Abstract

The "Mormon" Church has published over one hundred different periodicals since the purchase of its first printing press in 1831. The early Latter-day Saint newspapers set many precedents for the myriad of Mormon publications that would follow. This is a study of the periodicals of the Church from its origin in 1830 to the exile of its members from missouri in 1839. It discusses the reasons and purposes behind early Mormon journalism and the effects of this printed material on Mormon history.

This work also gives a history of the five church periodicals published during the era mentioned above, specifically, the Evening and Morning Star, the Messenger and Advocate, the Elder's Journal, the Upper Missouri Advertiser, and the Northern Times. One of the papers was a conventional secular weekly; another a political journal. The other three discussed were religious monthlies designed to instruct church members, promote faith, and to serve as a missionary tool. The religious monthlies were most successful as vehicles of information that helped standardize beliefs within early Mormonism.

Degree

College and Department

Family, Home, and Social Sciences; History

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