Members

Haitian-American members attend general conference for the first time in person

‘A dream come true’ for large group of Haitian Saints who traveled from Boston to Salt Lake City to see general conference

By Mary Richards April 5, 2023 4:10 p.m. EDT

Members

Haitian-American members attend general conference for the first time in person

‘A dream come true’ for large group of Haitian Saints who traveled from Boston to Salt Lake City to see general conference

By Mary Richards April 5, 2023 4:10 p.m. EDT

When Gairlende Audiesse-Vital saw President Russell M. Nelson walk into the Conference Center for the Saturday evening session of April 2023 general conference, she reverently and quietly stood with thousands of others in attendance.

“I felt something I never felt before,” she said. “It was different watching him on TV and seeing him in person. It was a privilege. I cannot describe that feeling. I will take that home with me.”

Around 40 members of the Oak Hill Ward (Haitian-Creole speaking) in the Boston Massachusetts Stake attended the session together. They had planned and saved for many months for the trip to Salt Lake City to attend general conference in person.

“This was a dream come true; I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time,” said Audiesse-Vital, who serves as ward Relief Society president.

The Oak Hill Ward was the first Haitian ward formed outside of the Caribbean island nation. Audiesse-Vital was baptized in Haiti when she was 17 years old, and others in her extended family joined the Church afterward — including some who were in Salt Lake City with her for conference weekend.

The trip to Salt Lake City also included a visit to Welfare Square.

Isson Joseph, the first counselor in the elders quorum in the Oak Hill Ward, said the ward members spent a long day visiting the Humanitarian Center, Bishops’ Storehouse, Deseret Industries and the cannery. Then they visited This Is the Place Heritage Park.

“We saw where Brigham Young in 1847 said, ‘This is the place.’ Our members enjoyed it,” Joseph said.

First conference visit memorable to Haitian

Speaking with the Church News after the Saturday evening session on April 1, Joseph said every general conference is a spiritual feast.

“It’s a privilege that we as children of Heavenly Father have to come to listen to the inspired message through His servants. It’s an amazing gift,” he said.

He said he likes to consider the sessions of general conference as free therapy.

“We have five free therapy sessions between Saturday and Sunday. It’s a group therapy session. During these sessions you develop spiritual coping mechanisms to manage worldly emotions and impulses,” he said. “Every time, I feel like upon my return I need to work on me, to do more, to spend more time in the service of the Lord, to become a better brother and father and improve myself.”

Joseph has attended general conference in person in the past, but Saturday evening was the first time many of the Haitian-American members were in the same room as the Prophet.

“This is a feeling no one can explain, unless you have this experience yourself,” he said.

Audiesse-Vital said: “This Church is true. The only reason we are here is because we believe Jesus is our Savior. We believe the Prophet today is the living Prophet. We believe him, and we love him, and we pray for him every day.”

The Spirit she felt during general conference she will never forget.

“My hope is when we go back home, we can share that feeling with others and help them understand how important it is to follow the Prophet,” Audiesse-Vital said.

After all the planning and logistics surrounding the trip, Joseph hoped the experience changed the members.

“That’s what we want to see, is to help them to feel the Spirit and increase their faith in Jesus Christ,” he said.