temple interview with translator

[kdn1480]

Hello, we have an endowed sister who speaks only Vietnamese. Nobody in the ward speaks it. We use google translate to get stuff done. She wants the temple recommend. We have a non member sister who is willing to translate. Would this be ok? Also, where can we get a Vietnamese version of the interview questions? We would like to give it to the translator before hand. I would rather not use Google translate for this in case it makes a mistake.

[lajackson]

I would not have any problem with someone translating who is not a member of the Church. The recommend questions have been published as a result of the talk President Nelson gave during his Closing Remarks at general conference in October 2019.

The questions are in LCR. To get a copy of them, the bishop could call up that page and then change the language to Vietnamese. He could allow the interpreter to read them there, or he could print the page for the interpreter. I would destroy the printed copy after the interview.

Another way would be to go to the general conference talk (linked above), change the language code to Vietnamese, and then read or print them from there. This would run the risk of not having the latest changes in case there have been any recent changes to the questions.

EDIT: Here is a direct link to the Vietnamese translation of the talk by President Nelson.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/stu ... n?lang=vie

[BrianEdwards]

GHB 31.1.4 speaks directly to this. It states that a leader should always give the member being interviewed (temple recommend interview included) the option of having somebody else present. If the member is of the opposite sex, a child, or youth, then a parent or other adult must be present. And that person can either join the meeting or wait outside, depending on the member's preference. There's no requirement that the additional person be a church member. So your Vietnamese sister should be good to have the interview!

[kdn1480]

Thank you all for the input. I have forwarded the information to the bishopric for their decision making.

[russellhltn]

I'd also point out Handbook 0.4:

If leaders have questions about information in this handbook or about issues it does not address, they counsel with their immediate presiding authority.