Abstract

From 1836 to 1860 about eighty individuals wrote pamphlets as part of the early Mormon movement. This study examines this large body of material by (1) surveying the content, direction and problems of Mormon pamphleteering before 1860; (2) examining the life and works of several key individuals, specifically Parley P. Pratt, Orson Pratt, and Benjamin Winchester; (3) showing the role of printed literature in the organizational development and geographical widening of the movement; and (4) by an in-depth analysis of the public announcement and early defense of plural marriage.

This study shows that the pamphlet literature can provide the student of Mormonism another window into the early Church. More specifically, it shows that the Mormon press gradually moved from a free-lance and informal press to a more formal and closely controlled press. This tightening of the press was directly related to the emergence of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the early Church. The systematizing tendencies were tempered by Brigham Young’s fear that the large amounts of money required to sustain the press were getting in the way of more important matters as well as his concern that too much written analysis of Mormon doctrine would destroy its spirit and the need for living leaders.