In the final months of 1938, the shadow of war was spreading across Europe. Meanwhile, a twenty-nine-year-old Nicholas Winton was preparing for a ski vacation in Switzerland, until his plans drastically changed.
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Take a look back at the last six months of news, projects, and messages from Church leaders since last general conference.
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This week’s issue of People magazine includes a heartwarming story of one family truly exemplifying the Savior’s admonition to “love one another.”
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From the earliest hours of the crisis, the Church—through its members and humanitarian partnerships—has been actively involved in the relief efforts for refugees in Europe.
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Here are five stories that show some of the sweetest insights into President M. Russell Ballard’s life, testimony, and ministry.
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Latter-day Saint Anastasia gave birth to a baby boy in Kyiv, Ukraine. Two days later she and her newborn son were rushed out of the hospital to flee from a city under attack.
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For many Latter-day Saints, leaving Ukraine meant bidding farewell to loved ones remaining behind and beginning a very foreign journey with an unknown future.
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Ukrainian Latter-day Saints taking refuge in Poland have suffered greatly, but their lives were made a little brighter after a visit and special message from Elder and Sister Uchtdorf.
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Romanian Ambassador visited the First Presidency to speak in part about Church response to the refugee crisis in Eastern Europe.
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"Though the conditions are dire, we are not helpless. Our connection to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ can heal our wounds, our hearts, and the world," Elder Uchtdorf said.
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“I worked with refugees for years, but I never thought I’d be one.”
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The Church’s donations to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Food Program will help those displaced by the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.
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“What we really care about is helping people spiritually, emotionally and physically recover and build their societies back.”
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When a fire destroyed 188 tents earlier this year, Latter-day Saint Charities helped provide the resources to build more permanent concrete structures to replace the lost homes. Read more:
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Hakim Kambere wasn't there when his aunt, Anifah Barobi, collapsed, overwhelmed by their beautiful new home in Ogden, Utah.
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For the third year in a row, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is providing a grant to the nine national refugee resettlement agencies in the United States. Representatives of Latter-day Saint Charities, the humanitarian organization of the Church, were on the East Coast this week to hold discussions and deliver a $4 million grant, which includes $1.2 million in cash and $2.8 million in commodities.
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Leonard Bagalwa watched as the rebel officers who had captured him and forced him to train as a child soldier walked away to drink at a shop. With his captors’ backs turned, he heard a voice in his mind repeat, “You need to run.”
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Addressing an audience at the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) in London, England, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints called on non-governmental organisations (NGOs), governments and faith groups to refocus their efforts in responding to the personal and family crises suffered by refugees and internally displaced people.
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On June 7–9, a group of refugees from Myanmar's Karen and Karenni tribes will reenact moments from the Book of Mormon in "Mormon Speaks." With no Church materials translated into their native language, the experience of creating this production has shaped their faith and understanding of God's power and love.
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“We get to teach people, and they get to teach us,” Mormon missionary William Valadez says about his work teaching refugees English. “They love to teach us Nepali.”
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Following are the incredible stories of Justin Bisimwa, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Collins family, a family of 15 in San Diego, California, who have now teamed up to create a non-profit organization called New Neighbor Relief that helps refugees in San Diego become self-reliant.
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What incredible stories from the life of President Dieter F. Uchtdorf that show how, through all of his challenges and missions as a pilot, the Lord had been preparing him for the greatest mission of all. The following was originally written by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland and posted on lds.org, but this story written in President Uchtdorf's own words can also be found in his new book, The Gospel at 30,000 Feet, available in Deseret Book stores and on deseretbook.com.
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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently donated $5 million in an effort to help aid refugees in the U.S.
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“I cannot remember a time when there was no war,” George Ngunza says. “My earliest memories are of the fighting that ravaged my village." In fact, when Ngunza was just 14 years old, militiamen wielding machetes attacked Ngunza’s family in the middle of the night, killing his father, mother, and two brothers and leaving him for dead.
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Service opportunities rarely come at convenient moments in our lives, but this story shows the power of following a prompting to serve, even when it's difficult.
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When Liz Shropshire saw a round-trip airline ticket to Brussels, Belgium, for $135, she had no way of knowing that in a few months she would be witnessing first-hand the unthinkable results of mass slaughter while sleeping on the hard floor of a former brick factory, now a displacement camp. She had no way of knowing that maybe this was a way God provided for her to discover her calling in life.
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"Their needs are so great," said Sister Herway. "They literally have nothing. They have left it all behind in reaching for a better life. Their gratitude for the smallest kindnesses shown them is wonderful. I wish everyone could have this experience. Their worlds will never be the same."
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Bolaji Oyebanji Adepoju is not like most missionaries. Before he left for his mission in Italy, Adepoju survived a shooting attack in his own home and a miraculous rescue at sea. Read more about his amazing story below.
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In his recent Facebook post, President Uchtdorf shares that he is impressed by the kindness LDS Saints have shown to refugees fleeing war-torn countries and includes a powerful video we all should see.
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From the British Parliament's changing view of the LDS Church to her thoughts on Elder Holland after hosting his family, Baroness Nicholson had quite a bit to share about the LDS Church and her work with its members.
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Since the "I Was a Stranger" movement began, many have wondered how they can assist refugees around the world.
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Though he has undergone 60 chemotherapy treatments in the past decade, Don Ward continues to assist refugees and serve them in any way he can.
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"It's just been natural for me my whole life to bring people in, to love them, to let them know that they are cared about. Everybody needs to know they're loved and they're worth loving," Lisa Campbell says.
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"I've always thought if the women of the church all wanted the same thing, step back," said Sharon Eubank, the director of humanitarian services at LDS Charities. "I've really felt that before, and this was an opportunity for that to happen."
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"We're Not Pulling Back" from Helping Refugees, LDS Leader Says as First Presidency Increases Budget
Over the past year, Church members have banded together under a common cause: to aid refugees as the refugee crisis grows worldwide.
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CNN recently featured the LDS Church's efforts to help refugees around the world while sharing an interesting part in the Church's history many might not know about.
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It's so encouraging to see Latter-day Saints rising up to the Church's call to help refugees around the world.
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"When we came to America as refugees, in 1986, the very first people who embraced us were Latter-day Saints who were open-minded and open-hearted. We were from a terrorist country then, but the church didn't care," Iranian Mehrsa Baradaran says. "I understand that America took a risk on us. I was that little Muslim kid from a terrorist country 'yearning to breathe free,' and you took me in."
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The LDS trio Firefly and The Voice finalist Belle Lyon joined together to help raise awareness for refugees with their cover of Tim McGraw's "Humble and Kind."
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Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf was a refugee twice in his life, once as a 4-year-old boy fleeing Czechoslovakia with his family during World War II and later as an 11-year-old escaping from East Germany with his family after the turmoil following the war.
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In response to recent media inquiries, the Church released the following statement regarding refugees:
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What an inspiring story of how one Latter-day Saint saw a need and decided to make a difference.
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"What brings hope is that once the priesthood is there, once the Lord has his hand blessing the people, it won't take long for good things to happen," Jorge Mena says about the Church in Cuba.
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While taking part in two viral hashtags, Boy Scout Troop 1262—which is made up of young refugees and led by former refugee Saborn Va—helped #LIGHTtheWORLD while doing the mannequin challenge on Temple Square this Christmas season. Check out their fun video below:
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"We must be careful that news of the refugees’ plight does not somehow become commonplace when the initial shock wears off and yet the wars continue and the families keep coming," Elder Patrick Kearon said in his April 2016 general conference address. "Millions of refugees worldwide, whose stories no longer make the news, are still in desperate need of help."
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Since members of the Church were strongly encouraged to aid refugees in the April 2016 general conference, KSL reported on the new efforts Utah citizens have implemented to support, aid, and welcome refugees.
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In an attempt to raise awareness of "Just Serve," a new service website sponsored by the Church, LDS singer Michele Baer recorded Michael McLean's song, "Safe Harbors," in a new music video, "Refugees of the Heart."
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Mormon Channel's new video, "Refuge from the Storm," is a touching reminder of the challenges refugees face and the help Church members can provide.
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A tragic yet “largely invisible part of war and conflict” and the resulting refugee crisis is the sexual violence inflicted upon women, said Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, an apostle in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Elder Holland addressed a gathering of humanitarians, scholars, faith and government leaders at a conference sponsored by the AMAR Foundation at Windsor Castle in the United Kingdom titled “Religious Persecution: The Driver for Forced Migration.”
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A century ago, many Armenians fled to Syria as refugees to escape genocide. Now, to escape ISIS and religious genocide, many of the descendants of these refugees are fleeing back to Armenia. Learn what some Latter-day Saints are doing to help.
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“We are grateful . . . for the opportunities . . . to assist in one of the fundamental principles of the gospel—caring for those that may feel like strangers among us,”Bishop Waddell said after donating $2 million in behalf of the Church. “This includes those who have been driven from their homes and find themselves in new and unfamiliar circumstances.”
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