What members should know about free church magazine subscriptions
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Many young Latter-day Saints grow up anticipating the arrival of the monthly magazine “The Friend.” They laugh at cartoons, circle items in find-it puzzles, solve mazes, read stories and cut out games or other items.
Now Latter-day Saint families will be able to receive “The Friend” at home for free.
No-cost print subscriptions will also be available to the other magazines — “For Strength of Youth” magazine for youth 12-18 and the “Liahona” magazine for adults — published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The church will roll out no-cost magazine subscriptions for church members over the next six months. An adult member of a household with a church account can manage the subscriptions at MagazineSubscriptions.ChurchofJesusChrist.org. Church members who don’t have a church account can sign up for one at no cost at account.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
When can I receive a free subscription?
The no-cost subscriptions will roll out on a timetable based on church areas:
Beginning now — Asia North Area and North America West areas.
Dec. 1, 2023 — Africa Central, Africa South, Africa West, Asia, Caribbean, Central America, Europe Central, Europe East, Europe North, Mexico, Middle East/Africa North, Pacific, Philippines, South America Northwest and South America South areas.
Feb. 1, 2024 — North America Central, North America Northeast, North America Southeast, North America Southwest and Utah areas.
The no-cost subscription system for the Brazil Area has been delayed and will be released at a later date.
Did you know?
“The Friend” is now 121 years old. It began as “The Children’s Friend” in 1902.
A 2002 issue of “The Friend” noted that the magazine then reached 240,000 homes.
Today, “The Friend” is published in print in 50 languages. The digital edition offers even more languages. The July issue is available online here. It includes stories about how one church leader joined the church after an invitation he received on the baseball field.
You can enjoy digital copies of all the issues of The Friend dating back to 1971 here. Back issues to all the magazines can be accessed here.
Other details
The church’s news release said each ward council can subscribe for children and youth who do not have parents attending church with them, with permission from the children’s parents.
The no-cost subscriptions fit in with the church’s emphasis on home-centered gospel study. The church provides no-cost apps and free digital and printed manuals for gospel study both at home and in Sunday School and youth and children’s classes.
“We come closer to Jesus Christ as we consistently participate in gospel study in the home,” Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said in the news release. “The church wants to give greater access to the words of the prophets, and we are excited to make the printed copies of the church magazines available at no cost.”
See this FAQ page for more answered questions about subscriptions.
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