The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mexico

Abstract

The growth of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in Mexico may be seen as one example, perhaps somewhat specialized, of the expansion of non-Catholic Christianity that has transpired in Latin America in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Three events that occurred in the closing decades of the nineteenth century may be regarded as the chief formative factors leading to the establishment of the LDS Church in Mexico. First, in 1874, selections from the Book of Mormon (the LDS Church’s foundational scripture) were published in Spanish. This was followed in 1886 by the publication of the complete text. Second, in 1879, the LDS Church established a proselyting mission with headquarters in Mexico City. And third, beginning in 1885, the LDS Church established nine settlements (generally referred to among Latter-day Saints as “the Mormon colonies”) in northern Mexico to which some 4000 Church members subsequently migrated from the United States. These Anglo colonies were extremely instrumental in providing leadership and manpower for LDS Church work among ethnic Mexicans. It is this second group (i.e., ethnic Mexicans) that is the focus of this chapter.

Dr. Cooper (retired Research and Information Division, Correlation Department, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) authored the sections of this chapter that examine growth and issues connected with the Modern LDS Church in Mexico since World War II. Professor Hernández de Olarte authored the sections of this chapter that treat the early history of the LDS Church in Mexico up until World War II.