The Instructor began publication in 1930, when the church's Sunday School ceased publication of The Juvenile Instructor, its official publication since 1901. Like its predecessor, The Instructor was targeted primarily at the LDS Church's youth and young adult membership. The first editor of the periodical was George D. Pyper, a member of the general superintendency of the Deseret Sunday School Union.
With the implementation of the Priesthood Correlation Program, The Instructor ceased publication in 1970. Although the Sunday School did not replace it with an official publication, in 1971 the LDS Church began publishing the New Era for youth and the Ensign for adults.