The April issues of the Ensign and Liahona magazines contain the message from President Russell M. Nelson that he delivered to members worldwide just after he was ordained prophet and president of the Church on January 16 of this year. The editors’ note says that he requested that his words be published in this issue.

At the end of that message, the following notice appears:

Monthly First Presidency Message to Be Discontinued

This message will be the last First Presidency Message published in the Ensign on a monthly basis. In the future, the First Presidency will share important messages as needed through the Church’s various channels, including Church magazines and LDS.org.

The First Presidency has been increasingly using many methods to communicate frequently with members worldwide, including live events, social media, email, Church websites, and Church magazines, in addition to frequent travel to meet with members in person. You can follow the social media posts of Church leaders on Facebook and Twitter.

Members have often used these monthly messages from the First Presidency printed in the Ensign and the Liahona in their home and visiting teaching visits. And even though such messages will no longer appear in the magazines monthly, there is still an abundance of messages from our Church leaders in the magazines and on LDS.org that can be used to meet the specific needs of the families and individuals we minister to.

Beginning in January 2018, the Visiting Teaching Message changed to Visiting Teaching Principles. Rather than providing a specific message to share each month, visiting teachers are now provided monthly principles to help them minister more effectively to each other. As they pray and seek inspiration, visiting teachers will know how to serve the sisters and what kind of spiritual message to share with them.