Thread: AZ IA law fallout harms LDS Church

Arizona immigration law fallout harms LDS Church outreach



Nick Oza/The Arizona Republic
Mormon Jorge Pimienta, with his sons Zachary and Seth, fears families will flee.


José Corral was seriously considering joining the Mormon Church.

For weeks, Corral, 45, a fourth-grade teacher, met with Mormon missionaries at his home in Laveen to read the Book of Mormon and prepare for his baptism. Corral, a Catholic and the father of two preteen daughters, was especially drawn to the church's commitment to family values.

"I was really interested. I thought, you know, it is going to be really good for the kids," said Corral, a legal permanent resident from Mexico.

Then, Corral said, he found out that state Sen. Russell Pearce, a Republican from Mesa and sponsor of Arizona's tough new immigration law, is a member of the church. Corral said he told the missionaries to stop coming because he considers the law to be anti-immigrant and anti-Hispanic.

"I decided I did not want to expose my kids to a religion that has members that hate other people because they are different," Corral said.

Corral is not alone. The law, which makes it a state crime to be in the country without proper immigration papers, has tarnished the Mormon Church's image among many Latinos, a huge group the church is aggressively trying to attract.

Pearce, a devout Mormon, has been the driving force behind virtually every bill introduced in recent years aimed at clamping down on illegal immigrants. Mormon officials say Pearce does not speak for the church, which has not taken a stance on Arizona's law or the issue of immigration.

Still, it has put the church on the defensive.

Kenneth Patrick Smith, a Mesa lawyer and president of the Valencia Branch, a Spanish-speaking LDS congregation in Mesa, said missionaries from his church have had doors slammed in their faces since Arizona's new law was signed by Gov. Jan Brewer in April.

"They say, 'Why would we want to hear anything from a religion that would do this to the Hispanic community?' " said Smith, who emphasized that he was speaking for himself, not the church. "It's a great disconnect because on one hand the missionaries are out there preaching brotherly love, kindness, charity, tolerance, faith, hope, etc., and then they see on TV a quote-unquote Mormon pushing this legislation that makes them not only . . . terrified but terrorized."

Pearce has repeatedly said his efforts to drive illegal immigrants out of Arizona and keep them from coming here is based on the Mormon Church's 13 Articles of Faith, which includes obeying the law.

The law makes it a state crime to be in Arizona without proper immigration papers. It also requires police to ask a person's immigration status if there is "reasonable suspicion" that the person is in the country illegally. Critics say it could lead to rampant racial profiling and civil-rights abuses by officers targeting Latinos based on appearance.

Many Latinos who view the new law as unjust and discriminatory blame not only Pearce but the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That is making it hard for Mormons to proselytize to the state's 1.8 million Latinos, whom the church views as key to future growth.

Smith said he has already seen the effects of stepped-up immigration enforcement and fears more to come when the law takes effect July 29.

"I deal with the aftermath of what happens when someone gets deported in the middle of the night or doesn't come home from work. I'm left to help with families and deal with the crying kids and their wives. It's devastating on these families when the dad doesn't come home," Smith said.

Pearce did not return repeated telephone calls seeking comment.

Kim Farah, a spokeswoman for the LDS headquarters in Salt Lake City, said in an e-mail that elected officials who are Mormons do not represent the position of the church. She said the church has also not taken a position on immigration, which is "clearly the province of government."

"However, Church leaders have urged compassion and careful reflection when addressing immigration issues affecting millions of people," she said in the e-mail.

Some Latino members, however, would like the church to do more.

"I want the church to put a stop to him," said Celia Alejandra Alvarez Portugal, 30, a member of the LDS Aguila Ward in Phoenix. Alvarez, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, is in deportation proceedings after the landscaping business she worked for was raided last year by Maricopa County sheriff's deputies.

Arizona has one of the largest Mormon populations of any state. There are 383,000 Mormons in Arizona, or nearly 6 percent of the population, according to the church.

Proselytizing is a cornerstone of the Mormon faith. The church has trained Spanish-speaking missionaries to go out into neighborhoods to preach to Latinos and encourage them to join the church. The church does not keep records according to ethnicity. But the number of Spanish-speaking congregations in Arizona has grown from a handful a decade ago to 51 today.

Smaller congregations are known as branches, and larger ones are called wards. Branches and wards are grouped geographically into stakes.

Nora Castañeda, 46, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Hermosillo, Mexico, who has been a member of the LDS Church for 35 years, said several colleagues confronted her after the law passed.

Castañeda, director of secondary-language development at Phoenix's Creighton School District, recalls one saying, "It's somebody from your church who did this." Another, according to Castañeda, said, "Your (Mormon) brother did this."

She does not believe, however, that Pearce's anti-illegal-immigrant stance is in line with the Mormon faith, which, in addition to teaching obedience to the law, teaches compassion.

"It is embarrassing to have to defend the church for the thoughts of one man," said Castañeda, a member of the Spanish-speaking Liahona Second Ward in Mesa.

In addition to making it hard for the church to reach out to Latinos, the new law is also causing some new converts to leave, she said.

"The husband of a woman (at her church) is not letting her go back to the church because he knows a Mormon made this law," Castañeda said.

Juan Carlos Zazueta, a math teacher and member of the Liahona Second Ward, converted to the LDS Church when he was 11. He does not believe many longtime Latino members will leave the church because of Pearce.

But he thinks as many as half of the Latino families in his church will leave the state because they have a greater chance of having a family member who is undocumented be deported under the new law.

Jorge Pimienta, who oversees missionaries at the Valencia Branch, also expects many Latino families from his congregation to leave. He blames Pearce.

"I don't know Russell Pearce. I don't know where he is coming from. All I know is that what he is doing is not what Jesus Christ taught," he said.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepubli ... z0oHoMsSoX

I don't understand the supposid huge value of illegals...the church wants them...the Federal governments wants them...corp. America wants them everyone wants them...except the States... What am I missing?

Awwwww boo-freakin-hoo! No one cares what church you want to belong too, so shut up and leave already!

Then, Corral said, he found out that state Sen. Russell Pearce, a Republican from Mesa and sponsor of Arizona's tough new immigration law, is a member of the church. Corral said he told the missionaries to stop coming because he considers the law to be anti-immigrant and anti-Hispanic.

FUZZY LOGIC

He's not going to become a member of the church because of a man.

Do these people really exist or does the papers make up these fictional characters who talk crazy?

Dixie

Illegals and their supporters blame everyone and everything for their law breaking instead of taking personal responsibility for their own sins.

The illegals want the church for the free handouts, which are exchanged for donations on Sunday. Confused yet?

Originally Posted by ReggieMay

The illegals want the church for the free handouts, which are exchanged for donations on Sunday. Confused yet?

Yes...

"I don't know Russell Pearce. I don't know where he is coming from. All I know is that what he is doing is not what Jesus Christ taught," he said.

Did not know that Christ was an immigration law attorney...

Hey...maybe the church has a case against God for running us out of the Garden!?!?! I'll settle for a couple mill!

Having been a Mormon myself for nearly a decade, perhaps I can add some nuances to this discussion.

1. Historically, the LDS church has courted Hispanics, Mexicans in particular for several reasons. One, they are believed to be a "Book of Mormon" people, kin to the Lamanites who were left dominant in the Americas after the destruction of Nephite society, according to the Book of Mormon.

Two, during the polygamy persecutions, Mormons were allowed to take refuge in northern Mexico and founded some towns there. Colonia Dublan and Colonia Juarez in particular. Of course, polygamy was illegal in Mexico too, but those laws were not enforced in the desert borderlands (equivalent to our western frontiers). However, Pancho Villa's movement turned on them with the rest of the gringos.

2. I can tell you from personal observation that people both join and leave the LDS church for many reasons, and not all of them make sense. Being offended over an issue (and the leadership does not budge from policy) is one common reason for going inactive or leaving altogether. Likewise, the LDS church is growing a lot in third world areas. For some, they see it as a way to adopt American culture and its prosperity (a sort of subtle cargo-cult approach). In Latin America that is one stream of converts, but there is another school of thought. The other school of thought, which has sometimes led to breaks and schisms within the Mexican LDS culture, is that the Anglos had the revelation and basically, blew it, and that the spiritual torch has passed to the brown skinned Book of Mormon remnants. This is similar in psychology to some of the inner city religions that serve to raise the self-esteem of Black people.

3. This man is also exhibiting the knee-jerk behavior we've often seen from many different dissident groups in America. For decades, people have been taught that if you demonstrate, yell, and protest, mainstream society will give you what you want. Now, with the passage of tougher laws, that will have to be unlearned and some people will find this emotionally difficult.

4. There are lots of good reasons not to join the LDS church: it's expensive (tithe is expected to be 10% of your gross income), and some of the doctrines are hard for people to believe. There are also good reasons to join: great supportive, family-oriented culture, work ethic, and an overall philosophy that tends to teach and uplift people. They certainly don't teach or do anything degrading. This man's actions don't fall into any of these categories. If his interest in the LDS church is that easily shaken, I'm suspecting he wasn't that solid of a conversion candidate to begin with. I know of people who believed devoutly in the equality of Black people and who deplored the church's former practice of excluding them from the priesthood and the temple. But they didn't leave the church or withhold joining if they believed there was value otherwise; they just stuck it out and kept hoping and praying that it would change.

5. Also, if this man really understood Mormon culture, he'd know about the concept of 'free agency.' He would not confuse the actions of an individual legislator with the ecclesiastical leadership of the LDS church. He'd know better. I think this man's reason is more of a rationalization than a reason.

PS - there is no collection plate passed on Sunday in the LDS church. Tithing is done outside of the service.

Warren Jeffs Instructing Child Brides on Marriage!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGqJIqe6LEE