In the News

Missionary Dies in Argentina

While attempting to save a 13-year-old boy, a full-time missionary in Argentina was killed on 9 March 2003. Elder Nathan Scott Godfrey, serving in the town of Gualeguaychu in the Argentina Rosario Mission, died when he jumped into a deep puddle to save the boy. A power line made contact with the water and electrocuted both of them.

Elder Godfrey, son of Scott Reyns Godfrey and Sarah Crookston Godfrey of the Columbia Heights Ward, Kaysville Utah South Stake, had been in Argentina since January. “He was where he should have been, doing what he should have been doing. We take comfort in that,” says Brother Godfrey.

LDS Servicemen Killed, Prisoner of War Rescued

Lieutenant Nathan White, a United States Navy pilot, died on 2 April over central Iraq when his aircraft was hit in what may have been a friendly fire incident. Brother White, 30, is survived by his wife, Akiko, and their three children, members of the Sandbridge Ward, Virginia Beach Virginia Stake. Brother White served a mission in Japan and later graduated from Brigham Young University, where he majored in Japanese.

James W. Cawley, a U.S. Marine staff sergeant and member of the Fox Creek Ward, Layton Utah Stake, died 29 March during combat in Iraq. He was responding with fellow soldiers to a firefight when he was struck and killed by a coalition forces Humvee military vehicle, according to U.S. Marine Capt. Jason Doughtery.

Brother Cawley, 41, leaves behind his wife, Miyuki, and two children. He completed a full-time mission in the Japan Fukuoka Mission and was a detective in the Salt Lake City Police Department, serving on the department’s SWAT team.

John Darren “J. D.” Smith, 32, was killed when his U.S. Army helicopter crashed in Kuwait on 25 February before the Iraq war began. Stationed in Italy before being sent to Kuwait, Brother Smith, his wife, Meredith, and their two daughters were members of the Pordenone Military Branch, Trieste Italy District. Brother Smith and his wife were high school sweethearts who married after each served a mission.

Chief Warrant Officer Ronald D. Young Jr., 26, a U.S. Army aviator based out of Fort Hood, Texas, was captured by Iraqi forces when his Apache helicopter went down 24 March during a combat mission. He was rescued on 13 April by coalition forces outside of Tikrit.

Sister Dew Serves As Delegate for Women’s Commission

Sheri L. Dew, former counselor in the Relief Society general presidency, served as a United States White House delegate and private-sector adviser to the Commission on the Status of Women, an international organization.

“My recent experience serving in the Relief Society general presidency has given me a great deal of love for the women of the world as well as an appreciation for some of the challenges they face,” says Sister Dew. “My hope is that that experience will prove helpful to the commission.”

At the invitation of the White House, Sister Dew participated in the 47th session of the commission, held in New York City in March. The commission, established in 1946, promotes women’s rights in political, economic, social, and educational fields.