Why do Utah’s Jehovah’s Witnesses love the new ASL Bible?

Robert Faircourt has been deaf since childhood, and American Sign Language is his primary language.

While learning English at school, reading and understanding the Bible has always been a challenge for the 74-year-old from West Valley City, who was baptized as a Witness of Jehovah in 1969. Over the years, he longed for a deeper commitment. with teachings of the Bible.

Faircourt’s prayers were answered one year ago when the Jehovah’s Witnesses announced what the church said was the first complete Bible in American Sign Language, a text-to-video translation project that took more than 15 years to complete.

In recent years, Faircourt and other members of the Salt Lake area sign language community have enjoyed viewing the ASL Bible on phones, tablets, and computers. Not only did it enrich their personal Bible study, but they also enjoyed sharing it with others in the deaf community.

Now, with greater understanding, Faircourt makes it a priority to look at and learn something from the Bible every day.

‘When I first saw the book of Matthew in ASL, I was overwhelmed. I watched the whole thing, “Faircourt told Deseret News through an interpreter. “I have gone to deaf expos over the years and tried to translate parts of the Bible into sign language, but the quality of this translation in ASL … is so much better than what has been seen in the past.”

Another member of the congregation, Stephanie Aitken, joined the faith almost a decade ago. The 66-year-old woman from Spanish Fork was born deaf. A few years ago she had a stroke and is now in a wheelchair in a nursing home. Before the pandemic, friends drove her an hour to and from church.

Annie Barker, Deseret News

Her interpreter, Michael Jones, said it was difficult to put into words the expressions of joy and happiness he saw in her body language when she expressed her gratitude for the ASL Bible.

“I’m so happy! It’s cool. I love it and cherish it. It touches my heart,” Aitken said using sign language. “The English Bible has never touched my heart before. It has helped me to learn from Jehovah and help me in my preaching work. ”

Robert Hendriks, U.S. spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses based in Wallkill, New York, said the ASL Bible is free and available on several platforms, including the app store on Apple, Google and Windows, as well as www.jw.org/ase .

The ASL Bible was one of the 33 New World Translations of the Holy Scriptures that the church completed in 2020. Jehovah’s Witnesses plan to release another 36 translations (in whole or in part) by 2021, according to a press release sent to Deseret News by email.

“The whole philosophy is that we must translate the Bible and reproduce it in the language of one’s heart,” Hendriks said. “This is our mandate in every language, because the Bible is more than just words.”

The Jehovah’s Witnesses report that thousands of active users and millions of people have downloaded the ASL Bible videos depicting men dressed in suits and ties with their hands and facial expressions to convey the Scriptural message of each verse. The response from the ASL members was ’emotional’, the spokesperson said.

Jehovah’s Witnesses

“It’s like a gift, a love letter to them,” he said. “Their response was: ‘I can finally control my own spirituality. I’m not dependent on anyone. I can finally have a relationship with my creator. ‘… The Bible is now in their own language, beating their hearts and touching them in this powerful way. Suddenly they feel closer to God. ”

According to Henry, most of the downloads were probably from people outside of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

“Most people who use this Bible are probably not Jehovah’s Witnesses,” he said. “It’s a contemporary miracle.”

Michael Overholt, a media host from the church in Salt Lake City, recalled seeing a Catholic woman in tears when he showed her the Our Father in American Sign Language.

Of his 8 million members worldwide (1.3 million in the United States), Henry estimates that the number of deaf Jehovah’s Witnesses in the United States is approximately 2,100. Between 60 and 70 regularly attend the Salt Lake City congregation, which was established in 2007. (The congregation is not currently meeting in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic.)

Janet Burciaga, 38, lives in Logan and has been a Witness of Jehovah for 25 years. She lost her hearing as a baby and relied on sign language to communicate. She remembers when the ASL Bible Translation Project began with the book of Matthew in 2005. Up to that point, reading was a ‘negative experience’, she said.

“When I was a teenager, I read the Bible but struggled to understand it,” Burciaga said. ‘When I started translating to ASL in 2005, it touched my heart. I cried. I said, ‘Thank you, Jehovah, I needed it.’ ‘

Annie Barker, Deseret News

Denise Gutierrez, a 54-year-old woman living in West Valley City, lost her hearing as a child and at the age of 12 began learning sign language, like the others, the videos dramatically increased her understanding of the Bible, and she is grateful.

“Especially in times like these, we all need encouragement. The best place to find it is in God’s word, the Bible, ”Gutierrez said. “Understanding the Bible helps me to apply it.”

Along with the excitement Faircourt feels about watching the videos, he likes to share them with other deaf people in Utah, who are often surprised, he said.

“They’ve never seen anything like it,” Faircourt said. God wants us to share good news with people. It’s easier for me to have the Bible in ASL. Now I can really help people. ”