Mormons Target Latinos : Religion: The fastest- growing ethnic group in the church finds parallels in close family values. The conversion push brings criticism from Roman Catholic leaders.

In the rural Mexican town where Renan Disner grew up, Catholicism was passed down generation to generation, much like black hair and caramel-colored skin.

Every Sunday, young Renan would accompany his grandmother to Mass at the local church in Chiapas, mesmerized by a likeness of Jesus Christ displayed in a glass case.

Eventually, however, he began to sense that something was missing. What troubled him most was that he could not understand a word, because the Mass was in Latin.

When he was 11, a friend invited him to a Mormon youth activity that would forever change his life. “I was baptized (as a Mormon) at 14, and since that day, everything in my life has been good,” said Disner, now 32 and a Santa Ana life insurance salesman. “I have never tasted alcohol, beer or cigarettes, and I have never been with anyone but my wife.”

Disner, who heads the all-Latino Santa Ana stake (the equivalent of a Roman Catholic diocese), is a testament to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ remarkable success in recruiting Latinos. Today, Latinos are the fastest-growing ethnic group in the conservative denomination that once barred blacks from its priesthood and until a decade ago had few nonwhites in its ranks.

The surge in Latino membership is no accident. Armed with the Book of Mormon, thousands of highly trained missionaries are flooding Latino neighborhoods, part of an official church policy to attract Latinos.

Their ardent efforts have drawn criticism from some quarters, particularly from the Catholic church, which has grown increasingly alarmed by a steady exodus of Latino parishioners.

While Latino Mormons are still relatively few in Orange County--just 3,000 out of a total Mormon population of about 49,000--Latino baptisms are on the upswing. In 1991, almost half of the 1,224 new Mormon converts in the county were Latino.

And last month, the California Anaheim Mission formed the special stake that Disner heads to accommodate the boom in Spanish-speaking Mormons. It was only the second stake in the country made up entirely of congregations in which services are conducted in Spanish. The other is in East Los Angeles.

At last count, there were 24,000 Latino Mormons living in Southern California, according to Mormon officials.

A similar phenomenon is occurring throughout the Southwest, especially in Texas and Arizona--anywhere, Mormon officials say, where there are large concentrations of Latinos.

These communities are being tapped by missionaries eager to spread the teachings of “Jose Smith,” for Joseph Smith, founder of the church.

For Disner, Mormon beliefs are patterned after the true teachings of Jesus Christ. “I have finally found a church that fills me up,” he said recently. “It is 100% based on the Bible, and every single thing that we believe is based on how Jesus himself lived.”

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has its origins in in the early 1800s. According to Mormon teachings, Smith, a 14-year-old farm boy, was first visited in Palmyra, N.Y., by two visions who identified themselves as God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. Smith had gone to the woods to pray for guidance because he was confused over the multitude of religious faiths that all claimed to be the only true faith.

According to Mormon theology, the visions told Smith that if he proved himself worthy, he would one day be chosen to restore the true church of Jesus Christ.

Smith was visited in 1823 by a heavenly messenger named Moroni who showed him gold plates that contained the history of an ancient American civilization, according to the teachings.

Smith was instructed to translate the history into English from hieroglyphics. The translations, named after one of the ancient American prophets and historians who had kept the records, was published as the Book of Mormon. From this book the church’s common name, Mormon, is derived.

Mormons believe that Jesus came to North America after his Resurrection. The Book of Mormon, which covers 2200 BC to AD 420, includes the story of Jesus’ ministry in America. After his revelations, Smith and five others founded the church in Fayette, N.Y., in 1830.

However, intense religious persecution drove the Mormons progressively west; from New York to Ohio to Missouri to Illinois. In an Illinois community they founded called Nauvoo, Smith was killed by a mob.

He was succeeded by Brigham Young, who led his followers to the Rocky Mountains and on to an area near Salt Lake City, which became the church’s world headquarters.

For years the church was almost exclusively white, but more recently its doctrine and practices have found a broader following.

Mormon teachings stress family values and self-sufficiency. Once a month, home teachers (official church representatives) visit families to provide spiritual guidance and report on their welfare to church officials.

Members are also required to live by a strict health code. They do not smoke, drink alcohol or consume caffeinated beverages.

Church officials said the Mormon emphasis on strengthening family units has appealed to Latinos. As an example, the church encourages families to hold weekly meetings to study principles of sound living and to discuss family matters. It also publishes a manual advising parents how to plan meaningful family evenings.

Church officials also attribute the rapid growth in the Spanish-speaking church population to flourishing domestic and overseas missions throughout Mexico and Latin America.

There are about 2 million Latino Mormons scattered through Latin America--1 million in Mexico alone.

Consequently, church officials said, Mormonism is no longer the white-centered religion it was just 20 years ago.

“We estimate that over 50% of the church worldwide is Spanish speaking,” said Keith Atkinson, a spokesman for the church’s regional headquarters in Los Angeles.

Today, many young missionaries carry copies of “El Libro de Mormon,” and “Santa Biblia,” Spanish versions of the Book of Mormon and the Bible. In preparation for their two-year missions--a requirement for devout Mormons--many take intensive Spanish-language training at church headquarters in Salt Lake City.

The large numbers of Latino conversions and proselytizing of Spanish-speaking peoples have struck a raw nerve among some in the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church, which for centuries has been the predominant religion among Latinos.

Last year, a group of Catholic bishops in California accused Mormons of using coercive methods to lure Latinos from their heritage. The bishops also leveled allegations of “proselytizing at any cost” at Seventh-day Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses and other Pentecostal denominations, which have also recently seen much growth among Latinos.

Mormon officials, however, deny that they have done anything improper to attract Latinos.

“We are not going to use coercive practices of any kind,” said Atkinson, the regional Mormon spokesman. “But we feel we have a mandate from God to preach his message, and we cannot say to Catholics that we are not going to offer it to people of yours who are interested.”

Take church Elder Jeff Doyle, 22, fresh out of the intensive language program in Salt Lake City. Doyle, who had never met a Latino back home in Pocatello, Ida., is “serving his mission” in the heavily Latino neighborhoods on Costa Mesa’s west end.

On a recent morning, he and a fellow missionary--Ruvinsky Espinoza, 19, from Puerto Rico--took to the streets on their fat-tired bicycles. They were immaculately dressed in starched white shirts, dress trousers, ties and brown, wingtip shoes. Backpacks bulged with Mormon literature. Both were seemingly oblivious to the 80-degree heat as they pedaled busy Fairview Street in tandem.

Their destination was the home of Alfonso Villegas, the first in a series of appointments with new believers, as well as potential converts. It was Doyle’s 22nd birthday; he will spend it spreading the Mormon faith until about 9:30 p.m.

These highly trained, young, male missionaries, part of a 200-member force in the county, are key elements of the church’s recruitment strategy. Their lives revolve around strict discipline and service to the church.

Every day begins promptly at 6 a.m., with study of Scripture. That is followed by another hour of private religious meditation. Then, the missionaries canvass door to door until late into the evening.

On Mondays, a day for themselves, they catch up on personal chores, such as food shopping, cleaning and laundry. They are not allowed to watch TV, listen to radio, go to movies or date girls--not that they would have the time anyway.

“It was a little difficult at first, because it’s not your normal youth lifestyle,” Doyle said. “But we have a different kind of fun. Preaching the Gospel is the most important thing in my life.”

Doyle and Espinoza exuded enthusiasm when they arrived at Villegas’ apartment.

The 42-year-old dishwasher greeted them effusively in Spanish.

Upstairs, the three men knelt in the center of a sparsely furnished bedroom and bowed their heads in prayer. A color photograph of Jesus hung imposingly above them on a nearby wall.

Villegas, who is from Mexico, was baptized a Mormon in October. Since then, church members have visited him three times a week.

Villegas used to attend a Presbyterian church in Mexico--but only, he said, “because my wife wanted me to, not because of any religious faith that I felt.

“But I’m very happy with the Mormons,” he said in Spanish. “I don’t know too much about them because it’s new, but they come here and help me very much.”

Slowly, he began to read a passage from the Bible as the missionaries leaned forward intently. He stopped at every other word because his eyesight is poor, so he has difficulty seeing the fine print.

Doyle offered to bring him a new Bible with larger print the next time he visits. He pulled out a thick planner from his backpack and jotted himself a note. Like all visits, this hourlong session ended with a prayer.

Once out the door, Doyle and Espinoza hopped on their bikes and headed for the next stop.

“We don’t try to convince people,” said Doyle, hoisting the backpack onto his shoulder. “We just invite them to read the Book of Mormon and pray, because we sincerely believe that God answers prayers and (that) they will see that what we are saying is true.”

Latino Mormons Growing in O.C.

Of the 49,000 Mormons in Orange County, about 6% are Latinos. How the number of Latino Mormans has grown: 1978: 200 1980: 400 1985: 1,400 1991: 3,000 Source: Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints