The redemption of the Lamanites of Mexico

I desire very greatly, my brethren and sisters, to have the Spirit of the Lord direct me in the few remarks that I shall make this morning, and I crave an interest in your faith and prayers in my behalf, that the Lord will assist me to say only those things that He desires I should say. ¶

I have had some experience in the missionary field, and I have learned the great lesson that a man must have the Spirit of the Lord to teach the people the things of the Lord, just as much as a man "must have the Spirit of God to understand the things of God." I remember reading, in the Book of Mormon, the words that Nephi recorded in regard to that occasion when his father told him to return to Jerusalem and to bring with him the brass plates upon which were engraven the genealogy of his father Lehi, and of that branch of the family back to the first generation; and his father said that his elder brothers rebelled and murmured, and did not wish to go back. But Nephi said that he would do as he was commanded, for, said he, "I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." And I, in that same faith, am standing before you this morning. Provided I am humble, I believe that the Lord will give me words to express my feelings in a manner that you can understand, and perhaps beneficially, because the Lord does not make mistakes, and when He calls upon His servants to perform any duty, and they do it in humility, He opens the way before them that they may accomplish that which He desires. ¶

As Brother Clawson has told you, I have labored in the Mexican mission, and I have the spirit of that mission running through my veins to such an extent that it is almost impossible for me to talk to the people here, except I speak in regard to the Mexican mission. I trust that you will bear with me if I call your attention to something that is being done in that mission, among the seed of Lehi, those that we declare are Lamanites. We have been engaged in missionary work there for ten or twelve years, and the work is increasing and spreading in a marvelous manner, in spite of the adverse conditions that exist in that country. We have on our record books something over 1600 names, of that number the great majority are true and faithful members of the Church. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is doing for them just what it is doing for any other people who have accepted the Gospel of Christ, in the true spirit of it. Our work at the present time is such that, although the condition of the country is such that it would seem almost impossible to do missionary work there, we have never had a more successful year than the present. We have baptized already, this year, sixty-five souls, and they will compare favorably with any Saints that embrace the Gospel in any land. As I said before, the Gospel is doing for them just what it is doing for any other people that accept the Gospel, and live its principles. ¶

I wish to call your attention to conditions that exist at the present time in Mexico, and to the prophecies the Lord has made with reference to that people, and to show you, if possible, wherein those prophecies are being fulfilled now. I call your attention to that part of the record which has not yet been fulfilled, and which is of definite importance to all who believe in the Book of Mormon. The Lamanites are not only the Indians who live in the United States of America, and in Canada, but the Lamanite people extend from Alaska to Patagonia. They are the descendants of father Lehi, and his rebellious sons that turned away from the truth, and incurred the curse of God and became what they are, the native races that exist, as I said, from Patagonia on the south to Alaska on the north. They are all Lamanites, and the Lord prophesied in regard to them, and told them what would be the consequences of their sins, that this curse would come upon them. Nephi depicts it very truthfully when he says he saw them divided up into many tribes and nations, and that they would war among one another. And he also saw that the Gentile nations would be brought in among them and would be given power over them, even to the extent of reducing them to a remnant, and he said that they would become a hiss and a by-word, and they would be trampled upon by the Gentile nations that came among them. That has verily been the case. Time is not sufficient, this morning, to go into a detailed description of all that has befallen the Lamanite races of America; it is sufficient to say that the Gentiles did go into Mexico, particularly, and did there crush the Lamanites, and have brought them down even to a remnant, fulfilling the prophecies the Lord made in regard to that people. From the time of the Spanish conquerers, who were Gentiles of the Latin race, who conquered Mexico, Central America, and Peru, and the rest of the native races that existed at that time, in South America, there are only one-tenth in existence in those countries at the present time. If you could read the history of the conquest of Mexico, of Guatemala, of Peru, and see the way that those people were reduced at the hands of the Gentiles, if you could read the history of the reign of the Gentile nations over them for more than four hundred years, and see where they have been exterminated, comparatively speaking, you would say it was marvelous indeed, because one out of ten is a very small remnant. And they are the "drawers of water and hewers of wood" for the Gentiles who have come in among them. ¶

But, fortunately for them, they were part of the Lord's covenant people, and He said that, though he would permit that they should be reduced to a remnant, He would not permit their utter destruction. He said to Nephi: "I will not permit that thy seed and the seed of thy brethren, shall be totally destroyed and wiped off from the earth by the Gentiles who should come among them." The Lord promised these people redemption. He said that He would reveal the fullness of the gospel unto the Gentiles, and would establish His Church in the land; and from the Gentiles would come unto this people the book which would be the history of the hand-dealings of the Lord with their ancestors, back to the time of Father Lehi. As before stated, the Lord said that He would not permit the remnant of that people to be destroyed and wiped off the face of the earth. Inasmuch as one part of the prophecy has been fulfilled, it is perfectly logical, and it is my firm conviction, that the rest of that prophecy will be fulfilled, and for the reason I am stating. Although I have labored in Mexico for seven years, and three years of that time a bloody war has been in progress, and I have seen horrible things, I am content in the belief that that people are to be redeemed. I have seen the redemption of a great many of them through the teaching of the gospel. ¶

A great many people have nothing but horror for the Lamanites that live to the south of us. A great many say that nothing under the sun can redeem the Lamanites of Mexico, because they are a people too low to be lifted out of their present condition. But, their present condition has been brought about because of forces and circumstances that have existed, primarily, because of the rebellious spirit of their fathers, of what the Lord has permitted to come upon them because of that rebellion. But I want to tell you that they are not too low to be redeemed. I have seen men that have been low, men that have been everything that was bad, have the Gospel spark kindled in their hearts and reform their evil ways, and I know them today to be clean of heart and pure of soul. The Gospel has done that for them, and it can do the same thing for any who will accept it. I wish I could convince the young men here, that it is not a bad thing to come into their lives to be asked, nay, permitted, to go to the Lamanite people, but to regard it as a privilege. It is a glorious privilege. Every young man I have known who has gone to that mission has come back better in his soul for having come in contact with the Lamanite people. ¶

I want to lift my voice in defense of that people, and in defense of the prophecies that God has made about them. I may not continue my labors forever among them, but I am willing to do so, and I wish to keep alive my interest in those people, for I believe in their redemption equally with other people. I believe, as Peter said, God is no respecter of persons, but that persons of whatever nation they may be that will accept Christ are accepted of our Father in heaven. That is part of the Gospel, and it is part of the power of God unto salvation, that is to bring to pass the universal brotherhood of man. We are not people that would exclude any others from the blessings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If we have the true spirit of the Gospel in our hearts, we will be willing to go, if necessary, to the ends of the earth to bring about the salvation of the sons and daughters of our Father in heaven from the degraded condition into which they have fallen; it is only possible to bring them to enjoy life eternal through the Gospel which we enjoy. ¶

We are the most blest people in the world. I have never seen a more blest people. I have traveled some throughout the United States, and other parts of America, and I have seen wealthy people, and people of various conditions; but it is my belief that there is no people under the sun that are as much blest as are the Latter-day Saints. There is no people that enjoy the same privileges, consequently there is no people that ought to be more tolerant than the Latter-day Saints. We should have in our hearts the love that prompted Christ to give His life for all the world, that was manifested by our Father in heaven, in that He gave His only begotten Son that all who believe in Him and accept His teachings, might be saved. It is impossible for us to gain the perfection that Christ commanded His disciples to attain to, when He said, "Be ye perfect even as my Father in heaven is perfect," except we have the same degree of love that Christ had when He gave His life for the world. ¶

The work of preaching the Gospel among the Lamanites is dear to me. It is progressing, and I am willing to continue my labors. I believe that the Lord has required it at my hands, and He never requires of His servants anything except that He opens the way before them that they may accomplish that thing. I was in the capital of Mexico from the 9th to the 18th of February of this year, when we did not eat or sleep except to the tune of cannon or of muskets; but the elders of the Lord were there together, and we were protected. There were hundreds fell, and I saw many of them burning in the streets of Mexico; but I am willing to go back and face the same or worse conditions, if the Lord requires it at my hands, for the Lord could open the way for me to do good. ¶

I pray that the Lord will bless us, and help us to appreciate the blessings that we enjoy, and help us to have a loving and tolerant spirit and feeling for all mankind, which I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶