Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — For the first time, some speakers during the General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will not be speaking in English. This raises the question of what kind of cultural impact this change might have.
Philip Barlow, a Utah State University professor of Religious Studies, said having people speak in their native languages is a big deal. “I think it’s a significant move,” said Barlow. “I think it’s analogous to having women praying in church.”
Barlow believes the talks will show that the LDS church is truly a worldwide religion and not just an American one. “In some ways, it’s part of a trajectory that the church is on. But, in some ways, it’s a new step.”
Barlow thinks the addresses will be more significant to people who can listen to the talks in their native tongue. “That’s going to signal something important to me; that the leaders of the church are reaching out to me and my people, seriously,” said Barlow.
The speeches may have more of an impact for people who hear it in their native language. Barlow said some of the finer points of the talk might get lost if they have to be translated from English. “The texture and the nuances are different in the different languages and it will be received that way by those culturally informed ears across the world.”
Not everyone in the world will hear these talks as they’re given. People watching at home will listen to an English translation of the speeches, while people in the Conference Center will be able to read the subtitles on the large screens inside. Church officials say the talks can be translated into 94 different languages.
Contributing: Carole Mikita
