Joseph Smith, founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, shares the principle of polygamy with an inner circle of church leaders.

1843
Smith discloses the principle of celestial marriage.

1846
Some Mormons relocate to Mexico to escape persecution for polygamy, settling in Corralitos, Chihuahua.

1852
LDS Church Apostle Orson Pratt gives a two-hour sermon on
plural marriage during conference. It is described as ”one of the best doctrines ever proclaimed to any people.”

1856
Brigham Young tells Mormon women who complain about polygamy that they have two weeks to “make up their minds whether they would stay with their husbands or be liberated at the General Conference.”

1875
Women seek law’s repeal

A petition signed by 22,626 women in Utah asks Congress to repeal the anti-polygamy law of 1862.

1879
The U.S. Supreme Court upholds a guilty verdict in Utah territorial court against polygamist George Reynolds, Brigham Young's personal secretary. The case was meant as a challenge to federal anti-polygamy laws.

1885
Polygamists flee to Juarez, Mexico, and Alberta, Canada.

John Taylor

1886
LDS President John Taylor is allegedly visited by Joseph Smith and Jesus Christ, who confirmed to him the righteousness of polygamy. Fundamentalists say Taylor asked five men to ensure the practice lives on.

1887
Edmunds-Tucker Act reiterates U.S. ban on polygamy with stiffer penalties.

1890
Contrary to the laws of the land

As Utah vies for statehood, LDS Church leader Wilford Woodruff issues "Official Declaration" suspending the practice of polygamy because it is contrary to the laws of the land

1904
LDS president issues polygamist warning

LDS President Joseph F. Smith's “Second Manifesto” states that any person solemnizing or entering a plural marriage will be excommunicated.

1911
J.M. Lauritzen, a non-polygamist, settles the Short Creek area near the Utah border in Arizona.

1912
Lorin C. Woolley, in a story told about a meeting with Taylor in the Woolley home, confirms LDS president’s account of a vision.

Heber J. Grant

1921
LDS Church President Heber J. Grant, a one-time polygamist, reiterates that no man has the right to perform plural marriages.

1928
The first polygamists move to Short Creek, enticed by its isolation.

1929
Joseph Musser consolidates accounts of Taylor's 1886 vision, including Lorin Woolley's story. Most fundamentalists view this publication as the standard recounting of the event.

1934
Woolley dies and is succeeded by J. Leslie Broadbent as council head.

1935
J. Leslie Broadbent dies. John Y. Barlow is named his successor, causing a rift with those who believed Elden Kingston was next in line. Kingston leaves to start his own group.

John Y. Barlow moves to Short Creek to establish a United Order, in which polygamists share resources. That same year, Arizona authorities raid the town and arrest six polygamists, two of whom are imprisoned.

1942
The United Effort Plan is formally established to manage properties and affairs for the fundamentalists.

1944
Federal agents again raid polygamists at Short Creek. Simultaneous sweeps are carried out in Utah, Idaho and other Arizona sites.

Joseph Musser

1949
John Y. Barlow dies. Joseph W. Musser takes over the group.

1951
Joseph Musser ordains Rulon C. Allred as first counselor — thus making him next in line to lead the group — over the objections of some in the council.

1952
Musser appoints a new council, effectively splitting the Short Creek group. Charles Zitting becomes the unofficial head of the Short Creek community while Musser oversees a gathering in the Salt Lake Valley.

1953
Arizona law enforcement descends on Short Creek on July 26 and arrests 31 men and nine women practicing polygamy. Some 263 women and children are taken into state custody.

1954
Joseph Musser dies; Charles Zitting becomes presiding elder. In July, four months after being named president, Zitting dies, LeRoy S. Johnson takes over as the presiding elder.

1958
Hildale established on Utah side of border.

Fred Jessop establishes Hildale, across the creek from Short Creek; it is officially incorporated as a Utah town in 1968.

Late 1950s
Canadian polygamists near the Idaho border align with fundamentalists in Short Creek.

1961
Short Creek is renamed Colorado City, Ariz.; it is incorporated in 1985.

1981
“The Child Bride of Short Creek,” a movie featuring future stars Diane Lane and Helen Hunt, is released. Lane plays a young girl promised to her boyfriend's polygamist father.

1984
Political infighting leads Marion Hammon and Alma Timpson to be dismissed from the Hildale/ Colorado City Priesthood Council. Followers of the two men begin meeting and in 1986 found Centennial Park, Ariz.

Rulon T. Jeffs

1986
FLDS President LeRoy Johnson dies. Rulon T. Jeffs is named president. Winston Blackmore of Canada is named as a trustee.

1987
Families sue the United Effort Plan over ownership of property in the Hilldale/Colorado City community; in court documents, defenders of the trust identify themselves, for the first time, as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

1988
Marion Hammon dies. Alma Timpson is named leader of Centennial Park.

1991
The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is legally established.

2000
In August, FLDS members pull children from public schools, causing enrollment at Phelps Elementary School to plummet from 350 to 16. The school closes and, in 2002, the building is sold by the Washington County School District to residents of Hildale. It is reopened as a private school.

2002
On May 30, Rulon Jeffs dismisses Winston Blackmore as bishop of the Canada branch.

On Sept. 8, Rulon Jeffs dies. He is succeeded by his son, Warren Jeffs.

2003
Judge dismisses suit against Jeffs estate

On Feb. 14, a federal judge dismisses a lawsuit by jilted husband Jason Miles Williams against church leaders.

On March 5, the Utah Legislature approves tougher penalties for men who take young girls as their plural wives. Child bigamy, or marrying a second wife who is under the age of 18, is punishable by 1 to 15 years in prison.

On May 20, former Washington County attorney Eric Ludlow, criticized for overlooking the practice of taking child brides in Hildale, is unanimously confirmed as a 5th District judge by the Utah Senate.

On June 10, David Ortell Kingston is released from prison after serving four years for having sexual relations with his 16-year-old niece.

On July 15, “Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith,” a non-fiction book that explore Mormon belief and centers on polygamy, goes on sale.

On July 26, under the direction of Colorado City Mayor Dan Barlow, a museum and monument commemorating the 1953 Short Creek raid are dedicated without approval of FLDS Prophet Warren Jeffs.

In August, FLDS leader Warren Jeffs orders museum closed and monument destroyed.

On Aug. 1, Mary Ann Kingston, a former plural wife in the Kingston family, files a lawsuit seeking more than $110 million from the clan over her forced marriage to her uncle when she was 16. Kingston was belt-whipped by her father for trying to leave.

Rodney Holm

On Aug. 14, Hildale police officer Rodney Holm, who was wed in a “spiritual” marriage to his wife's sister, is convicted of one count of bigamy and two counts of unlawful sex with a minor. In October, he is sentenced to one year in jail.

On Aug. 22, Utah and Arizona officials hold a summit in St. George to discuss polygamy issues.

On Sept. 25-26, the plural wives of Centennial Park, Ariz., take the attorneys general of Utah and Arizona on a tour to drive home the message that they freely chose their way of life.

On Oct. 16, Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, backed by the Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, announces his intention to investigate the Hildale police force and recommend decertification for all officers who have multiple wives.

On Nov. 18, Tapestry Against Polygamy protests a decision by the Utah Attorney General's Office to include a plural wife in a project to aid those leaving the polygamous lifestyle.

2004
FLDS leader expells 21 men from church

FLDS Church leader Warren Jeffs exommunicates 21 men, order-ing them out of the community and stripping them of their wives and children.

In January, two teens flee Hildale/Colorado City and are placed in a Phoenix safe house. One teen says she left because she feared being married to an older man.

On Jan. 12, three Utahns who want to live legally together in a multiple union file suit against Salt Lake County clerks for refusing to issue them a marriage license, challenging state law against bigamy and polygamy.

On Jan. 14, an anonymous letter circulates in Hildale and Colorado City that describes a revelation calling for Louis Barlow, one of the men evicted, to be the FLDS prophet.

On. Jan. 16, Social workers, law enforcement and members of victims' rights groups agree on a campaign to assure women and children that they have a safe place to go.

On Jan. 23, Colorado City resident Ross Chatwin says he will ignore an order by Warren Jeffs to vacate his home. A lawyer for the FLDS Church says Chatwin was asked to leave because of bad business dealings and other issues. Court records show protective orders to keep him away from two teenage girls.

On Jan. 27, The Mohave County (Ariz.) Board of Supervisors approves up to $200,000 to lease land from Mohave Community College in Colorado City for a justice center.

On. Feb. 2, Utah officials apply for a federal grant to serve victims of domestic violence in rural areas and benefit women and children who live in polygamous communities.

In February, Arizona adopts a child bigamy statute.

Sources: "The Forgotten Kingdom" by David L. Bigler; "The Polygamists: A history of Colorado City" by Benjamin Bistline; "Mormon Polgyamy: A History" by Richard S. Van Wagoner; "Kidnapped From That Land" by Martha Sonntag Bradley; Tribune archives

Reporting by Brooke Adams,
Pamela Manson and Hilary Groutage Smith