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==Question: Was the newspaper called ''The Seer'' published by the Church?== | ==Question: Was the newspaper called ''The Seer'' published by the Church?== | ||
− | ===''The Seer'' was published by Orson Pratt, and | + | ===''The Seer'' was published by Orson Pratt, and it was never considered an official publication of the Church=== |
Some critics of the Church quote from a newspaper called ''The Seer''. Was this newspaper published by the Church? Are its contents considered official Church doctrine? | Some critics of the Church quote from a newspaper called ''The Seer''. Was this newspaper published by the Church? Are its contents considered official Church doctrine? |
Some critics of the Church quote from a newspaper called The Seer. Was this newspaper published by the Church? Are its contents considered official Church doctrine?
The Seer was a periodical published by Elder Orson Pratt in Washington D.C. in 1853 and 1854. Brigham Young sent Elder Pratt east to defend the Church in print after the public announcement of plural marriage in 1852. The Seer was the resulting apologetic work.
The Seer was not widely read — its largest issue, in late 1853, was 400 copies. Despite its failure, Pratt's writings became the basis for many of the traditional explanations of plural marriage.
The Seer was publicly disowned and rejected by the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve in 1865. (See the documentation below.) Despite any truths that it may contain, it cannot be relied upon as an accurate reflection of LDS doctrine.
Proclamation of the First Presidency and Twelve, October 21, 1865 (excerpt):[1]
The foregoing was signed by the First Presidency and all members of the Quorum of the Twelve except Orson Pratt. Orson Pratt attached the following statement to the First Presidency's letter, accepting their censure:
Notes
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