''The Seer'' was an official periodical of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church) which first appeared in 1853 and was published throughout 1854.

History of publication

After the LDS Church publicly acknowledged that it was teaching and practicing

plural marriage Polygamy (called plural marriage by Latter-day Saints in the 19th century or the Principle by modern fundamentalist practitioners of polygamy) was practiced by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for more tha ...

at its September 1852

conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...

, LDS Church

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Brigham Young Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his ...

dispatched

apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

Orson Pratt to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, where he was asked to publish an

apologetic Apologetics (from Greek , "speaking in defense") is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and ...

magazine targeted at non-Mormons. The primary purpose of the magazine would be to explain and defend the principles of

Mormonism Mormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to various aspects of t ...

. The first edition of ''The Seer'' was published in January 1853, with future editions being produced monthly. The contents of ''The Seer'' were composed almost entirely of original writings by Pratt. Throughout its publication history, the majority of Pratt's writing stressed the rationality of the doctrine of

. For example, Pratt dedicated 107 of the 192 total pages of ''The Seer'' to a twelve-part exposition on what he called

celestial marriage Celestial marriage (also called the New and Everlasting Covenant of Marriage, Eternal Marriage, Temple Marriage) is a doctrine that marriage can last forever in heaven. This is a unique teaching of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ...

. ''The Seer'' was published in Washington, D.C., until July 1854, when publication was shifted to

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. After only 18 issues, Pratt was forced to cease publication due to mounting financial losses. Circulation peaked at 400 copies in late 1853. "The world will not subscribe for nor read ''The Seer''," Pratt lamented to his brother

Parley A parley (from french: link=no, parler – "to speak") refers to a discussion or conference, especially one designed to end an argument or hostilities between two groups of people. The term can be used in both past and present tense; in prese ...

Resulting doctrinal controversy

In 1865, a majority of the

First Presidency Among many churches in the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency (also known as the Quorum of the Presidency of the Church) is the highest presiding or governing body. Present-day denominations of the movement led by a First Presidency ...

and the

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to ''Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...

of the LDS Church officially condemned some of Pratt's doctrinal declarations contained in ''The Seer'':

"''The Seer'' nd other writings by Prattcontain doctrines which we cannot sanction, and which we have felt impressed to disown, so that the Saints who now live, and who may live hereafter, may not be misled by our silence, or be left to misinterpret it. Where these objectionable works, or parts of works, are bound in volumes, or otherwise, they should be cut out and destroyed."''Deseret News'', Aug. 23, 1865, 373; see also B.H. Roberts, ''Defense of the Faith and the Saints'', 2:294 (1912).

Legacy

Despite the failure of ''The Seer'' and the controversy that resulted from some of its contents, many of the traditional explanations and justifications for

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

polygamy Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is married ...

had their beginning in Pratt's writings in the magazine.

Notes

References

* Gary James Bergera, ''Conflict in the Quorum : Orson Pratt, Brigham Young, Joseph Smith'', Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2002.

External links

''The Seer''
: searchable PDF scans of Washington D.C. printing
''The Seer''
(PDF scans), L. Tom Perry Special Collections,

Harold B. Lee Library The Harold B. Lee Library (HBLL) is the main academic library of Brigham Young University (BYU) located in Provo, Utah. The library started as a small collection of books in the president's office in 1876 before moving in 1891. The Heber J. Gr ...

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

. *''

The Seer The Seer may refer to: Film and television * ''The Seer'' (film), a 2007 Italian thriller and horror film * "The Seer" (''Sliders''), an episode of the TV series * "The Seer" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the TV series * "The Seer" ...

'' : wikisource (incomplete) * Lance Starr
'The Seer': Reliable Source?
from FairMormon, an LDS apologetics website {{DEFAULTSORT:Seer, The Defunct newspapers published in Washington, D.C. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints periodicals Mormonism-related controversies Publications established in 1853 1853 establishments in Washington, D.C. Publications disestablished in 1854 1853 in Christianity 19th-century Mormonism Works about polygamy in Mormonism