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Members of the Deaf community participate in a worship service on Sunday, July 5, 2026, conducted in Australian Sign Language (Auslan) during the Australian Deaf Games on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.© 2026 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
When Lisa Atkinson joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there were no Australian Sign Language (Auslan) interpreters.
Each Sunday, she relied on written notes, lip reading and fragments of conversation to understand what was being taught. While hearing members listened, laughed and learned together, much of the message passed her by.
Today, stories like Lisa’s are beginning to change.
That change was on display this week during the Australian Deaf Games on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, where members of the Deaf community, athletes, supporters and visitors gathered for the Church’s weekly worship service, known as a sacrament meeting, conducted in Auslan.
While the gathering was a highlight of the Games for many who attended, it also reflected a broader effort taking place across Australia.
“English is not our language,” Atkinson said. “Auslan is our first language.”
Atkinson said written notes, lip reading and later typed summaries helped her understand parts of church meetings, but they could never replace worshipping in her own language.
“It was really a communication breakdown,” she said.
Today, when interpreters are available, that experience is very different.
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A speaker addresses the congregation during the worship service on Sunday, July 5, 2026, conducted in Australian Sign Language (Auslan) during the Australian Deaf Games on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.© 2026 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.She said interpretation allows her to ask questions, participate in discussions, and learn alongside everyone else in the congregation.
“It helps me feel a part of the church congregation,” she said.
Lisa’s experience is no longer unique. Across Australia, opportunities to worship and learn through Auslan have gradually grown, thanks to the efforts of Deaf members, volunteers and local Church leaders.
Interpreted Sunday worship services are now available in some congregations across Australia, both in person and remotely, where interpreters are available. Since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, weekly Sunday and midweek online scripture study groups have also brought together people from the Deaf community across Australia and New Zealand, creating opportunities to study the scriptures together in Auslan each week.
Atkinson said those weekly gatherings have transformed the experience of many Deaf people.
“We get to see all the other Deaf members’ faces and their expression and their understanding as they come to learn and understand the gospel,” she said. “We all take turns teaching.”
She said the weekly discussions have helped people deepen their understanding of the gospel, build friendships, and support one another.
Those opportunities didn’t happen by accident. They grew because people recognized a need and chose to do something about it.
For Deanne Vowels, that journey began long before the Australian Deaf Games.
As a young girl growing up in Orange, New South Wales, she wanted to communicate with a Deaf member of her local congregation. She and her father enrolled in community sign language classes so they could speak with her in her own language.
That experience sparked a lifelong interest in the Deaf community. That experience eventually led Vowels to complete a master’s degree in special and inclusive education, specializing in Deaf and hard-of-hearing education.
Years later, while looking through the Australian Deaf Games social calendar, one listing caught her attention. Sunday morning simply read:
“Church Service – To Be Advised.”
“I immediately wondered if it was possible for our Church to provide this,” Vowels said. “I am not an interpreter. This isn’t my Church calling. I just saw a need and tried to fill it.”
She contacted the Deaf Games committee before she had any idea exactly how it would happen.
Planning soon followed, bringing together local Church leaders, Deaf members, interpreters, technology specialists and volunteers.
“I offered to organize the meeting before I knew exactly how it would happen, trusting that if it was the Lord’s work, He would provide the people and the way,” she said.
“He did.”
The first Auslan worship service held during the Australian Deaf Games took place in Newcastle in 2024. When the Games moved to the Sunshine Coast this year, Vowels again began looking for a way to make it happen.
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An interpreter signs in Australian Sign Language (Auslan) during a Sunday School lesson on Sunday, July 5, 2026.© 2026 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Looking back, Vowels said the effort was never really about organizing an event.
“It’s seeing the Deaf community come together, worship, chat, laugh and really feel part of the gospel of Jesus Christ,” Vowels said. “It reminds me that inclusion isn’t simply about access. It is about belonging.”
Those efforts continue today through collaboration between Deaf members, interpreters, local Church leaders and Church employees.
For members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, helping people worship and learn in their own language reflects the Savior’s example of ministering to individuals and inviting all to come unto Him.
Church resources in Auslan continue to grow, with general conference already available and additional worship and learning materials under development. Deaf members are involved throughout the translation and review process, helping ensure resources are both accurate and natural in Auslan.
“When general conference first became available, it felt as though we were home,” she said. “We felt loved, we felt seen, and we felt part of the Church.”
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Interpreters help Deaf children participate alongside their peers during a Primary class following the worship service held during the Australian Deaf Games on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast on Sunday, July 5, 2026. © 2026 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Looking ahead, Atkinson hopes future generations of Deaf people will have even greater opportunities to worship in their own language.
“I would love to see Deaf missionaries in Australia,” she said. I’d love to see the Book of Mormon translated into Auslan, and I’d love to have the temple accessible in Auslan.”
For Vowels, however, the story isn’t simply about interpreters or new resources.
“I hope readers see that everyone has the ability to be a bit more inclusive,” she said.
“If this story encourages just one person to ask, ‘How can I make someone feel more included?’ then it has achieved something worthwhile.”
