Church Services for Blind, Deaf

For deaf Latter-day Saints, a complete listing of Church units and facilities adapted for deaf members who use sign language is now available through Personal Welfare Services: and for the blind, the Ensign is now available on 8 rpm records.

The roster of meetinghouses and other facilities where services for the deaf are available can be obtained by writing to Personal Welfare Services (7th floor), 50 East North Temple Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84150. It is free of charge, and includes listings for the United States, Canada, Guatemala, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

The Ensign for the blind is also available free of charge—but because of the slow speed, special phonographs are required. These phonographs can be obtained from government regional libraries on a loan basis without charge. Those living in the West should request phonographs from the Utah State Library, Division for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, 2150 South 300 West, Salt Lake City, Utah 84115. A doctor’s certificate verifying inability to read regular print should be included. In countries other than the United States, phonographs should be obtained from government or service agencies for the handicapped.

The Ensign will be recorded each month on three flexible plastic discs, for a total of six hours of listening. This recording replaces the New Messenger, which had included Ensign excerpts along with other materials. To subscribe to the Ensign for the blind or to request a listing of additional recordings for the blind, write to Coordinator of Materials for the Visually Handicapped, 50 East North Temple Street, #2445, Salt Lake City, Utah 84150, or telephone [phone]. Those who already receive the New Messenger will begin receiving the Ensign for the blind automatically.

Each set of three plastic discs will consist of readings from the Ensign, except the May and November issues, which will consist of recordings from the actual general conference, plus any additional material, such as “News of the Church” and biographies of new General Authorities, that appears in those issues of the regular Ensign.