Sharon Eubank is director of Humanitarian Services for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which coordinates emergency response, food and clothing distribution, maternal and newborn care services, immunization programs, clean water and food production, and the Church’s other humanitarian work.
The following post is based on her remarks at the AMAR Windsor Dialogue conference held at Cumberland Lodge, Windsor, England, 24–25 June 2024. It was published as part of the Talk About blog feature “Marking the 10th Anniversary of the Yazidi Genocide.”
The AMAR International Foundation’s Windsor Dialogue series has been much more than a series of meetings for me. It has prompted discussion, thinking, and actions that have born significant fruit over the last ten years.
Participants have spoken to King Charles and others at the royal court about the genocide launched against the Yazidi people on 3 August 2014 and the challenges Yazidis have faced since. Former ISIS captives have testified in front of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief (APPG FoRB), which took incredible courage on their part. Participants and partners have broadcast from Chatham House, describing the intolerable situation the displaced Yazidis find themselves in and seeking additional resources. The Windsor Dialogue has solicited the thinking and doing of scholars, development experts, physicians, religious leaders, and many others to work together in support of the Yazidi people’s goals. Part of that effort is to help the interfaith community better understand the Yazidi faith, which for so long has been mischaracterized and misunderstood. In an important gathering, AMAR Founder Baroness Emma Nicholson facilitated the drafting of a written description of the Yazidi faith—its principles and beliefs, and its commonalities with other recognized faiths. She then brought together Yazidi spiritual leaders with leaders of other faiths to help the latter learn more about the Yazidi faith and to promote interfaith understanding and engagement.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was privileged to work with Dr. Nezar Ismet Taib of the Kurdish Ministry of Health and the AMAR Foundation to help equip primary health care facilities in the displacement camps of northern Iraq. In addition, women health volunteers were trained and supported so families had local access to care.
Notably, Windsor Dialogue conferences have particularly focused on mental health—and specifically the role of music in processing and healing from trauma. AMAR supported the creation of a Yazidi women’s choir, putting into practice Baroness Nicholson’s conviction backed by data that spiritual music can be a powerful influence in improving mental health. The Yazidi women’s choir has since performed for King Charles at his home, performed and recorded their music at the BBC, and performed a concert of spiritual music in the Jerusalem Chamber in Westminster Abbey. Even more important than the performances, the choir members have experienced demonstrable mental health benefits by participating in the music, confirmed by a preliminary study conducted by Dr. Nezar and Oxford Professor and Physician David Kerr.
As the aims of the Windsor Dialogues get translated into practical local action, I have met many energetic and eager members of the Yazidi community who want to help their communities transform. One of these was a young, displaced Yazidi engineer who lent his professional skills to render architectural drawings for the health clinic AMAR sponsored in the camp. I also met a smiling young couple in an IDP camp near Duhok on the day they were engaged to be married. They had likely lived in the camp since their mid-teens, which begs the question: what options will they, and couples like them, have moving forward?
As we approach the tenth anniversary of the ISIS invasion, and as the Yazidi people transition from living in IDP camps to building lives elsewhere—away from Sinjar and perhaps away from each other—they face questions about how they might make their faith “portable” or how they might still “gather” as people of a common faith. I am indebted to Bishop Alastair Redfern for making these questions the focus of the Windsor Dialogue this year.
In considering these questions, I hoped it might be helpful to examine lessons learned by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The situations are different in many ways, but perhaps there is something in our history that sparks an idea for others.
The portability of Latter-day Saints’ faith was first necessitated by forced migration and later by the Church’s growth around the world. In its well-known history, the Church and its members came to a critical juncture when they were driven out of their spiritual home. Early Church members were forced to abandon two of their temples in Ohio and Illinois, in addition to their family homes and property. After wintering in unsettled Nebraska, they crossed 1000 miles of U.S. territory and ended up in the desert of the American West, where few people had the grit to live. Church members from the eastern United States as well as Europe continued to gather geographically throughout the 1800s into what was then the Utah territory. Church members needed the spiritual and numerical strength that came through gathering because it was such a perilous time.
Around 1890, however, the Church reached an inflection point when its membership approached 500,000—a number similar to the current Yazidi population. At that point, it was no longer practical for Church members to continue gathering to what would become the state of Utah. Land was not infinite. Cultural differences were difficult to navigate. And the first real U.S. immigration laws introduced new restrictions. There were also political concerns that “the Mormons” would vote in a block and gain significant political influence and power.
At that inflection point, Church leaders made the decision to encourage members to “gather where you are”—to stay where they were geographically and help strengthen the Church in their home countries. Over the following decades, the Church developed practical cultural unifiers that have helped it maintain its identity and allowed for continued “gathering,” even though members are geographically dispersed.
Codified, accessible scripture. The codification of sacred writings considered “scripture” by the Church has allowed each member to have ready access to scriptures and to worship through personal and family study—in their homes or wherever members find themselves. This allows individuals who may be isolated physically from others of their faith to be connected because of access to the same sacred writings.
General Conferences. Since 1830, the Church has held regular General Conferences of the Church’s entire membership; today they take place twice a year, on the first Saturday and Sunday in April and October. Church members gather—in the past by attending physically in the Salt Lake Tabernacle, then over radio, then television, and now the internet. During General Conference we talk, we teach each other from scripture, and we share our personal faith experiences. Church leaders from all over the world explain what is important to them and why. It is a powerful time of rejoicing, spiritual renewal, and connection to each other and our faith. In this age of technology, Yazidis may explore ways to engage technology that allow them to gather virtually, in small or large groups, and connect in new and meaningful ways.
Temples. As mentioned previously, persecution led to the loss of the first two temples built by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[1] But the Church continued to construct temples. When I was born in 1963, the Church had 12 temples in the world. Our holiest rites are received in temples, and it is incumbent on every member to qualify to go to the temple at least once in their life. But temples were located very far away from most members, who sacrificed significant time and money to be able to attend. In my lifetime, the number of temples has gone from 12 to 350 (either operating, under construction, or in planning stages). Now 85 percent or more of Church members around the world live within 200 miles of a temple. Rather than encourage all members to gather to a central temple, the Church is dedicating enormous resources to plan and construct these sacred buildings, to bring the temples to the people.
I share this with the understanding that the Yazidi faith is connected to its homeland to an extent that the Latter-day Saint faith was not and is not. The most sacred Yazidi temple is, for example, in Lalish, which includes the tomb of Sheikh Uday bin Musafir al-Hakar. Perhaps, however, some lessons lie in creating sacred gathering places when persecution has resulted in a scattering and a (hopefully temporary) loss of sacred spaces and land.
Religious music is a unifier, and Latter-day Saints, like many other faiths, have created a common collection of hymns sung in worship services throughout the world. Their origins may be historic or more contemporary, and they have been drawn from cultures across the world. Hymns are translated and published in 143 languages currently, and those who attend worship services sing hymns together, either from a hymnal or from sheet music available through a Church music app. Church members are unified by the fact that we can attend church in Ethiopia, Denmark, South Korea, Mexico, or Iraq and sing common hymns of hope and resilience.
In 1847, 29 days after Latter-day Saint pioneers reached the Salt Lake Valley, a choir was formed to sing at a Church conference; that tradition continued a few years later with a conference choir comprised entirely of Welsh immigrants, which eventually evolved into today’s world-renowned Tabernacle Choir. The Choir’s “Music and the Spoken Word,” which is the longest-running radio program in the United States, is now broadcast worldwide every Sunday on the Choir’s YouTube channel, as well as on radio and TV. An annual Christmas program is broadcast on the U.S. Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). People who know nothing about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints know about the Tabernacle Choir. The Choir’s performances, which celebrate religious and inspirational secular music, inspire both members of the Church and friends. And their concerts and broadcasts feature guest artists from around the world, who join the choir in performing music from their cultures and religious traditions. In 2016, Choir members joined with other Church members all over the world for a virtual performance of Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus. For the Yazidis, whose music is so integral to their worship, it seems it could be vital to consider ways in which their sacred music might remain portable and accessible, even if gathering physically is not possible.
Prioritizing education was key in the Latter-day Saints’ journey from persecution to inclusion, allowing the Church and its members to advance and participate in scholarly life, in politics, and in civil society. Church-owned educational institutions include Brigham Young University (BYU, founded in 1875), Ensign College (1886), BYU–Idaho (1888), and BYU–Hawaii (1955). The wide-ranging work of BYU’s International Center for Law and Religion Studies attests to the fact that these educational institutions were established not just for Church members but to further education for all. It is simply not possible to build the foundations of tolerant, pluralistic societies, as discussed in the AMAR Windsor Dialogue series, if education is not universally available. Educated professionals, such as the engineer and the women health volunteers I met, can serve their people and open many kinds of doors to the Yazidi community.
Often a lack of resources and support are hindrances to education, but these challenges can be overcome in creative ways. In 1869, Brigham Young was the territorial governor of Utah, and Eliza R. Snow was president of the Relief Society (the Church’s women’s organization). Communities throughout the territory were experiencing serious health issues and did not have ready access to medical care or education. At that time, no universities had yet been established in the Utah Territory, and some members who wanted to attend distant universities had been barred because of religious intolerance. Latter-day Saints as a whole were poor and without many resources during that time, but eventually enough funds were collected that the community could send six women to medical school. The Relief Society asked women to donate pennies out of their egg money or their washing money in order to raise the necessary tuition.
In 1869, very few people in the United States or territories thought women belonged in medical school—and certainly not Latter-day Saint women from the West. But the need for adequate medical care was significant, particularly to stem high rates of infant and maternal mortality. In 1872, six Latter-day Saint women traveled east to medical school, some to Philadelphia and some to Chicago. They were not well accepted, some suffered harassment, the work was difficult, and money was scarce. Ellis Reynolds Shipp volunteered to attend when another candidate backed out due to homesickness. Ellis took her place in the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, starting out more than two months behind her class. The Relief Society funds paid her tuition, but her family could not spare any family income for her living expenses. So she earned money by sewing and by guarding the cadaver lab, accompanied by a smoky lantern and the strong smell of formaldehyde—all while pregnant and trying to catch up with her class.
Dr. Martha Hughes Cannon went to medical school in Michigan a few years after the original six female medical students. When she eventually returned to the Utah Territory, she wanted to improve public health care. While public sanitation, health care, and vaccinations were becoming topics of interest, Utah lacked a public health infrastructure. Eventually Martha ran for the Utah state legislature as a Democrat—against her husband who was the Republican candidate—and she won. She was the first female state senator in the United States. The first bill she introduced was to establish a public health system.
The original six female doctors returned to their home communities and began training midwives so that they could improve health practices and outcomes for mothers and newborns. They established the Deseret Hospital in 1882; a photo of the Board of Directors from that era features 11 women in Victorian dress and no men. These women were pioneers in every way and—significant to me—they had no access to government or outside funding to help them. They had to accomplish their goals largely by themselves, and their example is a source of hope to women of faith everywhere. I am a descendant of people of great faith who would not allow barriers to stop them from prioritizing education and serving their communities. This success is not exclusive to Latter-day Saints, but the experiences of these Latter-day Saint pioneers lays the foundation for modern-day efforts. The maternal and newborn “training of trainers” that the Church has completed with Dr. Nezar and the Ministry of Health in Iraq and many other countries is born from this experience. The Church of Jesus Christ engages in such efforts with the Yazidi people and others, not as a “feel-good” project but with a knowledge born out of our own history and experience about what made a difference in our own community.
Returning more generally to education: It is no longer practical to have all people who desire higher education to gather to universities. In 2009, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began developing what is now BYU-Pathway Worldwide, an online educational platform available to students around the world. It takes students, step by step through a program where they can earn “PathwayConnect” certificates for completion of remedial math, English, and study skills or more specialized training. For some students, a certificate is enough to increase their income significantly, to earn a living wage. Students can then go on to earn an associate’s degree, followed by a bachelor’s degree. During their studies, students are assigned to peer support groups that meet online weekly. And they receive inspirational instruction once a week through online devotional presentations. BYU-Pathway also offers career advisement and has placed more than 3000 graduates in remote jobs, allowing graduates—including those who live in some of the most remote areas of the world—to earn increased incomes. In 2023, the program served more than 65,000 enrolled students, 63 percent of whom lived outside of the United States and Canada. For forcibly displaced persons, like the Yazidis, who have had to abandon their professions, similar programs might be developed or leveraged for retraining, which could have a significant impact on families and communities.
Genealogy. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes in the relatedness of all human beings as an eternal family under the Fatherhood of God. That belief is what underpins Church members’ focus on preserving records, researching family histories and family trees, and learning about ancestors. In 1999, the Church created FamilySearch, a free website available to the public where anyone can research their family connections and upload family records, documents, photos, and more. Modern-day refugees and IDPs forced to leave their homes face special challenges in preserving their histories and cultures, particularly those with a largely oral religious culture. With technology so readily available today on ubiquitous cell phones, apps or other means may be used or developed to allow Yazidis and other displaced peoples to preserve their records and traditions digitally.
The Windsor Dialogue series has worked to identify resources for the Yazidis’ circumstances for the last 10 years. Hearkening back to the young, smiling engaged couple I mentioned, it is imperative that the Yazidi people be allowed and encouraged to exercise their agency and decide for themselves what their future looks like. Only they can determine the next steps. But my hope is that other people of faith might share histories, lessons learned, ideas, and resources that will be of use to them.
The prophet Isaiah exhorted,
“Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood anymore. For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts, is his name; . . . The God of the whole earth shall he be called. . . . For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies, will I gather thee.” (Isaiah 54:4).
The promise of God to all people who love and worship Him is that He is our Maker, especially of those who have been ashamed and confounded temporarily. He, with great mercies, will gather back all who have been scattered. I believe in such promises. It is a privilege to be associated with the many brilliant minds of the Windsor Dialogues, and to work shoulder to shoulder with the Yazidi community on whatever will help them most on their journey of healing and resilience.
Reference:
[1] The Nauvoo Temple in Illinois was destroyed in an arson fire in 1848, after Church members had been forced to abandon it. Possession of the Kirtland Temple in Ohio transferred to the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, later called The Community of Christ. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased the building in 2024 and plans to maintain it as a historic building, open to the public.