“Our Primary children sing, “Love is spoken here.” I once gave Sister Gong a small locket. I had it inscribed dot-dot, dot-dot, dot-dot-dash. Those familiar with Morse code will recognize the letters I, I, U. But I included a second code. In Mandarin Chinese, “ai” means “love.” So, double-decoded, the message was “I love you.” Susan, sweetheart, “I, ai (爱), U.” We speak love in many languages. I am told the human family speaks 7,168 living languages. In the Church we speak 575 documented primary languages, with many dialects. …Sometimes we need to know love spoken here is heard and appreciated here. …Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has made great strides in language translation. Long gone are the days when a computer might translate the idiomatic phrase “The spirit is willing, but the…
“Upon hearing the mission president’s message, the widowed sister desired to be sealed to her family in the temple someday. However, it was impossible for her, due to financial constraints and language barriers. Then several innovative solutions emerged. The cost could be reduced by half if members in Japan chartered an entire plane to fly to Hawaii in the offseason.Members also recorded and sold vinyl records entitled Japanese Saints Sing. Some members even sold homes. Others quit their jobs to make the trip. The other challenge for members was that the temple presentation was not available in Japanese. Church leaders called a Japanese brother to travel to the Hawaiian temple to translate the endowment ceremony.…When the endowed Japanese members living in Hawaii first heard the translation, they wept. One member recorded:…
“Becoming more attuned to the language of the Spirit is like learning another language. It is a gradual process that requires diligent, patient effort.”
“The phrase “in the path of their duty” describes the inspired translators and interpreters around the world who serve the Lord by helping friends and members to “hear the fulness of the gospel in [their] own tongue, and in [their] own language.”(Doctrine and Covenants 90:11) Their voices, signed language, and translated documents convey eternal truths, yet few of us know their names or ever express appreciation. Through the gift of tongues with which they have been blessed, translators and interpreters serve diligently, selflessly, and, most often, anonymously to help people receive the spiritual gift of faith through reading and hearing the word of God. …you who today are pressing forward in the path of your duty are the strength of the Savior’s restored Church. And as the Lord has promised, “all…
"I have deep compassion for those who have been mistreated, belittled, or persecuted by unfeeling and thoughtless people, because, in the course of my life, I have seen firsthand the pain good people suffer from being judged or dismissed because they happened to speak, look, or live differently. I also feel genuine sorrow in my heart for those whose minds remain darkened, whose vision is limited, and whose hearts remain hardened by the belief in the inferiority of those who are different from them. Their limited view of others actually obstructs their ability to see who they are as children of God."
“When I was called to the Relief Society general presidency six years ago this month, President Hinckley counseled me: “You bring a peculiar quality to this presidency. You will be recognized as one who represents those beyond the borders of the United States and Canada and, as it were, an outreach across the world to members of the Church in many, many lands. They will see in you a representation of their oneness with the Church.” He gave me a blessing that my tongue might be loosed as I spoke to the people. President Hinckley, I want to bear witness to the Lord before you and this congregation that your counsel and your blessing have been literally fulfilled. I do not speak Korean or Spanish or Tongan. But when I…
“He trusts us to help make the Inn the place He needs it to be. As we offer our talents and best efforts, His spiritual gifts also strengthen and bless. A Spanish language interpreter told me, “Elder Gong, I knew by the Spirit what you were going to say so I could translate,” this faithful brother said, “by the gift of tongues.” Gifts of faith and assurance come, manifest differently in different situations.”
“I hope you realize how extraordinary it is that you have been given the gift of being able to communicate in more than one language. ... Just as having the ability to communicate in another language will expand your intellectual horizons. ...You will get to know and come to love other peoples—and you will do so with a depth of feeling and understanding that would not otherwise be possible.” And for those who already speak a foreign language he said... “As suggested by the need for deliberate practice, advanced language learning is not a do-it-yourself project—but resources are available to help you improve your skills. So take the pledge: “I won’t let my language languish.” Say that ten times quickly!”
“Three or four days ago I was presented with a treasured volume... It is the old textbook that I used 75 years ago when I was one of four students who studied Greek at the University of Utah. I have long since lost my ability to read Greek and also Latin which I took at that time. But in the course of my studies I had the opportunity of reading the New Testament in the original Greek and gained from that a great insight of love and appreciation for my Savior and the great and glorious things which He taught. ...My love for the wisdom that comes of teaching and learning stems from the mandate given this people through divine revelation. Said the Lord: “And I give unto you a…
“...we as Church members, more than ever before, must take the obligation upon us to learn foreign languages.”
