Mormon church to keep missionaries in Russia despite new restrictions

[The Librarian]

A street worker cleans paving stones in Red Square with St. Basil's Cathedral, left, Lenin Mausoleum, center, and the Spasskaya Tower, right, in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2015. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

A new law will regulate religious work and proselytizing in Russia, but the Mormon church says missionaries will remain there. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law Thursday an anti-terrorism measure that seeks to increase phone and social media surveillance, as well as penalties for online extremism. The measure, which takes effect July 20, also limits proselytizing by religious groups outside of officially designated sites. 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released a statement Friday, noting that missionaries "will honor, sustain and obey the law" and "work within the requirements of these changes."

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) condemned the law in a news release Friday, calling it a "guise" that authorizes "sweeping powers to curtail civil liberties."

http://www.sltrib.com/news/4097197-155/mormon-church-to-keep-missionaries-in