SALT LAKE CITY — There are currently more than 180 Spanish-speaking congregations of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Salt Lake Valley.
But amazingly, they all trace their roots back to just one, The Salt Lake Mexican branch established a century ago in 1923.
The branch was created primarily to serve Mexican-American members of the church who wanted to worship in their native tongue. It eventually grew to become known as the Lucero Ward with most of its members from Mexico and other Latin American countries.
Its architecture paid homage to culture and roots of the congregants, and to this day, it remains one of the only Spanish colonial-style buildings in Salt Lake City.
“So, Spanish-speaking members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints had been living in Salt Lake City really, since the 1850s,” said Emily Utt, Historic Sites curator for the church. “But in very, very small numbers. And in the 1920s, those numbers started increasing…."
Finding a home
Despite the increase, for five decades the branch didn’t have a home. Its members borrowed buildings and spaces to meet and often worshiped in languages they didn’t understand.
“In 1949, they finally got permission to build their own building. And they had to pay for part of it themselves," Utt said. "And they had to participate in the construction of the building. And by 1950, it was in use, and then was dedicated in 1951.”
David Torres’s family played a significant role in building the ward. His grandparents participated in its groundbreaking, while his father, who the family says was one of the first Hispanic engineering graduates from the University of Utah, drew the original renderings for the building.
“The remarkable thing about this story is that our people who were struggling financially as most immigrants do, and this was post-war, that yet they had enough faith and conviction and sacrifice, to come up with the funds to build this building,” said Maria Torres, David’s wife. “And it was right after the war. And so this is the remarkable genesis of this building.”
“The meetings were all Spanish. The hymns were in Spanish, the prayers were in Spanish, the lessons that were taught were in Spanish,” David said. And so the idea was to have a place where people could go to use the language and not suffer..."
A community gathering space
But the Lucero Ward was more than just a place to worship. For the Torres’s and many Hispanic members of the church around the Salt Lake Valley, it was a known community gathering space.
There were classes, folklorico dances, sports and other programs. It was also an event space.
The Torres's held their wedding there
“It really helped the West Side Community,” Maria said. “And, of course, especially in that era, those types of facilities for Hispanic people were very, very limited.
“And, you know, at the time, it also received refugees, immigrants, and it was a place where we gathered to help one another, where we taught one another how to survive in this country and how to navigate the transportation system, the, you know, everything, especially where some of the people who came had limited use of the English language."
In those days David notes members of the church had to be able to pay for the costs of running the church. They sold food, put on events like fiestas and more.
“It was incalculable what that space meant, because you see, in that particular time, each of the church units of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints had to find a way to have funds to be able to operate, it wasn't like it is today, " David said.
Saying goodbye
Eventually, the Lucero Ward was sold. Leaders of the ward cited that the building and the land it was on had become too small for its group.
“Well, what would eventually happen shortly, is the Lucero ward would be divided and divided,” David said.
"It was a very sad time for us to leave the building. It's like, leaving your homeland.”
With the loss of the building also came some of its prized items.
The Torres's mentioned that when the building was sold an important painting in the building had gone missing. The painting was entitled "Samuel the Lamanite" painted by Goff Dowding.
More than a building
Today, while the building is occupied by a daycare center called Miss Billies Kid Kampus, it still holds significance for generations of Latino members of the church.
“Our grandchildren, we took them there," Maria reflected. "Because we understand that to make progress for your future, you have to understand your past. And we wanted them to know their past and know that they have deep roots in this state,"
“And they their ancestors, their grandfather, great grandfather, great, great and great great grandfather came here. And under a lot of challenges, were able to forge out a wonderful life, a good life or one that also contributed to the community..."
