Dr. Plutino Rhodakanaty

Plutino Constantino Rhodakanaty was born in Greece in 1828.  His father was of a Greek noble family and his mother was Austrian.  Plutino’s father was killed in the Greek war of independence from the Turks.  After his father’s death Plutino’s mother took him to Austria.

After studying in Germany, he became enamored with the idea of socialist reform and in helping the peasant classes of the world rise-up in revolt. He came to Mexico in 1861 to plant the seeds of such a peasant farmer revolt.  Rhodakanaty’s teachings would later form much of the belief system of many revolutionaries including Emilio Zapata. 

Dr. Rhodakanaty obtained an LDS pamphlet named Trozos Selectos del Libro de Mormon translated into English as Selections of the Book of Mormon which contained Book of Mormon passages translated by Meliton G. Trejo and Daniel W. Jones.  Rhodakanaty requested more information.  The Church sent Apostle Moses Thatcher and Meliton Trejo to serve as interpreter.  

Moses Thatcher baptized Dr. Plutino Rhodakanaty and his study group including Silviano Arteaga and Jose Ybaralo. Within a week Rhodakanaty was made Branch President of the first branch in Mexico with Arteaga and Ybaralo serving as his counselors.

It isn’t known how long Plutino Rhodakanaty stayed active in the Church (it isn’t believed to have been long), but it is known that he spent his last years teaching in the small town of Ajusco located in southwest Mexico.  

Dr. Plutino Rhodakanaty died in 1885.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plotino_Rhodakanaty

http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Mexico_and_Central_America,_the_Church_in