The Book of Mormon and Missionary Work

When a geographic area is first opened to missionary work, language barriers can pose a significant challenge. With no printed Church materials in that area's language, missionaries must learn the language and bear testimony with the Spirit. In some parts of the world, many people speak a second language, and the missionaries are able to give them a Book of Mormon in that language. Before the Book of Mormon was translated into Mongolian, for example, many members in Mongolia studied the Russian edition.

But the gospel is best understood in the familiarity and clarity of one's native tongue. Eric Gemmell, who served in the Slovenia Ljubljana Mission from 2001 to 2003, saw firsthand what a difference it makes for members and investigators to have the Book of Mormon in their first language. He served the first 18 months of his mission before the Book of Mormon was available in Slovenian.

The work was difficult. The first branch of the Church had been established only a decade before. Slovenia had recently gained independence and was in the process of phasing out the former state language of Serbo-Croatian. The missionaries carried copies of the Book of Mormon in Serbo-Croatian and English, which most young people had studied in school. But more often than not, people declined the book because they could not understand either language. Eric remembers how hollow it felt to bear testimony to people of the greatness and importance of the Book of Mormon—and then to have to tell them that he didn't have a copy in their language.

Six months before Eric went home, the first shipment of copies of the Slovenian Book of Mormon arrived. The branch held a meeting where each member and missionary received a copy. "There was a special spirit in the air," Eric remembers. He recorded in his journal how it felt to hold such a precious, long-awaited book. "It was like holding the golden plates themselves," he wrote. After the meeting, the missionaries took the remaining books to use for missionary work. Eric and his companion were so thrilled that when they got to their apartment, they opened the boxes, spread the books out, and took pictures to remember the event. They could hardly wait to share the books with people. With the Slovenian Book of Mormon in hand, not only did the missionaries have more success approaching people, but they also had a way to reinvigorate the testimonies of less-active members who hadn't been to church in years.

In the last six months of his mission, Eric watched the testimonies of the Slovenian members blossom. "Once they got the Book of Mormon in their native language," he says, "they really understood it. It sunk deep into their hearts." Before, speakers and teachers in Church meetings had to read scriptures in Serbo-Croatian and have someone translate and explain some of the words. "It felt like we were limping along on borrowed words from another language," Eric remembers. When the members started reading the Book of Mormon in their native language, "their understanding of the gospel increased immediately," Eric says.