¡HABLAMOS ESPAÑOL!
Introducing Our Exhibit Galleries
Entrance Lobby
Hallway Exhibit
Hallway Exhibit
You will find cash and digital donation information at our front desk. Our museum staff is ready to help you enjoy your self-guided visit. If you would like a tour, please contact us through our "Contact" tab or email us at contact@museumofmormonmexicanhistory.com.
iPad tours are also available upon request.
This area exhibits some artifacts of both Mexican and Church history.
Hallway Exhibit
Hallway Exhibit
Hallway Exhibit
In the main hallway of the museum, we display a timeline of the Church's activities in Latin America, articles about the history of our museum, and some artifacts of Church publications in Latin America, primarily Mexico.
The Church in Mexico
Exhibit
This exhibit documents the history of the Church in Mexican newspapers, revealing surprising stories. Before missionaries or members of the Church had traveled to Mexico, journalists were actively documenting stories of the church circulating around the US. For instance, a Mexican tourist who visited Ohio in 1833 and sent letters that were read in San Cosme in Mexico City indicated that the “Mormonite Church” was one of the top ten in the USA. In 1844, El Diario Oficial published an article about the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith.
From 1876 to 1946, many problems hindered the growth of the Church in Mexico, including government repression and dissent within the Church. Missionaries began exploring the possibilities for conversion in northern Mexico in 1875, establishing the nation’s first mission in 1879. By the mid-1880s, many Euroamerican Latter-day Saints settled “colonias” on the Mexican side of the borderlands in an effort to escape prosecution for the practice of plural marriage, or polygamy. There the Juarez Stake was organized in 1895. The Mexican Mission suffered a few closures and reopenings between 1888 and the 1930s and 1940s. Those hindrances in growth were primarily a result of the Mexican Revolution, its subsequent nationalism, and eventually the Third Convention, a temporary schism of Mexican Latter-day Saints who desired a native Mexican mission leader.
Today the Church is flourishing, with 32 missions, over 200 stakes, a missionary center, 23 temples, and more than a million members.
Art Gallery
The museum is fortunate to have works of art from three world-renowned artists. Irene Becerril, Liz Lemon Swindle, and Stan Watts. Their work brings out a special message of love for the Prophet Joseph Smith, gospel principles, and the life of the Savior.
Las Colonias
Finding Refuge in El Paso
This exhibit tells the story of how Anglo members established nine colonies in northern Mexico in the 1880s and 1890s and the resulting exodus due to the Mexican Revolution. These colonies were havens for those Anglo members and were valued by the Mexican government. The Mexican Revolution, beginning in 1910, significantly disrupted the lives of these colonists. Many had to flee to El Paso for safety due to anti-clerical laws brought about at the end of the revolution.
Beginning in the 1880s, groups of members of the Church in the United States moved to northern Mexico and established nine colonies. These colonies were havens for those Anglo members and were valued by the Mexican government. While there were some native Mexican members present in the colonies, the majority were from the United States. The start of the Mexican Revolution and brewing anti-American sentiment led to a mass evacuation of colony members. Many of them had to flee to El Paso for safety. Some returned to their original colonies–namely Colonias Dublan and Juarez– but the majority stayed in the US.
Translation of the Book of Mormon
In 1875 Brigham Young called Daniel W. Jones, an Anglo missionary, and Meliton G. Trejo, a Spanish convert, to translate the Book of Mormon into Spanish. They published what became known as Trozos Selectos del Libro de Mormon - selected passages from the Book of Mormon. The first complete translation was in 1886. This exhibit displays and documents that translation.
In the mid-19th century, Meliton G. Trejo, a Spaniard serving in the Philippine Islands, had a dream which told him to go to Utah to receive answers to his questions about religion. When he arrived in Utah, he converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Daniel W. Jones had grown up in Missouri. Orphaned at a young age, he decided to serve in the Mexican-American War. After the war, he stayed in Mexico, where he learned Spanish. After an injury, his traveling companions left him with a Mormon Settlement in Provo in the Utah Territory, where he joined the Church.
Meliton G. Trejo and Daniel W. Jones translated a portion of the Book of Mormon. Subsequently, Jones led the missionary effort in Mexico, where Trejo also later served. After their missions to Mexico in 1886, the two completed the Book of Mormon translation under Moses Thatcher's direction.
Publication Display
ERAN A. CALL EXHIBIT
ERAN A. CALL EXHIBIT
In our lobby, you will find some publications related to the subject of our museum. These are currently free to visitors, with some published directly by the museum.
For more publications about Mormonism in Mexico, please check out our "For Researchers" tab.
ERAN A. CALL EXHIBIT
ERAN A. CALL EXHIBIT
ERAN A. CALL EXHIBIT
The Eran A. Call exhibit presents the life of an Anglo Latter-day Saint colonist in northern Mexico. He served missions to the Taura Mara population in the Mexican state of Chihuahua and the local people in Central America. He and his wife presided over the Missionary Training Center in Mexico City in the 1990s, touching the lives of thousands of young people.
