Organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints occurred 6 April 1830, in Fayette, New York, with 50 people and 6 official members present. Ten years prior to the organization, the new Church President, Joseph Smith, received a vision and further instructions from God to restore God's Church on earth. In one year (1830-31) membership increased to more than 100. In July 1840, the first group of new converts from Liverpool, England, arrived on the ship in the New York harbor.
To commemorate the early events of Church organization, an annual pageant, "America's Witness for Christ" (also known as "Hill Cumorah Pageant"), began in 1928. The Cumorah pageant attracts as many as 100,000 people to New York during its seven-night run. The Church celebrated the sesquicentennial of its organization in New York in 1980. The Church President at the time, President Spencer W. Kimball, spoke to Church members by satellite from the rebuilt historic sites where the Church was organized.
On 6 April 2000, 170 years after the Church was organized, the Palmyra New York Temple was Dedicated. The temple overlooks the Sacred Grove and other historic sites. The first temple in New York City, the Manhattan New York Temple, was dedicated on 13 June 2004.
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