nov. 24: BYU head football coach LaVell Edwards coached the last game of his career of 29 seasons. Cougar Stadium at BYU was renamed in his honor.
Nov. 24: With the recent dedication of a new pedestrian plaza between Temple Square and the Church Office Building, Christmas lights and decorations around the Salt Lake Temple were more dazzling than ever, though for the first year since 1965, the lights were turned on without the program of music and a talk from a General Authority.
Nov. 28: "Savior of the World," a new Christmas musical commissioned by the Church as the inaugural production in the new Conference Center Theater, began its run through Dec. 30.
December 2000
Dec. 3: All three members of the First Presidency addressed a capacity congregation in the new Conference Center and a satellite-television audience during the annual First Presidency Christmas Devotional.
Dec. 6: Gary Crowton, an Orem, Utah, native and offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League, was named head football coach at BYU.
Dec. 9: A year-long observance of the sesquicentennial of the Church in Hawaii concluded with a celebration at BYU-Hawaii.
Dec. 12: President Hinckley presided over and addressed a member meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Dec. 15: President Hinckley dedicated the Recife Brazil Temple 22 years after the first temple in that nation was dedicated in Sao Paulo.
Dec. 15: Elder Hugh W. Pinnock of the Seventy died of pulmonary fibrosis. He was 66.
Dec. 16: The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square presented its annual Christmas concert, the first time in the Conference Center, to an audience of some 20,000. It was preceded by a dress rehearsal Dec. 15, attended by another 20,000.
Dec. 17: President Hinckley dedicated the Porto Alegre Brazil Temple, the 102nd operating temple in the Church. Thus, it exceeded by two his announced goal to have at least 100 temples operating in the Church by the end of the year 2000.
Dec. 18: President Hinckley presided over and addressed a member meeting in Panama City, Panama.
Dec. 24: It was announced that the Tabernacle Choir had been invited to take part in U.S. President-elect George W. Bush's inauguration in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2001.
