In Their Own Tongue

Mojca Zheleznikar is one of those members who joined the Church in Slovenia before the Slovenian Book of Mormon was available. Her testimony of the gospel came by listening to the missionaries and studying the Book of Mormon in Croatian and English. After the Slovenian translation was complete, Mojca read the translated text and felt the power of the words in her native language. "I felt the truth expand before me in clear simplicity and profound purity," she recalls. "It was like the voice of my Creator speaking to me in my own language, the language that my mother spoke to me."

Members around the world experience similar feelings when they receive the Book of Mormon in their language. In 2003, after the Book of Mormon was translated into Kekchi, a language spoken by the Maya people of Guatemala and Belize, translators reviewed the translation with groups of local members. One translator recalls, "We had assembled a group of pioneer members in the SenahĂș chapel to do the reading, and as we completed each passage, a reverent silence settled over the room. The understanding was complete, and the Spirit was powerfully present. It was a sacred experience."

One of the members in that meeting, Elvira TzĂ­, is grateful for the Kekchi translation of the Book of Mormon because of the blessings it will bring to the rising generation. She says the translation will allow younger members to "gain a thorough understanding of the Lord's word and have respect for what the Lord requires."

For members of the Church, studying the Book of Mormon in their own language is a source of countless blessings. As members "prayerfully learn and teach from the scriptures," the First Presidency has said, "their testimonies will grow, their knowledge will increase, their love of family and others will expand, their ability to serve others will enlarge, and they will receive greater strength to resist temptation and defend truth and righteousness."1