Report on the Condition of the Saints in Mexico

My brethren and sisters, during the few moments that I shall occupy in telling you something of the condition of the Latter-day Saints who are located in the republic of Mexico, I sincerely desire that I may be assisted by your faith. It is quite unexpectedly that I am called to occupy this position, and therefore I must depend upon your assistance and the aid of our Father in heaven. ¶

The Latter-day Saints in Mexico are doing the things which the Latter-day Saints are doing in Canada, in Montana, in Oregon, in Idaho, in Wyoming, in Utah, and in all other places where they are established. The Gospel is the same wherever we are. Our effort is, by example as well as by precept, to teach the Mexican people the ways of the Lord and convert them to the truth Of the fact that God's kingdom has been established in the dispensation In which we live. There are in Mexico about 12,000,000 of people, 9,000,000 of whom are Indians whose blood has not been intermingled with the blood of other people. For nearly 400 years these Indians have been a subjugated race. Since the conquest of Mexico, when with the sword in one hand and the Bible in the other the doctrines of the Catholic church were established among the Aztec people, that great church has been dominant there, and probably 95 per cent of the inhabitants of Mexico are converts to its teachings. We have not sought insistently to introduce the principles of the Gospel among the Mexican people; but by degrees, through the example which we set, through our works of industry, and through the blessing of the Lord upon our efforts, we find it necessary to send out missionaries and organize branches of the Church among them. ¶

A year ago last June, under the direction of Apostle John Henry Smith, a mission was re-established in the City of Mexico, since which time about 200 people have been added to the Church— that is, probably 150 converts have been made and about 50 had already been baptized— so that we have a very prosperous and promising branch of the Church there, with headquarters in the City of Mexico. ¶

Our relationship with the federal government is of the most agreeable and friendly character. President Diaz, whose strong character has made it possible for him to accomplish the remarkable reconstruction of the Mexican government which has been the result of his administration, owes much of his character, it is admitted by all to the strong blood of his mother, who was an Indian. ¶

We regard with a great deal of satisfaction the devotion that is shown by these simple people to the principles of the Gospel after they receive them They are very poor, very humble; they have been so long in abject servitude to the small aristocratic minority which has controlled and does still control the politics and finances of Mexico, that the spirit of independence has to a great degree been crushed out of them, but they are religious. That those who are converted have received a testimony of the Gospel and the Spirit of the Lord is evidenced by their works, by their repentance, by their devotion to the Elders who are laboring among them, and by the disposition which they show to push out into unexplored fields and introduce the Gospel among their fellows. ¶

The Lord told us in the early history of the Church that before the great day of the Lord should come, Jacob should flourish in the wilderness and the Lamanites should blossom as the rose. If you will carefully study the revelations of the Lord to the Church, you will find that our destiny and the destiny of the American Indians, who are the descendants of Lehi and heirs to the promises which God has made to the house of Israel, are very closely associated together. You will find that before the redemption of Zion the work of the Lord must be introduced among the Lamanites. Christ said to His disciples, when He ministered among them upon this continent, that He would give them a sign by which they might know that the work of the Father was about to begin for the redemption of all Israel and the fulfillment of every word which had been spoken by the mouths of the holy prophets, and this was the sign which He gave: "When these things which I declare unto you and which I shall declare unto you hereafter of myself, and by the power of the Holy Ghost, which shall be given unto you of the Father, shall be made known unto the Gentiles, that they may know concerning this people who are a remnant of the house of Jacob, and concerning this my people who shall be scattered by them; . . . and when these things come to pass, that thy seed shall begin to know these things, it shall be a sign unto them, that they may know that the work of the Father hath already commenced unto the fulfilling of the covenant which we had made unto the people who are of the house of Israel." So, my brethren and sisters, as we see the result of our labors in Mexico and the very promising outlook there is for the introduction of the Gospel there, we see these words of the Lord fulfilled, and it encourages us in the hope that we are nearer — as we know we are — to the consummation of God's purposes in the dispensation in which we live. ¶

Our life in Mexico has taught us patience. They are a slow-going people, and it has taught us to develop 'to a greater degree perhaps than among any other people the spirit of charity and longsuffering kindness, knowing as we do that their condition is the result of transgression on the part of their forefathers. We have learned that our friendly relations with them and with that government are largely due to the fact that we have sought to bring blessing where we have gone, that we have taught kindness and consideration, charity and love to the people, and have endeavored to exemplify that in our lives. It is not necessary to teach resentment and retaliation; there is enough of that in the nature of man. The spirit of the Gospel of Christ teaches people to overcome those propensities, and to bow in humble submission to the will of God. This is His work, and He will take care of it. That which we need to do is to be humble, faithful and considerate of the conditions of our fellows with whom we come in contact, teaching them repentance from sin, teaching them love, charity, and absolute dependence upon God to work out this great problem. He will do it, my brethren and sisters. In this age of reason, of logic and of argument the truth must eventually prevail, and the principles of the Gospel, being founded upon everlasting truth, will triumph. We need have no fear but that the Lord will take care of His people. ¶

I bring you greetings from the people in Mexico, and assure you that our hearts, like yours, are absorbed in the work of the Lord; that our sole desire is for the upbuilding of His kingdom, the welfare of the Latter-day Saints, and the conversion of the world. This is our mission, and with us more especially the conversion of the remnants of the house of Israel surrounding us. We owe a great deal to the Lamanites. Whoever stopped to reflect that the man who was sent from God to teach the Prophet Joseph the principles of the Gospel, and who showed him where the plates were concealed containing the record which, translated, was given to the world as the Book of Mormon, was one of the ancestors of the aborigines of this continent? The Book of Mormon came from them, and it contains the fullness of the Gospel of Christ as no other book does. Therefore we feel that there is some obligation upon us to remember this downtrodden, oppressed people, and with the help of God to bring about their redemption, through obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel. Give us your faith and prayers in this work; we need them. We are isolated entirely from our brethren and sisters; we are surrounded by a strange people, with a strange language, with customs and manners entirely foreign and distinct from ours; but, thanks be to the Lord, we have been preserved and prospered, and the people are contented and happy, satisfied with their lot, and entirely devoted to the work which has been assigned to them. ¶

May God bless you, my brethren and sisters, and help us all to perform our duties, that we may ultimately see the triumph of truth. I ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶