Cover of the Juvenile Instructor August 1910

''The Juvenile Instructor'' was a magazine for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It began publication in 1866 as a private publication, but by the late 1860s served as the de facto publication of the LDS Church's Deseret Sunday School Union organization. It was an official periodical of the LDS Church from 1901 to 1929, after which the church replaced it with '' The Instructor''.

History

''The Juvenile Instructor'' was issued monthly and was initially targeted toward the children and youth members of the LDS Church. It consisted of

catechism A catechism (; from grc, κατηχέω, "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult c ...

s on the Bible, Book of Mormon, and

Doctrine and Covenants The Doctrine and Covenants (sometimes abbreviated and cited as D&C or D. and C.) is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. Originally published in 1835 as Doctrine and Covenants of the Chur ...

; musical compositions; illustrations; stories; editorial teachings; and other aids to gospel instruction. It was the first magazine for children published in the United States west of the Mississippi River. For much of its history, ''The Juvenile Instructor'' was owned by the Cannon family. Its first editor was

George Q. Cannon George Quayle Cannon (January 11, 1827 – April 12, 1901) was an early member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and served in the First Presidency under four successive pr ...

, an LDS Church apostle. Cannon and his family continued to publish the magazine privately until January 1, 1901, when the Deseret Sunday School Union purchased the magazine and continued its publication. From 1901 to 1929, the magazine was considered the official publication of the church's Sunday School. From 1881 to 1890, George Reynolds was an assistant editor of ''The Juvenile Instructor''. In 1882, he wrote a series of popular articles in the magazine about Joseph Smith and the translation of the Book of Mormon.

Blog

In 2007, an academically leaning blog focused on the history of the Latter-day Saints was formed and named ''Juvenile Instructor'' with the original intention "to situate the study of Mormonism within wider frameworks, including American religious history, western history, gender history, and, on occasion, the history of the Republic of South Africa."About Juvenile Instructor
" ''Juvenile Instructor''. October 26, 2007. Accessed April 13, 2021.

Notes

External links

''Juvenile Instructor''
(PDF scans) courtesy of the

Church History Library The Church History Library (CHL) is a research center and archives building housing materials chronicling the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The library is owned by the Church and opened in 2009 in downt ...

and the Internet Archive.
''Juvenile Instructor''
an LDS history-themed blog, part of the

Mormon blogosphere The Mormon blogosphere (often referred to as the Bloggernacle) is a segment of the blogosphere focused on issues related to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The term "Bloggernacle" was coined by individuals within the L ...

. 1866 in Christianity Defunct magazines published in the United States Magazines disestablished in 1929 Magazines established in 1866 Religious works for children Sunday School (LDS Church) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints periodicals Young people and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 20th-century Mormonism 1866 establishments in Utah Territory Magazines published in Utah {{Christian-mag-stub

History

Blog

See also

Notes

External links