Elder Quentin L. Cook, member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, was in the Dominican Republic in mid- November to address members and missionaries, as reported in the Mormon press and the LDS Church News, the official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. During his visit, Cook was received by President Danilo Medina. Cook spoke at a religious freedom symposium that was sponsored by the Pontifical Catholic University Madre y Maestra.
Cook was accompanied by his wife, Mary, and members of the Church’s Caribbean area presidency and their wives (Walter F. González and wife Zulma, Claudio D. Zivik and wife Dina Noemi, and Jose Alonso and wife Rebecca). The trip was part of a visit to the Caribbean from 10-20 November 2017.
Reporting on the meeting with President Medina, trip spokesman González said that Medina was well aware of the work of the Church in the country. As reported in LDS, the official media online of the church, he remarked on the visit with the President: “He was impressed by the growth of the Church in Dominican Republic. The President expressed gratitude for the service of the Church and emphasized the importance of religion in creating a strong citizenry.”
In a separate meeting, Cook and his wife met with First Lady Cándida Montilla, who had previously visited Salt Lake City. “She expressed gratitude for the Church contributions to her social programs to help the less fortunate in the Dominican Republic,” said González. “She was very pleased with the joint efforts for social programs.”
González said the church, with its 132,000 members and the only temple in the Caribbean, is well recognized by government leaders in the Dominican Republic. González highlighted the participation of the Church in the government literacy program, “Quisqueya Aprende Contigo,” and in the publishing of Braille literacy booklets for this program.
This was the first time the religious freedom symposium was held in the Dominican Republic. “We need to always talk about the importance of religious freedom, although we are very blessed that in most of our area we have no problems,” he said.
Read more:
Prensa Mormona
Deseret News
11 December 2017
