Der Stern (meaning “The Star”) was the official German-language monthly periodical published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) for its members in Switzerland, Germany, and Austria.
First printed on January 1, 1869, in Zürich, Switzerland, out of the mission headquarters, it was created by Karl G. Maeser, a prominent German convert and mission president (who later became the celebrated first principal of Brigham Young Academy, now BYU Provo).
The publication played a central role in the lives of European emigrants, including Wilhelm and Maria Wilker and fellow saints in Germany and Switzerland in the 1880s.
During the 19th century, LDS branches across Germany and Switzerland were small, scattered, and often faced local government opposition. Der Stern acted as the primary tool to unite these branches, publishing translated sermons from church leaders, gospel lessons, and local mission news.
For families planning their journey to the American West, Der Stern was highly practical. It published official instructions regarding gathering points (such as Basel, Switzerland, in the case of the Wilkers), luggage limits, ticket pricing, and designated sailing dates for chartered ships like the SS Nevada.
Following a major LDS migration, the magazine routinely published the official rosters and updates sent back by returning elders, letting families back home in Europe know that their loved ones had safely crossed the Atlantic and reached Utah.
Der Stern holds a legacy as the longest-running non-English periodical in LDS history. In the late 20th century, the global church consolidated all of its separate international mission magazines into a single, unified publication. By the year 2000, Der Stern was officially renamed to match the global title, Liahona, before completing its historic run in 2020.
During the crucial years of the Wilke family’s migration, Volume 14 (1882) and Volume 15 (1883) of Der Stern carried major historical announcements distributed directly to the Swiss branches, where the Wilkers lived. The original print archives show the following specific announcements and milestones that directly impacted the Wilker family:
The May 1882 Departure & Logistics Notice (Der Stern, Vol. 14, p. 78)
In the spring of 1882, the magazine issued a mandatory logistics update for the upcoming company organized by Elder William R. Webb. The announcement instructed all converts from the Swiss branches (including those gathering from Basel and northern regions like Schaffhausen) to ensure their heavy wooden trunks were properly marked and transferred to the Basel rail platform. This specific routing notice directly facilitated the gathering where the Saints met before boarding the riverboat Willem I.
The Release of the German Pearl of Great Price (1882)
A major milestone heavily publicized across all Swiss branches in Der Stern during 1882 was the official publication of Die Köstliche Perle (The Pearl of Great Price) in the German language for the very first time. Translated and printed in Bern, Switzerland, the availability of this new scripture was dynamically advertised in the magazine’s notices, encouraging families to purchase copies to carry with them across the Atlantic.
Structural Growth: The First Swiss Relief Society (June 1882)
Der Stern published a landmark administrative report from Bern, Switzerland. On June 30, 1882, the very first Relief Society in Switzerland was officially organized in the Bern Branch. This notice stood as a significant indicator to local members that the church’s structural footprint was formalizing rapidly in their homeland.
Expansion of the Mission Network (1883)
By the time Wilhelm and Maria Wilker were preparing for their August 1883 crossing with their older children, Der Stern was actively publishing reports about the geographic expansion of the Swiss-German Mission footprint. The 1883 issues featured detailed updates regarding the church opening its very first missionary operations further east into Austria and Hungary (specifically tracking the dangerous labor of Elders Thomas Biesinger and Paul E. B. Hammer under the Swiss mission presidency).