This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

The LDS Church this week authorized $100,000 in goods to be sent to northern Iraq to aid Christians escaping the military assault of the radical Islamic State group, a church official said Friday.

The funds will be used to "buy oil, beans, rice and bedding, " Sharon Eubank, director of LDS Charities, told hundreds of Mormon apologists meeting at the 16th annual FairMormon Conference in Provo.

Eubank received a call from an LDS missionary couple, Walt and Peggy Plumb, who are doing humanitarian work in Kurdistan. The Salt Lake City couple reported seeing 5,000 refugees arriving at a nearby Christian church with few belongings.

The Utah-based faith has contributed a similar amount to needy residents in Gaza, Eubank said. "The challenge is finding people or organizations who can deliver the aid."

Peggy Fletcher Stack