Spanish Church History

While spending time here in Alcalá de Henares I have been learning about the history of my faith-- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints-- and so i would like to share what I've found out. In the Americas and most other parts of Europe, the Church has been present since it was first formed in the early to mid 1800s by Joseph Smith Jr. However because of historical events and the political context of Spain, Mormonism and many other faiths were nonexistent in Spain until very recently.

Madrid Temple Square

Let's take a journey through the recent religious history of Spain in relation to the Gospel...

The Gibraltar Mission

In 1852 two missionaries were called to serve in Gibraltar, an English province on the southern coast of Spain: Elder Edward Stevenson (who happened to have been born in Gibraltar) and Elder Nathan Tanner Porter. They left in September of that year, but did not arrive in Gibraltar until March of 1853 (thank goodness for modern transportation!)

Unfortunately they ran into some serious stumbling blocks upon arrival. Because of local immigration laws Porter was forced to leave Gibraltar after a little over two weeks. Consequently he spent the rest of his mission in England helping newly converted saints to travel to Zion, leaving Stevenson alone to do the Lord's work in Gibraltar. Stevenson worked diligently in Gibraltar and baptized a total of 18 people after going through immense trials like incarceration. In 1854 he was also forced to end his mission and go to London.

Melitón Gonzalez Trejo and Spanish Translation of the Book of Mormon.

Although the Elders' experience wasn't as fruitful as they initially hoped, it allowed word to spread through Iberia about the Mormons until it came to a very influential person. Meliton Gonzalez Trejo came from a very influential, wealthy Spanish family, had an extensive education and had a successful career in the army. While serving in the military as a young man, he heard from a fellow officer/colleague about a newly founded religious group in the United States that was lead by a prophet into the Salt Lake Valley (Mexico at the time.) Intrigued by this bit of news, Meliton desired to learn more about the Mormon Church and sacrificed his career to go to Salt Lake City.

Melitón back when beards weren't
part of the hipster movement

After arriving in Zion and being taught the doctrine of Christ by Brother Blanchard, a teacher at Brigham Young Academy that spoke Spanish, Meliton was baptized in 1874, when he was 31 years old. Immediately after being baptized he began translating The Book of Mormon from English into Spanish. The first edition, “Los Trozos Selectos,” was incomplete but contained all the fundamental doctrines of Christ found in the following books: 1 Nephi, 2 Nephi, Omni, 3 Nephi and Mormon. 

With the first 2,000 copies of “Los Trozos Selectos” Meliton was in the group of men to open the first mission to Mexico in Chuichupa, Chihuahua. While serving in Mexico Melitón’s wife, Emily Jones, and four children joined him there as well. The mission to Mexico proved to be a very trying time as he lost important Church documents in the Mexican Revolution and was under custody for some time by some rebels, but at the same time his efforts allowed for many people to hear the good news of the Gospel. Meliton finished the first complete edition of The Book of Mormon in 1886 that was used as the primary translation until about 40 years ago. By living his life the way he did, thousands of people were and are able to learn more about Christ and the Restoration.

The Church's Second Chance- Spain's Religious Freedom

Although missionaries had served in Gibraltar and Melitón Gonzalez Trejo played a vital role in the Church's formation, Spain was still closed to other religions. In fact Spain didn't even have religious freedom! Everybody had to be Catholic and nothing more or less (Spain is still considered the "most Catholic" country in today's world). Finally in 1953 Dictador Franco luckily made a deal with President Eisenhower (the Franco-Eisenhower Agreement) to allow American troops to be stationed in four Spanish cities (Torrejon, Zaragoza, Sevilla and Cadiz) as a strategic defense against the Soviet Union in the Cold War. Although this doesn’t seem to have anything to do with Gospel, it was the first step for Spain to gain religious freedom.

Beautiful Catholic cathedral and bell tower in Sevilla

Initially Dictador Franco only allowed Catholic American soldiers to be stationed in Spain, but shortly afterward (1956) soldiers of all faiths were permitted—thus allowing for the first Mormons into the country since the Gibraltar mission. There were four American Mormons to begin with who could only spread the Gospel through example and through marriage to locals. Although there were very, very few Spaniards that were members of the Church, they had a great influence on the Church’s future in Spain. One woman in particular, María José Oliveida, would later prove to be a vital actor in the history of the Church.

The day June 28, 1967 proved to be an extremely important one in all of Spain, for it was when the Spanish Parliament finally allowed “religious freedom.” Now the Church could finally be recognized without oppression of the State! Shortly thereafter Howard W. Hunter and Gordon B. Hinckley (who were apostles at the time) visited Madrid to explore the situation in full detail, followed by members of the General Legal Counsel to the Church. Surprisingly enough, here is where my personal family history overlaps with Spanish Church History. My grandfather, Wilford (Bill) Kirton, was one of the lawyers called to investigate the legalities of getting the LDS Church established correctly and adequately under the recently passed Religious Liberty Law!

However the Spanish Parliament’s definition of “religious freedom” doesn’t quite mean that people can worship however they please. The government needed to be aware of how many members there were, where they were meeting, their funds, etc. Consequently, because the official meeting houses were affiliated with American airbases and were not “Spanish” property, the first petitions for recognition were rejected. It wasn’t until October of 1968—almost a year and a half after the declaration of the Religious Liberty Law—that the application was accepted due to the fact that María José Oliveida sent the application in her name with her own address. Now the Church to finally be recognized as a Spanish institution.

The Dedication of the Spain Mission

The dedication of Spain as an area to receive the fullness of the Gospel proved to be exceptional due to the circumstances. One thing that made it unique was the size of the event; Assemblies in public venues had to be kept at a maximum of twenty people unless those authorized had permits allowing more. Another was the location; The dedication took place outside in the Parque de la Casa del Campo, a public park very near the Palacio Real in the heart of Madrid. The whole event took place outside in the open. The last and most important aspect is the spirit that was present.

The chosen opening hymn of the program was “The Morning Breaks” written by Parley P. Pratt and George Careless. In my opinion, I don’t think that a better song could’ve been chosen for the event because of the message behind the hymn and how well it fit with what had been happening. The lyrics of the first verse are as followed:

“The morning breaks, the shadows flee;

Lo, Zion's standard is unfurled!

The dawning of a brighter day,

The dawning of a brighter day

Majestic rises on the world.”

The first line “the morning breaks, the shadows flee” takes on a new significance because it suggests that life beforehand was a perpetual night. As far as Spain goes, this night is lack of the Truth as well as the inability to believe what you wish to. I love the line “the shadows flee” because when I think of shadows I think of doubt or the inability to see something clearly due to obscurity. With the ability to spread the Restored Gospel came the opportunity to banish those shadows of doubt if there is a real God or the shadows of fear to believe something different. Obviously problems and doubts in Spain didn’t end with the dedication; Instead it brought “the dawning of a brighter day” and marked the beginning of a new era for Spain.

The First Missionaries of the 20th Century

Now that missionaries could come to Spain there arose a new question—Who on Earth would be the first to serve in Madrid?

Initially Church Headquarters went about the problem logically by deciding to pick missionaries to serve in Spain as zone of the France Mission that spoke Spanish very well and had a good amount of missionary experience. Consequently they asked the mission president of the Argentina mission, Elder Richard G. Scott, to select four young men that fit this merit-based description. Here are the following missionaries: Robert Hernandez, Clark Hinckley, Craig Ward and José Barco. 

LDS meeting house in Alcalá

Although I am positive that they were chosen by their success in Argentina, I think that they were also called for a more meaningful reason—their willingness to give up anything to serve the Lord. All of them had to sacrifice the comfort of having a well-established missionary setting to come to Madrid less than two weeks after the dedication where they literally had no clue what to expect. 

Since these missionaries weren’t certain what they were getting into, they came prepared to start from scratch. They brought excess hymnals and bibles to start up sacrament meetings, only to have the pleasant surprise of a branch thanks to the American Servicemen. After getting acquainted with the members they went to work without any close instruction or supervision. In Clark Hinckley’s record of the experience he says, “The four of us just picked a street, drew a line and said, ‘You take that side; We’ll take this side. Let’s go to work!’” The first converts baptized by the missionaries were Marisol Portomarín and her mother in a swimming pool.

Me with Sister Wright in Alcalá de Henares

Gradually more missionaries started trickling in as the months went by, which made way for the opening of several new areas, such as Sevilla and Barcelona. By the beginning of the new year 41 converts had been baptized as the fruit of the labor in the Lord’s vineyard.

As progress increased it became evident that an official Spain Mission needed to be organized independently of the France Mission. Consequently the Church called Brother R. Raymond Barnes and Sister Chloris Barnes from Utah to serve as the very first mission presidents. Upon receiving the call, the two prayed fervently and counseled with their five children to contemplate if it was the correct decision for them. Finally they accepted the challenging task and went straight to work in July 1970. By this time there were 36 missionaries serving in the following Spanish cities: Madrid, Sevilla, Cádiz and Barcelna. The Barnes family literally had nothing to go off of—they didn’t even have a place to stay. So they lived uncomfortably in José María Oliveida’s home--son of María José Oliveida (confusing, I know)-- until they found a permanent residence and office.

As the president of the mission of Spain, President Barnes needed very much to establish a good reputation and relationship with the government, which proved to be a challenging task. Turns out that the Religious Liberty Law didn’t allow for complete freedom, but required lots of supervision from the State. The clause that brought the most trouble went something like this: Any religion/ religious practices were acceptable within Spain except if they threaten or preach against the Catholic Church.

This clause brought up some problems. One specific example happened in Sevilla to the sister missionaries that had gone knocking on doors and came to an apartment where a maid opened the door. The maid seemed friendly and accepted a pamphlet, but admitted that the man of the home wasn’t available. A few days later the sisters stopped by the same house again hoping to see the man who lived there and got what they wanted. He invited them inside and then called the police to have them arrested for intimidating him in terms of his religion. The two sisters were put in custody and forced to sign some legal documents in order to be set free.

After events like this one President Barnes decided to try another way to solve the problem. He sent personalized letters to the government officials in the cities where missionaries were serving along with booklet information about the Church and some Mormon Tabernacle Choir CD’s. This turned out to be a very smart move because in general the government realized that the missionaries hadn’t come to destroy Spain, but to add to it. After that the Church slowly came to be on better terms with the State. 

When it came to the everyday Spaniards, it was a different story. A small group of four or five missionaries formed a band for folk and religious music called “Los Salt Lake City.” They performed in concerts and toured around Spain giving out free copies of The Book of Mormon and pamphlets about the LDS Church along with their CD recordings.

The Turning Point: Construction of the Madrid Temple

My friend Faith in front of Temple Square

Despite the wonderful progress and spreading of the Gospel throughout Spain, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints still had a negative connotation among Spaniards du to bad press. The Church was seen more of an American institution inside Spain instead of a truly Spanish one. To be a Spaniard and not be Catholic was an oxy-moron and by changing religions converts were considered traitors to their heritage. Luckily this was soon to change!
When President Hinckley became the Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the main focus of the expansion of the Gospel was centered upon building temples, one of which was the Madrid, Spain Temple.

Before the 1990’s, Spanish members and Church leaders highly doubted that a temple would be built in Spain any time in the near future mainly because of the Church’s financial and logistical policies concerning the building of new temples. Luckily the Church lifted the policies in order to have the ability to build temples where they are needed instead of where they can be financially supported.

After the policy change the First Presidency noticed the growth of the Church in both Portugal and Spain, and saw the need to build a temple in one of those two countries. But the question was—which one? So President Hinckley arranged two regional conferences to help him make a decision in February/March of 1992, one in Lisbon and the other in Madrid. The Spain regional conference was held in what was then the stadium for Real Madrid on March 7 and 8. Two days after this conference, the Spirit strongly prompted President Hinckley (who was a counselor to President Ezra Taft Benson at the time) that Spain was where the temple needed to be built, and so the work began!

In order to get official permission to build the temple the Church needed to somehow present itself before King Juan Carlos. Getting an appointment was surprisingly easier than anticipated. In August of 1978 (waaaay before any of this Madrid temple stuff) President Hinckley stayed in the same hotel in Santiago de Compostela as King Juan Carlos and was able to briefly and informally meet with him for a few moments. Although this seemed like a coincidence in the moment, it definitely wasn't because it allowed for the Restored Gospel to poke its head in Spain’s doorway and get President Hinckley a better chance at having another meeting.

Consequently on March 9, 1992 President Hinckley, Elder Ballard, Elder Condie (Area President) and Elder Faustino López (Madrid Stake President) were able to meet with King Juan Carlos in the Palacio de Zarazuela just outside of Madrid about building a temple in Spain. During the meeting the King realized that the LDS Church was no longer an American church inside Spain, but now was becoming a truly Spanish church instead because he met Elder Faustino López, a native Spaniard member. As the meeting concluded President Hinckley gave the King and Queen a beautifully leather bound copy of The Book of Mormon as a gift of gratitude for the meeting. Spain was now able to have a temple.

All of us students with Faustino López

With that all settled, another question arose-- where exactly should it be built? After scouting out possible cities, it became evident that Madrid would be the best due to its geographic location within the Iberian Peninsula. Should it be built in the busy city of Madrid or on the quiet outskirts? This caused some debate, but after driving in the country-side President Hinckley decided it would be most convenient for members coming from longer distances if the temple was in the heart of Madrid so that public transportation could be accessible.

So then he began looking at the plots of available land, but was disappointed with what he saw. Upon passing by a public soccer field owned by the State (aka it wasn't for sale), President Hinckley declared that it was the perfect place for the temple. It would take two more years to negotiate the purchase of the land. On June 11, 1996 the ground was broken for the Madrid Temple and construction began in July.

While the temple was being built, there was lots of press about the Church and beliefs of the members. Before the temple the articles of Mormons were cynical and harsh, calling us non-Christians and members of a cult. But the temple brought a great positive change in the hearts of the public view and marked the beginning of a more tolerant and accepting era. This proved to be a wonderful manifestation as 100,000 visitors came to view the Temple during the Open House and the porcelain company Lladró made figurines of Christ for the dedication of the Temple.

Lladró figurine of Christ

The Temple was dedicated in the presence of President Hinckley, President Monson and Elder Ballard almost three years after the groundbreaking on 19-21 of March 1999. King Juan Carlos was invited to come to both the Open House and the Dedication, but was unable due to protocol. As a result President Hinckley visited the Palacio de Zarazuela for a second time with President Monson, Elder Holland, President Somoza (Stake President) and Faustino López. This time President Hinckley gave the King and Queen a Lladró figurine of Christ and thanked them for allowing the Church to build a temple. In return the King Juan Carlos gave him "abrazo".

This hug proved to be very significant because it was a manifestation of Spain’s recognition and acceptance of the Restored Gospel.

The LDS Church in Spain Today

The Church is obviously still in its infancy, but the members are very strong and the missionaries are having lots of success. The ward in Alcalá reminds me of a ward at home as far as size and interaction goes, and there are members of all ages.

Me with Ricardo (left) and
Adrian (right) in the YSA center.

Fellow students with our sunday school teacher
Marta (second to last on the right)

Joy in the Small Things: A Look into the Mundane

When I first arrived in Spain, everything in general besides the language and the age of the buildings seemed to be very similar to the United States. However after living here for awhile and interacting with Spaniards I've realized that there are lots of small differences between the two.

My strange excitement over the small things in life!

Although it might seem strange, I'm dedicating this post to the mundane qualities of Spain.

Let's start with something really boring- the work schedule. Like I've mentioned in a previous post lunch is their biggest meal of the day, so logically everything revolves around lunch. A day in the life of a Spaniard is such:

1. Wake up and get ready (but not take a shower) in order to get to work on time.
2. Work from 8:00 or 9:00ish until 1:30 or so.
3. Come home in the midday traffic, eat lunch, clean up and go back to work in the afternoon traffic.
4. Work from 3:30ish to 8:00 at night.
5. Come home, eat dinner and/or socialize with friends.

With this in mind ALL shops (except the superstores) close for at least 2 hours in the afternoon. What I find to be odd is that they don't stay open later when everyone is out and about having fun with friends. Wouldn't it bring in more revenue to be open when more people are in the streets? I suppose the employees would complain. Which brings me to the next point...

Carrefour: the only store not closed from 2:00-4:00,
AKA heaven sent European version of Walmart.

Strikes and demonstrations are EVERYWHERE right now, which can be a little frightening at times. I've seen several in Madrid as well as Barcelona for various reasons. Last weekend my friends and I were near Puerta del Sol for a homework assignment when we ran into several college age groups being taught by more experienced/older men how to properly rally and organize a public demonstration. Crazy! They also say that the Occupy Wallstreet movement was influenced by a demonstration Puerta del Sol where people brought tents out to sleep in. Regardless if that is myth or fact, public rallies, etc. are super common.

I've also noticed that there is a fascination with American pop culture. Almost all of the songs on the radio are ones that are on our American stations too! Taylor Swift is extremely popular and they play Diamonds by Rihanna waaaay too much for my taste. It's funny because many of them don't understand the lyrics but sing the words anyway. It's hilarious to listen to them sing with their accents!

Most popular hip-hop-high-heels on the market.

Moving on to a happier note, the local styles here are very different. It seems like they are both ahead and behind of the American fashion (if it's even possible to say that!) The young people, or "jóvenes" as we say in Spain, like to dress in the typical "hipster" style with hip-hop looking shoes. Piercings seem to be really in style, but I haven't seen too many tattoos or punk hairstyles. In fact, the most popular men's hairstyle is very handsome as of late with long on top and short on sides and back. In a way it reminds me of the character Neil Caffrey on White Collar.Speaking of hair, Spain is a little ironic. The crazy colored hairstyles are reserved for the old grandmas of all people! Every day on the bus I see these ladies that are decked out in fancy furs and red-purple hair that looks like the color of my Jeep.

Crazy old lady with a furry hood and pink streaks getting off the bus!

My friend Andy sporting his new Spanish haircut.

Another irony is that EVERYONE LOVES LITTLE DOGS. Okay, I understand that I don't like pets in general (in fact I loathe dogs) but Spain is obsessed! They dress up their dogs as if they were children  and take them everywhere they go. I've seen sweaters to rain jackets on those puppies. This whole time I've been trying to get good pictures of the pampered little brats but it's super hard without offending the owner.

A macho guy taking his puny dog for a walk

Because the population of small dogs and grassy areas are not in proportion with one another, there is a little more fecal matter on side walk than I care to mention. I know it's nasty, but I have to mention it because I'm always the one in the group that finds a way to step in it. I honestly don't understand why they don't have the "clean up after your dog" signs with plastic baggies because there are plenty of small public garbage cans!

What gets stuck on the bottom of my shoe every day!

If you can look past the poop, the streets in Spain are pleasant to walk on. The streets are narrow and the drivers are extremely observant to pedestrians (I wish my college town would take note!) In the residential towns like Alcalá de Henares the side walks are actually an assortment of tiles instead of poured cement. A month ago I saw some construction workers laying the tiles and it looked a lot less complicated than bringing a cement truck out. The street signs are normally small on the walls of the corner buildings, which makes navigating at night a painful adventure.

Most people live in apartments or chalets or town homes (you know, variation of a theme.) Very few people actually live in a home because there's not a whole of space in these towns. Back yards, patios and porches are non-existant here, but it's not necessarily a bad thing because there are tons of parks, bike friendly areas, and most people have to walk a lot anyway to catch the public transportation.

My friend Juliana and I are exhausted
 after running to catch the bus!

Alright, I am now going to clear up a common misconception. I always thought that Europeans were skinnier than Americans because of their diet. WRONG!!!! They eat greasy stuff here too. In fact I eat more pan fried things in my Spanish home-cooked meals than I did in the past five years, no joke-- granted I don't eat fast food, but still.  The real reason Europeans are skinnier is because they smoke like chimneys. People think it's weird that I'm young and don't smoke, which took me by surprise a little since Americans are taught from the age of five that cigarettes should really be labeled "smelly cancer sticks."

Something about the culture I really enjoy are the "besos." Instead of greeting with a handshake, people kiss each cheek of those they meet with the exception, of course, of  two men meeting each other for the first time. I really like it because I feel like I am already a friend and not simply a cold acquaintance. I'm sure Spaniards probably don't feel the same way as I do, but it is something I prefer because I see it as a very accepting and warm greeting

Anyway, that's enough of the mundane. If you've read all the way to the end, congratulations! I hope you've enjoyed it and I wish you the best until next time!

I hope you don't look like them now
that you've reached the end of this post!

Paris- Another look at language

This past week was my first and last spring break from BYU classes! For those of you that don’t know, there is no such thing as “spring break” in a Winter Semester at BYU—No it does not have anything to do with Mormon beliefs! In fact if I had it my way I would allow students at least three days off, because my three days of a European spring break was phenomenal.

For my break I went with two friends to Paris, the city of love. In a nutshell we climbed the Eiffel Tower at night, ate French pastries, enjoyed Montematre, walked through Notre Dame, stared at some amazing artwork, explored the Latin Quarter and locked our love on a bridge over the Seine. We had the time of our lives. As magical as it was to do all of those things my favorite part was something that money cannot buy. My favorite part of the trip was interacting and talking with other people.

Our love is locked!

Faith at a love locked bridge near Notre Dame 

We ran into so many random people of different backgrounds. The first group was three 15-year-old boys that were obsessed with the United States, one of which new English and wanted to practice talking with us. We literally chatted for a whole hour about the differences between France and America as well as movies, actors/actresses and sports. It was so fun to hear about what they thought! They went on and on about how they thought Vanessa Hudgens was “the most beautiful actress in the world” and that they wish their schools had sports teams and “pom-pom girls!”

Faith and Juliana with some Frenchies in Trocadero

We also ran into lots of Asians that we photo-bombed a couple times. I really wanted to talk to them some more but I didn’t really come off very polite when I asked some Korean hotties to teach me the Gangam Style.

When we were in the Eiffel Tower looking at the pretty view we ran into a group of Frenchmen in their late 20s-ish  (don’t worry we didn’t let them creep on us or anything scary like off of the movie Taken.) They spoke just as much English as we knew French—aka next to none. Despite the language barrier we had a hilarious conversation that consisted mostly in body language about the basics.

If we both spoke the same language, this is how the conversation would’ve happened:

Us: Hey we’re from the United States.

Them: Cool! I kinda like Obama because of his stance with the war in the Middle East.

Us: Really?

Them: Yeah! I mean it’s also pretty awesome that he’s black.

Us: (chuckle) That’s where it is. What do you think about President Hollande?

Them: I hate him.

Us: What’s that supposed to mean? Why?

Them: He’s raised taxes so high that it’s ridiculous.

Us: Hmm… That’s interesting… (striking a thoughtful pose)

Here’s what really happened:

Us: We are from the United States.

Them: Huh?

Us: America?

Them: Obama!

Us: Oui!

Them: Like Obama?

Us: Sometimes (giving the so-so hand signal). You?

Them: Oui! Obama… (striking a Hercules pose and flexing muscles). President Hollande bad! No like him!

Us: Why?

Them: (slouching to show pop belly and pretending to eat like a slob).

Us: American boys like… (mimicking the slob posture)

Them: Oui! American boys…(slob) American girls…(making the curvy hip lines in the air with their hands). Oo la la!

That is when we started laughing so hard we were about to cry.

Love wall in Montematre

By being in a country that literally everything was foreign to me (although I’ve been to Paris twice before) I learned a ton about communication that I didn’t see beforehand in Spain or in English speaking countries.

Here’s what I feel like I learned:

•     Communication is so, so, so much more than what comes out of your mouth. What you wear, your posture, your eye contact, you face and hand gestures all contribute to how information is perceived on the receiving end. Even though the only things I knew in French were “Bonjour,” “Merci,” and “Baguette” I could tell the intentions were of the people I was chatting with.

• Communication/language is what makes us human. I took for granted that in Spain although I am not fluent and often times come off as an idiot I can at least communicate and understand someone else. Whereas I can’t understand a lick of French even if I wanted to! Being Paris was awesome but I really missed being able to crack a joke or ask an intelligent question and actually get to know people a bit. It amazes me that no matter what language you speak, the purpose of that language is just the same as English or any other tongue. That purpose being to express yourself! I can’t even begin to stress how awe-inspiring it is to realize that those strange French sounds can convey emotion, tell stories, and give instructions.

•  Learning a new language is such a smart idea. Even the basics help A TON no matter who you are or your profession. In America it is really impressive to know more than one language, and rightfully so because learning a new language is difficult and it takes time, blood, sweat and tears. But the street vendors in Europe know the basics of at least two languages, if not more to be able to accommodate as many people as possible. SMART! No matter what your profession. That’s all I have to say.

 I hope you enjoy this week's post. Let me know if there is any topic in particular you'd like me to look out for here in Spain/Europe.