Sorry, away from desk most of yesterday & just catching up.
EVERY MORMON IN THE WORLD has written to tell me that Latter-Day Saints do **not** look fondly on the immigration of native Americans from Mexico and points south. I shall be ready for a Ph.D. in Mormon scriptures by the time I’ve read all these emails, but here is a representative one.
“Derb, I’ve been LDS for over ten years, and follow politics quite closely. I live in Utah, and am very active in the Church (I hold a leadership position) — and this is the first I’ve heard of such a thing. Whereas we do have a certain brotherly affiliation with the native peoples of the Americas, and whereas it is for theological reasons, I would disagree that such a sentiment translates into being “keen on the immigration of Native Americans.” The specific reason I disagree is that the Saints (LDS Church members) of the world are specifically encouraged to ‘build up Zion’ (that is, to strive to be pure of heart and righteous) in the areas in which they currently live — and are discouraged from flocking to Utah or the USA, since ‘the gathering of Israel’ has not yet been called for. For that reason, it is suggested by the Church leadership that Saints around the world simply try to live the gospel and do what they can in their own native locales to be good Church members and fellowship with their neighbors, wherever they may be (if ‘fellowshipping’ is indeed allowed by the government where they live — if not, they are encouraged to abide by the laws of their respective lands). The Church has made no call for Native Americans to migrate to areas with dense Church membership — namely Utah — and for this reason, I suggest that your assertion is at best misleading. Anecdotally, I have found most Saints I know to be in favor of immigration law enforcement, against law-breaking in general, and to have no apparent ‘keenness’ for the immigration of Native Americans (legal or otherwise).”