This tumultuous world can be dampening and discouraging. We know you turn to Meridian for light, and hope and clarity. You want that daily dose of uplift and to be part of a community of faithful thinkers who remember what matters. You want to be able to articulate and deepen your understanding of important things so you can be resilient when the wind blows.
That clarity is getting harder and harder to find these days when we are blasted by misinformation and false values, and that’s why Meridian seeks to be a trustworthy voice that you can turn to and count on—every day.
Our job never ends as we’ve been doing this now every weekday for twenty-three years, but here is the underlying truth. We cannot do it alone.
Become a voluntary subscriber today. Click here.
We need your support and today begins our Voluntary Subscription Campaign (VSC). This year we are suggesting a voluntary subscription of at least $40 and encourage those who can do more to do as much as you possibly can. And as a bonus, for those who subscribe at the $40 level or more, you will receive a free download of one of my stunning photographs from the Joseph and Lucy Mack Smith Farm in Manchester, New York called, “Joseph pauses just before going into the Grove.” A small version of this photo is shown at the end of the article. Please check it out—you’ll want it in your home. This is a $200 value suitable for framing in your home or office. It’s our way of saying thank you!
Click here to become a Voluntary Subscriber Now
Those of you who are long-time loyal Meridian readers will remember that we’ve been doing an annual VSC for a long time, but last year, during COVID, when we needed your support the very most, we carefully decided not to add any burdens to your life but to wait out the storm together and come to you at a later date. It’s now the end of the second year since we have come to you, and we need your generous support in order to continue Meridian’s mission.
People think that somebody else will support the publications and services they care about. They think they don’t have responsibility, because surely someone else is subscribing and it will cover them. In reality, the smallest percentage of our large readership subscribes. This time, can it be you?
Don’t Advertising Revenues Cover All Our Expenses?
About 25 years ago, when we were formulating Meridian, we went to New York City and did a focus group with potential Madison Avenue advertisers. These ad execs represented the very products that Meridian readers were most likely to use—Pampers, Jello, Cheerios, Chevy Suburbans, Coleman, etc. and did ad buys worth millions of dollars a month.
We watched this focus group through a two-way glass, so we could see and hear every question and every response. To our dismay, not only would the advertisers not be willing to place ads in a Latter-day Saint publication, they also had very erroneous views of what they then called and still call “Mormons.” They said decidedly that “Mormons” were mostly uneducated, superstitious, very backwards, wore black clothing, were definitely unskilled laborers and would certainly not be on their list. At one point it became so bad, the focus group facilitator gave the session a small break and she came back and asked us if we were doing ok.
They were not going to advertise with us. And today, about 25 years later, that same New York City focus group would be even harsher against religion and clearly less likely to advertise. While most national publications can rely on advertisers, our pool is limited and we have to rely on you, our loyal subscriber and your subscription money to keep us going.
Subscribe Now and Support Meridian’s Ongoing Mission Today: Click here.
What does my Subscription Help Pay For?
We are a small operation with all the costs of a big operation. With readers in all 50 states and more than 220 countries and territories, we have to have the best solid-state, high-security servers located in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Arizona; Europe and Singapore. We have to pay for all the services the big boys pay for but with a skeletal staff and limited resources. We have email server platforms that we pay for to send our executive summary out every day. We have all kinds of technical services and expenses. We have a small staff who each do the work of multiple people. We are constantly developing new products to help get Meridian out to you (a new APP is about to be released). We produce a weekly podcast that has had more than 4 million downloads. All of these things are not done for free. They each one cost a great deal of money and that’s where we need your subscriber support.
Click here to join other Meridian Voluntary subscribers today.
A Topsy Turvy World That Needs a Clarion Voice in the Media
Almost 25 years ago we sat down and agreed to bedrock standards for Meridian and the articles we run such as: “Does our tone affirm that Jesus is the Christ and leave no question that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is His restored Church, led by divine inspiration by those anointed to speak for Him?” And “Do we assume that answers to life’s questions, large and small, can be found within the context of the gospel of Jesus Christ? We have pages of standards like these that we have lived by, never deviating from that sure course. We will never deviate.
Become a Voluntary Subscriber now. Click here.
An Easy Way to Support Meridian’s Ongoing Mission
We are using a new financial backend that allows you to select a one-time subscription or a recurring subscription for Meridian. You can select the amount from the pre-selected amounts we have indicated, or you can select a custom amount. For example, if you have the means and would like to support Meridian’s ongoing mission, you could select an amount, $50 or $100 and then select Recurring and then indicate Monthly, Quarterly, Semi-Annually or Annually. These kind of Voluntary Subscribers are extremely helpful to the magazine as we see those subscriptions come in and can do planning for our magazine operations and expenses.
Here’s that Bonus Photograph You’ll Receive
If you subscribe at the $40 level or above, you will receive a large file download of this image:
This photograph was taken during COVID, in October, on the Smith Farm in Manchester, New York. This is right as you enter the Sacred Grove at the south end of the farm looking east. That’s why I have named this photograph: “Joseph pauses just before going into the Grove.” Remember, Joseph recorded that it was on the morning of a beautiful, clear day, early in the spring of 1820. This is not the spring, but it was a beautiful, clear day, and this is near where he could have been standing just before he had the experience that would change the world.
We’d love to have you become a part of the Meridian family of voluntary subscribers—those of you who help make Meridian a reality. Please subscribe today at the beginning of the campaign.
