What is the magazine's purpose? To convey the witness of the prophets and the apostles of the divine mission of Jesus Christ and proclaim to the Church and the world that His gospel has been restored.
•How do you pronounce Ensign? The correct pronunciation is N'sine, not N'sun.
•What is the history? The word 'ensign' refers to a flag, standard, or sign. In battle, an ensign would be held up to give guidance to soldiers so they would know where to go. If the standard was lost, or its bearer killed, then the soldiers would be like sheep without a shepherd and at the mercy of their enemies. The term also refers to a battle cry or a watchword. Scripturally, the term often looks forward to the restoration. The magazine draws its name from several passages in Isaiah. For example: "And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth" (Isaiah 11:12).
In July 1847, President Brigham Young, Elder Wilford Woodruff, and several others climbed a peak north of what is now Temple Square in Salt Lake City. There, it is believed, Elder Wilford Woodruff took out a bandana and waved it as an ensign to the nations. The peak is now called Ensign Peak. (See President Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, Nov. 1989, 51–52.)