For members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints living in remote corners of the world, visiting a temple can feel like an impossible dream.
Sweetwater Rescue, a nonprofit, is working to change that. Through donated funds, volunteer coordination, and deep faith, this organization is helping isolated Latter-day Saints overcome financial and geographic barriers to make the sacred journey to the temple a reality.
Karen Harrop and Richard LeDuc were involved in founding the organization while working on other charity efforts with friends and neighbors in Peru.
“We had been doing humanitarian work through a foundation, that all of us were involved in,” Harrop said. “Although our work was providing relief to others, which was our goal, it wasn't lasting relief.”
While wondering what more could be done to help those in need, a quote from Church President Russell M. Nelson came to Harrop’s mind: “Nothing will help you more to hold fast to the iron rod than worshiping in the temple as regularly as your circumstances permit.”
That inspiration led to the group’s first temple trip, helping 118 people travel from Puno, Peru, to the Arequipa Peru Temple.
“It was such an incredible feeling, the opposite of the feeling that we had just a couple of years earlier when we were in the same country doing service,” LeDuc said. “A very different feeling as people were able to go to the temple for the first time.”
The nonprofit is named after the group of Latter-day Saint pioneers who rescued the Martin and Willie handcart companies as they struggled to cross the plains to Utah.
“We love the idea of that. Our brothers and sisters are out on the plains and we're trying to bring them into the temple,” Harrop said.
Since then, the organization has partnered with local church leaders in areas such as Río Gallegos, Argentina and Lithuania to help hundreds more access temple worship.
“God is mindful of individuals and wheels are put in motion years in advance to allow people an opportunity to go to the temple,” LeDuc said.
The group is planning two more international temple trips for 2026.
To donate or learn more, visit Sweetwater Rescue’s website.
You can also hear more of Harrop and LeDuc’s story by listening to the full interview on BYU-Idaho Radio’s podcast, available on Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.