On a recent visit to Mexico, Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints met with Adán Augusto López, Secretary of the Interior of Mexico.
In a cordial meeting held at the headquarters of the Ministry of the Interior, Elder Gong spoke about the efforts that the Church makes to build up families in Mexico.
| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
"By doing so, we are contributing to the strengthening of society," he stressed.
Elder Gong shared data on the presence of the Church in Mexico, which is home to nearly 1.5 million Latter-day Saints in about 1,850 congregations.
Elder Gong also explained the scope of the Church’s humanitarian aid in Mexico. During the pandemic, this aid was manifested in 166 different projects that favorably impacted an estimated 12.8 million people.
Elder Gong presented Secretary López with a statue of the Christus and thanked him for the diplomatic relations that have existed between the Church of Jesus Christ and the government of Mexico for 110 years.
"It was a privilege to talk with Secretary López and Undersecretary Yañez about building peace in Mexico through the well-being of the people,” said Elder Gong. “We can all support with small actions, caring for those who need it most. Because we are all children of God."
The Church was introduced in Mexico in 1875. During that time, leaders and teachings of the Church stressed the importance of being good citizens who honor the laws of the land. This year is particularly significant for Latter-day Saints in this country because it has been 30 years since the Church of Jesus Christ received official recognition as a Religious Association by the Government of Mexico.
Also present at the meeting were César Yáñez, Undersecretary for Democratic Development, Social Participation and Religious Affairs; Elder José A. Teixeira of the Presidency of the Seventy; and Elder Adrián Ochoa of the Mexico Area Presidency.
This article was originally published on Spanish Newsroom.