“We Had to Come to You”: Apostles Minister to Spokane Fire Survivors

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf and Elder Neil L. Andersen met with survivors of destructive Eastern Washington wildfires on Sunday, August 23, 2026, three weeks after the fires destroyed hundreds of homes. According to a Church Newsroom release, the two Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints traveled to Spokane for a special regional meeting before visiting families in fire-damaged neighborhoods.

Hundreds of people attended the Sunday morning gathering at a Church meetinghouse, while the Church of Jesus Christ broadcast the meeting to buildings in eight area stakes. President Uchtdorf, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Elder Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles addressed the losses survivors faced and the service neighbors offered throughout the crisis.

Church Leaders Gather With Fire Survivors

“You are heroes for us, how you went through this, helping each other in very difficult moments,” President Uchtdorf told the congregation. “We had to come to you and mourn with you and grieve with you about feelings of loss.”

Elder Andersen acknowledged the destruction and uncertainty while expressing gratitude that the fires had spared human life. “We grieve for those who have lost their homes, who have lost their possessions, or are living in uncertainty. But we rejoice that lives were saved. That is a miracle,” he said.

President Uchtdorf’s wife, Harriet Uchtdorf, accompanied him to Spokane, while Elder Andersen attended with his wife, Kathy Andersen. Elder Takashi Wada of the United States West Area Presidency and his wife, Naomi Wada, also participated alongside Elder Jared M. Spataro, an Area Seventy.

During the meeting, Elder Andersen focused on the way residents served one another without allowing religious affiliation to divide them. “We rejoice in what we’ve seen of people taking care of people, independent of whether you’re a member of the Church or not,” he said.

He connected that service to a shared identity as children of God rather than limiting his message to the experiences of Latter-day Saints. “It helps us realize that we are all brothers and sisters. We are all sons and daughters of God, and we are all linked together,” Elder Andersen said.

Apostles Walk Through Fire-Damaged Neighborhoods

After the meeting, the Apostles visited families who lost their homes in the Spokane Complex Fires and walked through neighborhoods that remained covered in ash and fire retardant. The remnants showed the destruction left by fires that swept through the area in early August.

President Uchtdorf reflected on the help that often becomes visible during painful experiences. “I feel sometimes we see angels only through pain, through moments of suffering,” he said while visiting the damaged neighborhoods.

He also spoke about the changes that hardship produces in those who endure it with the support of others. “Sometimes we can recognize that these moments of suffering can lift us up to totally new heights,” President Uchtdorf said.

Sister Uchtdorf described the visit as humbling because she saw residents responding to loss by caring for one another. One woman whose house survived the fire told her that the disaster had given her a new purpose: helping neighbors who had lost theirs.

“For me, it was very humbling to see those people today and to see how they interact with each other, how they helped each other out,” Sister Uchtdorf said. “One sister told me that I have a new purpose right now to help my neighbors because I’m the one whose house is still standing. I am the one who now can help.”

A Family Faces the Loss of Its Home

Cody and Haylee Woodbury lost their home when fire moved through Spokane’s Shadle Park neighborhood, forcing the couple and their three children to relocate. They now live with family as they consider their next steps.

“The community that we have here is strong and has become stronger because of the events that have happened,” Cody Woodbury said. His comments reflected the emphasis Church leaders placed on neighbors supporting one another during and after the fires.

The Woodburys hope to return to the neighborhood, but Haylee Woodbury said they also want the families around them to have that same opportunity. She described the family’s recovery as a gradual process grounded in her faith that God remained with them throughout the experience.

“We’d love to be back in this neighborhood, but we also would love our neighbors to be back too, and we’ll just kind of take it a little bit at a time,” Haylee Woodbury said. “I feel like Heavenly Father has been here every step of the way.”

Randy Mulch and Gerriann Armstrong of the Salvation Army joined the Woodburys in prayer in front of the remains of the family’s home during Sunday’s visit. The moment brought together the family, local relief workers and Church leaders at the site of the Woodburys’ loss.

Survivors Describe Gratitude and Resilience

Ann Abeyta was caring for her deceased father’s home when authorities ordered her to evacuate. Before fleeing the fire as it raced down a nearby mountain, she retrieved some Native American beadwork her father had made and several buckskin saddles that belonged to her family.

Abeyta later attended the regional meeting and met President Uchtdorf there. She described the Apostles’ decision to visit Spokane as an expression of love and a reminder of the commandments to love, serve and endure together.

“To be sitting in the same room with those two men, and the love that they have for us to come and speak to the people of Spokane to remind us that one of the greatest commandments is to love one another and serve one another, and to endure and come together as a community,” Abeyta said. “It was a very sacred ceremony.”

Her experience joined those of other survivors who spoke about gratitude and resilience despite losing homes and possessions. Their accounts also showed how the gathering extended beyond a formal meeting as Church leaders listened to people who had escaped the fires and witnessed the destruction firsthand.

President Uchtdorf Promises Survivors They Will Not Be Forgotten

President Uchtdorf closed his message by distinguishing God’s promises from an expectation that faithful people will avoid hardship. He taught that Heavenly Father accompanies His children through suffering rather than promising a life without loss, illness or accidents.

“Our Heavenly Father has not promised us no pain, no fire, no accident, no illness,” President Uchtdorf said. “But what He is promising is that He is there. He will walk with us through illness, through loss, through pain, through suffering.”

President Uchtdorf then assured survivors that both God and Church leaders would remember them as they rebuilt their lives. Drawing attention to green grass emerging in a burned backyard, he compared that growth with the strength that survivors might develop through their experiences.

“God will not forget you. We will not forget you, and He will bless you,” President Uchtdorf said. “As the green growing grass shows in your backyard, perhaps you will see this in your hearts, that you come out of this difficult and challenging experience with new growth, with new strength.”

Share your thoughts and prayers for the survivors of the Spokane fire survivors in the comments below.

Holly Wallace

Holly Wallace is a writer and storyteller drawn to meaningful questions and overlooked details. Her work explores Latter-day Saint life and culture through faithful inquiry, inviting readers to pause, consider, and engage more deeply with what matters most.