The Elders' Journal of the Southern States Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Atlanta, Ga.: B. E. Rich, 1903-1907. 4 v. 20-23 cm.
The Southern States Mission in 1903 covered a large area, consisting of ten states and eleven conferences, with the mission headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. The states included were Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
In the "Announcement," that appeared under the masthead of volume 1, no. 1 for August 1903, the editors wrote that "since the enlargement of the mission [combined with the Middle States in August 1903] we have so much territory to cover and so many elders in the field that we find it necessary to have some means by which we can communicate to them individually." There was also hope expressed in the announcement that the Elders would keep these issues in their journals. "By trimming the edges of this little paper it can be made to fit into the Elders' daily journal and we suggest, therefore, that they adopt this means of preserving the same that the numbers may always be kept handy for reference."
The Elder's Journal was published as a monthly from August 1903-July 1904 and semimonthly from September 1904-June 15, 1907, when it was incorporated into the Liahona: the Elders' Journal, which retained the volume numbering from The Elders' Journal.
Used to give instruction to the missionaries, it helped build a feeling of community among the members of the Church that resided in the mission and was circulated free of charge to investigators.