Two years prior to the organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1830, Church President Joseph Smith moved to Harmony, Pennsylvania, and lived in the home of Isaac Hale, his father-in-law. After a few weeks, he moved to a cabin adjacent to the farm. In this cabin, Joseph Smith translated most of the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Christ, a companion scripture to the Bible. Joseph Smith and the first members of the Church were baptized in the Susquehanna River in May 1829. A total of 12 congregations were organized in Pennsylvania in the 1830s, prior to the gatherings of Saints to Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois. One prominent congregation in Philadelphia had more than 200 members before 1840 and 8 to 10 new members were baptized weekly. Philadelphia was the port of entry for many Latter-day Saint immigrants.
After a 10-year fund drive in Lancaster, one congregation in Pennsylvania purchased property and built a small meetinghouse in the 1850s.