This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Mormons sponsor humanitarian relief around the globe, an LDS apostle told British Parliamentarians on Wednesday, because of their "religious convictions — convictions grounded in the command to love God and our neighbor as ourselves."
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland and Sharon Eubank, director of LDS Humanitarian Services, addressed the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Foreign Affairs in the House of Lords, giving a general description of the Utah-based faith's relief programs.
"These projects pursued around the world benefit those primarily not of our faith," Holland said in his London speech, "and include emergency relief assistance in times of crisis and disaster."
Last year, LDS Charities, the church's humanitarian arm:
• Responded to 132 disasters of one kind or another in 60 nations, including a major typhoon in the Philippines, a destructive cyclone in the Kingdom of Tonga, and the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
• Offered extensive refugee assistance for Syria and Iraq.
• Provided wheelchairs in 48 countries, maternal and newborn care in 42, vision care in 34, clean water and sanitation projects in 26, gardening projects in 17, and medical immunizations in nine nations.
"To the best of our ability and with the limited resources we have," Holland said, "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will continue to respond to human suffering in that way and in that spirit."
Said Eubank, according to a news release on the LDS Church's website: "There's so much work that has to be done, there's so much suffering that it isn't possible for any one organization to do it."
Peggy Fletcher Stack