Training in their own tongue
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Auxiliary leaders of the Church's 100-plus Hispanic units in the state of Utah supplement the stake auxiliary leadership training they receive by attending area-wide training conducted in their native Spanish language.
Dating back to 2003, Hispanic auxiliary leadership training meetings have become an annual offering in the Utah Salt Lake, Utah North and Utah South areas.
Elder Ronald A. Rasband, the member of the Presidency of the Seventy who presides over the three Utah areas, cites Church statistics as showing approximately 70,000 Hispanic members residing in the state and more than 120 Spanish-language wards and branches.
However, unlike the handful of Spanish-language stakes in California and Texas that hold stake training meetings in Spanish, all of Utah's Hispanic units are assigned to a neighborhood, English-language stake. That means Hispanic auxiliary leaders either must rely on whatever English language skills they have to participate in leadership training sessions or on whatever translation services are provided by the stake.
The areas' Hispanic auxiliary leadership training sessions allow Hispanic unit auxiliary leaders and accompanying priesthood leaders to learn directly from general auxiliary presidency members or board members.
"This is a big need because we have such a heavy transition of Hispanics coming in from outside of Utah," said Elder Rasband, adding "the Hispanics are becoming a tremendous part of our Church fabric here in Utah."
The area training meetings are conducted almost entirely in Spanish — the only English spoken being if the visiting general presidency members or board members do not speak Spanish and need translation in providing remarks as well as listening and responding to audience comments. And English translation via headsets is provided for accompanying stake priesthood leaders who don't speak Spanish.
If the general presidency member or board member is a native Spanish speaker — such as Relief Society general presidency first counselor Silvia Allred or Young Men general board member Andres R. Ramos — the meeting is seamless Spanish.
Elder Rasband said the three area training sessions in late 2008 were the best to date, with the Salt Lake City Area meeting alone drawing an estimated 400 people. They are under the supervision of Area Seventies who have stewardship over Hispanic efforts, such as Elders J. Roger Fluhman and Donald J. Keyes in the Utah North Area, Elders Michael H. Holmes and John C. Pingree of the Utah Salt Lake City Area and Elders Jay L. Sitterud and D. Fraser Bullock of the Utah South Area.
The goal is not just to edify the leaders but to have the teachings filter down to others. "We're training them to train others," said Elder Rasband. "It's training the trainer."
Sister Allred said the four such meetings she conducted for participating Hispanic Relief Society leaders were all well-attended, with lots of discussion and exchanges of ideas.
"The leaders were eager to participate and express concerns and feelings," said Sister Allred. "They seemed very receptive to what was being taught and discussed, and many expressed how much they appreciated the opportunity to receive training in Spanish and having their specific needs addressed. They expressed how much more clearly they understood their responsibilities."
Bishop Rogelio Gonzalez of the Sunset 2nd (Spanish) Ward of the Provo Utah Sunset Stake has been attending the annual area Hispanic training meetings in Provo since his unit was organized in late 2003. He said his ward's auxiliary leaders come away from the meetings with a sense their comments and suggestions are valued and important when expressed in their native tongue.
"Some of them have also felt that, for the first time in many years, they were able to understand and enjoy all of the training and therefore can be more effective in implementing the training they have received," Bishop Gonzalez said.
"Several leaders expressed they felt a real part of the training because of their ability to participate in the discussion without having to listen to the broken bits of interpretation that got through the language barriers."
Elder Rasband said the Hispanic auxiliary training in part fulfills the prophecy found in Doctrine and Covenants 90:11: "For it shall come to pass in that day, that every man shall hear the fulness of the gospel in his own tongue, and in his own language, through those who are ordained unto this power, by the administration of the Comforter, shed forth upon them for the revelation of Jesus Christ."
