Church Policies and Announcements

The following items appeared in a recent Messages, sent to stake/mission/district presidents and to bishops and branch presidents:

1. LDS Chaplains. The Military Relations Committee of the Church, which administers the program for LDS chaplains in the military services, anticipates the possibility of additional openings for both reserve and active-duty LDS chaplains. Members interested in applying for appointment to the chaplaincy should have completed a full-time mission for the Church and a minimum of thirty semester hours of graduate work in counseling and guidance (a master’s degree is encouraged), and must be recommended by their bishop and stake president. For further information and application procedures, contact the Military Relations Committee, 50 East North Temple Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84150 or phone [phone].

2. Higher Education for Hearing-Impaired Students. While planning for higher education, students with impaired hearing should be aware of several alternatives that are available to them. Most hearing-impaired students can benefit from the regular programs available at most colleges and universities. The Church’s colleges and universities have made provisions for students with impaired hearing who meet the regular academic admission requirements. Those, however, whose hearing loss is extreme and who rely on sign language as their primary mode of communication may be better advised to attend one of several schools with special programs geared to persons with hearing losses.

The following institutions of higher education are suggested. At each of these the hearing-impaired LDS student has access not only to a good secular education but also to both institutes of religion and wards with interpreted or signed programs and services.

a. Seattle Community College, Seattle, Washington. Junior-college level work with trade-school training; Seattle Institute of Religion; Seattle 1st Ward Deaf Group.

b. National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID), Rochester, New York. Technical trade training; Rochester Institute of Religion; Rochester 2nd Ward Interpreted Services.

c. California State University, Northridge (CSUN), Northridge, California. Full university program; Northridge Institute of Religion; San Fernando Valley Ward for the Deaf.

d. Gallaudet College, Washington, D.C. Liberal arts college program, with all instruction in sign language; Silver Spring Institute of Religion; College Park Ward Deaf Group.

Note: Most institutions of higher education provide special assistance for hearing-impaired students who do not use sign language.

3. Simplified Accompaniments of the Hymns. Many wards and branches have pianists and organists who have difficulty playing the hymns from the hymnbook. For this reason, the Church has produced the publication Hymns: Simplified Accompaniments, Abridged Version. The publication presents over one hundred simplified arrangements of hymns found in the hymnbooks of various languages. Many of these hymns are transposed into lower keys making them easier to sing and play. The simplified accompaniments can be used by the pianist or organist while the choir or congregation sings in unison or in parts from the standard hymnbook.

The abridged version is printed on sheets designed to fit in an 8 1/2-by-11-inch three-ring binder and can be obtained with a language index corresponding to one of the sixteen standard language hymnbooks. The price is $1.25 each or the local equivalent.

4. Orthodontic Treatment for Prospective Missionaries. As indicated in the General Missionary Handbook, page 27, prospective missionaries should have “all medical problems … cared for before reporting for missionary service.” Accordingly, parents should begin orthodontic treatment for their children early enough so that active treatment will be complete when the children are old enough to be recommended for full-time missionary service. Considerable inconvenience and expense are avoided when such treatment is completed before the prospective missionary is recommended for a mission.