Mormon missionaries with their black name tags can be found all over the world, and at times they find themselves in harm's way. For the very first time The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is sending out a safety survey to each of its 62,000 young missionaries worldwide to better understand potential dangers to physical safety.
Last year four missionaries were seriously injured during the bombing at the Brussels airport while more recently a missionary fended off an attempted mugging on a street in Brazil.
And now, just days after multiple terrorist attacks in London, a spokesperson says the LDS church wants a better understanding of the day-to-day experiences of their missionaries.
The survey will be confidential and will help “identify areas or circumstances where missionary safety may be at the greatest risk.” Safety guidelines will be adjusted as needed.
Missionaries are already instructed to exercise extreme caution. They typically don’t proselytize past 9:30 p.m. and are always accompanied by at least one missionary companion.
In recent years the death rate for Mormon missionaries has been relatively low, with four deaths last year and six in 2015.
