As newly called coordinating council representatives for the upcoming For the Strength of Youth conference in American Sign Language, Scott and Lori Featherstone are thrilled for youth who are deaf and hard of hearing to have the chance to participate again in a five-day event just for them.
FSY ASL 2024 is slated for June 24-29, 2024, at Brigham Young University, in Provo, Utah. The session is available for all eligible youth in the U.S. and Canada who are deaf or hard of hearing, not just those in stakes invited to attend in 2024.
“The goal is to make sure that every youth in an ASL unit — and also those we may not be aware of, who are not attending an ASL unit but are deaf or hard of hearing — gets an invitation,” said Scott Featherstone. He and his wife will be working with each of the Church’s 19 ASL units in the U.S. and Canada to make this happen.
FSY includes devotionals, classes and activities designed to help strengthen faith in Jesus Christ and help youth have fun as they learn to apply the gospel in all aspects of their life. The Church’s FSY team held an official ASL session for the first time in summer 2023 after a pilot session in 2022.
With three sons who are deaf and three who hear, the Featherstones know firsthand as parents how much this kind of event in ASL could mean to a youth who is deaf or hard of hearing.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to gather with youth who are deaf or hard of hearing from all over the United States and Canada,” said Scott Featherstone. “I don’t know where else they would get this opportunity. It’s a big deal.”
Lori Featherstone added: “It’s the whole umbrella of fun, games and friendship. The most important thing is they’ll feel the Spirit together, which will bond them even closer because they’ll come to know their Savior and gain a testimony.”
Registration for FSY ASL 2024 opens Feb. 15, 2024, for on-cycle stakes and March 7, 2024, for off-cycle stakes.
FSY ASL 2023
J.J. Pollock, who was a coordinator for FSY ASL 2023, saw how participants connected with each other during the conference and found commonality in shared life and gospel experiences.
“Being able to express themselves in a way that they can understand, with all the layers of accessibility on top of that — having captioning, voice interpreting, all of the above — it was really, really awesome,” he said.
Now as a consultant for the 2024 session, Pollock said the FSY ASL team has learned several things from last year’s event that will make the next one even better.
“We are excited to provide a wonderful experience for the deaf youth this next year,” he said.
Registration information
When registration opens Feb. 15, 2024, look for “FSY Utah Provo 5C-American Sign Language.”
Youth who are deaf or hard of hearing and registered last year are encouraged to attend again in 2024, Scott Featherstone said. “The thing that makes ASL unique is that they have been authorized to have FSY every single year. As they stay in touch with their friends throughout the year, they know they can see them next summer.”
He offered this advice to youth who register: “Don’t come with the attitude of ‘What am I going to get out of this?’ You’re going to have the chance to serve, love, lead and help others. So, come — not just to receive but to give.”
The ASL session is intended for youth who are deaf and hard of hearing. Youth who know ASL and are hearing are encouraged to attend a session in their native language. Priority will be given for those who are deaf and hard of hearing. Youth who are deaf or hard of hearing and do not know ASL are welcome to come, and transcription (closed captioning) will be available.
For additional information, support or registration help, email ASL-FSY@byu.edu.
