1980 Proclamation of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Introduction

The First Presidency: President Spencer W Kimball, N Eldon Tanner (First Counselor), Marion G Romney (Second Counselor)
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: Ezra Taft Benson, Mark E Petersen, LeGrand Richards, Howard W Hunter, Gordon B Hinckley, Thomas S Monson, Boyd K Packer, Marvin J Ashton, Bruce R McConkie, L Tom Perry, David B Haight, James E Faust

In 1980, United States President Jimmy Carter, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Soviet Union leader Leonid Brezhnev continued to navigate the tensions of the “Cold War.”¹ While the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, went well², the United States and more than 60 other countries boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow because of the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.³ Terrorists still held American hostages in Iran⁴, and another hostage situation would take place in Great Britain in April-May 1980⁵. The Rubik’s Cube had its official toy store debut; Mount St. Helens erupted in southwest Washington; and CNN began broadcasting, creating a continuous news cycle.⁶

In a world of more than 4.4 billion people, the 4.4 million members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints worldwide were commemorating the sesquicentennial anniversary of the organization of the Church. In 1979 alone, 193,000 people had joined the Church.⁷ The Church was growing all over the world. Just a few days before the April 1980 General Conference, President Spencer W. Kimball announced plans to build six more temples. Once these temples were dedicated, this would bring the total number of temples in the Church to 28, with 12 of those temples being outside the United States. The Tokyo Japan temple, the first temple in Asia, was dedicated just after the October 1980 General Conference. In a world of more than 4.4 billion people, the 4.4 million members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints worldwide were commemorating the sesquicentennial anniversary of the organization of the Church. In 1979 alone, 193,000 people had joined the Church. The Church was growing all over the world. Just a few days before the April 1980 General Conference, President Spencer W. Kimball announced plans to build six more temples. Once these temples were dedicated, this would bring the total number of temples in the Church to 28, with 12 of those temples being outside the United States.⁸ The Tokyo Japan temple, the first temple in Asia, was dedicated just after the October 1980 General Conference.⁹

Although the centennial anniversaries of the Church’s organization and the arrival of Latter-day Saint pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley merited cover stories on Time magazine¹⁰, the sesquicentennial anniversary of the Church’s organization seems to have garnered less public attention. However, Senator Jake Garn (R-Utah) noted the historic moment on the floor of the United States Senate on April 3, 1980, and submitted to the congressional record a rather lengthy article authored by Elder Gordon B. Hinckley that he felt “graphically portray[ed] the 150-year panorama of Mormonism.”¹¹

Meanwhile, the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles solemnized the occasion on April 6, 1980, by issuing only the fourth official Proclamation in the history of the Church. The chosen setting was the reconstructed Peter Whitmer, Sr., home in Fayette, New York, at the location where the Church had been officially organized on April 6, 1830¹². The home had been carefully rebuilt only from local wood that could reliably be dated to at least 150 years earlier. And the pulpit over which the Proclamation was read was the original box in which Joseph Smith housed the gold plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated.¹³ The First Presidency at the time consisted of President Spencer W. Kimball, N Eldon Tanner (First Counselor), Marion G Romney (Second Counselor). The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles included Ezra Taft Benson (President), Mark E. Petersen, LeGrand Richards, Howard W. Hunter, Gordon B. Hinckley, Thomas S. Monson, Boyd K. Packer, Marvin J. Ashton, Bruce R. McConkie, L. Tom Perry, David B. Haight, and James E. Faust.

In introducing the Proclamation, President Kimball explained that it was written and issued “with the future before us, and sensing deeply the responsibilities and divine mission of the restored Church on this sacred occasion.”⁴ The 1980 Proclamation begins by announcing the rapid and expansive growth of the Church throughout every habitable continent of the world. The First Presidency and Quorum of Twelve unitedly testified that the Church was indeed the restored Church of Jesus Christ, the only Church on the earth wielding His priesthood authority. They testified of the Book of Mormon and of the necessity and validity of the ordinances of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for both the living and the dead in holy temples. They affirmed “the sanctity of the family as a divine creation” (Ensign, May 1980, p. 52) and of the potential for eternal families, again only through the ordinances of the temple. Other themes include the truth that all humanity belongs to the family of God, that revelation for the Church and Kingdom of God on the earth continues through His prophets, and the reality of the return of Jesus Christ to the earth to reign in glory. They noted the Church’s divine responsibility to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ and build His Kingdom on the earth. After humbly acknowledging the contributions of generations of faithful predecessors, the Proclamation concludes with several invitations to the inhabitants of the earth to: “listen to the teachings of the missionaries,” “to forsake evil and turn to God,” and “to work together to build that brotherhood which must be recognized when we truly come to know that God is our Father and we are his children” (Ensign, May 1980, p. 53).

The 1980 Proclamation “to the world” (Ensign, May 1980, p. 52) presents a panoramic view of the history, doctrine, practices, and mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It also reinforces for members of the Church central aspects of their history, core tenets of their faith, and key commitments which they must strive to keep as they faithfully fulfill the ongoing mission of the Restoration.

See Blakemore, Erin (2019), “What was the Cold War?” National Geographic, https://www.nationalgeographic.com.. , ccessed July 12, 2021.
In fact, this Olympics went particularly well for the United States men’s hockey team, with the “miracle on ice” victory over the Soviet Union on their way to claiming the gold medal; see “The 1980 U.S. Olympic Team,” U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, In fact, this Olympics went particularly well for the United States men’s hockey team, with the “miracle on ice” victory over the Soviet Union on their way to claiming the gold medal; see “The 1980 U.S. Olympic Team,” U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, https://www.ushockeyhalloffame.com/page/show/831562-the-1980-u-s-olympic-team , accessed July 12, 2021.
“The 1980 Moscow Olympics Boycott,” Wilson Center, https://history.state.gov.. , accessed July 12, 2021; also “Iran Hostage Crisis Ends” (2021), History.com, https://www.history.com.. , accessed July 12, 2021.
See Office of the Historian, “The Iranian Hostage Crisis,” U.S. Department of State https://www.pewresearch.org.. , accessed July 16, 2021. By 2014, only 46% of children live with two parents in their first marriage.
See Oliynyk, Kateryna and Greer, Stuart (2020), “Dramatic Hostage Rescue In London: The 1980 Iranian Embassy Siege,” Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, https://www.rferl.org/a/.. , accessed July 12, 2021.
“What Happened in 1980 Major Events, Popular Culture, Prices, Born This Year,” The People History, https://www.thepeoplehistory.com/.. , accessed July 12, 2021.
“Statistical Report 1979,” Ensign, May 1980 https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org.. , accessed July 12, 2021.
See “Temples Chronology,” Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org.. , accessed July 12, 2021.
See Kimball, Spencer W., “‘We Propose That We Establish a Temple …’” Liahona, October 1980, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org.. , accessed July 112, 2021.
The April 7, 1930, issue of Time featured President Heber J. Grant on the cover and ran two main stories on the Church, its history and people: “The American Religion: The Mormon Centenary and Utah” and “American Saints,” http://content.time.com.. , accessed July 12, 2021. The July 21, 1947, issue of Time featured President George Albert Smith on the cover and included an article entitled, “Utah: A Peculiar People,” http://content.time.com..
See “The 150th Anniversary of the Mormon Church,” Congressional Record-Senate, April 3, 1980, pp. 7682-7684, https://www.govinfo.gov/content.. , accessed July 12, 2021.
Ashton, Curtis (2019), “Peter Whitmer Home in Fayette, NY,” Church History, https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org.. , accessed July 12, 2021.
See Van Orden, Dell, “Fayette links LDS past, future,” Deseret News, April 7, 1980, https://news.google.com/newspapers.. , accessed July 12, 2021.
“Introduction to the Proclamation,” April 1980 General Conference, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org.. , accessed July 12, 2021.

Commentary & Impact

In an Ensign article published shortly after the reading of the 1980 Proclamation, the historical significance of Proclamation was explained:

This was the second time the Lord had spoken to the Church and the world through a prophet in Fayette. The first was when Joseph Smith organized the Church “in the fourth month, and on the sixth day of the month, which is called April.” Once more it was April 6, and once more the faithful assembled as their leaders taught them to “build [the Church] up unto the most Holy Faith” and to “give heed unto all [the Lord’s] words and commandments.” Again the members would receive the Lord’s words from the prophet, “as if from my own mouth”.

President Thomas S. Monson spoke of the 1980 Proclamation in his address to the priesthood holders of the Church during the October 1999 General Conference. Citing the portion of the Proclamation speaking of the restoration of the priesthood in this dispensation, President Monson simply said:

The Lord Himself summed up our responsibility when He, in the revelation on the priesthood, urged, “Wherefore, now let every man learn his duty, and to act in the office in which he is appointed, in all diligence.” Brethren of the Aaronic Priesthood, whether deacon, teacher, or priest, learn your duty. Brethren of the Melchizedek Priesthood, learn your duty.

In October 2004, President Monson again quoted from the 1980 Proclamation when addressing the Church’s priesthood holders. This kind of repetition to the same audience is significant. It is also interesting to note that in both addresses, President Monson read this quotation from President George Q. Cannon in conjunction with portions of the 1980 Proclamation: In October 2004, President Monson again quoted from the 1980 Proclamation when addressing the Church’s priesthood holders. This kind of repetition to the same audience is significant. It is also interesting to note that in both addresses, President Monson read this quotation from President George Q. Cannon in conjunction with portions of the 1980 Proclamation:

I want to see the power of the Priesthood strengthened. … I want to see this strength and power diffused through the entire body of the Priesthood, reaching from the head down to the least and most humble deacon in the Church. Every man should seek for and enjoy the revelations of God, the light of heaven shining in his soul and giving unto him knowledge concerning his duties, concerning that portion of the work of God that devolves upon him in his Priesthood.

A Church News article, written to commemorate the Church’s 175th anniversary, took a look back at the celebration of the Church’s 150th anniversary, including the reading of the 1980 Proclamation. It then quoted President Gordon B. Hinckley, who said:

Now and again I quietly reflect on the growth and impact of this work. I reflect on that meeting with a few present in the Peter Whitmer farmhouse on the 6th of April 1830. Here the Church was organized, and here began the long march which has brought it to its present stature.>
Our people have passed through oppression and persecution; they have suffered drivings and every imaginable evil. And out of all of that has come something which today is glorious to behold.

In preparation for the historic April 2020 General Conference, Trent Toone of the Church News wrote of the equally historic April 1980 General Conference, commenting that it was “unlike any other members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had experienced to that point.” Indeed, the reading of the 1980 Proclamation at that General Conference noted just how far the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had come since 1830. One reporter said of the momentous event:

A century and a half after its founding by a poorly educated, mystically inclined New York farmer named Joseph Smith, the Mormon Church stands at the threshold of great worldly success — a wealthy, powerful institution moving quickly toward its goal of becoming one of Christianity’s major denominations.

Brandon J. Metcalf, an archivist at the Church History Department, wrote about each of the official proclamations issued over the course of the Church’s history. Writing about the significance of the 1980 Proclamation, Brother Metcalf explained:

The use of the term “proclamation” was revived by Church leaders in 1980 to commemorate 150 years since the formal organization of the Church on April 6, 1830…
The proclamation was prepared by the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and became the first of its kind to be presented in a general conference.

Extant Documents

Elder Gordon B. Hinckley read the 1980 Proclamation on April 6, 1980, from the rebuilt Peter Whitmer, Sr., log home. The text of this Proclamation, along with video and audio recordings, can be found on the Church’s web site for the Ensign of May 1980, which includes the messages of the April 1980 General Conference:
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org..

Portions of the 1980 Proclamation were published in the Deseret News, April 7-8, 1980, on p. A7:
https://news.google.com/newspapers..

[Featured version] The 1980 Proclamation was published by the Church as a stand alone broadside:
https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org..

The 1980 Proclamation was published in the Conference Report for the April 1980 General Conference:
https://archive.org/details..

The 1980 Proclamation was published in the May 1980 issue of the Ensign on pp. 52-53:
https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org..

The 1980 Proclamation was printed in Spanish on pp. 86-89 of the July 1980 issue of the Liahona for members of the Church in the Mexico:
https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org..

The 1980 Proclamation was published for those who speak French in the October 1980 issue of Le Liahona, on pp. 93-96:
https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org..

For those who speak Portuguese, the 1980 Proclamation was published in the October 1980 issue of >A Liahona, on pp. 87-89:
https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org..

The 1980 Proclamation was translated into Danish and published in the October 1980 issue of Den Danske Stjerne on pp. 89-93:
https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org..

The 1980 Proclamation was translated into Dutch and reprinted in De Ster in October 1980, pp. 95-98:
https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org..

For the benefit of those who speak German, the 1980 Proclamation was published in the October issue of Der Stern on pp. 99-102:
https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org..