This story was originally posted on the Church News. Read the full article here.
For more than a century, the Ogden Valley Deaf Branch building has stood as a sacred home for deaf members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
On Sunday, July 27, Latter-day Saints and friends gathered one more time in the restored 1917 meetinghouse — many with tears in their eyes and hands raised in love and testimony.
The historic building, the first Latter-day Saint chapel — and one of the first buildings in the United States — designed specifically for deaf individuals, was recently renovated for a new purpose.
An early photo of the Ogden Valley Deaf Branch’s meetinghouse before the cultural hall was added. | Church History Library
It will serve as the meetinghouse for the Church’s Water Tower Correctional Branch — offering a sanctuary for those rebuilding their lives after incarceration.
Before that next chapter continues, this day belonged to the Deaf community whose members once called this building theirs.
“Welcome home,” said Doug Stringham, a member of the Sign Language Board of Accessibility for the Church, his hands emotional and expressive in American Sign Language. “Here was a place different from any other hearing Church you could find.”
Read the full article here.
