The Friend Celebrates 40 Years of Funstuf

  • 29 April 2011

Article Highlights

  • A special “flip” edition of the Friend will be printed in May.
  • The Friend, along with the New Era and Ensign magazines, is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.

This May, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Church magazines, a special “flip” issue of the Friend will be distributed.

The magazine will contain its usual stories and messages but can also be flipped to its reverse side, which will contain 24 pages of Funstuf from the last 40 years. 

Funstuf, originally called “Fun and Friendsy,” (in 1977 the name changed to Funstuf) consists of games and activities designed to teach children the gospel. 

“Funstuf gets children into the magazine when they might have been hesitant to open it before,” said Chad Phares, a multimedia editor with the Friend.

Although in the beginning Funstuf didn’t always have gospel-related themes, today’s activities are created to build testimony while engaging the children in fun activities. In 2009, Funstuf also became available online at ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

Game creators, artists, or members with game ideas that help children learn gospel principles may submit their ideas to the Friend.

To subscribe to the Friend and receive May’s commemorative issue visit the online store.

  Listen