A special issue of The Friend magazine is all about the temple.
Published online and already reaching member homes, the September 2026 issue teaches children why temples are important, how they can prepare now — no matter their age — what happens in temples and more.
“Temples are more than just beautiful buildings,” the introductory page explains. “They are sacred, special places where we learn about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and make covenants with Them. … Heavenly Father wants everyone to come to the temple. He has so many blessings for us there.”
Lori Fuller Sosa, managing editor of The Friend, said her staff has received requests over the years from parents and teachers for more content to help their children prepare for the temple.
“We want this issue to work for children of all ages — whether that’s young children just learning about why the temple matters, children learning about covenants and how those relate to the temple, or children going to the temple next year and wondering what to expect,” she said.
Words from Church leaders
A message on Page 3 from the First Presidency includes the words of President Henry B. Eyring, first counselor.
“There is nothing more important than honoring the covenants you have made and those you will make in the temple,” President Eyring wrote.
“Trials, challenges and heartaches will come to all of us. Yet as we go to the temple and remember our covenants, we can receive answers and help from the Lord. We can be reminded that we are part of Heavenly Father’s eternal family. We can remember our relationship with Him and His Son, Jesus Christ. No matter what, everything will be OK because of temple covenants.”
The issue also draws from “Taking on the Name of Jesus Christ,” an October 2025 general conference address from Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Page 18 says: “Elder Renlund taught that when we are baptized, we covenant to take Jesus Christ’s name upon us. That means that we always remember Him, try to be like Him and join Him in His work. We also receive His power and blessings in our lives. When we make more covenants with God in the temple, we more fully take Jesus’ name upon us. As we keep our covenants, God blesses us with more of His power.”
How to use the issue
Scriptures throughout the issue teach about covenants. Stories, games, activities and crafts in the issue all help guide children as they prepare for the temple.
“Families and leaders can read the stories with their children and see what questions the children have,” Sosa said. They can use the craft ideas to build their own temples and talk about why temples are so important. They can play a board game together to learn about how to prepare at any age (see pages 24-25).
Children move from Primary into Young Men and Young Women in January of the year that they turn 12 and are able to go to the temple to do baptisms for the dead after they receive their temple recommend. Guides in this issue explain the steps for getting a temple recommend, preparing names for the temple through Family Name Assist and what to expect on a first visit (pages 28-29).
The final page of the issue lists the temple recommend questions that the bishop or branch president will ask during a temple recommend interview.
“Children and families can read through the temple recommend questions together or use pages 16-17 to talk about the covenants we make throughout our lives,” Sosa said.
This issue can be used to prepare for the annual ward temple and priesthood preparation meeting for children in the Valiant 10 class. Many wards have chosen to hold this meeting in December, but it can be held at any time to prepare the class for joining Young Men and Young Women.
The September issue should already be in homes with no-cost subscriptions, but people can order as many additional copies as they need at store.ChurchofJesusChrist.org in 50 languages plus English Braille. Go to Magazines > Current Issues > The Friend and select the September 2026 issue. The digital magazine is also available online in Gospel Library in those same languages, as well as selected article videos coming soon in ASL.
“We hope that as children read through this issue of The Friend that they will feel the Savior’s love for them and know that He blesses us with temples because of His great love for us. We hope it can support children and families wherever they are in their temple journeys,” Sosa said.
History of The Friend magazine
The Friend has been published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for 124 years. It first started as The Children’s Friend in 1902 and was renamed simply as The Friend in 1971.
The Friend has evolved over time to provide content for children, their parents, their teachers and their leaders through more than the pages of the monthly magazine. The Friend’s staff also provides additional content on its website, and on Facebook and Instagram. Meanwhile, Gospel for Kids is the Church’s YouTube channel for children.
Content in the pages of the magazine is designed to teach gospel principles to strengthen faith in Jesus Christ. Some content each month is created specifically to support “Come, Follow Me” lessons as well. The magazine is also available to download as a PDF each month.
A special issue of The Friend published in 2023 focused on baptism and confirmation.
Church magazine subscriptions are published in 50 languages and available at no cost. Anyone with a Church account in certain parts of the world can sign up for one annual subscription (per household) to one or more of the Church’s magazines: the Liahona (for adults), For the Strength of Youth (for youth ages 12 to 18) and The Friend (for children).
