For the most part, they seem to be well accepted and fit in. As near as I can tell, people seem perfectly willing to make allowances for imperfect English and differences in custom, and in many cases make special effort to ensure they feel included.

However, I suspect there are times when those efforts fall short or miss the mark. I’m sure there are times the immigrants feel they aren’t really fitting in. One sister mentioned to me a few months ago that she doesn’t feel like she really has any good friends in the ward (but then, I don’t either, and I don’t have a language/culture barrier to blame for it).

The Sudanese family has had the most difficult time. Between the mother’s almost incomprehensible English, severe economic strains (the husband abandoned the family and went back to Africa shortly after they moved into our neighborhood), medical problems, and weak to nonexistant testimonies, they have never really integrated with the ward. They have been reasonably active during times of strong, proactive home/visiting teachers and youth leaders that have stopped by to provide rides for every meeting, but not otherwise. I’m not sure what we could have done better — one poor RS president almost wore herself out, spending several days a week working with the sister trying to improve her English and get resolution to the medical issues. I do have a nagging feeling that there is more I could have done — or maybe could be doing now. But I’m not sure what it is.

The more recent church document recognizes that many immigrants–even those working menial positions–are living a far higher standard economically than they did in their native land.

So the question is: Does it matter? Does a Philipino surgeon that works a relatively menial job in the U.S. deserve more “fellowshipping” than the Mexican that trims your lawn, but has far more money than he did in Mexico? My view of the Gospel is that no, it shouldn’t matter. My reality is that yes, it does. A family from Denmark moved into our ward six months ago, and have been welcomed [in my opinion] because the husband is a well-paid executive. Those at the other end of the economic spectrum, not so much. I guess it’s just human nature.

In general, I find good acceptance of LDS-member immigrants, not so much for non-LDS. I think this has always been the case, considering the stories from my Greek and Jewish friends whose families have been in Utah for 100+ years. The young German professional man who has lived in the neighborhood for a year has been fawned over greatly since his baptism a couple of months ago.

I’m not sure what to do about it, but I think economic segregation is one major barrier. Very often, the newcomers never intersect our (my) circles. And, Sunday morning still remains one of the most segregated times in US society.

It seems like the old American and English families created some sort of a social “upper class” and rarely included the Danish and Germans in their circles. It’s understandable, of course, due to differences of language and culture, but unfortunate.

It’s also a little amusing to notice a century and a half later, since their children and grandchildren intermarried extensively.