A Magazine for All the World:

Some Facts about the International Magazine

By Marvin K. Gardner

Managing Editor

“We see a wonderful future for the Church, even though we live in a very uncertain world. If we will cling to our values, if we will build on our inheritance, if we will walk in obedience before the Lord, if we will simply live the gospel we will be blessed in magnificent and wonderful ways.

“As members of the Church, we have marvelous resources to help us cling to our values and walk in obedience to the Lord. Among these resources are the magazines produced by the Church. Through the pages of the Church magazines, the words of the living prophets and Apostles can come into our homes on a regular basis to guide and inspire us and our families.

“We urge all members throughout the world to subscribe to and read the Church magazines. We encourage priesthood leaders to see to it that every Latter-day Saint home has this opportunity” (The First Presidency—Gordon B. Hinckley, Thomas S. Monson, James E. Faust, 1 April 1998).

A Global Magazine

We at the editorial office at Church headquarters in Salt Lake City often receive questions about the publication of the International Magazine. Following are answers and additional information.

• How many languages is the International Magazine published in? We currently publish magazines in 31 languages. Additional language editions will begin in the future.

• Is the content of the magazine the same in all language editions? Every page, except for the news insert, is the same in all languages—the same articles,artwork, illustrations, and photography. Most of the news inserts contain customized pages, including articles about Church members and events within a reader’s area.

• Does every language edition have the same title? No, even though the content is the same. Eighteen of the language editions are titled Liahona—a Book of Mormon word meaning compass or director. Ten editions include the words star or light or torch in their titles. Others are known as the “Voice” or “Path” or “Friend” of the Saints. The term International Magazines refers to all of them.

• Is the International Magazine simply a translation of the Ensign? No. The International Magazine does not include all articles printed in the Ensign, New Era, and Friend (Church magazines produced in English). However, some of our articles are reprinted from these magazines—and some do appear in the same month. Other articles are printed first in the International Magazine and may appear later in the other magazines.

A Few More Facts

The first Latter-day Saint magazine, The Evening and the Morning Star, was published in Independence, Missouri, in 1832—two years after the Church was organized.

The first non-English LDS magazine was published in 1846 (Welsh). Other early non-English LDS magazines began in 1850 (Finnish) and 1851 (Danish, French, and German). Over the years, additional language magazines began. In 1967, all non-English LDS magazines were unified into one publication with multiple language editions.

The Church began publishing an English edition of the International Magazine in 1977. The English Liahona is used principally in English-speaking areas outside of the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand. It is available anywhere in the world.

Some language editions are published monthly; others are published bimonthly or quarterly. Frequency of publication is determined by Church councils in Salt Lake City. The decisions are based on recommendations from Area Presidencies, the number of known LDS households speaking each language, the number of subscriptions, and the availability of translation and production resources.

The First Presidency Message and Visiting Teaching Message are available every month in 63 languages. Members who receive bimonthly or quarterly editions of the International Magazine may request these messages in a nonmagazine format from their priesthood leaders for months when the magazine is not published in their language.

In addition to being printed in the 31 languages that receive a magazine, these messages are also currently available in 32 additional languages (see box, opposite page).

Ordering Magazines

Order a subscription for yourself—or keep your subscription current. You can receive any language edition, no matter where you live.

Order language editions as gifts to be sent anywhere in the world. You can order subscriptions for friends, relatives, newly baptized members, and anyone else you know—whether they are members of the Church or not. Church magazines make great gifts for weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, holidays, graduations, and other occasions. Donate gift subscriptions to libraries, schools, hospitals, doctors’ and dentists’ offices, and other local establishments.

How to order International Magazines: Follow the ordering information on page 1 of each issue—or on the last page of your news insert. Or consult with your ward or branch magazine representative, executive secretary, clerk, bishop, or branch president. Or contact a Church distribution center. In some places, it is not possible to mail magazines to homes of individuals. In these cases, magazines are sent to the ward or branch and delivered to individuals and families.

How You Can Contribute

Send us your comments, suggestions, testimonies, and articles. We can’t print everything we receive, but many of our articles come from readers throughout the world. Write to us in your own language, and include your full name, address, ward or branch, and stake or district. Our address, which always appears on page 1 of the magazine, is International Magazines, 50 East North Temple, Floor 25, Salt Lake City, UT 84150-3223, USA.

Write articles for your news insert. Send news articles to the local address listed on page 1 of your language edition—or on the last page of your news insert.

How You Can Benefit

Each issue is an excellent resource for your own personal gospel study and for teaching the gospel in your home.

Each issue contains articles and activities for children and youth.

Each issue can help in your Church callings—as resources for home teaching, visiting teaching, Primary Sharing Time, “Teachings for Our Time,” and other lessons and talks.

Each issue can keep you up-to-date on local and Churchwide news. You can read articles of local interest. You can also read about current events of interest Churchwide—such as the counsel, travels, and activities of President Gordon B. Hinckley and other Church leaders.

Each issue can provide a way for you to share the gospel with nonmembers—and to help less-active members rediscover their testimonies. We receive many letters and testimonies from around the world indicating that the Spirit of the Lord touches lives through Church magazines.

Bulgarian (Liahona)	Korean (The Friend of the Saints)
Chinese (The Voice of the Saints)	Norwegian (Light over Norway)
Czech (Liahona)	*Polish (Liahona)
Danish (Star)	Portuguese (Liahona)
Dutch (The Star)	*Romanian (Liahona)
English (Liahona)	Russian (Liahona)
*Fijian (Liahona)	Samoan (Liahona)
Finnish (The Light)	Spanish (Liahona)
French (The Star)	Swedish (North Star)
German (The Star)	*Tagalog (Liahona)
Hungarian (Liahona)	Thai (Liahona)
Icelandic (Star of Hope)	Tongan (The Torch)
Indonesian (Liahona)	*Ukrainian (Liahona)
Italian (The Star)	*Vietnamese (Liahona)
Japanese (The Path of the Saints)	*Cebuano (Liahona)
*Kiribati (Liahona)

Albanian	Greek	Lithuanian	Rarotongan
Arabic	Haitian	Maltese	Serbian
Armenian (East)	Hiligaynon	Marshallese	Slovak
Bislama	Hmong	Mongolian	Slovenian
Braille (English)	Ilokano	Motu	Tahitian
Cambodian	Kosraean	Neomelanesian	Trukese
Croatian	Laotian	Niuean	Turkish
Estonian	Latvian	Pohnpeian	Waray

The International Magazine is published in 31 languages. The newest edition—Cebuano (left), a Philippine language—begins with the current issue. Asterisks indicate which editions began in 1998.

In addition to being printed in the 31 language editions of the magazine, the First Presidency Message and Visiting Teaching Message are currently produced in a nonmagazine format in 32 languages:

Photograph of President Hinckley by Craig Dimond

Photograph by Jerry Garns