Messenger and Advocate
| Type | Monthly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Founder(s) | Oliver Cowdery |
| Publisher | Frederick G. Williams |
| Launched | October 1834 |
| Language | English |
| Ceased publication | September 1837 |
| City | Kirtland, Ohio |
| Country | United States |
The Latter Day Saints' Messenger and Advocate (often shortened to Messenger and Advocate) was an early Latter Day Saint monthly newspaper published in Kirtland, Ohio, from October 1834 to September 1837. It was the successor to The Evening and Morning Star and the predecessor to the Elders' Journal.
The Messenger and Advocate was established after a mob had destroyed the printing press of the The Evening and the Morning Star in Independence, Missouri, on July 20, 1833, causing the Star to relocate to Kirtland. After a brief run, the Star was discontinued in favor of a uniquely Ohio newspaper, the Latter Day Saints' Messenger and Advocate. Oliver Cowdery served as editor and the first issue was printed in October 1834.
The May 1835 issue was the last with Cowdery as editor, because there was "other business and other duties, in which my services are requisite." John Whitmer replaced Cowdery as editor. Whitmer may have been heavily assisted in his duties by W. W. Phelps.
In March 1836, Cowdery again became editor when both Whitmer and Phelps returned to Missouri. Cowdery's brother Warren claimed that he was actually performing the editorial duties. In February 1837, the printing press was sold to Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, and Warren Cowdery became the editor. The last issue was published in September 1837 after LDS Church leaders became dissatisfied with Warren Cowdery's efforts. In October 1837 the newspaper was succeeded by the Elders' Journal.
In 1844, Sidney Rigdon asserted a claim to be the successor of Joseph Smith and he organized a group of Latter Day Saints in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This group began to publish a periodical in 1845 that revived the name, Latter Day Saints' Messenger and Advocate. Ebenezer Robinson (founding publisher of the LDS newspaper Times and Seasons) became the printer of this Rigdonite paper. After Rigdon changed the name of the church back to the original "Church of Christ," the periodical became the Messenger and Advocate of the Church of Christ.
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