In an exciting, more internationally-minded approach, this Sunday’s Friend to Friend event will originate—meaning the broadcast will not be translated, but the Church has made original recordings in-language—in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Each broadcast will include two native-speaking child hosts, and all three members of the Primary general presidency filmed her portion of the broadcast in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Spanish came a little more naturally for President Camille N. Johnson (she and her husband were mission leaders for the Perú Arequipa Mission from 2016–2019), but Portuguese was more difficult. And yet she and her presidency members are excited for this unique way to connect with and help teach even more Latter-day Saint children.
“In Peru, if I would have waited until I was proficient in Spanish, I would have never spoken to the missionaries,” President Johnson told Church News. “It’s the same here. It’s not perfect, but I’m doing my best. I relish this opportunity to speak to the children in their language.”
Sister Amy A. Wright added, “It is important to us that the children hear our voices and not the voice of a translator ... We also want the children to see that the Lord truly loves effort, and that He will consecrate our efforts as we strive to bless the lives of others.”
You can watch the broadcast on ChurchofJesusChrist.org starting February 19 at 10 a.m. MST.
The Primary general presidency hopes that since this is a shorter broadcast—just 20 minutes long—its interactive segments will be used by parents and Primary leaders over and over again in their classes and families, modeling what leaders and parents can accomplish at church and at home—to engage, not merely entertain.
“The children are hosting it,” Sister Susan H. Porter told Church News. “The children are the crew. The children are directing the questions. They’re very involved, and in a fun way, we’re learning the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
The theme of this Sunday’s broadcast will be “navigating the covenant path,” with two native-speaking child “explorers” in each of the English, Spanish and Portuguese broadcasts.
The broadcast will also be available in American Sign Language (ASL), Cantonese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, and Russian.
