Standard-Examiner staff?jfrancis@standard.net ?

SALT LAKE CITY — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Tuesday it will move about 200 church missionaries from areas of Japan threatened by radiation from damaged nuclear power plants.?

“We don’t want any local people worried about missionaries when we can worry about them,” said Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, a member of the church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

?Radiation leaks caused the government to order 140,000 people living within 20 miles of the plants to seal themselves indoors to avoid exposure.?Holland said all 638 missionaries in Japan are safe. About 340 to 350 of those missionaries are from the U.S.?”No one counted on the radiation issue,” he said. “That has made it an international concern.”?Holland spoke Tuesday in a news conference at the church’s headquarters.?”We have substantial interest there,” Holland said of Japan, noting that there are 125,000 members of the LDS Church in the country. ?”The whole world is concerned about this situation, the enormity of which continues to grow and grow.”?Holland said all church members in the country have been accounted for except for one ward and two branches in the Sendai area.?”We know of no loss of life of any member of the church yet,” he said. “We are assessing needs for housing, food, warmth and protection.”?Holland said about 50 church buildings in the Sendai area were affected, but none were seriously damaged.?He said the church has assessed each one visually except for one that officials were unable to reach.?”We are trying to deal with the needs of everyone in Japan to the extent that we can,” he said.?Because of the radiation, Holland said, safety will be kept in mind while helping those in need.?”Radiation does introduce a very different element. The radiation information is very unclear and very unscientific at this time.”?Holland said information about how people can donate through the church will be posted at LDS.org when details are finalized.