October General Conference sessions of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be translated for the first time in Australian Sign Language (Auslan), fulfilling a long-time wish of Jenny Foster of Brisbane, Australia.
General Conference October 2021 AUstralian Sign Language, Auslan
© 2021 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.When she first heard that some of the sessions of the conference will be offered in Auslan, she says it was hard to describe the joy in her heart. She was excited to share the good news with her deaf friends, family, and others.
Jenny has already posted the news on her Facebook page and is spreading the news with her friends. She plans to invite some of her deaf friends to come watch conference with Auslan translation in her home.
”When talks in Church are translated in Auslan,” Jenny says, “I receive the whole message and a deeper understanding of the gospel topic. I feel the Spirit [of God] because Auslan links the words of the message with the emotion or ‘voice’ of the speaker.”
Jenny was born profoundly deaf, and, although raised with a hearing aid, sign language is her first language.
Four years after joining the Church in 1993, Jenny served as a full-time missionary in the United States.
After she returned from her mission, she attended church each Sunday with her mother, Helen, and there were no interpreters at her local congregation. Despite being unable to hear the messages, she “never gave up because it was the place [she] wanted to be.”
Gradually some members of the congregation learned some sign language and were able to help. Even now, with cochlear implants, she feels like she misses a lot of information and understanding.
She says, “I know the Church is true, I know it in my heart and have always trusted in God and had faith.”
Jenny is very grateful that this is the time to have the translation and believes it will “help deaf people understand more, feel the Spirit and know more about our church and our beliefs.”
She is very excited and looking forward to watching conference in Auslan. It has always been the wish of her heart.
Auslan will be available in the Pacific on the 9th and 10th of October. The Saturday morning and evening sessions and Sunday morning session will have Auslan for their entireity. The afternoon sessions for both days will have Auslan for the remarks of Church President, Russell M. Nelson and members of the Quorum of the Twelve apostles only.