![]() ![]() ![]() Using a “seer stone,” Smith said he translated golden plates into what is now the Book of Mormon. The LDS Church was founded in 1830 by Joseph Smith, who Mormons consider a prophet because he said he received revelations from God. “But I know that when I observe the church recommendations, it feels right. “I would probably like it if I tried it, because coffee smells good,” he said. Meza has never had a cup of coffee, never sipped a café con leche. Because he and his parents do not drink – Mormons refrain from alcohol, cigarettes, and caffeine – some of their relatives call them “the party-poopers in the family.” Mormonism gives Meza a strong “sense of belonging.” But that does not always hold true when he interacts with non-LDS family members. On the other hand, he has encountered LDS members who “have stereotypes against Latinos, but that is changing.” “Some Latinos say to me, what are you doing in that church? People have said that I was trying to become a white person, or that I was completely denying my culture,” he said. Ricardo Meza, president of the Brigham Young University Latino Club, has seen misunderstandings between Latinos and LDS Church members. Ricardo Meza, president of BYU Latino Club. In 2010, it endorsed the “Utah Compact,” a declaration that called for the humane treatment of immigrants. In 2014, the LDS Church came out in support of comprehensive immigration reform. Hispanics are not going to join a church that they perceive as supporting anti-immigrant measures,” Iber said. “As more Latinos have come in, including a certain number who are undocumented, the Church has had to rethink its position on immigration and other issues. Meanwhile, Iber notices the Church becoming less monolithic. Iber stated that Latinos do not give up their culture when they join the LDS Church he’s seen statues of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Latino Mormon households. “Where else can an individual newly arrived from Central or South America instantly connect with a powerful institution by embracing their spiritual beliefs?” Because the Mormon Church has no professional clergy, he explains, it offers leadership opportunities to all members, including Latinos. Jorge Iber of Texas Tech University, author of Hispanics in the Mormon Zion, frames one aspect of the Latino LDS experience in practical terms. Students and friends celebrate at Brigham Young University's BYU Latino Festival, November 2014. Prominent Latino Mormons include American Idol’s David Archuleta and Congressman Raul Labrador of Idaho. ![]()
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