Colonia Juarez: Commemorating 125 Years of the Mormon Colonies in Mexico Rating :
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
Fresh New History of Mormon Colonies in Mexico
By H. Longhurst
Vonnie Whetten has written a fresh new history of the Mormon Colonies in Mexico (with a particular yet not overbearing emphasis on Colonia Juarez). I received the book with high expectations and read it through completely on the very day I received it. My expectations were met.
There are many, many books written on the period from the founding of the colonies to the exoduses (many of the best are included in Vonnie's sources), but the literature is significantly scantier when covering events of the last few decades. Vonnie first gave a good but brief introduction of those early years (for more comprehensive insights see the books mentioned in her notes). I feel that Vonnie did a great job covering the key factors of the more recent decades including: the two centennials, the visit from Mexico's president Carlos Salinas de Gortari & the temple. Overall Vonnie's book is a great overview of the history of this magnificent and strikingly unique area of the world with a special emphasis on the area's ongoing spiritual mission and hand of God in preserving the colonists through remarkable trials and afflictions.
While I feel a comprehensive history of the agrarian disputes would be valuable, I understand and respect Vonnie's rational outlined in the Forward. This is an issue of considerable complexity with varying opinions and perspectives. Even if I were much better versed in the particulars I would probably wait until the dust had settled before venturing to establish my perspectives as historical facts. If history is any guide, once this ordeal is over we will have a clearer picture of the players and pieces, as well as insights into how God's care had carried us through.
Given Vonnie's extensive involvement with Academia Juarez I thought it was appropriate that she be the one to provide such a comprehensive overview of the history of this great institution, however, I was disappointed that Samuel Edwin McClellan's contributions were not further documented.
I found Vonnie's depiction of the recent unrest and violence in Chihuahua, while scant on , to be remarkably appropriate in setting things in the proper spiritual perspective. In fact, her choice to abandon completely the journalistic tone in which I am accustomed to hearing this issue treated to be a surprising and rather refreshing treat. The prophesies and the scriptural messages on trials and tribulations are profound, instructive and comforting. Christ taught "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid". While it might be naïve to expect a return to the idyllic comfort and security of my youth (this was never promised) we can have peace in Christ through the afflictions and turmoils prophesied by all the ancients if we follow the basic principles taught throughout history as well as by those who founded these colonies.
Based on the assumption that those of you who have made it this far into my review have a particular interest in learning about the History of the Mormon Colonies in Mexico I will offer a few additional book recommendations:
One of the most comprehensive and well researched books on The History of the Colonies is "The Mormon Colonies in Mexico" by Thomas Cottam Romney (IBSN-13: 978-0874808384). Romney brought an academics attention to detail and research that few bring. He also placed events and occurrences in their proper political and historical context as few of the less researched books have accomplished.
"Heartbeats of Colonia Diaz" by Annie R Johnson (ASIN: B001U9NR28) tells the emotional story of struggle and faith of the early period life few others. In Vonnie's book she mentions a visit by Mexico's Sitting President Gortari, which many assume is the first visit by a Mexican President to the Mormon Colonies. "Hearbeats of Colonia Diaz" I was surprised to learn that President Porfirio Diaz was received and entertained by the residents of Colonia Diaz and on his way to meet with President Howard Taft.
"The Colonia Juarez Temple - A Prophet's Inspiration" by Virginia Hatch Romney & Richard O Cowan (ISBN-13: 978-0842527279) is a great and comprehensive history of the building of the Colonia Juarez Temple (with several great photographs taken by my dad).
"Memories of Militants & Mormon Colonies in Mexico" by Harold W Taylor (ASIN: B000RUHK0Q) is one of the best histories of the hardships of the various Mexican Revolutions and their impact on the lives of the colonists.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful."...an interesting, peculiar and strange people and place."
By Curtis Leon
This is a fascinating book. Pres. Gordon B. Hinckly is quoted as describing the communities as "an interesting, peculiar, and strange people and place." That perspective resonates with me, and I would love to someday sit down with him and compare notes.
I highly recommend the book to those like me, whose "roots go back to Mexico", with a compelling interest in the things that have occurred in and around the two Mormon Colonies in Mexico. This book brought back poignant memories. I specifically remember the sadness felt by the whole community when Bert was killed.
The book brought back fun memories. Having enjoyed the community swimming pool almost every summer growing up, I liked reading about how the pool was developed and now I understand why the water was soooo cold.
Many questions about how things came be as they are were answered in this book. Some parts were too sentimental for my tastes, but the book was written from the heart, without any pretence of being something that it's not. In the forward, the author essentially says "I'm telling the story from my perspective." You have to respect that. I need to get a version printed with double or triple spacing between the lines so Mom can fill in from her perspective.
The conclusion of the book is most appropriate. I came away uplifted and hopeful for the day when things will be better, and confident that the current trials are a necessary preparation for tremendous and wonderful opportunities to come.
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
High hopes, but very disappointed....
By Phil Stover
I had high hopes when I heard about this book. I thought it might finally be a balanced history of the whole wonderful area surrounding the Mormon colonies. Alas, it was not to be. It is simply another Mormon-centric review that seems to deny that anyone else even exists within twenty miles of Colonia Juarez. Very disappointing. A brief scan of the Notes section reveals 371 Mormon published references and 1 from a Non-Mormon source (an article for the NCG newspaper). Do these authors not realize that there is a rich body of research about the colonies written by Mexican authors, or by non-Mormon American historians?
The author starts out the book by saying on page xi That only Colonia Juarez and Colonia Dublan remain of the original eight major Mormon Colonies in Mexico. Maybe she should take an hour drive up into the mountains where she would find that today Pacheco and others are thriving communities. Not only do they "remain," but they are happy places. They are not dominated by Mormon populations any more, but they surely do still exist.....
Very disappointed by the portrayal of Salazar and other "rouge" (p.150) Mexican generals. As a real student of revolutionary Mexican history I am unaware of any time that Salazar or anyone reporting to him ever physically harmed a Mormon. Indeed, the Mormons were caught in a war zone, but fared much better than their Mexican hacendado counterparts. Certainly Mormon property was lost, just as it was when Pershing and his armies cut down their fences for firewood, but Salazar probably did more to protect the Mormons from the likes of Maximo Castillo than he ever hurt them. He was a fine practitioner of brinkmanship. A careful study of his life reveals he always took threats to the edge and then backed down. He was no "rogue" general. He served Madero as provisional president of Mexico, was a division commander in the Federal army of Mexico under Huerta and was Villa's Chief of Staff. There is no recognition of this in the book. Indeed, he ended up reconciling with the Mormons towards the end of his life. Again to my knowledge neither he nor any of this troops ever harmed a Mormon man or woman. Can't say the same for how he treated rich Mexicans. Jose de la luz Blanco visited the Mormon colonies. He was a Federal General and a Baptist! No rogue was he. Pascual Orozco visited the Mormons as commander in chief of the armies of Madero. He later rebelled against Madero, and was in that sense a rogue, but he was a devout Methodist and to my knowledge never hurt the Mormons. Villa may have started out as a rogue, but ended up commanding the largest army in North America since Gettysburg. Reams could be written about his relationship with the Mormons and the Spilsbury's in particular. I have no knowledge that he ever visited Colonia Juarez, but he sure went to Pearson and Dublan many times. Pearson was not and is not a Mormon colony, but it is strategically situated on the railroad and employed many many Mormons in its lumber mill. The author seems to have missed the huge Pearson (Mata Ortiz) - Mormon connection.
Mormon ethnocentricity comes out even in her words....On page 104 she portrays an unfortunate event that took place in 1965. In a land dispute she says the Mexican "snarled," the Mormon "replied." Again, the Mexican "taunted," the Mormon "answered." Even her portrayals of conversations reveals her bias...Alvaro Obregon, the great Mexican General and President was very disappointed with both Mormons and Mennonites in our part of Mexico. He had hoped they would integrate and thus provide greater morality to the population of Chihuahua. He didn't realize they would stay in their colonies. Their impact on our part of Chihuahua was far more economic than it was moral. That remains true to this day. In fact, in a famous speech, he lamented, "We in Mexico don't need more Catholics or Protestants....we need more moral men." He had hoped Mormons and Mennonites alike would inter-marry and reach out to the Mexican population. Neither group ever has.
Her book would have been much stronger had she included research on how the Mormons are perceived by the Mexican population. It would have been much stronger had she talked about the Mennonites, the Pentecostals, the Baptists, the Catholics whose churches dot the landscape within 10 miles of Colonia Juarez. To the author, they don't even exist. Indeed, not even everyone in Colonia Juarez is a Romney, a Hatch, or even a Mormon. In her book those good folks don't exist.
On page 150, she states that Gortari in 1989 was the first Mexican president ever to visit the colonies. Not quite true...Madero visited the colonies several times. He did not particularly like the Mormons, so it is not too strange that they ignore him. He was declared provisional president of Mexico about 4 miles from Colonia Juarez at San Diego before proceeding to Bustillos where he set up his cabinet. Giuseppe Garibaldi the great Italian hero, and soldier of fortune in Mexico said of the Mormons while visiting Dublan with Madero, "Hard workers they were no doubt, but they left us with an unclean impression, and even our hard-bitten followers shunned them. I wondered how they could live a life of peace, these men of many wives, but peace-loving they were, for they begged us to leave them at once so that their colony should not be a scene of bloodshed between rebels and federals. We were happy to accommodate them. Madero commented bitterly, "They will always remain alien to the soil that sustains them." Thomas Romney, a Mormon historian, puts it more bluntly, "Socially, the colonists were exclusive and seclusive, having few if any contacts with their neighbors. . . . Such was the avowed policy of the Church in the establishment of colonies in Mexico from the beginning and this policy was ever kept in mind." My fear is that this book shows that this tendency is still strong among my Mormon neighbors. While President of Mexico, Plutarco Elias Calles visited the Mennonite colonies near our area (1925), but skipped the Mormons. As was mentioned by another reviewer President Porfirio Diaz also visited the colonies in 1909. Mexican histories indicate he was indeed a fan of the Mormons.
I still would love to see a history of our beautiful part of Chihuahua, that, with apologies to Fox News, is fair and balanced. This one isn't, but perhaps I am holding the author to a higher standard than was her intent. Colonia Juarez is a beautiful place. The temple is beautiful. The academy is a great place, our current municipal president is a Mexican Mormon, an academy graduate and was when she wrote the book. She never even mentions him, even though he still suffers from a nose he broke while playing linebacker for the academy football team! That was a first and a huge step forward for a Mexican Mormon in our area....Of course, we just elected a liquor store owner from Mata Ortiz as his successor. Such is the richness and diversity of our community.
One day I was chatting with Brandon Romney in our local hardware store. I asked him if I could play golf at the Mormon golf course since I am not Mormon. Without hesitation he said "yes, if you have the money, you can play....we will take anyone's money!" Such is the economic impact of the Mormons in our area. Good people. As a Baptist, they don't have much to do with me, but good people they are. I respect what they have done. I just wish they would acknowledge the existence of the rich and diverse cultures that exist within steps of Colonia Juarez! We would all be better off for that.
Product Description
Colonia Juarez, one of the two remaining Mormon Colonies in Mexico, has existed and prospered for one hundred and twenty-five years. During that time many interesting and important things have occurred which have had far reaching effects on the lives of thousands of people scattered throughout the world. These have included revolutionary upheavals, the founding and growth of the Juarez Stake Academy (Academia Juarez), the coming of the paved highway to the colony, three centennial celebrations within a period of twelve years, and two visits within two years from the Lord's Prophet and President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, even Gordon B. Hinckley. His second visit was for the dedication of the Colonia Juarez Chihuahua Temple. Although there are currently fewer than 200 descendents of the original colonists living in Colonia Juarez, literally thousands still refer to it as "down home".The last complete history of Colonia Juarez, written by Nelle Spilsbury Hatch, was released in 1954. The time is right for an up-date of the history of this loved community. This is especially true in light of the uncertainty which currently exists due to the brutal drug cartel-related acts committed almost daily throughout the state of Chihuahua, including the region where Colonia Juarez and Colonia Dublan are situated. Can the lessons of the past help us deal with the realities of today? And, what of the future?
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #188028 in Books
- Published on: 2010-03-09
- Original language:English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.74" h x5.98" w x.0" l,.95 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 292 pages
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