The Friend Magazine Skill
Now you can listen to stories and music from the Friend magazine right on Alexa with The Friend Magazine skill. Children can follow along with their magazine or sit back and listen to uplifting child-friendly stories. When they are in the mood for a little quiet time, the Friend playlist will play a mix of stories and music specially selected by the Friend magazine to brighten your child’s day and help them feel the love of Jesus Christ.
Getting Started
To add the skill to your Alexa device, just say, “Alexa, open the Friend Magazine.” Or you can enable the skill on the Alexa Skill Store.
What features does the skill have?
- Listen to stories from the Friend magazine.
- Read along while listening to stories from the Friend magazine.
- Listen to the Friend playlist—a mix of stories and music.
Call Phrases
“Alexa, open the Friend Magazine.”
“Alexa, read me a story from the Friend Magazine.”
“Alexa, ask The Friend Magazine to play the friend playlist.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the skill stop in the middle of giving instructions or after a response?
There could be an issue with your internet connection. Try opening the skill again and seeing if it works. If not, you can report the issue to voiceapps@ChurchofJesusChrist.org or on ChurchofJesusChrist.org Feedback.
When is new content added?
New stories are added to the Friend skill on the first day of each month in conjunction with the publishing of the print and digital magazine. Each time new stories come out, the skill will start playing the new stories and then return to stories from past issues.
How many stories are on the skill?
The Friend Magazine skill has all the stories from the current issue back to January 2021. So there are plenty of stories to enjoy and more to come.
How does the skill choose which stories to play?
The Friend Magazine skill plays through stories from the Friend magazine starting on page one of the latest issue and then chronologically through the available past issues. So when you start using the skill, you’ll start with the stories in the latest issue.
How long is the Friend playlist?
The Friend playlist contains 10 stories and 10 songs. Total run time is about one hour.
Can I ask for a specific story?
This functionality is not available at this time, but it may become available in the future. You can request a specific story on another skill created by the Church called Gospel Voice. To access the story, you can say, “Alexa, play [talk title] on Gospel Voice.”
Can I ask to read a specific issue?
This functionality is not available at this time, but it may become available in the future. You can request a specific issue on another skill created by the Church called Gospel Voice. To access the issue, you can say, “Alexa, play the [issue month and year] of the Friend on Gospel Voice.”
Can I use the Friend skill on Siri?
The Friend Magazine skill is only available on Amazon Alexa devices. We are currently considering the possibility of expanding Friend Magazine skill to work with Siri and other platforms. However, you can access Friend Magazineon iOS and Google devices if you install the Alexa app or Google Assistant app on your device.
Can I send feedback or recommendations about the Friend skill?
Yes! We love feedback. Please send it to voiceapps@ChurchofJesusChrist.org or on ChurchofJesusChrist.org Feedback.
Will the Friend skill remember where I left off?
The Friend skill will continue reading a story from the point where you stopped the next time you open it.
Will the Friend skill remember where I left off by device or user?
If you have profiles set up on Alexa, the skill will remember where you left off by device or user. See Alexa for documentation on how to set up user profiles.
Why does it take so long for audio to play after I make the request?
There are a few reasons why response time may be slow. If you are the first person to call a certain piece of content, it may take a while for Alexa to find the content. Also, if your Wi-Fi connection speed is low, it may take longer for the skill to respond. If you experience consistent problems, send us feedback at voiceapps@ChurchofJesusChrist.org or on ChurchofJesusChrist.org Feedback.
Which countries and languages is the Friend skill available in?
The Friend Magazine skill is currently only available in English and Spanish, but we are considering the possibility of expanding to additional languages. The Friend Magazine skill is available in the English and Spanish stores on Amazon. Your Amazon account needs to be registered with one of these sites in order to access The Friend Magazine skill on Alexa:
English:
United States
Canada
United Kingdom
Australia
India
Spanish:
United States
Argentina
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Peru