Ryan Reeder
History 490 Sec 3
Prof. William Hamblin
January 11, 2001
I propose to write for my History 490 paper about those missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who have been martyred by an assassin while serving their missions. At the funeral of Elder Todd Wilson, who was killed in Bolivia in 1989, Elder L. Tom Perry stated, "He joined 17 others since 1831 who have had their lives taken from them by an assassin as they served in the mission field. In all those years, just a few have given the ultimate" (Deseret News: LDS Church News June 3, 1989, 3). I propose to do research on these seventeen individuals, in addition to those that have been murdered since that time, including most recently Jose Mackintosh who was killed in a random attack with a knife in Ufa, Russia on October 19, 1998 (Deseret News, October 27, 1998, A1). I plan to look at the situation of each martyrdom-what happened, why it happened, and when and where they happened. I may focus in on a handful of missionaries that have been killed, such as the five killed in Bolivia and Peru between 1989 and 1991. I also want to look at the reaction of the Church to the killings, as well as that of the local community, and any legal action that might have taken place. I also want to be mindful of the significance of their deaths for their families and for the Church. As President Hinckley said at Elder Wilson's funeral "Missionaries are so dear to the entire Church that when one is lost through death the entire Church grieves" (LDS Church News June 3, 1989, 3).
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