May 31, 2015 — New York, New York
AJC mourns the passing of Elder L. Tom Perry, a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and extends condolences to his family and the LDS Church leadership.
“Elder Perry was a good friend," said Rabbi Noam Marans, AJC Director of Interreligious and Intergroup Relations, recalling his three meetings with Perry. "He was a strong supporter of the AJC-LDS relationship and an articulate spokesman for our shared concerns, including religious liberty, humanitarian disaster relief, and sustaining religious identity in a changing word.”
Elder Perry was one of two members of the Quorum of Twelve, among the most senior leaders of the Church, who visited AJC's global headquarters in New York for a historic meeting in February 2014. That visit, the first for members of the Quorum, followed visits by national AJC leaders to Salt Lake City and meetings with Elder Perry in November 2013, led by AJC President Stanley Bergman, and in August 2012.
On the delicate issue of baptism of Holocaust vicitms, AJC has expressed appreciation for the Church’s serious commitment to apologize, change course and prevent posthumous proxy baptisms of Holocaust victims.
AJC has initiated LDS-Jewish dialogues in cities across the United States, in addition to periodic regional and national delegation visits to Salt Lake City.
