La Preparatoria Benemérito de las Américas, officially named El Centro Escolar Benemérito de las Américas (CEBA) was a private high school operated by

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church) in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

. At the end of the 2012–13 school year, the LDS Church converted the school to a

Missionary Training Center Missionary Training Centers (MTC) are centers devoted to training missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The flagship MTC is located in Provo, Utah, adjacent to the campus of Brigham Young University (BYU), ...

(MTC).

History

The first movement to organize the system of schools in Mexico was initiated by Claudio Bowman,

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the LDS Church's Mexican

Mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

. He bought land in

Churubusco Churubusco is a neighbourhood of Mexico City. Under the current territorial division of the Mexican Federal District, it is a part of the borough () of Coyoacán. It is centred on the former Franciscan monastery ''(ex convento de Churubusco)'' a ...

to construct a school and organized a committee to establish schools in Mexico. This committee, composed of

Marion G. Romney Marion George Romney (September 19, 1897 – May 20, 1988) was an apostle and a member of the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Early life Romney was born in Colonia Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico ...

, Joseph T. Bentley, and Bowman, with the help of the church's

First Presidency Among many churches in the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency (also known as the Quorum of the Presidency of the Church) is the highest presiding or governing body. Present-day denominations of the movement led by a First Presidency ...

, decided to establish schools in Mexico. When the CEBA was founded it had 125 students and consisted in primary, secondary, and preparatory schools. It eventually increased as a preparatory school, accommodating day students as well and boarding students. At its peak, there were more than 2,100 students. It was closed at the end of the 2012-2013 school year. The CEBA was founded in 1964 by Albert Kenyon Wagner and his wife, Leona Farnsworth Romney, who were the directors until 1975.

Enrollment and education

CEBA accepted students from all over the Mexican territory and some students from North and South America. Even though the institution was private and owned by the LDS Church, it was also required to accept non-LDS students because of the educational laws the Mexican government applies to every school in Mexico. Students at CEBA received secular and religious education. In addition to all student electives and traditional required subjects (such as Math, History, Spanish and English), students were required to take religious classes. Non-LDS students also took these religious classes. In these classes, LDS teachers prepared lessons based on the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

and

The Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, first published in 1830 by Joseph Smith as ''The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi''. The book is one of ...

, with lessons intended to strengthen the religious and spiritual progress of the students.

Activities

In addition to secular and religious classes for students; there were a variety of student cultural and physical activities, including folk dance, choir, music, theater, basketball, volleyball, soccer, and football, among others. The school believed this would increase a student's physical condition, development talents, positive social environment, and use free time wisely. Students decided which activities they wanted to participate in and they'd go to practice every day after school. Some students became national champions in their sports, professional dancers or musicians. There were many facilities where students could practice, according to the activity they chose.

Housing

CEBA has 50 houses and 4 apartment buildings the students would live in, thereby allowing students from all over the Mexican Republic to attend. These houses were divided between female and male students. Every house consisted of 18 boys or girls and every apartment building has 112 students. A married adult couple was assigned to each house or apartment building to take care of the students and their medical or other needs they could have.

Honor Code

Because the school was a religiously based school, students and teachers had to follow an Honor Code, based on LDS Church standards. The school honor code specified how students should dress everyday and how to behave in order to stay at the school. For example, smoking and drinking alcohol inside or outside the school would lead to the termination of the student’s studies. Students wore a uniform when they went to classes and they dressed modestly when they were not in school.

Transition to MTC

On January 29, 2013, the LDS Church announced the school would be closed and converted into a Missionary training center (MTC) at the end of the current school year. The new MTC opened June 26, 2013.

Temple announcement

On April 3, 2022, during general conference, church president Russell M. Nelson announced that a

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

would be constructed at the site.

References

External links

Official site

Unofficial/Alumni site
{{LDS Church Educational System Christianity in Mexico City Church Educational System Former properties of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Latter Day Saint schools Schools in Mexico City The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mexico Christian schools in Mexico Educational institutions established in 1964 1964 establishments in Mexico Defunct organizational subdivisions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints