International Magazines

See this page in the original 1992 publication.

Author: Kelly, Brian K.

In 1967 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began unifying the foreign language magazines that were being independently published to serve its Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Norwegian, Spanish, and Swedish-speaking missions to give its magazines similar editorial content and a general format. This unification of content greatly reduced redundant staff efforts in the various mission offices and provided Church-approved materials for all issues. The resulting Unified Magazine was renamed International Magazines in 1974, an umbrella title that in 1990 covered twenty different magazines, each with its own language-specific title. An editorial staff in Salt Lake City chooses materials from the Church's three English publications, Friend, New Era, and Ensign, that will appeal to international readers of all ages and prepares those and other original articles for international publication.

An English version, Tambuli, is prepared in Salt Lake City, and film of the completed layouts, containing both text and art is shipped for local printing in the Philippines. Similar print-ready film is prepared in Salt Lake City for other language editions and is then sent to various printing sites around the world. Some of the translations are prepared in Salt Lake City, but most in the local areas. The various editions contain from eight to sixteen pages of local Church news that is gathered, edited, and printed in the language areas.

The idea of publishing local, foreign-language magazines for Church members started in Wales in 1846, a year before the Mormon Pioneers moved into the Salt Lake Valley. Dan Jones edited and published thirty-two issues of Prophwyd y Jubili, Neu Seren y Saints (Prophet of Jubilee, New Star of Saints), filled with doctrinal and historical articles, messages from Church leaders, and replies to attacks from antagonists of the Church. Other magazines followed. The first issues of Skandinaviens Stjerne (Scandinavian Star) in Denmark, l'Etoile du Deseret (The Star of Deseret) in France, and Zions Panier (Zion's Banner) in Germany were all published in 1851. In subsequent years the Church has published magazines in other languages, with the larger number beginning in the twentieth century. In 1990 the Church is increasing the number of its foreign language periodicals.

For a fuller list of Church magazines and newspapers, see Church Periodicals chart in the Appendix.

Bibliography

Flake, Chad J. A Mormon Bibliography, 1830-1930. Salt Lake City, Utah, 1978.

BRIAN K. KELLY

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