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The Mexico Guadalajara Mission was created in 1975 when an area from the states of Sinaloa and Aguasclientes on the north and Colima and Michoacan on the south was organized as the geographical limits of a new mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Geography
Over the years the mission boundaries have changed. In 1987 the Mexico Mazatlán Mission was organized as the center of a mission that covered Sinaloa and Nayarit from the previous area of the Guadalajara Mission. That same year the states of Aguascalientes and Zacatecas were assigned to other missions as well, leaving Jalisco, Colima and the north-western region of Michoacán as the limits of the Mexico Guadalajara Mission. At the request of the Mazatlán Mission the Mexico North Area Presidency reassigned the Tepic, Nayarit District to the Guadalajara Mission, thus forming the current geographical limits as can be seen in this map. One can travel by bus from Zamora, Michoacán to Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco in about twelve hours and from Tepic, Nayarit to Tecomán, Colima in around eight. The geography of the mission is diverse, with tropical coastal plains and hills on the west to high mountain pine forests on the east. The city of Guadalajara itself is situated in the mountains and has one of the best year-round climates in the western hemisphere, the daily temperature averaging 66 degrees Fahrenheit. Officially, Guadalajara claims to have just under 5 million inhabitants, but with Zapopan, Tlaquepaque and Tonala on its outskirts, the entire metropolitan area is estimated to have closer to a population of 8 million. Guadalajara is the second largest city in Mexico and with its many museums, parks and the murals of J. C. Orozco definitely deserves its nickname of La perla del occidente or "the pearl of the west".
Church Organization
Within the limits of the mission are seven districts and nine stakes. The districts are based in Tepic, Nayarit; Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco; Ameca, Jalisco; Ciudad Guzmán, Jalisco; Colima, Colima and in Manzanillo, Colima. There are eight stakes in Guadalajara, they being the Victoria, Unión, Independencia, Reforma, Moctezuma, Lomas, Mirador and Tlaquepaque Stakes. The only stake outside of Guadalajara is located in Zamora, Michoacán. The growth of the Church in Guadalajara has been constant over the past ten years and every faithful member now looks forward to the day that the newly announced temple will be completed, making it much easier for every member to enjoy all of the blessings of the gospel. Currently it is necessary to travel to Mexico City in order to attend the temple, a trip that takes almost 20 hours from some parts of the Guadalajara Mission.
Church History in Mexico
Recently, the LDS-Gems mailing list distributed an excellent series of articles and personal experiences concerning the history of the Church in Mexico. The Church's new Internet company, LDSWorld.com, maintains the archive for the LDS-Gems mailing list.
http://www.ldsworld.com/gems/wws/country/0,2626,Mexico,00.html
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