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February 2, 2009
Dear Bishops, Branch Presidents & Group leaders serving the Deaf Community,
We are truly blessed in this dispensation with the technology that will allow the deaf to communicate with each other face to face, in their own language. This technology, Videophones, has become a common feature in every deaf person’s home.
As a coordinator of the Sign Language Seminary and Institute in Salt Lake City, Utah, I would like to share with you a wonderful new opportunity that is available for all deaf members which allows them the ability to participate in Seminary and Institute classes originating from Salt Lake City through their home Videophones.
We have set up a system here in Salt Lake City, where we have the capacity to contact more than one videophone simultaneously which allows us to teach several people in one Seminary or Institute classes. Participants are able to see each other, and are able to interact with each other through the videophone. These classes are available for anyone living anywhere in the USA or Canada. We are thrilled for this opportunity!
We currently have a program set up for both Seminary and Institute age deaf youth to participate in. The institute classes are full with the exception of a couple of openings, on Tues, and Wed Evenings. The real intent of this letter is to seek your assistance in recruiting deaf seminary age students to fill our classes. Currently, we only have a few seminary age students enrolled. We believe that this program will greatly benefit the deaf/hard of hearing youth.
These classes will not only provide gospel instruction in ASL, but will also be an opportunity for the LDS deaf peers to interact with each other, an often very difficult challenge in their local communities. We hope that this program will build testimonies of the youth, to prepare more youth to go on missions, and an opportunity for them to associate with other deaf peers of the same age.
I realize that many of you do not have deaf youth in your wards or branches, but if you could carefully and prayerfully seek out those LDS individuals who are deaf from the ages of 14-18 years old and share this information with them that would be greatly appreciated.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at vandegraaffn@ldschurch.org. We hope that we can be of assistance for you, and your youth.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
Nathan Van De Graaff
Coordinator; Sign Language Seminary and Institute
Vandegraaffn@ldschurch.org

This item has been translated into ASL and placed on the ASL site of the Church. At the present time, the Introduction, Historical Summary, The Life and Ministry of Joseph Smith and Chapters 1-6 are available. Additional chapters will follow.
The following is the link to the ASL page:
http://lds.org/asl/0,19952,6546-1,00.html
Book of Mormon Gospel Doctrine Videos
Segments from Book of Mormon Video Presentations are used with the Gospel Doctrine
lessons found at this link: Book
of Mormon Gospel Doctrine Teacher's Manual.
Disabilities.lds.org
This new Web page Disabilities.lds.org
has been in development for many years and has recently been added to lds.org.
It is meant to be a resource for leaders, teachers, families and those with
disabilities. It is a substantial resource that will impact members everywhere.
Please visit the pages and give us any feedback you may have. A related article
will appear in the January 12 issue of the Church News.

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Gallaudet University ASL dictionary links
http://depts.gallaudet.edu/englishworks/links/ASL.html
Internet ASL Word Dictionary
http://deafworldweb.org/dww/asl/
ASL Dictionary Online- Animated dictionary
http://dww.deafworldweb.org/asl
Sign Language dictionaries and
resources for many languages
http://www-sci.lib.uci.edu/~martindale/Language.html#SIGNLAN
The Russian Manual Alphabet
http://weber.u.washington.edu/~jkautz/Russian.Sign.Project.html
!!!ATTENTION!!!! New service: I now offer ASL Coaching via Videophone (VP) or webcam to VP for long distance student nationwide! Web-cam users check out: http://www.viable.net/product/vv
Referrals are greatly appreciated. See the new web page at: www.ASLwithRaVen.org
For locals VP me at: 503-928-5766. Long Distance callers use: 1-866-957-0304.
Index to all of Greg Gay's "Learning ASL" Web Pages
http://www.iwaynet.net/~ggwiz/f/index.html
ASL videos by John Barr (TUTOR) ($29)
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/jbarr/signlang.htm
Animated American Sign Language
http://www.feist.com/~randys/index1.html
Basic Alphabet and numbers 1-10.
http://www.masterstech-home.com/ASLDict.spml
Scholarly ASL, grammar and linguistics
http://pantheon.yale.edu/~nakamura/deaf/asl.html
Fingerspelling Trainer
Writepad and Gallaudet fonts
http://www.umsl.edu/~tjlcniem/fspell.htm
Deaf Works
(Equipment: TTY'S $99, TTY MODEMS $89, TTY Repair, ETC)
http://www.deafworks.com/
Oregon's Deaf Resources on the Net
http://www.open.org/oad/dno/
Resource for the Deaf, Deaf-Blind
http://www.wolfenet.com/~hydronut/deafweb.htm
Information on the availability of closed captioning
TV, rental videos and movies
http://www.erols.com/berke/"
target="_parent
Links to sights for special needs kids, deafness, etc
http://users.aol.com/bagograd/mainpage.htm
Special Needs children and their parents
http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/lawilson/
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Portland Heights (Deaf) Branch - Portland Oregon Stake
2931 SE Harrison St, Portland, OR, 97214.
Meeting
Time,Map and Driving Directions
Fairwood Ward - Renton Washington Stake
19909 SE Wax Rd
MAPLE VALLEY , WA 98038
Meeting
time,Map and Driving Directions
Sunset Ward - Tacoma Washington South Stake
4219 Beckonridge Dr. W,
University Place, WA
(253) 566-3903 (Bishop's Office)
Meeting
Time,Map and Driving Directions
Key Center Ward - Tacoma Washington Stake
12521 134th Ave KPN Gig Harbor, WA 98329
(253) 857-5263 (Bishop's Office)
Interprets in all meetings and also an ASL Gospel Doctrine and Beginning Sign
Language classes in Sunday School.
Meeting
Times,Map and Driving Directions
Surprise Lake Ward - Puyallup Washington Stake
512 Valley Ave, Sumner, WA 98390
Meeting
Times,Map and Driving Directions
There is a meeting in the Olympia (Lacey Stake) area if someone knows the ward and could send it to me
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The LDS ASL internet web page www.lds.org/asl
now has 4 sections
1. Monthly Messages — First Presidency Message, Visiting Teaching Message
2. General Conference — October 2004 through October 2006
3. Music — Hymns, Children's Songbook
4. Broadcasts — 9 Important Broadcasts
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you see any mistakes on this page or if you know of other LDS meetings with
interpreters for the deaf
and hard of hearing in the Seattle area, please send them to me at
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From: "John Stockman"
To: "Doug Hind"
Subject: New DVD w/ASL and Subtitles
To All;
A new DVD in the Home and Family Collection titled ‘The Mountain Of The Lord’
is now available in the Salt Lake Distribution Services. This DVD has English
Language, American Sign Language, and English Subtitles.
‘The Mountain of the Lord’ recounts the history of building on the Salt Lake Temple. Referring to his meticulously kept journals, President Woodruff relates the amazing story – from the inspired moment when Brigham Young declared the location of the temple site to the dramatic dedication 40 years after the groundbreaking.
The Mountain Of The Lord
Item 54300 090 DVD, English, ASL, SDH $4.50 each
Materials may be ordered from the Salt Lake Distribution Services by phone;
U.S. and Canada 1-800-537-5971
TTY (hearing impaired) 1-801-240-6149
To order by mail, include item number, description, price, applicable sales
tax, and totals. Send a check or money order (in U.S. funds) payable to “Corporation
of the Presiding Bishop”, or include your credit card number (VISA, MasterCard,
American Express, or Discover card) and expiration date to:
Salt Lake Distribution Services
1999 West 1700 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84104-4233
FAX Orders, send information requested above to;
FAX Number; 1-800-240-3685
We expect additional DVDs with ASL and Subtitles to become available soon.
Doug Hind
Special Curriculum
EMAIL: HindDL@ldschurch.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the March 2005 Readers Digest page 158
Copyright Readers Digest 2005
I SAW THE SIGN (AND I HEARD IT TOO)
Developed by Jose Hernandez-Rebollar, a researcher at the George Washington University, the Accele-Glove can translate American Sign Language gestures into spoken words or text, allowing the deaf to communicate more easily with the sign-language illiterate.
Users wear the electron, which is outfitted with micro-sensors, on one hand. A micro-controller on the back of the glove maps the position and movement of the hand and fingers, then broadcasts each word through a speaker or sends text to a computer screen. And, viola! The deaf and non-deaf are chatting.
To All;
The audio-visual material being prepared by the Church in the future is scheduled to be distributed on DVDs. We are currently preparing 2005 curriculum material in ASL for the DVD format.
We in the Special Curriculum, Members with Disabilities, of the Curriculum Department need to consider your comments and concerns about the use of DVDs for the Sign Language (ASL) material that in the past has been on video tapes. The use of DVDs will be much more compact and easier to handle. DVD format allows direct access to the recorded files opposed to searching a video tape for a file.
Another issue is the closed captioning and subtitling for the DVDs. We have begun to place SUBTITLE only on the DVDs. Will this be a problem? This will allow all coutries which speak/read English to be able to use the same DVD.
We hope in the future that General Conference, ASL interpretation, will be available on DVD. It is currently available on high speed Internet (www.lds.org).
Thank you for your response and please email your comments, concerns, and
suggestions to:
Doug Hind
deafsupport@ldschurch.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Book of Mormon Stories in American Sign Language (ASL) on DVD, is now available and can be ordered from Salt Lake Distribution Services. This is item #54100 010 and is $5.00 ea.
This DVD has been prepared especially for those who are deaf or hearing impaired and their families. It brings the stories of the Book of Mormon to life simply and powerfully, which can increase understanding and enjoyment of the scriptures. Teachers and parents will also find that these stories add interest to any lesson or family home evening.
This DVD includes 54 stories from the Book of Mormon translated into American Sign Language with English subtitles as well as sound.
Three ways TO ORDER:
Phone: You may call Salt Lake Distribution Services at 1-801-240-6149
(TTY) or Voice at 1-801-240-3800 or 1-800-537-5971 for U.S. and Canada.
Mail: Include item number, description, price, applicable sales tax,
and totals. Send a check or money order payable to “Corporation of the Presiding
Bishop,” or include your credit card number (VISA, Master Card, American Express,
or Discover card) and expiration date to:
Salt Lake Distribution Services
1999 West 1700 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84104-4233
Internet: We are sorry that this item is not yet listed on http://www.lds.org in their materials catalog. We are working on pushing this ahead and suggest that you check on-line periodically.
Please forward this message to all deaf members of the Church as well as those who associate with and assist members who are deaf.
If individuals would like to contact us by e-mail (deafsupport@ldschurch.org), we will be happy to add them to our mailing list. We keep this list to help inform those who are interested in keeping abreast of new Church materials that have or will be released. We are excited to soon have the Book of Mormon in ASL released on DVD.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Selected Hymns, American Sign Language (ASL). Is now available and can be order from the Salt Lake Distribution Center.
This DVD features 127 selected hymns from the official Church hymn book. Users have the option to view on-screen menus from which to select hymns or to select hymns directly by titles. Audio voice and music, as well as English subtitles, are included.
Item # is 54028 010 and the cost is $5.00 for the set.
Three ways TO ORDER:
Phone-- you can call the Salt Lake Distribution Services at 801-240-6149
(TTY) or Voice at 801-240-3800 or 800-537-5971. Give them the item number.
Mail-- include item number, description, price, applicable sales tax,
and totals. Send a check or money order payable to "Corporation of the Presiding
Bishop," or include your credit card number (VISA, Master Card, American Express,
or Discover card and expiration date to:
Salt Lake Distribution Services
1999 West 1700 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84104-4233
Internet-- go to www.lds.org then to "Order Church Materials, then search by item number listed above. You will need a credit card to order on line. Please forward this message to all members of the Church who associate and assist members who are deaf as well as the deaf themselves. If individuals would like to send their e-mails to me (hinddl@ldschurch.org), I will be happy to add them to my mailing list. I keep this list to help informed those who are interested of new Church materials that have or will be released. We are excited to soon have the ASL Book of Mormon released on DVD and a new ASL Book of Mormon Stories released on DVD.
THANKS!!
Doug Hind
801-240-2509
HindDL@ldschurch.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IF YOU ARE LIVING IN THE SEATTLE WA AREA OR VISITING HERE, THIS WILL BE OF INTEREST TO YOU
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From: "blancharda1@juno.com"
Date: Mon, 26 Jul 2004
Subject: Deaf temple session at the Seattle WA temple
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I have talked to the temple Presidency and we have agreed to have the 2nd DEAF
session on the 2nd Sat at 1:30 in the afternoon. It is not on the temple schedule,
but it will be for 2005. But we will begin when the temple opens up the Aug.
So if you can come the 2nd Sat. in Aug, we will begin to have that 2nd session
for those that can't come on the 4th Friday. WE will still have the session
on the 4th Fri. for those that want to come to that session at 7:30 p.m..
Love you
Brother Albert Blanchard (Deaf Coordinator at the Temple)
PS You can still come any time. Just let the temple know and I will be there.
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NOTICE: The HEARING WITH OUR EYES web page is maintained by Cordell Vail who is a member of The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints and attends the Key Center Ward in Gig Harbor Washington. All things on these web pages are opinions of Cordell Vail and not intended to be any representation of the official doctrine or policies of The Church Of JESUS CHRIST Of Latter-day Saints.
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Last updated
20 Sept 2008
LDS WebRing site #247Hearing With Our Eyes is maintained by Cordell Vail Email: Seattle Washington Want to join the LDS Webring? |
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