The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mexico
Encyclopedia
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
is home to the largest body of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) outside of the United States.
History
The first missionariesMissionary (LDS Church)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work, with over 52,000 full-time missionaries worldwide, as of the end of 2010...
of the LDS Church in Mexico came in 1874. This was shortly after Daniel W. Jones and Meliton Trejo had begun to translate the Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
into Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
. The first missionaries did not perform any baptisms. Later in 1879, more missionary efforts were started in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
. The first person baptized a member of the LDS Church in that city was Plotino C. Rhodakanaty. Missionary work in central Mexico continued until 1889 when it was halted for a time.
In 1885, a group of Latter-day Saints from Utah Territory
Utah Territory
The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah....
and Arizona Territory
Arizona Territory
The Territory of Arizona was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863 until February 14, 1912, when it was admitted to the Union as the 48th state....
settled in the state of Chihuahua. They were fleeing the U.S. federal government prosecution of Mormon polygamists
Plural marriage
Polygamy was taught by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890.The Church's practice of polygamy has been highly controversial, both within...
. These Latter-day Saints eventually founded the settlements
Mormon Colonies in Mexico
The Mormon colonies in Mexico are settlements located near the Sierra Madre mountains in northern Mexico which were established by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints beginning in 1885. Many of the original colonists came to Mexico due to federal attempts to curb and...
of Colonia Juárez, Colonia Dublán
Colonia Dublan
Colonia Dublán began as a Mormon colony, located in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. It is now a part of Nuevo Casas Grandes. It is one of the few surviving Mormon colonies in Mexico .-History:...
, four more in Chihuahua, and two in the state of Sonora
Sonora
Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....
.
In 1901, the Mexican Mission
Mission (LDS Church)
A mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a geographical administrative area to which church missionaries are assigned. Almost all areas of the world are within the boundaries of an LDS Church mission, whether or not Mormon missionaries live or proselytize in the area...
of the church was re-established with Ammon M. Tenney
Ammon M. Tenney
Ammon Meshach Tenney was an American Mormon missionary and colonizer in Arizona, New Mexico and Mexico, who taught the message of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to such peoples as the Zunis and the Isleta Pueblos, baptizing hundreds...
as president
Mission president
Mission president is a priesthood leadership position in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . A mission president presides over a mission and the missionaries serving in the mission...
. In 1910, Rey L. Pratt became president. By 1912 he was forced to leave Mexico City but he was able to put most of the branches in Central Mexico under the leadership of local members. Among these was Rafael Monroy
Rafael Monroy
Rafael Monroy is remembered by Mormons in Mexico as a martyr of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints .Monroy joined the LDS Church in 1913. Shortly after this, Rey L. Pratt and the other missionaries of American citizenship were forced to leave because of the Mexican Revolution...
.
Most of the Mormon colonists left in 1912 due to rising violence, but many returned some were able to return in later years. Pratt remained as mission president until his death, also establishing missionary work among the Spanish-speaking populations in the Southwestern United States
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
.
In 1936, a group of people called the Third Convention
Third Convention
The Third Convention was a dissident group of Mexican Latter-day Saints who broke away from the main body of church authority in 1936 over a dispute about local governance and autonomy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mexico...
, influenced by the spirit of the Mexican Revolution
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
, called for a Mexican to serve as president of the church's mission in Mexico. The tactics of this group led to the excommunication of its members. In 1946, George Albert Smith
George Albert Smith
George Albert Smith, Sr. was the eighth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints .-Early life:...
, the President of the Church, visited Mexico. He was able to establish a reconciliation with most of the members of the Third Convention and the vast majority of this group were brought back into the church.
In 1956, the Mexican Mission was divided for the first time, with the Northern Mexican Mission being organized. From this time forward the church focused on setting up the structure to organize stakes. In 1959, the church established a network of schools outside of Colonia Juárez. The only one of these still functioning, the preparatory school Benemerito, was established in 1963 in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
.
The first Spanish-speaking stake in Mexico was organized in Mexico City in 1961. In 1966 Agricol Lozano
Agricol Lozano
Agricol Lozano Herrera was a Mormon poet, historian, and leader in Mexico. He was also an outspoken human rights lawyer once imprisoned by the Mexican government.Lozano was born to Mormon parents in Tula, Hidalgo. He was the eldest of 13 children...
became the first indigenous Mexican to serve as a stake president. In 1970, the Monterrey Stake (now Monterrey Mexico Mitras Stake) was organized with Guillermo G. Garza as president. This was the first stake in Mexico outside of the Mormon colonies
Mormon Colonies in Mexico
The Mormon colonies in Mexico are settlements located near the Sierra Madre mountains in northern Mexico which were established by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints beginning in 1885. Many of the original colonists came to Mexico due to federal attempts to curb and...
and the Mexico City area.
Temples
The Mexico City Mexico TempleMexico City Mexico Temple
The Mexico City Mexico Temple is the 28th constructed and 26th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in the north-eastern part of the Mexican capital, Mexico City, it was built with a unique design inspired by ancient Aztec and Mayan architecture...
was the first LDS Church temple
Temple (LDS Church)
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , a temple is a building dedicated to be a House of the Lord, and they are considered by Church members to be the most sacred structures on earth. Upon completion, temples are usually open to the public for a short period of time...
in Mexico; it was dedicated in 1983 and was rededicated after renovation in 2008.
From 1999 to 2002 an additional 11 temples were dedicated in Mexico. This comes after historic June 29, 1993, when the Mexican government formally registered the LDS Church, allowing it to own property.
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Current status
As of year-end 2007, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) reported 1,121,893 members, 210 stakes, 40 districts, 1,459 wards, 503 branches, 21 missionsMission (LDS Church)
A mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a geographical administrative area to which church missionaries are assigned. Almost all areas of the world are within the boundaries of an LDS Church mission, whether or not Mormon missionaries live or proselytize in the area...
, and 12 temples
Temple (LDS Church)
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , a temple is a building dedicated to be a House of the Lord, and they are considered by Church members to be the most sacred structures on earth. Upon completion, temples are usually open to the public for a short period of time...
in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.
As of January 2009, two men of Mexican birth and descent were serving in the First Quorum of the Seventy: Benjamin de Hoyos
Benjamín De Hoyos
Benjamín De Hoyos Estrada has been a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since 1999.De Hoyos was born in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico, and grew up in northern Mexico...
and Octaviano Tenorio
Octaviano Tenorio
Octaviano Tenorio Domínguez has been a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since 2007. He was one of the original area authorities called in 1995....
. Carl B. Pratt
Carl B. Pratt
Carl Barton Pratt was a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1997 to 2011.- Biography :...
, another general authority
General authority
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , a general authority is a member of certain leadership organizations who are given administrative and ecclesiastical authority over the church...
, was born and raised in Mexico but is of Anglo-American descent. Clate W. Mask of the Second Quorum of the Seventy is a native of El Paso, Texas
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
whose mother was an immigrant from Mexico and whose grandfather was the first native Mexican to serve as a missionary for the church.
See also
- Mormon colonies in MexicoMormon Colonies in MexicoThe Mormon colonies in Mexico are settlements located near the Sierra Madre mountains in northern Mexico which were established by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints beginning in 1885. Many of the original colonists came to Mexico due to federal attempts to curb and...
- Mormon CorridorMormon CorridorThe Mormon Corridor is a term for the areas of Western North America that were settled between 1850 and approximately 1890 by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , who are commonly known as Mormons....
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints membership statisticsThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints membership statisticsThe tables on this page represents Latter Day Saint membership as reported by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as of January 1, 2009....
External links
- LDS Newsroom (Mexico)
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Official Site for Mexico (Español)