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A few years ago, in a conference talk more known for "why would our Heavenly Father do that to anyone?" Boyd K. Packer also said:

"Fifteen years ago, with the world in turmoil, the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles issued “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” the fifth proclamation in the history of the Church. It is a guide that members of the Church would do well to read and to follow."

When this talk was given, I remember thinking "What are the other proclamations?"

The Encyclopedia of Mormonism answered this question most of the way, naming the four previous proclamations. The link also contains the full text of two of them (the 1st, given in 1841, and the 4th, given in 1980). However, there were only excerpts from the 2nd, given in 1845, and 3rd, given in 1865, proclamations, and I was curious to see the full text. Finally, I tracked them down in the volume set Messages of the First Presidency.

The 2nd one is long and calls upon the leaders of the world to support the Saints, warning them of the second coming (which people then living were to have lived to see), declaring the American Indians to be of the house of Israel, and so forth. The 3rd one is basically a rebuke of Orson Pratt for crazy talk.

Since it took me so long to track these things down, I thought if anyone else was curious to read the full text I'd offer to share it. I have them scanned into my computer, but I don't see a way to attach them here. If anyone is curious, I'll be happy to email them to you. If so, send me a PM.

I would like to see them. The second one sounds familiar. If I recall correctly, they warned the world leaders that if they didn't bow down to the lord's anointed, they would suffer. I thought they even demanded these leaders give up their riches to the church. I'm probably remembering wrong.

Please post, it would be an interesting topic for debate.

Especially if people were promised the second coming - meaning they either got their dates wrong or Christ is already here....

But here they all are online, surely?

http://eom.BYU.edu/index.php/Proclamati ... e_Apostles

No they are not ... significant deletions have been made from the 1845 one at least, as one can see by comparing the version here:

http://www.utlm.org/onlineresources/pro ... twelve.htm

This charming bit is missing:

And now, O ye kings, rulers, and people of the Gentiles: hear ye the word of the Lord; for this commandment is for you. You are not only required to repent and obey the gospel in its fulness, and thus become members or citizens of the kingdom of God, but you are also hereby commanded, in the name of Jesus Christ, to put your silver and your gold, your ships and steam-vessels, your railroad trains and your horses, chariots, camels, mules, and litters, into active use, for the fulfillment of these purposes. For be it known unto you, that the only salvation which remains for the Gentiles, is for them to be identified in the same covenant, and to worship at the same altar with Israel. In short, they must come to the same standard. For, there shall be one Lord, and his name one, and He shall be king over all the earth.

Tim the Enchanter wrote:A few years ago, in a conference talk more known for "why would our Heavenly Father do that to anyone?" Boyd K. Packer also said:

"Fifteen years ago, with the world in turmoil, the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles issued “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” the fifth proclamation in the history of the Church. It is a guide that members of the Church would do well to read and to follow."

This was from a talk given at the October 2010 Gen'l Conference. It has become a bit famous because BKP, during the actual talk, described the Proclamation as a "revelation," which was later edited out of the published version in the Ensign. Here is what BKP said from the pulpit (bold added for emphasis):

Fifteen years ago, with the world in turmoil, the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles issued “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” the fifth proclamation in the history of the Church. It qualifies according to the definition as a revelation and would do well that members of the church to read and follow it.

Now, here is the written version:

Fifteen years ago, with the world in turmoil, the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles issued “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” the fifth proclamation in the history of the Church. It is a guide that members of the Church would do well to read and to follow.

Of course, the talk is also famous for other parts being edited out that dealt with homosexuality.

Chap wrote:But here they all are online, surely?

http://eom.BYU.edu/index.php/Proclamati ... e_Apostles

No they are not ... significant deletions have been made from the 1845 one at least, as one can see by comparing the version here:

http://www.utlm.org/onlineresources/pro ... twelve.htm

This charming bit is missing:

And now, O ye kings, rulers, and people of the Gentiles: hear ye the word of the Lord; for this commandment is for you. You are not only required to repent and obey the gospel in its fulness, and thus become members or citizens of the kingdom of God, but you are also hereby commanded, in the name of Jesus Christ, to put your silver and your gold, your ships and steam-vessels, your railroad trains and your horses, chariots, camels, mules, and litters, into active use, for the fulfillment of these purposes. For be it known unto you, that the only salvation which remains for the Gentiles, is for them to be identified in the same covenant, and to worship at the same altar with Israel. In short, they must come to the same standard. For, there shall be one Lord, and his name one, and He shall be king over all the earth.

I can just picture some king somewhere getting this letter in the mail and thinking WTF?

Chap wrote:But here they all are online, surely?

http://eom.BYU.edu/index.php/Proclamati ... e_Apostles

No they are not ... significant deletions have been made from the 1845 one at least, as one can see by comparing the version here:

http://www.utlm.org/onlineresources/pro ... twelve.htm

This charming bit is missing:

And now, O ye kings, rulers, and people of the Gentiles: hear ye the word of the Lord; for this commandment is for you. You are not only required to repent and obey the gospel in its fulness, and thus become members or citizens of the kingdom of God, but you are also hereby commanded, in the name of Jesus Christ, to put your silver and your gold, your ships and steam-vessels, your railroad trains and your horses, chariots, camels, mules, and litters, into active use, for the fulfillment of these purposes. For be it known unto you, that the only salvation which remains for the Gentiles, is for them to be identified in the same covenant, and to worship at the same altar with Israel. In short, they must come to the same standard. For, there shall be one Lord, and his name one, and He shall be king over all the earth.

That's hilarious! "Fork over the cash, or else!!"

Chap wrote:But here they all are online, surely?

http://eom.BYU.edu/index.php/Proclamati ... e_Apostles

No they are not ... significant deletions have been made from the 1845 one at least, as one can see by comparing the version here:

http://www.utlm.org/onlineresources/pro ... twelve.htm

This charming bit is missing:

And now, O ye kings, rulers, and people of the Gentiles: hear ye the word of the Lord; for this commandment is for you. You are not only required to repent and obey the gospel in its fulness, and thus become members or citizens of the kingdom of God, but you are also hereby commanded, in the name of Jesus Christ, to put your silver and your gold, your ships and steam-vessels, your railroad trains and your horses, chariots, camels, mules, and litters, into active use, for the fulfillment of these purposes. For be it known unto you, that the only salvation which remains for the Gentiles, is for them to be identified in the same covenant, and to worship at the same altar with Israel. In short, they must come to the same standard. For, there shall be one Lord, and his name one, and He shall be king over all the earth.

DarkHelmet wrote:
I can just picture some king somewhere getting this letter in the mail and thinking WTF?

Queen Victoria: "Her Majesty thanks you for your kind advice. Her policy on such matters is based on the advice of her ministers, and she has therefore passed your letter to Lord Melbourne."

Lord Melbourne "!!!*? Americans ..."

I always remember the 1845 proclamation as the one which pretty much leads off with "The great Eloheem Jehova has been pleased..." showing that the current description of Elohim as the father of us all, and Jehova as the one who became Jesus, was not shared by the Prophets, Seers, and Revelators of the Restoration, but was sorted out later on by the lesser successors to the mantle.

Sethbag wrote:I always remember the 1845 proclamation as the one which pretty much leads off with "The great Eloheem Jehova has been pleased..." showing that the current description of Elohim as the father of us all, and Jehova as the one who became Jesus, was not shared by the Prophets, Seers, and Revelators of the Restoration, but was sorted out later on by the lesser successors to the mantle.

What kind of crazy talk is this?

There is no confusion. In 1820, God the Father, and His Son Jesus Christ, appeared before Joseph Smith in their true physical forms and, for the first time in over 1,800 years, dispelled all confusion concerning the Godhead. From that time forth, true believers have clearly understood the true nature of God, the Father, His Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

Those pesky verses in the 1830 Book of Mormon, the JST Luke verses, the early versions of the First Vision story, the Lectures on Faith, and, yes, the 1845 Proclamation, were simply put out there to separate the wheat from the chaff. The fact that you were confused and bewildered by these references is a clear indicator of your descent into grievous sin and prideful intellectualism and your willingness to embrace the natural man.

God's ways are not our ways, you see...