1830 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is organized in western New York (April 6)

1846 Ship Brooklyn sails from New York (February 4)

Mormon Battalion is recruited in Iowa (July 15)

Brooklyn Saints arrive at San Francisco Bay (July 31)

1847 Mormon Battalion arrives at San Diego (January 29)

Brigham Young and Mormon pioneers arrive at Salt Lake Valley (July 24)

President Young sends epistle to California Saints (August 7)

1857 Brigham Young calls Saints to return to Utah (fall)

1895 Los Angeles Branch is organized (October 20)

1906 San Francisco earthquake (April 18); mission headquarters is moved to Los Angeles

1917 United States enters World War I (April 6)

1921 President Grant approves Saints settling in California (October 29)

Church leaders inspect but ultimately decline temple site offered by Harry Culver (December)

1923 Los Angeles Stake is organized (January 21)

1937 Temple site is purchased on Santa Monica Boulevard (March 23)

Board of architects is appointed to design temple

1947 Leaders visit site and apply for building permit (November)

1949 Plan to build temple is announced at meeting of California leaders (January 17)

Edward O. Anderson is named as sole temple architect (January)

1950 Colored rendering of temple appears on Church News cover (December 13)

1951 Final approval is given by city (January 9)

Groundbreaking with small group of invited guests (September 22)

Presiding Bishop LeGrand Richards breaks ground for ward chapel on site (January 13)

1952 Kick-off meeting for fund-raising campaign (February 3)

City permit authorizes temple construction to begin July 7

Actual construction begins (August 11)

1953 Edward Anderson moves office to temple site (January)

Groundbreaking for mission home by President McKay (January 5)

Pouring cement for temple’s first floor is completed (February)

Westwood chapel is dedicated by Elder Harold B. Lee (April 12)

Bureau of Information construction begins (July)

Heating plant construction begins (October)

Temple cornerstone laying (December 11)

1954 “Topping out” of tower steel structure (February 12)

Moroni statue is placed on tower (October 19)

Los Angeles Temple Mission is organized (December)

1955 Bureau of information begins receiving visitors (spring)

Benjamin L. Bowring is named first temple president (November)

First outside group tours temple (November 11)

Two thousand Church leaders meet in upper assembly room then tour temple (November 25)

Open house begins (December 19)

1956 Open house concludes after 662,631 had visited (February 18)

Hour-long television program features new temple (March 4)

Temple is dedicated by President David O. McKay (March 11–14)

First baptisms for the dead (Saturday, March 24)

First couple is sealed for eternity (Friday, March 30)

First endowments are given, by audio recording (Saturday, April 14)

1957 Church produces film on Los Angeles Temple

1958 Films are used in presenting endowment (January)

Temple grounds are cited as contribution to civic beauty

1961 Sculpture of family group is placed on temple grounds

1964 Branch family history library is established in visitors’ center basement

1966 Statue of the Christus is placed in visitors’ center lobby (November 21)

Temple patrons apartments open

1967 Visitors’ center is rededicated after being substantially upgraded (June 3)

1970 Merthus W. Evans, second temple president

1975 Richard C. Stratford, third temple president

1978 Deaf patrons perform first sealings

1980 Thirteen miniature statues of women are placed in sunken garden (August)

Robert L. Simpson (emeritus General Authority Seventy), fourth temple president

1981 Temple opens overnight to mark twenty-fifth anniversary and remodeling (March 20–21)

1982 Allen C. Rozsa, fifth temple president

1985 Japanese television features Los Angeles Temple and Mormon concept of eternal marriage

1986 Jack B. McEwan, sixth temple president

1989 Wayne A. Reeve, seventh temple president

1992 H. Von Packard, eighth temple president

1993 Dedication of San Diego Temple (April) cuts district and hence activity

1994 Powerful earthquake causes some damage at the temple (January 17)

1995 Glen H. Walker, ninth temple president

1998 Nile A. Sorenson, tenth temple president

2001 Paul R. Hatch, eleventh temple president

2004 Richard M. Andrus, twelfth temple president

2006 Stake commemoration Saturdays mark fiftieth anniversary

2008 Grant R. Brimhall, thirteenth temple president

Hostile demonstrations follow passage of Proposition 8 defining marriage (November)

2011 R. Randall Huff, fourteenth temple president

2012 Homes are built for temple and mission presidents

2014 William F. Reynolds, fifteenth temple president

2015 Lawn is allowed to yellow to conserve water during severe drought