In 1874 Brigham Young voiced his interest in taking the gospel message to Mexico. During the next two years he sent out several companies of missionaries, explorers, and colonizers. Then came missionary labors in Mexico City in 1879, the settlement of the Mormon colonies in Chihuahua in 1884 (after the arrival of the first Mormon expatriates from the United States who, because of polygamy, were fleeing federal marshals), and the subsequent reinforcement of the mission in central Mexico by both Anglo- American and Mexican missionaries. However, in 1889, because of the crisis over polygamy, the elders were called home and all missionary endeavor ceased. After the 1890 Manifesto, the Saints turned inward as they attempted to adjust to the dramatic change in marriage practice. They did not think seriously about proselyting in Mexico again until the turn of the century.
