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