ST. GEORGE — Following a failed coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are being transferred out of the country.
According to a Fox 13 Now article, 15 missionaries will be transferred to Germany, where they will remain until conditions improve in Turkey.
In a statement from the LDS church, officials said:
The Church has transferred 15 young volunteers serving in Turkey to Germany, where they will continue their service among the Turkish-speaking population of Berlin. We anticipate these volunteers will return when conditions in Turkey normalize. Our prayers are with the people of Turkey and with our Church members who live there.
[see Ed. Note]
In a July 15 statement from the LDS church, spokesman Eric Hawkins said the church hadn’t received any information that missionaries were involved involved in the conflict.
“All LDS missionaries in Turkey are safe and accounted for,” Hawkins said.
The July coup attempt killed 290 people, according to a report from The Associated Press. Since then, the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been engaged in an aggressive crackdown, with 18,000 people detained, 49,211 passports revoked and over 66,000 people in the civil service removed from their jobs.
Associated Press writer SUSAN FRASIER contributed this article.
Ed. Note: In some countries, missionaries are now being referred to as ‘volunteers’ as part of anti-terrorism measures.
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Don’t plan on those missionaries returning to Turkey anytime soon. Over a decade ago, Prime Minister Erdogan said “Democracy is a train we take to get to our destination.” That destination is a repressive sharia-based society. Erdogan has been systematically purging the judiciary and military of his political opposition for over 10 years. This coup attempt is another milestone in that process.
You mean “staged coup”. It was not a real coup. No evidence of that, just an excuse to purge those non-loyal to Erdogan.
As Pink Floyd would say, “All in all, it’s just another brick in the wall.”
Perfect !
Get ’em home safe.
I’m glad the Church transferred them to Berlin.
Rex Bush
…
Ed. ellipsis.
Ha ha you got edited !
The church did exactly as I said they would do ! Ha ha ha . So where is Real Life now ?