When Elder Peter M. Johnson, General Authority Seventy, envisioned God’s work of salvation at the first meeting of the Church’s American Sign Language Board of Education, in November 2022, he stated, “We [the board] are committed to help everyone learn and understand the gospel of Jesus Christ in their own language and culture,” referencing 2 Nephi 31:3.
With support of the board’s missionary work subcommittee members, 55 deaf, deaf-blind and hard-of-hearing members of the Church and their families — including youth and Primary-age children and grandchildren — from the Rochester ASL Group in the Rochester 3rd Ward, Rochester New York Stake; Union Square 2nd Branch (Sign Language) in the New York New York Stake; Washington D.C. Branch (Sign Language); Atlanta, Georgia; and Utah gathered Aug. 9-11 in upstate New York for a Church history tour. Many members of the Union Square 2nd Branch previously had never left New York City.
On the first day of the symposium, hosted at the Rochester New York Stake Center, President Thomas B. McCoy, president of the New York and Pennsylvania Historic Sites, opened with a keynote address on the importance and value of the Church historic sites and why The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints preserves them. After his remarks, he invited Elder Christian Pirtle from Ogden, Utah, serving in the New York Syracuse Mission, to recount Joseph Smith’s First Vision and to bear his testimony.
Union Square 2nd Branch President Vernon Bonse and Washington D.C. Branch President Fayoz F. Mulladjanov and his wife, Sister Kylie Mulladjanov, closed out the session. Presidents Bonse and Mulladjanov both joined the Church as adults. President Bonse walked participants through parts of the Reformation leading up to the First Vision and testified that the Reformation was a necessary step to restoring the gospel in the fullness of times.
“I honor the fathers of the Reformation ... as they paved the way for Joseph Smith to pray before God,” President Bonse testified.
The Mulladjanovs taught that Joseph Smith overcame barriers before the First Vision and God the Father’s introduction to His Son, Jesus Christ. He invited Joseph to “hear Him.” The Mulladjanovs taught that, likewise, each person has his or her own barriers on their individual quests to hear Him.
President Mulladjanov explained that he “wrestled in prayer” before he was converted and baptized. Sister Mulladjanov taught that “Satan cannot replicate peace” and invited the participants to do “small simple things that bring the Spirit back into your life.”
The evening was highlighted by performing ordinance work in the Palmyra New York Temple. Several individuals brought multiple names of family members to have their saving ordinances completed. Possibly the largest group of deaf, deaf-blind and hard-of-hearing members to have collectively performed ordinances at the Palmyra temple, many highlighted that they could see the Sacred Grove from right within the temple.
President Michael B. Ballard, second counselor in the Provo Utah South Stake presidency, and his wife, Sister Justine Ballard, provided opening remarks for the second day of the symposium, in the Hill Cumorah Visitors’ Center auditorium. President Ballard, who served a mission in the former New York Rochester Mission, taught that “questions lead to prayers, and prayers lead to revelation.”
He invited participants to share with one another the impact prayer has had on their lives and how one knew that God had in fact answered their prayers. He also taught that “[you] are miracles, as the Restoration of the gospel did not stop with the First Vision, but continues through you and your testimonies today.”
Sister Ballard taught that “[from] the time of the First Vision, the Lord has always been preparing us to make covenants in the temple.” She testified that, like the sequoia trees on Brigham Young University’s campus that need a continuous flow of water to survive, people need to ensure they are on the covenant path that leads them to the temple.
Following the Ballards’ remarks, participants visited the Hill Cumorah; the Grandin Building, where the Book of Mormon was first published; and the Sacred Grove and Smith Family Farm.
Tours were led by Elders Christian Pirtle and Samuel Larson from Chandler, Arizona, who serve the ASL community in the Syracuse mission. They spent the month prior to the symposium crosstraining with New York Syracuse Mission President Kory Coleman, President McCoy and historic site missionaries in preparation for guests to receive tour information in their native language.
Elder Larson said the “Lord answered my prayers when I could teach what happened here to the Deaf and hard-of-hearing Saints.”
Elder Pirtle, who is Deaf, explained that he increased his testimony of the reality of the First Vision, the sacred events each site represents. “The Lord blessed me to use my language [ASL] to teach His restored truths.”
Visiting the sites gave symposium participants strength to go forward with faith. Talvin Statton, first counselor in the Union Square 2nd Branch presidency, said he felt joy because coming to the sites gave him a peace he had never felt before.
“These are tears of joy. But I am OK. The things Joseph Smith went through help me go through hard things at home,” Statton said.
Several members of the Union Square 2nd Branch commented on how they had never met members of the Church outside of their branch before. The impact of this was felt immediately as they mentioned they don’t feel so alone anymore.
Rochester 3rd Ward Bishop Bradley Nillson and his second counselor, Chris Clark, planned for a Sunday worship service offered completely in ASL — opposite of what typically happens on Sundays.
Clark conducted the meeting, and the sacrament prayers and talks were all given in ASL by Sister Christine Merrill and Elders Pirtle and Larson. It was Elder Pirtle’s and Elder Larson’s final sacrament meeting in the ward before they returned home on Aug. 16. Elder Pirtle has served the entirety of his two-year mission in the ward. Priesthood and Relief Society meetings were also taught in ASL.
Clark said of the experience: “The top value for me was meeting new faces and mingling together. Our ward group is very small, so we feel a little alone. When the big group joined it became so exciting. We should have events like this more often so that we can get to know each other better. Of course, I don’t feel totally alone, I know Heavenly Father is with me, but as I gather with other Church members I feel that support of being united with other members.”
