Little things mean a lot to 12-year-old Janna Nelson.
Blind since infancy, Janna has struggled to be a part of the world around her. And it's the Friend magazine, now in braille, that has helped her feel like she belongs."In one of the first issues there was a recipe for English trifle," explained her mother, Donna Nelson. "It was her turn for the treat at family home evening and this was a recipe she could actually read, follow and do herself. The little things are so important to her. She always felt left out of so many things."
Janna, a member of the Beaver Valley Ward, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Stake, is just one of a number of children in the Church who receives the Friend in braille, the first Church magazine to be printed for the blind.
Now in its second year of publication, the children's magazine gives visually impaired children a chance to build up their understanding of gospel principles, said Douglas L. Hind, manager of special curriculum for the Church.
"If you can start the kids really young in learning about the gospel, then when they get older we feel they are going to grasp it better," he said. "The Church does not have many materials for visually impaired children. That's why we feel it is very important for children to have the Friend. We hope in the future it will be possible to have the Ensign and New Era in braille."
While some visually impaired Church members can rely on audiocassette to "read" Church publications, Janna is also deaf and must depend on braille and a telebraille machine to communicate with others.
Doctors discovered when Janna was 18 months old that she had a central nervous system disorder, Lebers Congenital Amaurosis, and was progressively becoming blind. By the time she was 5, she could no longer see well enough to read. Then four years ago she started losing her hearing.
"Having braille materials has really done wonders to open up her understanding," Sister Nelson said. "When we ask questions it is just amazing how she is able to come up with the answers."
Janna has been an avid reader of the Friend since April 1989, when it was first published in braille.
"Now she is in Young Women, she has received the personal progress booklet in braille and is able to choose the goals she wants to work on," Sister Nelson said. "She feels a lot more a part of what's going on and is more independent."
Six-year-old Quinton Williams of the Riverton 7th Ward, Riverton Utah North Stake, became blind about two years ago and is excited to have his new Friend in braille. "I like having it," he said. "It's fun. I haven't read all the pages, but I want to read more."
The Church has increased its production of braille in the past two years after purchasing a two-sided braille printer in 1988, Hind said.
The printer - which prints both sides of a page every four seconds - allows the Church to print materials at Church headquarters instead of sending materials to a commercial company, Hind said. "We have reduced costs, and that allows us to print on demand instead of in big volumes that take space at the distribution center."
Materials are translated into braille through a computer program that takes the written text from a computer disc. Certain codes are put into the text, and it is then sent through computer software that converts the text into braille.
Although other Church magazines are not printed in braille, the Ensign Talking Book (the Ensign magazine with some select articles from the New Era and Friend) is produced each month on half-speed, four-track audiocassettes for the visually impaired. Such audiocassette players are available through government agencies without cost to the blind and physically disabled in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Because most visually impaired Church members lose their eyesight as they become older, they are less likely to learn braille, Hind said. Usually they prefer listening to an audiocassette. For that reason more Church materials are available on audiocassette than in braille.
But Hind believes there is a need for braille materials and he expects that need to increase as the Church grows.
"Braille is so much more accessible for studying. You can look up scriptures easier," he said. "Those who read braille will prefer braille over audiocassettes."
About 2 percent of the membership of the Church is visually impaired and only 30 percent of that 2 percent uses braille, Hind said. The rest rely on audiocassette or large print.
Crossing the language barrier is another factor in providing materials for the blind, but Hind said, "We are looking at Spanish braille and hope in the near future to start producing scriptures in that language."
"Braille is very important," said Lynn Cruser, chairman of the braille production committee for the Church. "Some people hear things and learn them well that way, but for many people their fingers really do take the place of their eyes in the sense of learning."
Cruser, who has been blind since birth, said he gets more from reading "by getting my fingers right on the page and by being able to see, if you will, what the words look like, how they are spelled rather than just hearing the words."
In 1939, the Book of Mormon was printed in braille in a bound volume, but was reprinted last year with corrections and chapter headings. The Book of Mormon now comes in six volume binders in braille and is easier to use than before, Hind said.
"This way it gives them (the blind) an opportunity to find a chapter, open it up and take those scriptures to Church with them," he said.
The Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price were also recently published in braille. The LDS edition of the King James Bible is available on audiocassete but not yet in braille, Hind said.
"We hope in the future that it will also be in braille with other Church scriptures. Blind people want to be very independent," he said, noting they often prefer to read for themselves rather than having others read to them.
Materials for the blind are available at the Church Distribution Center in Salt Lake City. For questions about what's available, contact the manager of Special Curriculum at 50 E. North Temple, 24th Floor, Salt Lake City, Utah 84150.
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(ADDITIONAL INFORMATION)
Many Church resources are available in braille
- The Friend
- Articles of Faith by Talmage
- Missionary Discussions and Study Guides
- Joseph Smith's Testimony pamphlet
- Stake Missionary Handbook
- Training Program for Stake Missionaries
- Children's Songbook
- Hymns, 1985 (new hymnbook)
- Hymns - Using the Hymn book, and Indexes
- Melchizedek Priesthood Personal Study Guide
- Melchizedek Priesthood Leadership Handbook
- Relief Society Personal Study Guide
- Pursuit of Excellence pamphlet
- Book of Mormon
- Doctrine and Covenants (with or without footnotes)
- Pearl of Great Price (with footnotes)
- Bible Stories for Young Latter-day Saints
- Book of Mormon Reader
- Old and New Testament Stories
- Doctrine and Covenants Stories
- Sacrament prayers
- Sunday School Handbook
- Gospel Doctrine Teacher's Manual
- My Kingdom Shall Roll Forth
- Young Women Personal Progress
- Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith
- First Presidency Message
- Relief Society Visiting Teacher Messages
- The Thirteen Articles of Faith