Ryan Reeder
Prof. Rod Bohac
History 200
December 4, 1999
While no definitive work on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has come forth, there have been several LDS writers that have at least included Latin America in their
interests. An analysis of these follows.
Those directly involved in Latin American LDS history:
Daniel Webster Jones (incidentally my great-great-great grandfather) wrote Forty Years Among the Indians: A True Yet Thrilling Account of the Author's Experiences Among the Natives (1890). This book, essentially autobiographical in nature, describes Daniel Jones' experiences between 1850 and 1890. He includes a relation of his involvement with the original translation of The Book of Mormon into Spanish, and as a member of the first party of missionaries into Mexico.
Rey L. Pratt was an early leader of the Church in Mexico. As a mission president, he was greatly beloved by the Mexican Saints. Along with Elder Melvin J. Ballard and Rulon G. Wells, he was a member of the party that dedicated South America for the preaching of the gospel in 1925. He wrote numerous tracts in Spanish on the Church.
Frederick S. Williams was an early missionary and mission president in South America. He served in the South American mission from 1925-1929, and returned as the second president of the Argentine Mission (1938-1942) and the first president of the Uruguay Mission (1947-1951). He was also instrumental in the beginnings of the Church in Peru. In From Acorn to Oak Tree: A Personal History of the Establishment and First Quarter Development of the South American Missions (1987), he delivers his memoirs about his service in Latin America.
Later Scholars of Latin American History
F. LaMond Tullis was a chairman of the Department of Government at Brigham Young University. He has written several articles for independent Mormon publications, such as Dialogue. He also edited Mormonism: A Faith for All Cultures (1978), which includes sections on Latin America. His articles reflect a realistic approach to LDS church growth in Latin America, acknowledging cultural and socioeconomic factors.
David Knowlton was an assistant professor of anthropology at BYU. He has also written articles for magazines such as Sunstone and Dialogue. He has particularly emphasized Bolivia in his writings. While publishing extensively between 1987 and 1992, he has since ceased to publish and is no longer affiliated with BYU.
Mark L. Grover is a Latin American Studies Bibliographer at the Harold B. Lee Library. He has published articles and books on the social and religious history of Latin America, especially Brazil. He also compiled a periodical index of the Church in Latin America through 1976.
Scholars of International Church History
Bruce A. Van Orden has taught classes on the International Church at Brigham Young University. He is the editor of Pioneers in Every Land (1997) prepared for the 1997 pioneer sesquicentennial. It is a look at the stories of several individuals who were early members of the church in their respective countries.
Richard O. Cowan has studied the international growth of the church and the proliferation of temples. He wrote the articles on Latin America for The International Church (1982).
Amateur LDS Historian
David R. Crockett is the cofounder of LDSworld-Gems at http://www.ldsworld.com/. He has written numerous articles and collected several stories concerning the history of the Church in Latin America and the world.
My proposed topic is to analyze the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Andean nations of Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. I want to describe the major events that have transpired during the growth of the Church in these nations. I would like to look at the development of stakes, missions, and temples in these nations, as well as the personal histories of a few influential members from the Andes.
As stated earlier, there has been no definitive work on the church in these areas. I would like to fill that void, using this research paper as an initial springboard effort. The sources I will analyze will include Church publications, such as the Ensign, and the Church News. Secondary sources may also be helpful to understand the background of the area and for overviews of Latin American LDS history.
The Church News: News of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah, 1954-1999.
Crockett, David R. "Worldwide Saints." http://www.ldsworld.com/.
Economist, The "Latter-day saints and martyrs" November 16, 1991, 50.
The Ensign of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah, 1971-1999.
Grover, Mark L. The Mormon Church in Latin America: A Periodical Index (1830-1976). Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University: Provo, Utah, 1977.
Jones, Daniel Webster. Forty Years Among the Indians: A True Yet Thrilling Account of the Author's Experiences Among the Natives. Juvenile Instructor Press: Salt Lake City, Utah, 1890.
Knowlton, David. "Thoughts on Mormonism in Latin America" Dialogue 25 no. 2 (Summer 1992) 41-53.
Moss, James R. et. al. The International Church. Brigham Young University Publications: Provo, Utah, 1982.
Tullis, F. Lamond. Mormonism: A Faith for All Cultures. Brigham Young University Press: Provo, Utah, 1978.
_______, "The Church Moves Outside the United States: Some Observations From Latin America." Dialogue 13 no. 1 (Spring 1980) 63-73.
______, "Three Myths About Mormons in Latin America." Dialogue 7 no. 1 (Spring 1972) 79-87.
Van Orden, Bruce A. et. al. Pioneers in Every Land. Bookcraft: Salt Lake City, Utah, 1997.
Williams, Frederick S. and Frederick G. Williams. From Acorn to Oak Tree: A Personal History of the Establishment and First Quarter Development of the South American Missions. Et cetera, Et cetera Graphics: Fullerton, California, 1987.