When I attend the temple with my wife, I always look forward to an outpouring of the Spirit as I am instructed during the presentation of the endowment.
Friday night my wife and I enjoyed a special experience as we watched two hearing-impaired patrons view the endowment presented through American Sign Language and closed captioning.
The first time I saw a television in one of the endowment rooms, I thought it a bit odd that such a device would be kept in the temple. Odd, that is, until I saw what it was used for–presenting the endowment to the hearing impaired.
This was not the first time I had seen the endowment presented in ASL and closed captioning, but it was the first time I really paid attention to the sign-language interpreter and the closed captioning.
As the words of the endowment scrolled up the television monitor, I paid close attention to the punctuation and sentence structure. I marveled at the signs used to convey the sacred covenants and instructions, hoping somehow to glean new insights about the endowment from this alternate form of presentation.
I attempted to pick up on certain words and match them to their respective signs. After a few minutes, I was confident on a few of the signs and less so on others.
As I watched the interpreter present the signs for the words of the endowment, I was filled with a sense of wonder and awe. Moreover, I felt tremendous gratitude that the temple is available to bless the lives of all members, regardless of their ability to see or hear.
When it came time for the prayer circle, the two hearing-impaired patrons were unable to see the television monitor that provided the words for them, one of their spouses moved over and proceeded to sign the instructions of the prayer circle and then the words of the prayer.
As the company proceeded toward the celestial room, special care was taken to see that these hearing-impaired patrons were assisted in every way possible to make their temple worship meaningful and sacred. This assistance reminded of the time when I went through the temple in Portuguese, and the great care the workers took to ensure that I could enjoy the session entirely in the Portuguese language.
Later, as I stood with my wife in the celestial room, I reflected on how much technology has improved the overall presentation and availability of the endowment. In any given room of any temple, patrons can wear a headset that allows them to listen to the session in their native tongue, or, as I witnessed Friday night, the ability to see ASL and closed captioning.
I hope someday to see the film redone to allow for the screen to show the closed-captioned words, and for the ASL interpreter to be seen on part of the screen, so the hearing impaired will also be able to see the theatrical presentation of the endowment, without missing the words. (The quality of the film has improved since the 1950s version with Gordon Jump.)
What experiences have you had in the temple with foreign language sessions or ASL/closed-captioned sessions? Would it be distracting to have the ASL interpreter and closed captioning visible on the main screen? What improvements would you make to the ASL/closed-caption presentation of the endowment? How about a temple movie filmed with actors using ASL?