As Washington D.C. Temple opens to public, one man ‘listens’ for peace

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Washington D.C. temple has its doors open to the public for the first time in almost 50 years.

After a renovation, the building, sacred to members the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has welcomed non-members there for tours before the building is re-dedicated.

Two members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Elder David A. Bednar and Elder Garrett Gong are among the tour guides. One of the first to take that tour is man experiencing it differently than most — he couldn’t hear a thing.

Fayoz Mulladjanov, deaf from an early age, grew up in a family that were Muslim, and had a Latter-day Saint friend. Born and raised in Uzbekistan, with the Church, he said he felt something different.

“I kind of had that sense of peace…They introduced me to a missionary and that’s how I got baptized.”

His family also joined the Church soon after. He moved to the U.S., served a mission, got married and had children.

From the outside, Mulladjanov appears to be like anybody else just living their life. The difference is, he is doing it in silence, using sign language to communicate.

“Silence and peace are similar signs. One is silence and one is peace. But peace tends to come with happiness and silence is not always happiness.”

He says he is anxious to go to the temple. He is anxious for it to be re-dedicated. He is anxious for the peace he can almost hear while inside.

“The outside may be different. But everyone wears the same clothes; the doctrine is the same, the covenants are the same. I feel that puts us all on the same level — that we’re all the same, that we’re not better than others or worse than others.”