During the past decade, 2 to 3 million emigrants from other countries have re-shaped the ethnic composition of this city.

Carried by powerful economic forces to this thriving Pacific port, they settle in growing central city ethnic centers, once populated by Anglo families who have moved to the suburbs. Here, they find work and freedom, twin blessings that lead many to feel like Los Angeles is just "one step from heaven."And speaking of heaven, many are finding a third blessing as they listen to missionaries and embrace the gospel. Their coming, and acceptance of the gospel, has permanently changed the face of the Church as well.

In the Church, central city wards and stakes once threatened by the flight offamilies to the suburbs have been rejuvenated by substantial numbers of converts. Today, the meetinghouses of such wards are being created.

Elder Gene R. Cook of the First Quorum of the Seventy and president of the North America West Area emphasized the importance of having the gospel available to new arrivals in their own language, and to develop among them their own leaders. "That's when things really begin to happen," he said.

He said the greatest increases in ethnic membership have been among the Hispanics, many of whom attend the Spanish-speaking Huntington Park West Stake. Some 450 converts a year join the Church in this stake; it accounts for a third of the baptisms in the California Los Angeles Mission. Additional Hispanic members attend wards and branches throughout Southern California.

Other ethnic members in the area include long-time Anglo and black American residents, and people from Armenia, Belize, Cambodia, China, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Samoa, Tonga, and European countries. Significant growth is also being realized among the Asian wards in particular, said Gaye S. Smith, Los Angeles stake public communications director.

The ethnic breakdown of the area is portrayed in a Los Angeles City Unified School District's survey. In the 1988-89 year, 59 percent of the students were Hispanic, 16.7 percent were black ancestry, 15.8 percent were white, 5.9 percent were Asian, 1.9 percent were Filipinos, and fewer than 1 percent were American Indian and Pacific Islanders.

One-fourth of the district's 595,000 students speak only Spanish, or Spanish and little English. So great has been the increase of Hispanic immigrants that whole communities, such as Hollywood, have changed complexion and language preference.

Instead of melting into society, many of the minorities retain ties to their homelands. Foreign investment in the city is also high.

Futurists suggest that by the year 2010, the city's Anglo population will drop from 61 percent to 40 percent, and the Hispanic population will rise from 24 percent to 40 percent with other minorities also increasing.

One who is intimately aware of challenges of growth by migration is Pres. Howard B. Anderson, president of the Los Angeles stake. A radio station owner, he has lived in this city since he was called here to preside over the California Mission in 1962.

"The acceptance of these [new] people has been one of the great strengths of the members here," he said in a recent interview.

"The real credit for casting the tone of our stakes goes to Elder John K. Carmack (a former president of the Los Angeles stake who is now a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy). He planted the flag and said. "This is our home and we want to stay."

As a result of this effort to 'hold the line," the inner-city stakes retained their stability in lean years. Now, with the influx of immigrants, the well-known central city buildings, such as the Wilshire Ward, are once again bulging with Latter-day Saints.

Pres. Anderson said members are strengthening their already cosmopolitan attitudes towards this rich blend of nationalities. One result has been the return to the inner city of young professionals of the Anglo race, who buy homes in minority neighborhoods near their work.

"These young people want to spend time with their families - they don't want to spend their lives on the freeway listening to 'sig' [freeway signal] alerts, and staring at a white line for four hours a day."

Examples of established immigrants welcoming newcomers is in the Huntington California Park West Stake, under the direction of Pres. Rafael N. Seminario. Pres. Seminario, a native of Peru who came to this country at age 19 with a high school education but unable to speak English, is now an assistant vice president at Security Pacific Bank and will soon receive a master's degree from Pepperdine University.

Pres. Seminario has offices both in the Wilshire meetinghouse, where two Spanish-speaking wards meet, and at stake headquarters in Huntington Park. He said stake members are missionary-minded, and readily share the gospel with new arrivals in the city.

Most of the new converts are people who have come recently from Latin American countries. "Most are looking for new horizons," said Pres. Seminario.

Typically, he said, an emigrating father in a Latin American country will gather his belongings and sell them. He will use the money to cross the border, and arrive at the bus depot in Los Angeles. Once here, he will look up the address of a relative, who will offer him food and shelter until he finds work.

Because most Latin people work hard and are willing to take jobs with low wages, many succeed in finding work. Small industries flourish as plentiful labor is available, and the demand for goods is high. However, city planners fear the long-term problems inherent in explosive growth coupled with side-by-side wealth and poverty.

Often, an immigrant will obtain two jobs and live on nearly nothing for a year or two, then send for his wife and children.

"It is a human tragedy," said Pres. Seminario. "I see mothers and children, when they first arrive in this country, scared and hungry, looking for their husband and father. Somehow, they find my address and show up at my door. What do you do?"

In working with them. "I just see people as people," he said. "We are all children of God."

As new members are baptized, Pres. Seminario pays particular attention to training them in the gospel, and encourages their activity. Some wards rent buses to bring the members to meetings. Despite meager circumstances, these new membersask for little Church assistance, he said.

"When I interview members or give talks from the pulpit, I emphasize education. I tell them someone has to break the cycle. The number one priority is to learn English. Without English, they can't become educated.

"I tell them that to not study in this country is a crime."

He also shares his experience in gaining an education. "I had to work full-time and go to school," he said. "The exams were difficult, but they were not impossible. Between work and studies, many nights I just didn't go to sleep."

He said the number of stake members attending institutions of higher education is greater now that it has ever been in the stake.

As they become more educated, members are continuing to reach out to help others, and share the gospel, he emphasized.

Elder Cook said the spiritual contributions of the Latin members to the Church have been substantial. "I believe the Lord has given each nation a certain number of gifts, and, as they come into the Church, they will bless the whole of the Church with those gifts," he said.

"The gift of the Hispanic people is love, and I think that when all is said and done, it will be determined that they have not only met their full share, but even overpaid it."