May 30, 2017
During our recent Mission President’s Seminar, President George
of the Tuxtla-Gutierrez mission shared this experience.
Chiapas is the state in the southwestern part of
Mexico. When Cortez conquered Mexico, he
only had a little interest in Chiapas.
It did not have the precious metals of the other areas in Mexico. The indigenous tribes were able to escape Cortez’s
army by fleeing to outer mountainous areas.
Many of these tribes still exist today in outlying areas of
Chiapas. They have their own languages
with little of the Spanish influence.
In one of these tribes, there is a mother and a son who
belong to the Church. The son knows both
his native language and Spanish. Each
week, in order to attend church, this mother and son walk five hours to the
nearest chapel. The services are in
Spanish. After the services, they walk
the five hours back to their home.
Recently the son asked his mother, “Why do you go to
church? We walk so far, and you can’t
even understand what they are saying.”
The mother answered, “Because it is the truth.”
