News Item: All members accounted for in New York
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LDS Church members safe
By Carrie A. Moore
Deseret News religion editor
Leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reported Wednesday that no church members or missionaries who live in the New York area were killed in Tuesday's terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, even though 50 to 70 members actually worked in the twin towers.
Elder Craig Zwick, area president for the church's North America Northeast Area, said the church as been "incredibly blessed" through the tragedy.
"At this point it appears there were no fatalities among church members in and around New York City. We were concerned last night that possibly we had three civilians who weren't accounted for near the World Trade Center and three involved in firefighting and police efforts. All six have been identified and are well," he said.
Of the 10 LDS stakes in the area, each has "probably 100 members" working in and around the financial district in Manhattan, he said. "We have a very active phone contact system in place . . . One of the great blessings for us yesterday was that by late afternoon the phone lines were working well," making confirmation of church member counts possible."
An LDS stake center in Manhattan housed about 10 people last night, four of them missionaries who couldn't get back to their apartment south of 14th Street. Others could not get off the island or had been displaced by police barricades near the financial district.
In an emotional moment, Elder Zwick said he is aware of "more than 20 members who work every day in and around the trade center that didn't come in to work yesterday, which is pretty amazing."
More than 3,500 church members live in Manhattan and another 1,000 live off the island but commute in daily, he said, noting that approximately 250 work in the trade centers and the world financial complex across the street.
Outside the city, church members rallied to help those delayed by the events. In Halifax, Nova Scotia, and St. John's, Newfoundland, the church arranged housing for the spillover from 110 international flights diverted from the United States as the nation's air traffic system was shut down.
"We have a little chapel in St. John's that became a hotel last night for approximately 250 people, and we were on standby notice in Halifax in case of overage in those hotels."
Approximately 25,000 blankets and cots were moved into New Jersey Tuesday from church facilities in Rhode Island to deal with the possibility that they would be needed.
Both missionaries and members on Manhattan have been "generally turned down in their efforts to volunteer because it appears that they are overstaffed there. We stand ready and willing to help," he said.
Scott Baxter, a former member of the New York, New York stake presidency and an investment banker on Wall Street, is working as a volunteer firefighter in the rubble downtown, Elder Zwick said.
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