The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints firmly established itself in South America in 1925, when three General Authorities arrived in Buenos Aires to open the South American Mission. The continent was dedicated for the preaching of the gospel by Elder Melvin J. Ballard on Christmas Day in 1925. Early subsequent efforts focused on German immigrants, but missionaries soon discovered that Spanish- and Italian-speaking communities were more receptive. Visionary leaders like David O. McKay and Reinhold Stoof laid the foundations that would later support thriving congregations in Argentina and Brazil. In this interview, historian Mark Grover explores the challenges and milestones in South America that have contributed to today’s global Mormonism.
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Background and Context of the Church in South America
Why is 2025 a significant anniversary for the Church in South America?
It’s now been 100 years since several momentous events cemented the Latter-day Saint faith in South America.
On December 6, 1925, three General Authority missionaries arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to begin missionary work in South America. This was the first such effort since Apostle Parley P. Pratt’s unsuccessful mission to Chile in 1851–1852.
The most significant event of their seven-month mission occurred on Christmas Day (December 25), when the continent of South America was dedicated for the preaching of the gospel. From that moment forward, the Church was established in South America and would never again leave the region.
What challenges did Parley P. Pratt experience when he attempted missionary work in Chile?
Parley P. Pratt faced almost insurmountable challenges, including legal, language, and financial obstacle to missionary work in Chile.
1. Proselytizing was prohibited
The Chilean constitution included a clause that prohibited proselytizing by any church other than the Catholic Church. This restriction also forbade the distribution of any religious literature, including Bibles.
2. Pratt wasn’t fluent in Spanish
Neither Elder Pratt nor his missionary companion mastered Spanish well enough to communicate effectively, despite diligent study. Pratt never became sufficiently proficient to teach.
3. The missionaries ran out of money
After four months, they exhausted their funds and were forced to return to Utah.
What had changed by 1925 to make establishing a mission viable in South America?
By 1925, most South American countries had removed constitutional restrictions on non-Catholic religious activity.
A vibrant Protestant missionary presence had also emerged in several nations, having been active for many years.
Finally, unlike in 1851, the Church of Jesus Christ now had a significant number of Spanish-speaking members—largely thanks to the Latter-day Saint colonies in northern Mexico.
Establishing the Church in Argentina
Who established the South American Mission in 1925?
Three General Authorities were called to open the mission—a remarkable commitment—representing 14% of the Church’s general leadership at the time:
- The group was led by Apostle Melvin J. Ballard, who was 51 years old and spoke only English.
- Ballard was accompanied by two members of the First Quorum of the Seventy: Rulon J. Wells, a 71-year-old former president of the German Mission, and Rey L. Pratt, a 47-year-old man then serving as president of the Mexican Mission.
How did Heber J. Grant compare their mission to South America with his mission to Japan?
The two missions differed significantly, mainly because President Heber J. Grant did not permit serious proselyting in Japan until at least some missionaries could speak Japanese.
In South America, however, Elder Pratt already spoke Spanish, allowing the missionaries to begin proselyting immediately.
Although President Grant never stated it openly, it seems likely that the limited success in Japan left him with modest expectations for the South American Mission.
What was Elder Melvin J. Ballard’s prophecy about the Church in South America?
Melvin J. Ballard foresaw slow growth at first, followed by eventual expansion. Once a firm foundation had been established, he predicted increases in baptisms, the division of missions, and the region’s growing influence on the Church as a whole.
He gave no indication of how long this process would take. To describe South America’s future role, he used the word “power,” suggesting that its influence within the Church would one day be significant.
Elder Ballard illustrated this progression by comparing the rapid but short-lived bloom of a sunflower with the slow, steady development of an acorn/oak: small at first, but eventually growing into a strong oak tree capable of withstanding natural adversities.
Early Latter-day Saint Proselyting in South America
Why did missionary work in South America initially focus on German immigrants?
At the time, Church doctrine emphasized that the initial phase of the gathering of Israel would involve identifying literal descendants of Israel among what the Book of Mormon referred to as the “Gentile nations.”
Many leaders believed that the most prominent tribe of Israel, Ephraim, was found chiefly among the population of Great Britain and northern Europe.
Influenced by long-standing European religious and cultural assumptions, most believed that these descendants were not typically found among the populations of southern Europe, particularly Spain and Portugal.
Because of this semi-doctrinal view, the arrival of two German families in Buenos Aires was seen as providing a natural foundation for the Church’s growth among German-speaking immigrants in South America.
However, once the missionaries arrived in Argentina, this assumption faded as they discovered that their greatest success came not among northern European immigrants, but among those from southern Europe, especially Italy and Spain.
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What led to a change in emphasis towards the Hispanophone population in Argentina?
A key leader returned home due to illness
The most significant setback was the illness and return to Utah of Elder Rulon J. Wells, the only German-speaking missionary. As the sole elder capable of teaching the German immigrant population, his sickness sharply limited the Church’s prospects among that group.
It was hard to find German immigrants
A major challenge from the outset was the dispersed nature of German immigrants: they did not settle in concentrated communities but lived intermingled with other immigrant groups.
As a result, proselyting in German proved largely ineffective simply because the missionaries had difficulty locating Germans.
Preaching to German immigrants strained resources largely devoted to Spanish-speaking residents
Compounding this challenge, Elder Rey L. Pratt felt strongly that their efforts should focus on the Spanish-speaking population and was openly resistant to the idea of directing the mission toward Germans in a predominantly Spanish-speaking country.
What challenges did a shortage of missionaries in the South American Mission cause?
The shortage of Latter-day Saint missionaries severely hindered proselyting efforts. At one point, the lone missionary in Brazil was left without a companion for several months.
With so few missionaries, they had to divide their time between proselyting and maintaining the congregations, leaving far less opportunity for actual teaching.
Reinhold Stoof’s Role in Establishing the Church in South America
How did Reinhold Stoof influence the Church’s formation in South America?
Reinhold Stoof was a German convert who joined the Church after beginning his career as a schoolteacher. His formative years were shaped by extensive service in the German army, his experiences during World War I, and several months spent in a British prisoner-of-war camp.
He later served for several years as a Latter-day Saint missionary in Germany before immigrating to Utah.
He was intensely dedicated to the Church.
Because of his strong educational background and disciplined character, many drew comparisons between Reinhold Stoof and Karl G. Maeser, the early president of Brigham Young University.
Stoof married later in life and was still a newlywed when he was called to serve as president of the South American Mission. He was intensely dedicated to the Church and known as a strict but principled mission president.
Over time, he developed a deep love for South America. His wife, Ella, was equally extraordinary in her devotion and service.
How did B. H. Roberts influence Stoof’s approach to missionary work?
Since there was no official plan or structure for conducting missionary work, the missionaries were trained by President Stoof. He used mission literature prepared by Elder B. H. Roberts for his work in New England.
However, Stoof’s approach to missionary work appears to have been shaped more by his personal experiences in Germany than by Roberts’s more academic approach.
Why did Stoof consider his decision to open missionary efforts in Brazil “the most important step” of his mission?
Reinhold Stoof was particularly fond of Brazil, in part because of the large German-speaking immigrant population in the country’s southern region, which made it a dynamic and promising area for missionary work.
Stoof seems to have had a visionary understanding of the country’s future importance to the Church. Missionary efforts in Brazil proved highly successful, often matching or even surpassing those in Argentina.
He had hoped to remain in Brazil after his mission, but returned to the United States because he believed he was directed to do so by the First Presidency.
The Church in South America: After the South American Mission
What are some of the key events in the growth of the Church in South America since 1935?
Both Argentina and Brazil faced similar challenges due to the Great Depression, World War II, and the slow pace of Church growth. In Brazil, a key milestone occurred in 1939 with the shift from German to Portuguese as the primary language of missionary work.
The arrival of Elder A. Theodore Tuttle in 1961, who lived in Uruguay to oversee the South American missions, played a crucial role in the maturation of the Church, particularly in Argentina and Brazil.
Brazil, slightly ahead in leadership development and membership growth, became the site of the first stake and the first temple in South America.
The 1978 revelation on the priesthood had a profound impact on Brazil, shaping the Church’s trajectory in the country, where a significant portion of the population is of mixed heritage.
Over time, Brazil has exerted increasing influence on the Church worldwide, including being the home of the first Latin American Apostle, Elder Ulysses Soares.
How did the global vision of David O. McKay change the Church in South America?
I believe that McKay’s vision was the most important event in the history of the Church in the 20th century. It marked a turning point when the Church shifted from looking inward to anticipating the remarkable growth that would follow.
It was now seen as an integral and vital part of the Church.
That vision helped transform the Church into a truly global religion.
Essentially, the Church demonstrated a willingness to invest in South America on a scale it had never done before. South America was no longer seen merely as a distant mission field but as an integral and vital part of the Church.
What impact did A. Theodore Tuttle have on the Church in South America?
Elder Tuttle was a young member of the Quorum of the Seventy who shared President McKay’s vision for the Church’s potential in South America.
His experiences on the continent paved the way for the Church’s later decentralization through the establishment of Area Presidencies. Beloved by both missionaries and members, Elder Tuttle earned widespread respect and admiration, even though he never fully mastered Spanish or Portuguese.
Final Reflections About the Church’s 1925 Beginnings in South America
What do you hope people take away from Planting the Acorn?
The restored Church of Jesus Christ is a worldwide Church, and our history should reflect that reality.
I hope this book inspires members to recognize the faith, dedication, and devotion of South American members to Jesus Christ, qualities that are equal to—and in many cases stronger than—those found in other parts of the world.
In light of contemporary political debates, I also hope the book encourages a greater appreciation for the value and goodness of Latin Americans. They are wonderful, faithful people who deserve our respect, admiration, and love.
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About the Scholar
Mark L. Grover is a historian and librarian specializing in Latin American studies, with a focus on the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in South America. He is the author of Planting the Acorn: The South American Mission and has written extensively on missionary work, immigrant communities, and early Church growth in Brazil and Argentina. Grover holds a Ph.D. in Brazilian history from Indiana University and has served as the Latin American Studies librarian at Brigham Young University. Drawing on both his research and experience as a missionary in Brazil, he provides insight into the Church’s early expansion and lasting impact in South America.
Further Reading
Explore more From the Desk articles about Latter-day Saints in South America:
- Global Mormonism: Latter-day Saints Around the World
- How Did David O. McKay Transform the Church Into a Global Faith?
- Who Was Eduardo Balderas?
- How Was the Book of Mormon Translated Into Portuguese?
- What Inspires Jorge Cocco’s Art?
Latter-day Saint History in South America
Read what top scholars and publishers from a variety of viewpoints say about Latter-day Saint history in South America:
- Planting the Acorn: The South American Mission (BYU Religious Studies Center and Deseret Book)
- Prophecy and Patience: 100 Years of the Church in South America (December 2025 Liahona)
- A Prayer and a Prophecy: A Look at Church Growth in South America Over 100 Years (Church News)
- The Church in South America (Worldwide Facts and Statistics)
- Planting the Acorn: A Review (Times and Seasons)
- The Maturing of the Oak: The Dynamics of Latter-day Saint Growth in Latin America (Dialogue)
- A Land of Promise and Prophecy: Elder A. Theodore Tuttle in South America, 1960–1965 (BYU Religious Studies Center)
- Nestor Curbelo and Erin Jennings, The History of the Mormons in Argentina (Greg Kofford Books)
Melvin J. Ballard’s Prophecy About Latter-day Saint History in South America
The work of the Lord will grow slowly for a time here just as an oak grows slowly from an acorn. It will not shoot up in a day as does the sunflower that grows quickly and then dies. But thousands will join the Church here. It will be divided into more than one mission and will be one of the strongest in the Church. The work here is the smallest that it will ever be. The day will come when the Lamanites in this land will be given a chance. The South American Mission will be a power in the Church.
Vernon Sharp, diary, July 4, 1926
Dedicatory Prayer for South America
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. In the name of Jesus Christ, Thy well-beloved Son, we Thy servants approach Thee on this beautiful Christmas morning in this secluded spot in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, South America, in a land far distant from our mountain home but in a country which Thou hast called a part of the land of Zion.
We are very thankful for our safe arrival after a voyage of twenty-one days on the seas without a moment’s sickness. We do acknowledge that Thou didst temper the elements for our good and that Thy protecting care has been over us in our travels, both upon the land and the sea, and for health and strength to labor for Thee and Thy cause.
We are grateful that we have been chosen by Thy servant, President Heber J. Grant, to come to this great land of South America to unlock the door for the preaching of the gospel to all the peoples of the South American nations, to search out the blood of Israel that has been sifted among the Gentile nations, many of whom, influenced by the spirit of gathering, have assembled in this land.
Put Thy Spirit into their hearts, that they may receive us as true messengers sent of God for their salvation. Help us to labor for them with the same Spirit in us He had who loved men so that He died for them, that we may effectually “call, persuade, and invite” men to come unto Christ.
We thank Thee for the few who have received us and for those we have had the joy of taking into the waters of baptism in this land. May they be the first fruits of a glorious harvest.
We pray that we may have the opportunity to present to the people the message which Thou hast sent us to deliver, namely that angels, sent by Thee, have visited the earth in this dispensation, bringing to man again the everlasting gospel; that John the Baptist did visit the Prophet Joseph Smith, upon who he conferred the authority to baptize;
That Peter, James, and John did ordain him an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ and endow him with the keys of the holy priesthood with authority to baptize with fire and the Holy Ghost and to organize the Church of Jesus Christ again in the earth;
And that Moroni, Thine ancient prophet of the Americas, did visit Joseph Smith and deliver into his hands the plates containing a history of the early inhabitants of this land, and that by Thy power Joseph Smith did translate the characters on the plates, from which he obtained the Book of Mormon;
And that he was visited by Thee and Thy Beloved Son, who committed into Joseph’s hands a great and new gospel dispensation for all flesh.
We are thankful that we are the bearers of these glad tidings to the peoples of the South American nations.
And we also pray that we may see the beginning of the fulfillment of Thy promises, contained in the Book of Mormon to the Indians of this land who are descendants of Lehi, millions of whom reside in this country, who have long been downtrodden and borne many afflictions and suffered because of sin and transgression, even as the prophets of the Book of Mormon did foretell. But Thou didst inspire those prophets to promise their descendants that Thou wouldst bring forth in the latter day the records of the fathers, and that when these records were presented to their children they would begin to believe, and when they would do this Thy favor would return unto them. And then Thou wouldst remember the promise made to their fathers that if their descendants would repent and receive the gospel, they would begin to be prospered and blessed on the land and would again become a white and delightsome people.
O Father, let Thy Spirit work upon them and manifest the truth of these things unto them, as we and Thy servants who shall follow us shall bear witness of Thy precious promises unto this branch of the house of Israel.
Father, bless Thy Church. In all the earth, continue to guide those whom Thou hast called to lead it with wisdom and power to direct it forward to fulfill its great mission in the earth.
Sustain Thy servants who labor as missionaries in all parts of the world that they may have the opportunity and power to warn all men that the hour of judgment approaches and that Thou hast offered, through the gospel, a means of escape for the calamities that shall come upon all flesh unless they repent.
Remember in mercy the “hope of Israel,” the youth of Thy Church, who are to bear the responsibilities of the future, that they may keep themselves clean and undefiled from the sins of the world, that they may be found worthy of their inheritance and come to their glorious destiny. Bless those who are their shepherds, the watchmen upon the towers of Zion, that they may guard well the flock and be able to feed with the bread of life the sheep and the lambs.
We present for Thy kind consideration the members of our own families, from whom we are separated, who are now, and have in times past sacrificed much, that we may carry the gospel to the children of men. May health and life attend each one, and the good cheer Thy Spirit brings be with them, and above all, keep them from sin and bless them with faith in Thee and Thy gospel
Bless the presidents, governors, and leading officials of these American countries that they may kindly receive us and give us permission to open the doors of salvation to the peoples of these lands. May they be blessed in administering the affairs of their several offices that great good may come unto the people, that peace may be upon these nations that Thou hast made free through Thy blessings upon the valiant liberators of these lands, that righteousness may obtain and full liberty for the preaching of Thy gospel prevail. Stay the power of evil that it shall not triumph over Thy work, but that all Thine enemies shall be subdued and Thy truth be triumphant.
And now, O Father, by authority of the blessing and appointment of Thy servant, the President of the Church, and by the authority of the Holy Apostleship, which I hold, I do turn the key, unlock, and open the door for the preaching of the gospel in all these South American nations and do rebuke and command to be stayed every power that would oppose the preaching of the gospel in these lands. And we do bless and dedicate these nations and this land for the preaching of the gospel. And we do all this that salvation may come to all men and that Thy name may be honored and glorified in this part of the land of Zion.
Help us to bring men to Thee and Thy Son and speed the day when He shall come to rule as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And for all Thy blessings, which shall bring success to our labors, we shall ascribe honor and power and glory to Thee forever and ever, amen.
Prayer by Elder Melvin J. Ballard, December 25, 1925; capitalization and punctuation modernized.
