While the leftist Lautaro Rebel and Popular Force in Chile has ruthlessly murdered and robbed others, it has been relatively easy on LDS Church targets - usually bombing its chapels when no one is around.
In fact, the chapel attacks are often apparently used as not-too-dangerous training for its young terrorist recruits in its "Lautaro Youth Movement," according to information provided to the Deseret News by the Chilean embassy.That suggests that even though terrorist attacks against LDS targets have been relatively frequent in South America recently, the attacks usually are less severe than those suffered by other American-based churches worldwide, according to unclassified documents obtained from the U.S. State Department.
Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Council of the Twelve of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said in May that since the church was founded, only 525 of its 447,969 missionaries had died in service through accident, illness or other causes.
"That is less than one-tenth of 1 percent," he said. "When you contemplate that number, it appears that the safest place to be in the whole world is on a full-time mission."
Still, there is some danger.
Many American-based churches report acting more cautiously - stressing they are apolitical and using more native missionaries where possible - because they are seen increasingly as symbols of America, not just of religion.
That makes them and their missionaries, chapels and congregations potential targets for terrorists.
Unclassified State Department documents and recent press reports - while possibly not complete - help show the dimensions of that problem.
Since 1987, at least 40 incidents of political violence against American missionaries and churches occurred with 33 of them against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, although the incidents against it are usually less severe.
However, State Department and church officials said they are unsure whether the LDS Church is targeted more often or if it simply reports the incidents more completely.
The tally of violence against LDS targets since 1987 includes three people assassinated; 26 chapels bombed or burned with six people injured; two additional failed bombing attempts; one missionary accosted by students; two cases of violent vandalism; and two cases of extortion/harassment.
All those incidents occurred in Latin America: 15 in Chile; six in the Dominican Republic; five in Colombia; four in Bolivia; and one each in Peru, Honduras and Argentina.
The worst incident occurred May 24 when Elders Todd Wilson and Jeffrey Ball were assassinated as they returned to their apartment in La Paz, Bolivia. Also in the past month, the LDS Church has suffered attacks on three chapels in Chile and Bolivia.
Only seven other incidents were listed in State Department documents and recent press reports against other American missionaries and churches abroad in the same period - but they were severe.
They included 10 people assassinated; one other shot and wounded; 10 others kidnapped; and three chapel bombings. The incidents occurred in Africa and Latin America.
The most gruesome was in Esigodini, Zimbabwe, where leftist guerrillas worried that 11 Pentecostal missionaries - including Americans David Emerson and Karen Ivesdahl - were spreading "Western capitalism" along with their religion.
So on Nov. 25, 1987, about 20 armed Marxist rebels abducted the missionaries. They killed all the missionaries but one young girl and sent her with a note to authorities saying the rebels aimed to rid Zimbabwe of "Western, capitalist-oriented people."
State Department records also provide comparisons of attacks on church targets to attacks on business targets - and shows it is targeted similarly to some large businesses.
A State Department compilation titled "U.S. Business Targets 1988" shows that the LDS Church (which was included, even though it is a church) suffered more attacks that year than any American business except Occidental Petroleum. Occidental suffered 55 attacks and threats, mainly because its oil pipelines in Colombia were continually bombed by terrorists. The LDS Church was next highest with nine incidents listed in the document. Citibank was third with eight.
Others that suffered attacks in 1988 included such businesses as Dole, Ford, American Express, IBM, Coca-Cola and other oil companies.
Experts have various explanations for why different American missionaries and churches are becoming terrorist targets. One State Department official, who talked on condition of anonymity, said missionaries for churches operating in Africa, for example, usually operate in remote areas. That makes them easy targets because officials who might protect them are far away. Missionaries there are sometimes also caught in the crossfire of local rebellions.
As for Latin America, another State Department official said LDS missionaries can become targets for anti-American groups because their customary white shirts, ties and name tags make them easy to spot.
Another official said that LDS chapels, which are often the nicest buildings in poor areas, make tempting targets for terrorists.
State Department and congressional sources also said LDS missionaries are targets because of persistent, though false rumors among natives that they are CIA spies. The rumors are one reason graffiti including "CIA Agents" was painted on an LDS chapel bombed a year ago in La Paz, Bolivia. LDS Church leaders recently reported they held a press conference in Bolivia last month to try stop the rumors.
As one official said, the CIA obviously wouldn't be very smart if it used spies that stand out so much - but some natives believe the rumors anyway.
Elder Ballard was quoted as saying, "There has been a misconception, and I don't know where it came from, that in South America the missionaries have been perceived as being connected with U.S. government agencies. This is, of course, absolutely untrue."
The LDS Church has stressed that it stays out of politics and is interested only in religion. Elder Ballard was quoted, "Our missionary guidelines have always been that the missionaries are not to engage in political discussions of any kind. This is the case regardless of where they serve in the world. Ours is a simple responsibility of proclaiming the message of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world, and nothing more."
LDS Church leaders have discussed with the U.S. State Department ways it might better protect its highly visible missionaries abroad - such as mixing up their schedules and generally being prudent in unsettled areas.
Other churches also report precautions, including using native missionaries in countries where Americans would be at high risk and charging missionaries not to discuss politics at all.
Merton Campbell, a spokesman for the New York City-based Jehovah's Witnesses, said, "One of the basic reasons we have had few problems is we stay completely free from politics of any nation. True, in certain countries where we recognize Americans are not welcome, we have Canadians or missionaries from a European country."
Mario Valosa, who oversees South American operations for the Seventh Day Adventist Church based in College Park, Md., said, "We would be able to say we are not considered an American presence because most missionaries are natives. Nationals also hold most administrative and leading positions."
Shirley Burton, spokeswoman for the Adventists, also said her church carefully stays out of politics in the 190 nations where it has members or missionaries.