Definition and Introduction
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) was first officially established in Chile in 1956 when the first congregation opened. Chile has numbered among Latin American countries that have experienced the most rapid LDS growth during the past half century. However, the Church in Chile has experienced extremely low member activity rates and leadership development challenges for decades. Despite these challenges, the Church in Chile numbers among the most significant in terms of numerical membership.
History
Apostle Parley P. Pratt, his wife, and missionary Rufus Allen arrived in Valparaiso, Chile, in November 1851. The missionaries did not speak Spanish and were unable to communicate with the local people. No public meetings were held, and Pratt did not make official contact with the government for permission to establish the Church. Frustrated with their inability to communicate with the local people and without financial means to continue...
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Martinich, M.L. (2019). Mormonism in Chile. In: Gooren, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Latin American Religions. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08956-0_416-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08956-0_416-1
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