 The press was at first used to print the necessary documents (such as laws, records, and forms) used in setting up the provisional State of Deseret.The first issue of the "Deseret News" was published June 15, 1850, and was 8 pages long.This first issue included the paper's prospectus, written by the editor Willard Richards, along with news from the United States Congress, and a report on the San Francisco 1849 Christmas Eve fire; an event which had occurred six months prior.