The Museum of Mormon Mexican History was started by Fernando and Enriqueta Gomez.
Though he attended church in Mexico as a young boy, Fernando still learned about the pioneers in the United States.
“It was very inspiring, but there was no history from Mexico," Fernando Gomez said.
“For many years the Church has been established in Mexico,” Enriqueta Gomez said. “Just like the U.S. there is pioneers in Mexico, and they went through a lot.”
Both Fernando and Enriqueta feel that starting the museum was a calling from God.
“I was an electrical engineer, I did not know anything about reserving or collecting or exhibiting,” Fernando Gomez said. “And yet the Lord blessed me and my wife to be able to develop the museum.”
In the early 90’s the Gomezes began gathering various artifacts that are now on display in the museum.
They have exhibits featuring the first drafts of the Book of Mormon translated into Spanish, displays of the first church meetings in Mexico, traditional Mexican clothing and more.
“I don’t think there’s anyone else in the world that’s taken zero and gone to something like this,” Fernando Gomez said.
The museum isn’t the only calling from the Lord the Gomezes have followed. Fernando and Enriqueta served several missions in the Philippines, Chile and Mexico to further the Lord's work.
They started the museum in Mexico City in between missions, but eventually moved it to Provo in 2014.
“We don't charge admission, we do it out of heart,” Fernando Gomez said.
Fernando and Enriqueta’s greatest wish for the museum is that it will inspire others to tell their own stories.
“In our case we have four children, 16 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren,” Enriqueta Gomez said. “We want them [to know] who we were and who our ancestors [were] and to realize it is very important to know who their family was.”
The Gomezes have incorporated their own stories into the museum and emphasize the importance of knowing your roots.
“The greatest exhibit is my own book of history. My own life,” Fernando Gomez said.
The museum is open from Tuesday to Saturday for those who want to visit.