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In the April 2020 Sunday Morning session of the General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Russell M. Nelson, before reading what would become the sixth Proclamation to the World, stated there had been only five proclamations before it.1

I am finding conflicting reports about what those five proclamations are. For example, this page at BYU.edu loosely suggests they are:

  1. The First Presidency's Counsel on Youth (1999)
  2. The Family: A Proclamation to the World (1995)
  3. God's Love for All Mankind (1978)
  4. Parenthood (1942)
  5. The Origin of Man (1909)

Contrast this with this list from The Encyclopedia of Mormonism only lists four.

  1. A Proclamation of the First Presidency of the Church to the Saints Scattered Abroad (1841)
  2. Proclamation of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1845)
  3. Proclamation of the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles (1865)
  4. Proclamation of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1980)

Both of those sources exclude "The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles" (2000), most likely because the two sources (notably the second) were compiled before 2000. (If "The Living Christ" is added to The Mormon Encyclopedia's list, we'd have five. That might be the list.)

Does anyone know what the five proclamations referred to by President Nelson are? If so (and as a requirement for the best answer), please list title, delivery date, a summary of the proclamation, and a link to the official or original proclamation. For extra credit, include today's proclamation, the sixth.

1 At the time I wrote this question, the Sunday Morning session's transcripts had not yet been posted. When they become available, they will be located here.

JBH
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    Just a note: President Nelson explicitely stated the last one was 1995 The Family: A Proclamation to the World, so that seems to definitely not be on the list of five proclamations he had in mind. – kutschkem Apr 06 '20 at 06:29
  • @kutschkem, I'm not sure I understand you. Pres. Nelson stated "The Family" was the last one... so it seems it isn't on the list? Isn't that a contradiction? – JBH Apr 06 '20 at 17:43

1 Answers1

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Proclamations from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: 1

  • 1841 A Proclamation to the Saints Scattered Abroad source
  • 1845 Proclamation to the Leaders of the World source
  • 1865 A Proclamation of why leaders encouraged destroying the book "Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith the prophet and his Progenitors for Many Generations" source
  • 1980 (sesquicentennial anniversary) concerning [The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint's] progress, its doctrine, its mission, and its message source
  • 1995 The Family: A Proclamation to the World source
  • 2020 The Restoration of the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: A Bicentennial Proclamation to the World 1

1 Prophet Introduces a New Proclamation to the World: “The Restoration of the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ”

NeutronStar
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depperm
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  • +1 for providing excellent sourcing. Do we know these are the list President Nelson was referring to? Why do you think "The Living Christ" was not or should not be included? – JBH Apr 05 '20 at 22:07
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    I believe "The Living Christ" was not included because it is a testimony as opposed to a proclamation. It could be added if you wanted statements made by the 1st presidency and apostles, but then others would be added to the list, such as official declarations – depperm Apr 05 '20 at 23:18
  • The source depperm links is a church Newsroom article. Newsroom is the official news outlet for the Church. We can be confident that things posted there, barring an occasional typo or oversight (though I'd be surprised if those are anything other than extremely rare or non-existent), reflect exactly what President Nelson is referring to. – NeutronStar Apr 06 '20 at 14:12