Elders' Journal
| Type | Newspaper |
|---|---|
| Owner(s) | Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints) |
| Founded | October 1837 |
| Language | English |
| Ceased publication | August 1838 |
| City | Kirtland, Ohio and Far West, Missouri |
| Country | United States |
The Elders' Journal of the Church of Latter Day Saints (the name changed to Elders' Journal of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints with the third issue) was an early Latter Day Saint periodical edited by Don Carlos Smith, younger brother of Joseph Smith. It was the successor to the Latter Day Saints' Messenger and Advocate and was eventually replaced by the Times and Seasons.
Two issues of the Elders' Journal were published in Kirtland, Ohio in 1837. The newspaper was then relocated to Far West, Missouri where two more issues were printed. The first two issues were published on the press that had previously been used to publish the Messenger and Advocate — but this press fell into the hands of Warren Parrish's schismatic "Church of Christ" and a new press had to be obtained before printing could continue. Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon relocated to a new headquarters in Far West and continued to publish the Elders' Journal until the events of the 1838 Mormon War in Missouri prevented further operations in the state. The press of the Elders' Journal in Far West, was used by the LDS Church to publish Rigdon's July 4th oration, which was one of the factors that increased tensions between Latter Day Saints and non-Mormons in northwestern Missouri.
The revised prospectus for the periodical (reprinted in No. 3) reads:
The Elders' Journal contains a number of letters from church leaders, minutes from church conferences as well as notices of marriages and obituaries. The July 1838 issue published a "Q & A" style interview with the editorial board (led by Joseph Smith, Jr.) about Smith's personal history and Mormon beliefs.
In 1903, under the direction of Ben E. Rich, the LDS Church's Southern States Mission began publishing a monthly periodical called Elders' Journal, which was named after the 1837–38 periodical of the same name.
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