Pulpit

The Mexican Mission

Antoine R. Ivins, Of the First Council of Seventy and President of the Mexican Mission

1933 April General Conference·Third Day Afternoon Session·1933-04-09

My brethren and sisters, I am delighted with the privilege of adding my testimony to those which have already been given during this conference, although I should very gladly have surrendered my portion of the time to those who are perhaps more able to instruct you.

As you know, I represent the Mexican Mission, and as such I bring you greetings from perhaps the largest branch of the house of Lehi, We had a pageant the other night, celebrating the dawn of the day of the sons of Lehi. We are laboring among those very people, and we bring you their greetings.

The Mexican Mission feels to congratulate itself especially at this time, in that it has two new representatives, we might say, among the presiding authorities of the Church. We feel extremely fortunate in the selection of these two brethren to fill the vacancies that they now occupy, because we know that both of them are friendly to our people and to our mission. We pray that God will bless them, that they may measure up fully and completely to the responsibility that rests upon them. We bear them up, and will support them wholeheartedly and without reserve.

The Mexican Mission is making some progress. We are not able, however, to report the same advancement that some of the other missions are able to do. Our numbers are few. We have not available the same excellent quality and quantity of part-time missionary service as the other missions are enjoying^ It seems to me that it is through this effort that they are making their best contacts at this time, and we miss that force very, very much.

We have in our mission some of the best young men and youngwomen in the Church. We wish to assure the fathers and mothers of all of them that they are now well, happy, and working hard ; and if there are any others who have sons and daughters that they would like to get a wonderful experience, send them to us. We would like to have them now. It is the work of the Lord. There is no greater work in the world, and your sons and your daughters are interested in its advancement.

I don't feel that I should stand here and talk a long while this afternoon, but I just want to add my testimony to those that have already been given, to say that we support and uphold the authorities of this Church. We are especially interested in the campaign that seems to have been initiated for the Word of Wisdom, the slogan, if we may call it such, of this conference.

I can bear the same testimony that has been borne here already two or three times, that the observance of the Word of Wisdom is no detriment in the world. I have spent ten years of my life laboring with people who are not of our faith, almost all of whom are non-observers of the Word of Wisdom, but I found, without exception, that they expected me to observe the Word of Wisdom. They almost demanded it of me, and I was mighty glad to think that it was a habit with me.

I pray that the Lord will bless us ; that he will make our shoulders equal to the burdens that we have to bear ; that we may carry on this work in honor and in dignity before him; that eventually, in his own proper time, it may fulfil the purpose for which it was established in the earth. With these few words I give way, praying God's blessings upon us all, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Cite this talkAntoine R. Ivins, "The Mexican Mission," 1933 April General Conference, Third Day Afternoon Session (1933-04-09). Pulpit Vault, 1933-04-antoine-r-ivins-the-mexican-mission. Authoritative print text from archive.org.Pulpit Vault, edition of 23 September 2026 (commit 4bdc6ac627).
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Passages elsewhere in the record that speak where this talk speaks — nearest first, found by comparing paragraph texts. Each opens at the cited paragraph.