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La Luz del Mundo (The Light of the World) is a Christian denomination with international headquarters in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. The church is based on a Pentecostalist doctrine centered around two charismatic leaders: first Eusebio Joaquin Gonzalez, known as "Aaron the Apostle" to his followers, and since 1964, his son Samuel Joaquín Flores known as "the Servant of God".

History and Charismatic leadership

The history of La Luz del Mundo is tied to the efforts of its to charismatic leaders who has managed to adapt the religious organization to fit the changing aspects of Mexican society in the 20th century.

Aaron the Apostle

The founder of La luz del Mundo was Eusebio Joaquin Gonzalez. He was born in 1898 in Colotlan, Jalisco to a family of small means. In the Mexican revolution he joined the constitutionalist army and fought the rebels from 1915 to the end of the war in 1921, and stayed in the army until 1926. In 1926, while serving in Coahuila he came into contact with ministers of a Pentecostal church and he was baptized and left the army. He and his wife Elisa lived for awhile in Monterrey working as servants for leaders of the church, but on the night of April 6th 1926, he experienced a revelation in which God spoke to him, gave him the name Aaron and charged him with the task of restoring the primitive christian church and establishing a new chosen people. With his wife he left Monterrey and journeyed on foot to Guadalajara, Jalisco. At this point in time Jalisco was the center of the Cristero movement, a radical Catholic movement involved in an armed conflict with the anti-catholic administration of Plutarco Elías Calles. Gonzalez' anti-catholic stance and his relations with high standing army officials enabled him to get a good footing in Guadalajara, where he was able to recruit a substantial number of followers especially among the poor. In the early thirties he was able to purchase a large tract of land on the outskirts of Guadalajara. On this land he constructed the first church of the movement and the rest sold in parcels to church members - effectively building an entire neighborhood of devotees - the neighborhood called "La Hermosa Provincia" (the Beautiful Province). Aaron started missionary efforts in central America and by the early sixties La Luz del Mundo had 64 congregations and 35 missions.

Samuel: The Servant of God

Samuel Joaquín Flores was born on February 14, 1937 and was baptized into his father's church at 16. He became part of the church's ministerial corpse and held positions in Tepic, Nayarit and in Veracruz, he was married at 25 and took control of the church at 27. Samuel's leadership was even more focused on outward growth than his father's and he began opening up the boundaries between the church and the surrounding world, and carried out an aggressive missionary strategy. In 1972 there were 75,000 members, but 1.5 million in 1986 . In 1993 the faith had reached 23 countries in Latin America and in 1991 there were 45 congregations in the southern United States. Samuel travels extensively to the international congregations.

Architecture

Its flagship church in Guadalajara is said to be the largest non-Catholic house of worship in Latin America. It is characterized by its pyramidal shape and innovative structure. It was erected between 1983 and 1991, largely by the members of the church. It is a notable architectural feature in Guadalajara despite being in a working-class district on the outskirts of the city. A local architect, Leopoldo Fernandez Font, designed the structure; project management was done by Joel Silva and José Rangel, and the executive engineer was Mario Uribe.

Built to accommodate 12,000 worshipers, the temple is used for annual ceremonies. Members come from all over the world every August 14 to celebrate the Santa Cena (Holy Supper) as well as on February 14 to commemorate the birthday of the Apostle Of Jesus Christ, Samuel Joaquín Flores (known to followers as El Apostól de Jesucristo, "The Apostle of Jesus Christ").

In accordance with the movement's teachings, the building's design represents the infinite power and existence of God. Its 7 levels over a base (menorah) symbolize the seven angels of God and the progressive steps toward the human spirit's perfection.

The area around the temple is known as "La Hermosa Provincia" (the beautiful province) and is a neighborhood inhabited almost exclusively by church members. In several other communities in Mexico the congregants strive to live close to each other and around the temple, leading to small neighborhoods of church members.

Doctrine

The church teaches that from the death of the last Apostle John in around 96 AD, up until the calling of Aaron in 1926, there was no salvation on earth. Aaron died in 1964, at which time followers say Samuel Joaquin Flores was elected by God as Apostle and the new leader of the church. Samuel Joaquin Flores teaches members that La Luz Del Mundo is the only true Christian church, because he is the only true Servant of God and Apostle of Jesus Christ, and that thus there can be no salvation outside his church. A central doctrine is that ‘one can only reach God through the servant Samuel; one can only achieve eternal salvation in the name of Jesus Crist’.The church is also milenarian and teaches that the end of days is imminent and that only members of La Luz del Mundo will achieve salvation. The church prohibits women from wearing trousers, cut their hair or use make-up and male and female members are separated during worship. The use of Musical instruments is also forbidden during services. The most important yearly ritual is the holy supper (Santa Cena in Spanish), remembering the last supper of Jesus Christ.

Organization

The organization of La Luz del Mundo is highly hierarchical: the supreme head of the church is Samuel Joaquín Flores who holds both the spiritual authority as Apostle and Servant of God, and the organizational authority as General Director of the Church. Below him are ranks of Pastors (also called Bishops), Pastors are expected to develop one or more of the qualities as Doctor, Prophet and Evangelist. All Pastors are evangelists expected to carry out missionary tasks, as a "doctor" pastors explain the word, and as prophets they explain it. Below them are the Deacon's who administer the sacraments to the congregational members. Below the Deacons are the Managers who have responsibility for the moral conduct and well-being of certain groups within the congregation. Managers for example grant permits to congregational members who wish to leave their congregations for vacations or to take jobs outside of the church district. The lowest rank within the ministerial hierarchy is that of "Worker", they have responsibilities for assisting everyone above them in the hierarchy with menial tasks. Women were not initially able to hold higher positions in the hierarchy but can now rise to the rank of Deaconess, but no higher than that. Female office holders are always head of groups of women, and not groups of men. A Deaconess can help the Pastors and Deacons, but cannot herself administer the sacrament. All members of the ministerial hierarchy receive economic remuneration for their services, paid as part of the tithe by the congregational members.

Demography

Countries with congregations of La Luz del Mundo include: Australia, Israel, Russia, Cape Verde, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Moldova, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Finland, Romania, Norway, United Kingdom, Italy, France, Portugal, Spain, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, Colombia, Cuba, Curaçao, Jamaica, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, Canada, United States, and Mexico.

Controversy

In 2004 the church was accused on Mexican television of several counts of rape against female members. The accusations were spearheaded by the Mexican Anti-Cult group "The Christian Institute of Mexico" who demanded that La Luz del Mundo should be stripped of its legal recognition as a religion because of it. The Mexican government was reluctant to take any such action, possibly because the dominant catholic church was under similar charges at the time.

According to Gordon Melton and David Bromley the Church la Luz del Mundo has been subject to fraudulent accusations of planning acts of violence or mass suicide against its members.

References

1. Fortuny Loret de Mola, Patricia, 1995, "Origins, Development and Perspectives of La Luz del Mundo Church", Religion, Volume 25, Issue 2
2. Fortuny Loret de Mola, Patricia, 1995, "Origins, Development and Perspectives of La Luz del Mundo Church", Religion, Volume 25, Issue 2
3. http://www.lldm.org/2007/presencia.html
4. http://www.lldm.org/2007/historia.html
5. http://www.lldm.org/2007/fundacion.html
6. http://lasa.international.pitt.edu/members/congress-papers/lasa2004/files/DowJames.pdf
7. Fortuny Loret de Mola, Patricia, "Origins, Development and Perspectives of La Luz del Mundo Church", Religion, Volume 25, Issue 2, April 1995, Pages 147-162
8. Fortuny Loret de Mola, Patricia, 1995, "Origins, Development and Perspectives of La Luz del Mundo Church", Religion, Volume 25, Issue 2, p 150
9. Nutini, Hugo G., 2000, Native Evangelism in Central Mexico, Ethnology, Vol. 39, No. 1 pp. 39-54
10. Fortuny Loret de Mola, Patricia, 1995, "Origins, Development and Perspectives of La Luz del Mundo Church", Religion, Volume 25, Issue 2, p 155
11. Fortuny Loret de Mola, Patricia, 1995, "Origins, Development and Perspectives of La Luz del Mundo Church", Religion, Volume 25, Issue 2, p 157
12. Garma Navarro, Carlos. 2004. "The Legal Situation of Religious Minorities in Mexico:The Current situation, Problems, and Conflicts." In James T. Richardson (ed) Regulating religion: case studies from around the globe. Springer, 2004
13. Bromley, David G. &J. Gordon Melton. 2002. Cults, religion, and violence. Cambridge University Press p. 50.

External links

• Official site
• Usa Official site
• Official affiliate site
• Short bibliography of LLDM books and articles by scholars

• Christianity in Mexico