packed with triumph and tragedy, and with inspiring stories of sacrifice
and endurance.’
About “No More Strangers and Foreigners”
Eager to escape the arm of the law, Franklin Spencer moves his family from Utah to Mexico to build an Anglo outpost in the Chihuahuan desert. It is the close of the 19th Century when Mexico needs unflappable men like Franklin to civilize the arid borderlands. And the country is willing to ignore his peculiarities in trade for his hard work and industry. Franklin is a wanted man living under an alias, and, more curiously, he has three wives.
No More Strangers and Foreigners is a true story of polygamy lived in the open – not the sordid brand of the 21st Century polygamy with its child brides and forced marriages, but the saga of ordinary love and extraordinary lives.
In a chain of polygamist colonies south of the Texas border, founded by fellow Mormons (members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), the Spencers immerse themselves in the culture of their adopted land. Andres Gonzalez marries into the Spencer family and its faith and becomes the first native Mexican missionary from the church known for its worldwide reach.
Threatened by a firing squad during the Mexican Revolution, Andres cheats death by demanding an audience with the Mexican president to preach the gospel. The revolution eventually transforms the polygamist colonies from a quiet refuge of religious tolerance to a violent no-man’s land upended by Pancho Villa.
As the dust of war settles, many of the colonists will return to the United States, happy to leave their social experiment behind. But the Spencers, by now committed Mexicans, will remain to finish the job they started. Using the words of the people who lived it, Franklin’s great grandson, the author, weaves a tale of racial prejudice, intermarriage, assimilation and the spread of a uniquely American frontier religion.
The story continues to chronicle the life of Franklin’s grandson, Andy, and how his unique heritage shaped his life. Andy’s marriage to a soft-spoken, full-blooded Swede, and their choices and experiences continue to influence their descendants.
Praise for “No More Strangers and Foreigners”
This is a lively and well-written account of a family history that blends culture, faith, and race through intermarriage with insights to how they reacted to religious conversion and apostasy; war and peace; and family victories and disappointments. We learn a lot about immigrants, religious refugees, and a new middle class who found and lived the American Dream. These are fully human Latterday Saints with strengths and weaknesses – making them real and relatable.”
– Richard Neitzel Holzapfel – professor emeritus, Church History and Doctrine, Brigham Young University
The writing is crisp and compelling, the history thoroughly and impressively researched, and the characters jump off the page with all their virtues, flaws and quirks. Gonzalez has managed to capture one family’s history in such a fascinating and insightful way. This is a rich history, packed with triumph and tragedy, and with inspiring stories of sacrifice and endurance. This book is a winner!”
– Brad Lowder – Family Search International
About the Author
John A Gonzalez spent his professional career undercover with the Central Intelligence Agency, retiring after twenty-five years of service. He started a security consulting company and was working in that capacity when he and his wife were called to preside over the California Fresno Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints…
Author Interviews
Author´s interview with From the Desk: Learning by Study and Faith.
Author´s interview with BYUtv’s Latter-Day Profiles. Click image to watch, or the button below to watch on Youtube.
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