Five influential legislators and government officials of Mexico who visited Church headquarters April 26-28 said they were impressed by what they saw.
The officials were accompanied by Elder Lino Alvarez of the Seventy and counselor in the Mexico South Area, and Agricol Lozano, one of the pioneer leaders and legal consul for the Church in Mexico.Visiting were Jaimie Munoz Dominguez, congressman; Enrique Chavero Ocampo, congressman; Francesco Augustin Arroyo Vieyra, congressman; Everado Gamiz Fernandez, general manager of a government industrial corporation; and Antonio Huitron Vera, counselor of real estate promotion and development of goods.
Elder Alvarez paid tribute to the legislators, commenting, "Our Church has been treated excellently by the government. We have always been helped when we had questions or needed help. We express our gratitude for that help."
Mr. Munoz said, "Our stay has been short, but I would say, in general terms, that we have received a fine impression of the Mormon Church and the role it takes in the community of Salt Lake City." He encouraged greater respect between nations and citizens and predicted a better world "for the benefit of our children and their children."
"Our basic reason for coming here was to learn about the Mormon Church and everything related to it that concerns Mexico. We are particularly interested in the development of technology and bio-technology."
Mr. Chavero praised the role of the Church, along with other faiths, in holding activities that improve the social and spiritual character of their members.
He noted that the progress in the economy of Mexico and in all levels of government in the past few years is a result of "the work and effort of all the citizens."
Mr. Arroyo said, "The strength of all churches is the spiritual fiber of the members." He said he expects that in the future, Mexico's leaders will "consolidate freedoms, and continue to perfect democracy, and to progress in political, economic and social maturity."
The group noted that significant economic gains had been realized in their country in the past few years, and they expressed optimism for the future. They indicated that they expect they will see greater economic gains and closer ties with many locations within the United States as Mexico advances further into the global market in the next decade.
