Some Latter-day Saint service volunteers in the Middle East wanted to stay where they were when Iran began to launch missiles into the countries where they served.
They left this week anyway after receiving guidance that their region wasn’t safe enough from leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The church is taking a pragmatic approach to advising its members, service volunteers and staff in its Middle East/North Africa Area. Some were moved or went home, even before the first attacks. Others are sheltering in place. Still others have been advised to make individual decisions.
“Our prayers are for everyone in the region,” said Elder Anthony D. Perkins, who is the area president and has been supervising the affairs of the church in the region for eight-and-half years.
The area presidency oversees 21 nations and territories. The church has members in 14 of those countries and had service volunteers in 11 of them until the recent hostilities began.
There have been no reports of any church members, service couple or staff members being injured, said Elder Perkins, who receives daily updates.
The church’s approach to keeping members and volunteers safe mirrors U.S. government policy. While the State Department issued a general recommendation for Americans to evacuate much of the Middle East, it has asked people to heed the advice of the U.S. embassy in each country.
In several countries, including Israel, the embassies have issued advisories that it is safer for people to stay in place than to evacuate. That is why the students, faculty and staff at the BYU Jerusalem Center, for example, remain in place in a safe area of the city that is outfitted with bomb shelters.
The church does not have missionaries in the region because it has agreements not to proselyte in Muslim countries, Elder Perkins said. Instead, it has service volunteers who are married couples who either do humanitarian work or support local wards and branches, Latter-day Saint terms for congregations.
The church is facilitating travel for service volunteers and staff who decide to leave and can do so safely. Some have been moved to Egypt, which has not been under attack.
Only 20% of church members in the region are Americans. Many are Filipinos. Church members work in most of the region’s U.S. embassies, Elder Perkins said.
Nonessential U.S. embassy personnel have been ordered to leave by the State Department. They have been advised to make individual decisions based on employer requirements and their personal circumstances.
Other Latter-day Saints work on U.S. military bases or for other international interests.
The church provided guidance to general church membership during today’s sacrament meetings across the Middle East — they are held on Fridays in the region instead of Sundays.
“We communicated to the Saints that the church is very concerned about their safety and well being, and we’re praying for them,” Elder Perkins said. “We communicated that we report to the brethren on a daily basis, and we’ll provide counsel as we receive it from the local embassy or church security.
“In the end, they should be following the Spirit about their own circumstances and what they do and not do. We don’t feel like it’s the church’s position to mandate that members stay or mandate that they leave.”
Elder Perkins said he had spoken in the past 24 hours with each of the area’s stake and district presidents, each of whom is responsible for multiple congregations.
“Most of the members are approaching this with a spirit of faith and not a spirit of fear,” Elder Perkins said he was told. “For some of them, who’ve been out there for 20 years, it’s really become their home, and they’ve been through (conflicts) before.”
The church released a statement on Saturday after hostilities began.
“The safety and well-being of people are always a priority in a situation of this kind,” it said. “This region is home to thousands of church members.”
How the BYU Jerusalem Center is protecting students
The BYU Jerusalem Center released a security update on Wednesday reiterating its decision to have students and staff shelter in place. The plan was shared with students at the center and with their parents via Zoom on Tuesday.
“Our first priority is student safety,” the statement said.
The center is located in a safe area of the city surrounded by sites considered holy to Muslims. The center also has extensive security and is equipped with shelters and safe rooms.
One piece of shrapnel, part of a missile intercepted by a defensive weapon, did land on the grounds of the center over the weekend while students were in shelters, according to the center’s security updates.
“Shrapnel cannot penetrate shelters,” stated one of the center’s updates. “Everyone in the center has been in the center’s shelters and safe rooms during these attacks on targets elsewhere in Israel. Typically, they have been in a shelter for 20-30 minutes — the time between the siren signaling the launch of missiles in Iran aimed at Israel and the all-clear siren at the end of the attack."
The latest statement said that BYU’s security experts believe staying in place is the least risky option, better than evacuating by bus to Cairo, Egypt, or to Amman, Jordan, because Iran has launched missiles into urban areas west of Jerusalem, jeopardizing travel.
Staying put also allows the students to continue their studies, the statement said.
The statement said the center is following the guidance of the U.S. government.
“While a State Department official urged all Americans in the Middle East to evacuate to either Cairo or Amman in an announcement on Monday,” the statement said, “the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem urged its employees to shelter in place.
“Likewise, the government of Israel urged Israelis with U.S. or other non-Israeli passports to shelter in place. And in a broadcast around noon Tuesday (Jerusalem time), Ambassador Mike Huckabee also urged U.S. citizens in Israel to shelter in place.”