This Christmas Day marks exactly 100 years since the continent of South America was dedicated for the preaching of the gospel. Today, with millions of members and dozens of temples from Colombia to Tierra del Fuego, it is easy to view this growth as inevitable. But in 1925, when three General Authorities arrived in Buenos Aires to open the mission, success was anything but guaranteed. In fact, their efforts were shadowed by a spectacular failure 70 years prior and initially hampered by a theological assumption that they were looking for the “wrong” kind of people. In a fascinating new interview over at the Latter-day Saint history blog, From the Desk, historian Mark L. Grover (author of Planting the Acorn) unpacks this rocky beginning, explaining how a mission that started with a focus on German immigrants eventually pivoted to become the Latin American powerhouse we know today.
When Did Latter-day Saints Establish the Church in South America?
The False Start
Grover begins by contrasting the 1925 success with Parley P. Pratt’s disastrous attempt to open a mission in Chile in 1851. That mission lasted only four months and failed for three concrete reasons:
-
The Law: The Chilean constitution legally prohibited any non-Catholic proselytizing.
-
The Language: Pratt and his companion never mastered Spanish well enough to teach.
-
The Money: They simply ran out of funds.
By 1925, the legal restrictions had lifted, but the other challenges—language and cultural adaptation—remained.
The “German” Misunderstanding
One of the most surprising details Grover highlights is the initial strategy of the 1925 mission. Influenced by 19th-century ideas about the “gathering of Israel,” Church leaders believed the “blood of Ephraim” was concentrated in northern Europe. Consequently, when Melvin J. Ballard and his companions arrived in Argentina, they didn’t prioritize the local Spanish or Italian populations.
Influenced by long-standing European religious and cultural assumptions, most believed that these descendants were not typically found among the populations of southern Europe…
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.
This strategy only shifted due to a mix of reality and “divine accident.” The German immigrants were scattered and hard to find. More importantly, Elder Rulon J. Wells—the only German speaker among the leadership—fell ill and had to return to Utah. This left Rey L. Pratt (Parley’s grandson and a fluent Spanish speaker who had led the Mexican mission for many years) to lead the work, forcing a pivot to the Spanish-speaking population that was actually receptive.
The Acorn Prophecy
The interview culminates with the context of Melvin J. Ballard’s famous “Acorn Prophecy,” delivered on July 4, 1926, just before he returned home. It wasn’t a statement of immediate victory, but a plea for patience in the face of slow results.
“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.”
Grover notes that this prophecy has been vindicated not by the German immigrants they originally sought, but by the “wonderful, faithful” Latin American people who have made the Church in South America “one of the strongest in the Church.”
For more on this pivotal history—including the full text of the 1925 dedicatory prayer of South America—head on over to the Latter-day Saint history blog, From the Desk, to read the full interview with Mark Grover.
Leave a Reply