While attending BYU in the mid-1970s, I lived with my young wife and two little girls at Wymount Terrace. That was the name for a large cluster of three-story, walk-up, cinder-block apartments for married students located between the BYU campus and the Provo Temple. One of my fellow married students at Wymount Terrace and a member of our student ward was a middle-age Latino--Brother Ramirez. He and his wife and teenage children were a wonderful, if somewhat older and unusual, part of our ward.
I did not appreciate how wonderful, until months later when it was the Ramirez family's turn to speak in Sacrament meeting. With amazement I listened to Brother Ramirez speak about his experiences as a Mormon colonel in the Paraguayan army. He had a strong accent but also a strong spirit, and after twenty years, I still recall what he related to us.
More than once, Brother Ramirez was considered for advancement to general in the army. His qualifications were excellent, but his Mormon religion was a problem. So he was finally offered the generalship, if he would renounce Mormonism and rejoin the Catholic church. Putting his military career on the line, and also his relations with fellow officers, he refused.
One of his close associates pleaded with him: "Why don't you accept the offer to be the general of the whole army?" Brother Ramirez' rejoinder was: "Why would I want to be the general of the army of Paraguay, when I can be a captain in the army of God?"
[In 1980 Brother Ramirez was called as the mission president in Paraguay. John Richards I arrived in Paraguay in September 1980 to begin my mission. President Ramirez began his service as mission president in July 1980. He was a great man. I knew he was special when we arrived off the plane and we bypassed the ordeal of customs and the usual tough time given to foreigners like us by all the young soldiers with M-16 machine guns. When colonel Ramirez escorted us, we never had problems. During my mission, any of the ruling military society gave us extreme courtesy and privilege whenever we used the name Colonel Ramirez. We had a small card saying we were authorized ambassadors of the church and our leader was Colonel Luis Ramirez. This came in very handy on P-day when a group of missionaries headed to the Iguazu Falls where Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil meet. Under my leadership we boarded the wrong bus and ended up in the neutral zone. the guards would not let us back in any of the countries. The sisters in the group began to cry, and were fearful of the gun-toting soldiers. I pleaded for about half-an-hour with the soldiers, who were Brazilian, I believe. Then, I remembered my card and President Ramirez. I told the soldier "my boss" was Colonel Ramirez of the Paraguayan army. He seemed to know who it was, and he then allowed us to cross the neutral zone border. We ran to the bus stop on the other side of the border, praying we wouldn't be shot in the back. We were thankful for Colonel Ramirez! President Ramirez' "last meal" was legendary. He and his wife fed the incoming missionaries a spectacular meal before sending them out to their first area. The Ramirez family was a fine example to all.
May I add to the story of Pres. Luis Ramirez? While attending BYU in the mid-1970s, I lived with my young wife and two little girls at Wymount Terrace. That was the name for a large cluster of three-story, walk-up, cinder-block apartments for married students located between the BYU campus and the Provo Temple. One of my fellow married students at Wymount Terrace and a member of our student ward was a middle-age Latino--Bro. Ramirez. He and his wife and teenage children were a wonderful, if somewhat older and unusual, part of our ward. I did not appreciate how wonderful, until months later when it was the Ramirez family's turn to speak in Sacrament meeting. With amazement I listened to Bro. Ramirez speak about his experiences as a Mormon colonel in the Paraguayan army. He had a strong accent but also a strong spirit, and after twenty years, I still recall what he related to us. Let me share two incidents: (1) More than once, Bro. Ramirez was considered for advancement to general in the army. His qualifications were excellent, but his Mormon religion was a problem. So he was finally offered the generalship, if he would renounce Mormonism and rejoin the Catholic church. Putting his military career on the line, and also his relations with fellow officers, he refused. One of his close associates pleaded with him: "Why don't you accept the offer to be the general of the whole army?" Bro. Ramirez' rejoinder was: "Why would I want to be the general of the army of Paraguay, when I can be a captain in the army of God?" (2) On another occasion Bro. Ramirez was discussing the restoration of the Gospel in North America with one of his fellow officers. This man wondered, "Why, Col. Ramirez, did you join a foreign "gringo" church?" Bro Ramirez said simply, "Because God started his true church in North America." "And why did God start is church in the United States; why didn't God just start his church down here in Paraguay for instance?" "Because God is not stupid!" replied Bro. Ramirez. "First, God began his true church in America because it is a freer country; where they have guaranteed freedom of religion. And even then it was almost killed off from persecution. What would happen if the new church were started down here where the Catholic church is such a dominant and controlling part of our lives? And secondly, Amnerica is a richer country, where they would have the money to fund spreading the gospel around the world. Where would the poor people down here get the money for that?" And so, no, God is not stupid, and we are not stupid for serving in God's army. And to Bro. Ramirez, wherever you are, thank you for your memorable testimony on that day at BYU. Until we meet again, God be with you to the ultimate victory. Your fellow soldier,
Christian Bendixen.