“The Twentieth Anniversary of International Magazines,” Tambuli, Mar. 1987, 13
The Twentieth Anniversary of International Magazines
A Magazine for a Worldwide Church
Brother W. W. Phelps didn’t think small. When the first Latter-day Saint periodical was established in 1832, he saw it spanning oceans, cultures, and languages. Not only would the Evening and Morning Star be “a messenger of the everlasting Gospel,” it would “spread the truth among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people.” (History of the Church, 1:259; italics added.)
The Evening and Morning Star never fully met that grand goal. In fact, its last issue was published just fourteen months after its first. The press it was printed on was destroyed by mob, and soon the Saints would be moving on from Jackson County, Missouri.
But wherever the Saints went—to Kirtland, Nauvoo, and the Valley of the Great Salt Lake—they carried with them Brother Phelps’s vision of a magazine that would spread the truth over the whole earth.
There were the Latter-day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate (Kirtland, 1833–37), the Elder’s Journal (Kirtland, 1837–38), and the Times and Seasons (Nauvoo, 1839–45). When missionaries preached in a new land, they would often start a magazine to tell the gospel story. In 1840, members of the Quorum of the Twelve started the Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star in Liverpool, England.
But it was not until 1846 that the goal of using magazines to spread truth to all people in their own languages began to be fulfilled. In that year, Elder Dan Jones began publishing the Prophwyd Y Jubili, neu, Seren Y Saints (“Prophet of the Jubilee, or, Star of the Saints”) in Wales. It was the first non-English Church magazine. Just five years later, Elder Erastus Snow established the Skandinavians Stjerne (“Scandinavian Star”) in Danish. That same year, Elder John Tayler started l’Etoile (“The Star”) in French and Zion’s Panier (“Zion’s Banner”) in German.
For over a hundred years, magazine publishing continued piecemeal throughout the missions of the Church. It was Elder Howard W. Hunter who, while overseeing the European missions in 1966, noticed that there was great duplication of effort in producing these magazines. And the quality and content of those magazines varied greatly.
Elder Hunter recommended that magazine publishing efforts be consolidated and correlated where possible, and a careful study was made by the Brethren. Then, twenty years ago this month, in March 1967, the unified International Magazines began publication in nine languages. During the years that followed, other language editions were added.
Today Church magazines are printed in eighteen languages.
Brother Phelps’s grand dream is now being fulfilled more fully. Every month, people in more than forty nations receive messages from Church leaders in their own languages. All over the world, lives are changing for the better as the International Magazines bear the commission of the first Church magazine to take the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.
Now that you know where we’ve been, we’d like to tell you where we’re going. To do that, we talked to Brother Larry A. Hiller, managing editor of the International Magazines.
We’ve noticed several changes in the TAMBULI. It now has color, and it’s being published every month. Are there any other major changes?
Yes. The most important change is one the readers themselves can participate in. We are seeking many more articles from all of the language areas we serve. We have already identified some qualified writers in various parts of the world. But we need many more, as well as competent photographers and illustrators.
The gospel is international. A good article from a German or Peruvian or Samoan Saint can be useful in Church magazines all over the world, including the English-language magazines. The great strength of the Church is in the individual testimonies and righteous lives of its members, wherever they may live. The International Magazines can be a channel that allows righteous influence to be shared freely among all of the nations and cultures where the gospel is available. This is a worldwide church. We want the International Magazines to be truly international.
Can an ordinary member of the Church submit an article for publication?
Yes. Many of the articles that now appear in the magazine were written by ordinary members—mothers, fathers, home teachers, or Primary teachers—who have had a faith-promoting experience or have received an insight into gospel living.
What kinds of articles does the magazine want?
1. Short articles about faith-promoting experiences. These could include conversion stories and missionary stories.
2. Articles about exemplary Latter-day Saints of all ages. Good subjects would be Church members who excel in their professions, who make unusual contributions to their communities, who are especially good missionaries, or who have been unusually instrumental in helping the Church grow in their area.
3. Articles about how people can apply a gospel principle in their lives: articles on teaching children gospel principles, how to do missionary work, etc.
4. Well-researched articles on the history of the Church in an area.
How can I submit an article to the TAMBULI? What can I expect after I have submitted an article?
Send your manuscript to the TAMBULI, Country Space Bldg. 1, Sen. Gil J. Puyat Ave. Ext., Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines, P.O. Box 2339 MCCPO.
Like all other magazines, we can use only some of the manuscripts that are submitted. If an article is selected by the editors, it must be approved by the Church Correlation Review Committee. And the editors of the magazine reserve the right to edit, condense, and work with your material to make it suitable for publication. This all takes time. So no one should expect their article to appear in print a few months after submitting it.
Should a person feel guilty if they don’t have time to read all of the magazine?
This magazine is for people of all ages, for Church leaders and lay members, for people of all educational and professional backgrounds, for single people and married people, for people whose families are Latter-day Saint and those who are the only member in their families. We must serve a broad range of interests and needs. Not every article is of equal interest to every reader.
The magazine is like a banquet offering a variety of dishes. Our nutritional needs are best met by eating a variety of foods. And our spiritual needs can best be met by at least sampling a broad variety of articles. But, because of the kind of magazine we are, I would not expect that every reader would read every article. Our hope is that the articles you do read will increase your faith or give you an insight that will help you live the gospel better. Then the magazine’s purpose has been met.
A Long and Noble History of Church Magazines
July 1846—Prophwyd y Jubili, neu, Seren y Saint (“Prophet of the Jubilee, or, Star of the Saints”)—first non-English magazine—began publication in Merthyr-Tydfil, Wales. Published and edited by Elder Dan Jones, it contained doctrinal and historical articles, messages from Church leaders, and replies to attacks from antagonists of the Church.
1851—Elder Erastus Snow began publication of Skandinavians Stjerne (“Scandinavian Star”) in Danish. Elder John Taylor began publication of l‘Etoile (“The Star”) in French and Zion’s Panier (“Zion’s Banner”) in German.
1862–1966—Various other magazines were published by missions of the Church during these years. These included—
Der Stern (“The Star”) in German in 1862
Nordstjarnan (“North Star”) in Swedish in 1877
de Ster (“The Star”) in Dutch in 1896
Lys over Norge (“Light over Norway”) in Norwegian in 1922
Shentao che Sheng (“Voice of the Saints”) in Chinese in 1959
Valkeus (“The Light”) in Finnish in 1950
Liahona in Spanish in 1937
A Liahona in Portuguese in 1948
Songdo Wi Bot (“The Friend of the Saints”) in Korean in 1965
1966—Elder Howard W. Hunter of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, while supervising the European missions, noticed the variations in quality and duplication of effort in producing many different magazines. He recommended that the magazines be produced in one central location.
March 1967—The first edition of the new unified magazine appeared in nine languages.
March 1987—On their twentieth anniversary, the International Magazines appear in the following editions:
Chinese: Shentao che Sheng (“Voice of the Saints”)
Danish: Stjerne (“Star”)
Dutch: De Ster (“The Star”)
Finnish: Valkeus (“The Light”)
French: l‘Etoile (“The Star”)
German: Der Stern (“The Star”)
Italian: la Stella (“The Star”)
Japanese: Seito No Michi (“The Path of the Saints”)
Korean: Songdo Wi Bot (“The Friend of the Saints”)
Norwegian: Lys over Norge (“Light over Norway”)
Philippines (English): Tambuli (Tagalog name for horn used to signal village gatherings)
Portuguese: A Liahona
Samoan: O le Liahona
Spanish: Liahona
Swedish: Nordstjarnan (“North Star”)
Tahitian: Te Tiarama (“The Star”)
Thai: Rom Zion (“Shadow of Zion”)
Tongan: Tuhulu (“The Torch”)