Church video series aims to keep Latter-day Saint missionaries safe in the field


2 photos
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SALT LAKE CITY — A new 12-part video series from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is aimed at keeping missionaries safe.

Prospective Latter-day Saint missionaries now are asked to watch the first video of “The SafetyZone” series with their parents before they leave for their mission, according to a Friday news release from the church.

They will then watch the other 11 videos in missionary training centers, according to the release. Missionaries already serving will also watch the videos, church officials said.

“There’s always a very prominent point to every one of these videos that’s going to help you, that’s going to keep you safe and keep you focused on what the Lord has called you to do,” Elder S. Gifford Nielsen, a General Authority Seventy who serves in the church’s missionary department, said in the release. Members of the Quorum of the Seventy are general authorities of the church who oversee the work of the church under the direction of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

“The SafetyZone” is structured as a mock newscast or sportscast, complete with in-studio analysts who discuss safety topics, according to the release. Some of the topics discussed in the videos include how to be safe as a pedestrian or on a bicycle, how to avoid electrical wires, tips on driving safely and how to handle food properly.

The announcement of the videos comes shortly after the Feb. 20 death of 18-year-old Elder Brennan Conrad, a Utahn who was serving in the Dominican Republic Santo Domingo East Mission.

Conrad fell to his death from the roof of his apartment building, according to the church. He is believed to have touched an electric cable shortly before his death, which may have caused the fall, according to a church statement.

The “SafetyZone” videos will be available in English, but additional languages will be coming soon, according to the church. Some episodes will feature guests, such as Elder Nielsen and Sister Bonnie H. Cordon, Young Women general president for the church.

Sister Annie Bingham, a missionary who watched the videos at the missionary training center in Provo, said she liked how the videos explained the reasons behind the guidelines outlined in the episodes.

“They showed us both the wrong way to do it and the right way to do it, and I think there’s power in both of those,” she said in the release.

Photos

Related stories

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

UtahReligion

STAY IN THE KNOW

Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

KSL Weather Forecast