One
of my favorite US newspapers, the Sacramento
Bee,
just published a nice article about LDS diversity in Sacramento.
"Mormon
church a widely diverse entity in Sacramento region"
mentions several different groups of Latter-day Saints in the
Sacramento region, including the Hmong people.
Appleton,
Wisconsin,
where I lived for about 20 years, is a small town with a surprisingly
high Hmong population, around 4 or 5%. On my first Sunday in Appleton
when we moved there for the second time in 1994, I remember being
surprised by all the Asian people sitting behind me near the back of
the church, speaking what sounded like Chinese but wasn't. I had
taken a few classes of Chinese way back at BYU and strained to catch
a few recognizable words, but it was definitely a different language.
I
would soon learn that they were immigrants from Laos who had paid a
terrible price for supporting the United States during the Vietnam
War. It's a long story, one I try to tell on my webpage about the
Hmong people,
but there is much more drama and trauma than I could ever capture.
Two Hmong sisters at a cultural event in the Appleton, Wisconsin Stake Center.
Every
Hmong family I know has stories to tell of fleeing for their lives
and losing nearly everything. This includes fleeing through a
dangerous jungle, evading vicious soldiers, swimming across a hostile
river patrolled with enemy forces, losing loved ones along the way,
sometimes being separated for years from family members, and
suffering deprivation and neglect in refugee camps.
They
faced genocide for their part in supporting the United States. Sadly,
many Americans had no idea why the U.S. government allowed many to
come over here (partial repayment for their valiant service and a
recognition of the mess we had created).
We
got them to fight for us in the secret wars of Laos with the promise
that we would never abandon them. We armed their boys and trained
fighter pilots. Those pilots would fly mission after mission until
they were shot down, nearly 100% casualties.
When
our pilots were shot down over the jungles, Hmong soldiers waged
valiant rescue missions to reach them before the enemy did and bring
them back alive. Many U.S. pilots owe their lives to the Hmong. In
some cases, more than 100 Hmong men would lose their lives in a
rescue mission to bring back a single U.S. soldier.
The
Hmong people are tough, gutsy, freedom-loving, and truly beautiful.
Because the campaign in Laos was secret and contrary to our official
news, they were not given public recognition for their valor. They
were the best allies the U.S. ever had. Then, without warning, we
packed up and left, leaving the poorly prepared mountain people
exposed to the full wrath of an angry enemy.
My
first calling when we returned to Appleton was to work with
minorities in the stake, including the Hmong people. This began a
journey that would bless my life in many ways. Later a Hmong-speaking
branch would be formed in Appleton and my family would serve in it. I
was first counselor to a Hmong Branch president, a good, loving man.
There
were many challenges for Hmong Mormons, and some good people would
leave the Church when Hmong
culture
and the Gospel clashed just a little too harshly. My time with that
branch was wonderful, but there were also some messy, traumatic,
terrible moments, including one of the most painful episodes of my
life, where I have a desire to go back in time and try things
differently to see if a better solution could have been found.
The
Hmong Mormons of Wisconsin, California, and many other places are
remarkable Latter-day Saints. If you know any, tell them "Ua
tsaug!" from me (that means thank you, pronounced like "waw
jiao" with a breathy, falling tone on the "jiao").
If
you have a chance to serve them as a missionary, you are a blessed
and lucky creature. If you have a chance to serve with them, be
prepared to work hard and grow quickly. They are a beautiful and
vibrant part of the remarkably diverse LDS community, and I'm glad
the Sacramento
Bee
recognized this.
Jeff Lindsay has been defending the Church on the Internet since 1994, when he launched his
LDSFAQ website under JeffLindsay.com. He has also long been blogging about LDS matters on
the blog Mormanity (mormanity.blogspot.com). Jeff is a longtime resident of Appleton,
Wisconsin, who recently moved to Shanghai, China, with his wife, Kendra.
He works for an Asian corporation as head of intellectual property. Jeff and Kendra are the parents of 4 boys, 3 married and the the youngest on a mission.
He is a former innovation and IP consultant, a former professor, and former Corporate Patent
Strategist and Senior Research Fellow for a multinational corporation.
Jeff Lindsay, Cheryl Perkins and Mukund Karanjikar are authors of the book Conquering
Innovation Fatigue (John Wiley & Sons, 2009).
Jeff has a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Brigham Young University and is a registered US
patent agent. He has more than 100 granted US patents and is author of numerous publications.
Jeff's hobbies include photography, amateur magic, writing, and Mandarin Chinese.