The Friend

To order the Friend, call U.S. 1-800-453-3860, ext. 2947 for U.S., ext. 2031 for Canada. Credit Card orders (American Express, MasterCard, Visa) may be taken by phone. Or send $8.00 check or money order to Church Magazines, Salt Lake Distribution Center, Church Magazines, P.O. Box 26368, Salt Lake City, Utah 84126-0368, United States of America.

by Elizabeth Wahlquist

Published monthly since January 1971 for children to age twelve, the Friend replaced the children's friend, which was published from 1902 through 1970. The goal of the Friend is to reach the children of the Church directly, even those not involved with the primary, by presenting the gospel "while reinforcing the values of the stable homes" (Anderson, p. 13). It attempts to fulfill this goal by printing contemporary, historical, scriptural, and imaginative stories, often with pictures; recipes and crafts; games and pencil activities such as hidden pictures, scriptural matching, and connect-the-dots drawings; a calendar for the month; stories of Church leaders and other inspiring people; suggestions for reading; specials for the holidays; "Friend to Friend" discussions with Church leaders; and "Messages from the First Presidency" or from other General Authorities.

Keenly aware of the challenges facing children in the 1990s, the Friend tries to fill their needs and help parents as they raise their children in the very difficult modern world. The Friend attempts to meet President Spencer W. Kimball's challenge "to support the parents in teaching their children to pray and walk uprightly before the Lord" (Oman and Madsen, p. 39).

The editors of the Friend have been Lucile Reading (1971-1982) and Vivian Paulsen (1982-).

(See Basic Beliefs home page; Church Organization and Priesthood Authority home page; Church Publications home page)

Bibliography

Anderson, Lavina Fielding. "The Church and Children." Ensign 8 (Apr. 1978):6-13.

Hinckley, Gordon B. "A Friend for Every Child." IE 73 (Dec. 1970):97-98.

Oman, Susan, and Carol Madsen. "100 Years of Primary." Ensign 8 (Apr. 1978):32-39.

Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol. 2, Friend

The Friend

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