The Bloomed and Blooming Rose - 7 Accounts of Widespread Lamanite Conversions


Let's start with a piece of D&C 49:24: "But before the great day of the Lord shall come… the Lamanites shall blossom as the rose." 

The Lamanite blossoming is a requirement prior to the second coming. But what does it mean for them to blossom as the rose? It can be strongly argued that this means many of them will be converted to the restored gospel. Has it happened in any miraculous way? In any significant numbers?

Yes! And yes!

Here’s a list of several groups of Native Americans who joined the Church en-(miraculous)-mass.

For starters there are two more groups that could be on this list, but have appeared on this blog previously. The Cree and the Cheyenne experienced heaven-heavy conversions. You should definitely read that post as it’s fascinating. Here’s a super brief summary: 1) The Cree were the result of a chief’s out of body (in a very, very Lamoni sort of way) experience. 2) The Cheyenne joined because one of their prophets had a vision of the All-Sewn-Up-Man (aka Joseph Smith).

Now more:

3)    Catawbas
The Catawbas are unique because thus far they are the only east coast tribe to almost wholly convert. Why’d so many decide to join? Like the Cree and the Cheyenne – a convincing factor was miracles. A and B below flesh it out. (there was too much to fit into one quote!)

A.    "For the vast majority of Indians who stayed on reservations, the Mormons introduced various programs. The mission to the three hundred Indians on Catawba Reservation in York County, South Carolina, deserves special mention because it was outside the accustomed sphere of Mormon interest. Within a year or two after Mormon missionaries visited the reservation in 1883, virtually the entire nation was baptized and a branch of the church was established. This was the only instance in which an eastern tribe moved from paganism to Christianity in the Mormon path. But not without opposition. One evening after dark, an anti-Mormon crowd of whites gathered at the reservation, shot one of the missionaries and stripped the other of his clothes and whipped him. Not succeeding in forcing Whiskey down his throat, the mob poured a bottle over his face and warned him not to come back to the reservation.” The missionaries left, but the Catawbas maintained a separate (ethnic) Mormon ward for seventy years." (https://books.google.com/books?id=oMQgrBcI998C&pg=PA157&lpg=PA157&dq="for+the+vast+majority+of+indians+who+stayed+on+reservations,+the+mormons+introduced+various+programs"&source=bl&ots=xRcb3wgnaO&sig=ACfU3U1Yq_dqsPtm8Npf0phWHyNgA3HqUQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjBtsLl9-rkAhXyoFsKHUFNBS0Q6AEwAHoECAAQAQ#v=onepage&q="for%20the%20vast%20majority%20of%20indians%20who%20stayed%20on%20reservations%2C%20the%20mormons%20introduced%20various%20programs"&f=false)

B.    “When the first Mormons came in contact with the Catawbas, the Indians must have been impressed by the fact that they were not only treated as equals but, because of the Mormon belief in the Book of Mormon, with great esteem. The Catawbas probably felt some compassion for the missionaries who traveled 2500 miles, depended on his labors or charity for physical existence and literally risking his life to share their gospel message with them. The Indians were also impressed with the Elder’s ability to heal the sick. Several members of the tribe witnessed remarkable healings among the whites as well as Indians. One of the first converts Mr. James Henry Wats “…was sick in bed [and] he wished us to administer and we did so next day he was able to go to work he said it was a great testimony to him and he demanded baptism.” (https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5870&context=etd)

The Shoshone have a sad and disheartening story to tell. That’s an understatement. Before their conversion, a large percentage of their women and children were slaughtered by American militia. Then, according to the legend – this turns into another 3 Nephite story… 

4)    Shoshone
"Many members of the Northwestern Band were camped out for the night, and a U.S. Militia group led by Col. Patrick Connor had been authorized to put down those troublesome Indians. When morning came, over 400 Shoshone were dead, mainly women, children and the wounded. It was the largest Indian massacre in the history of the United States, and the militia group had been led to their camp by a local Mormon. Still, after the massacre, Indian legend has it that the spirit of the Nefites, wandering apostles immortalized in the Book of Mormon, visited the devastated tribe and told them to get baptized. Whether it was Mormon spirits or the very real threat of being sent to the reservations, all of the members of the tribe except one man were baptized within a few weeks in 1873. (The hold-out actually wanted to become a Mormon but he was afraid of water.) Converting to Mormonism solved a lot of the tribe's problems. The church gave them land to farm, 1700 acres in Washakie, UT, and thus saved them both from starvation and from being shuttled to the reservation.

"Although they tried to help us with farming, it was completely foreign to the way we lived," said Bruce Parry. "But our band decided to become civilized. When they started that reservation on Fort Hall, we refused to go."

"The people of the Northwestern Band were finally legitimate members of the church-run Utah society." (https://projects.journalism.berkeley.edu/nm/julia/mormon.html)

All the stories mentioned above happened in North America – but that rose is also blossoming down south. Like in Paraguay for instance:

5)    Nivaclé
"In 1980, an entire Nivaclé native tribe of 200 people converted to the gospel when missionaries told them the story of the Savior visiting the Americas. The leader of the tribe recognized the story as one passed down from their ancestors and knew he was hearing restored truths.

"Today this tribe lives in a community of around 40 LDS families and has renamed their settlement Abundancia, Spanish for “Bountiful.”

"The Church has continued to grow in all parts of Paraguay since then, and there are now over 86,700 members and 139 congregations. In 2002, the Paraguay Asunción Temple was built, and there are three missions within Paraguay’s borders." (http://www.ldsliving.com/Tribe-Knew-Book-of-Mormon-Stories-Before-Missionaries-Arrived-4-More-Facts-About-the-Church-in-Paraguay/s/78258)


This next one is from a 2004 article about the Church going even more gang-busters down in the land of the backwards-flush. There was huge growth. Huge growth during this period:

6)    South America in General
“The Guzmans are among a growing number of Latin Americans who have turned to Mormonism in the last few years. According to the church, there are 12 million members worldwide with 4.5 million members in Latin America alone. In comparison, there were only 700,000 Mormons reported in Latin America in 1980.” (http://www.nbcnews.com/id/5378318/ns/world_news/t/mormon-conversions-surge-latin-america/#.Xa_ET5NKgWo)

Closing out the list is this 2007 article about Church growth in the late 70s. Pinochet seized Chilean power in a coup d’etat. He seriously relaxed religious restrictions. Then the Church started growing faster than waistlines at a burrito buffet!

7)    Citizens of Chile
“The Mormons” star only shone brighter after General Augusto Pinochet seized power on September 11, 1973. LDS missionaries literally poured into the country: under Allende the average number of missionaries in Chile was around 150; by 1977 it had ballooned past 600. As Knowlton notes, “between 1976 (three years after the coup) and 1980 the church had its highest growth rates, besides those of its first decade when the overall numbers were rather small. During this period its membership would double almost every two years. At the peak of this period, 1978, it grew by an amazing 45.49%.” By 1980 there were 90,598 saints in Chile, and by 1990 some 290,500. In other words, during the dictatorship, the LDS attracted an average of 12,000 converts per year—far more than in any other Latin American country. During this “golden age,” the LDS also built some 350 chapels in Chile.” (https://www.vqronline.org/web-exclusive/biggest-little-mormon-country-world)

Don’t let the end of this list make you think it’s a closed topic. Consider the recent news that the Church has officially been welcomed into Cuba! CUBA! Apparently there are already 100s of members there just since 2017!

The vines are still spreading. 

We're gonna need some pergolas.

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