The Church in Mexico and Central America

Harold Brown of Mexico City

When the First Presidency announced the Mexico City Area Conference, it immediately signaled an opportunity for the Ensign to acquaint Saints around the world with their fellow members in Mexico and Central America. Because we decided to seek writers, contributors, and input from Mexico and Central America, rather than to have writers in Salt Lake City write from long-distance vantage point about the Saints of these areas, we needed to discuss our plans with persons knowledgeable about the Church and its members in Mexico and Central America.

Many persons helped, but it soon became apparent that the man whom others felt had his finger on the pulse, data, background, and concerns of this part of the world was Harold Brown of Mexico City, recently released as Mexico City Stake president and now a Regional Representative of the Twelve. Visits with him and his wife, Leanor, soon confirmed this judgment. These two very knowledgeable people assisted the Ensign staff in planning the issue, identifying authors, obtaining information, accounts, photographs, and, in general, being great boosters of the project. Without them, this issue would have taken a much different form.

Brother Brown’s experience qualifies him well for this assignment. Reared in the Mormon colonies in northern Mexico, he served a mission in and years later served as president of the Argentina Mission. He worked for several years in Uruguay, taught at Brigham Young University, completed doctoral studies at Harvard University, and served prominently in the Church in Cambridge and Washington, D.C.

In recent years he has made Mexico City his home, where he is division coordinator of seminaries and institutes. He has also directed translation for many Church manuals and has organized and operated for some time the Church’s publishing and distribution center in Mexico City.

It has been a pleasure working with him during the few weeks in which this material on the Church in Mexico and Central America has been assembled.

—Jay M. Todd