Mormonism increasingly draws Spanish speakers as converts
By Stephanie Innes
Arizona Daily Star
Spanish speakers are fueling growth in the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which recently opened new worship space on http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=175’s predominantly Hispanic South Side.
Many local Mormon worshippers, like 47-year-old Juan Arroyo, converted to the faith from Catholicism while living in their native countries. Arroyo, a http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=2921 for seven years. “I was missing something, and my life changed greatly after meeting the missionaries,” he said in Spanish.
Nationally, the number of Spanish speaking congregations in the http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=3235 church grew by 64 percent between 2000 and 2006. There are 639 such congregations in the United States. In Arizona, Spanish speaking Mormon congregations more than doubled between 2000 and 2006. There are now 44.
Mormons are expected to go to church five hours per week, tithe and adhere to strict church bans against alcohol, tobacco, gambling and caffeine.
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