On today’s episode, we welcome two very special guests! Leopoldo Larcher and Emily Guincho are a father–daughter duo here to share their Italian Mormon story as the first family to join the LDS Church in Italy.
Leopoldo details his experience of quickly being placed into leadership roles and bearing the responsibility of helping establish the structure of the Church in Italy. Over the years, he worked with many LDS Church leaders, from Ezra Taft Benson to Spencer W. Kimball.
His daughter, Emily, joins us to share her own perspective on what it was like for her and her siblings to grow up in an environment dominated by church service and the immense pressure to represent Mormonism in their community.
Together, Emily and Leopoldo reflect on what it meant to be Mormon pioneers in Italy, how their dedicated service affected their family life, and where they stand with the Church today. They also discuss what the LDS community looks like in Italy within a predominantly Catholic culture, and the challenges the Church faces as it attempts to establish a uniquely American institution in Europe.
One Response
I loved this interview. Having served in France in 2000, most of the “wards” were very similar to what I heard Leopoldo described…very small, members being moved around for the numbers. Members sacrificing so much to attend the temple (before the Paris Temple was built) Even as a missionary, I thought the sacrifice was more than I’d ever seen members give in the USA.
When he talks about his friends the ones that he might loss, this is what breaks my heart about members who leave…we are cast out, we have deceived by the dark spirit, we are weak minded and influenced by anti-mormon literature. I’ve lived this experience, most people in my housing community will not talk to me, look at me in public. It’s sad.