The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Paraguay

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Paraguay
; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Paraguay
	(Logo in Guarani)
	The Asunción Paraguay Temple
Area	South America South
Members	98,498 (2022)
Stakes	11
Districts	9
Wards	61
Branches	72
Total Congregations	133
Missions	2
Temples	1 ;
Family History Centers	20

Last updated November 29, 2023

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Paraguay refers to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and its members in Paraguay. The first branch was established in 1948. Since then, the LDS Church in Paraguay has grown to more than 98,000 members in 133 congregations.

History

Membership in Paraguay
Year	Membership
1950	5
1960	132
1970	670
1979	2,984
1989*	11,000
1999	44,632
2009	74,802
2019	96,114
2022	98,498
Membership was published as an estimate. Source: Wendall J. Ashton; Jim M. Wall, Deseret News, various years, Church Almanac Country Information: Paraguay*^[1]

Pre-Paraguayan Missions

The LDS Church was organized in 1830 and is a missionary church. Its first missionary took place a month after their initial organization.^[4] The first example of a foreign LDS Church in 1837 was in Great Britain, missions were sent across the world by 1854.^[4] The Pacific Isles in 1844, France in 1849, Asia and Australia in 1851, and South Africa in 1853.^[4]

Though the Mormon faith was always intended to be spread to the whole world, it was not preached in South America until 1925, though there had been an earlier, unsuccessful mission in 1851.^[4] Due to language barriers and insufficient funds the 1851 missionaries returned home.^[5] Between 1851 and 1925 no other attempts to preach were made.

Paraguayan Missions

The first LDS Church member to visit Paraguay was Frederick S. Williams, in 1939 who was working as a missionary in Argentina.^[6] The first member was baptized in August 1948 and the first official congregation was organised that same year. The LDS Church has grown significantly since then; when the church first appeared in Paraguay there were 5 members, this number has since grown to over 97,000 or roughly 1.4% of the population.^[6]

In 2020, the LDS Church temporarily canceled services and other public gatherings in response to the spread of the coronavirus pandemic which resumed online and/or in person, depending on the congregation.^[7]

Stakes and Districts

Stake	Organized	Mission
Asunción Paraguay Stake	25 Feb 1979	Paraguay Asunción North
Asuncion Paraguay North Stake	22 Nov 1992	Paraguay Asunción North
Boquerón Paraguay District	2 Oct 1981	Paraguay Asunción North
Caacupé Paraguay District	2 Oct 1981	Paraguay Asunción
Caaguazú Paraguay District	9 May 1995	Paraguay Asunción
Capiatá Paraguay Stake	31 Oct 2004	Paraguay Asunción North
Ciudad del Este Paraguay Stake	2 Jun 1996	Paraguay Asunción
Concepción Paraguay District	2 Oct 1981	Paraguay Asunción North
Encarnacion Paraguay District	2 Oct 1981	Paraguay Asunción
Fernando de la Mora Paraguay Stake	1 Jun 1980	Paraguay Asunción
Fernando de la Mora Paraguay South Stake	15 Jun 1997	Paraguay Asunción
La Paloma Paraguay District	4 Apr 1994	Paraguay Asunción North
Limpio Paraguay Stake	27 Feb 2005	Paraguay Asunción North
Luque Paraguay Stake	11 Feb 2001	Paraguay Asunción North
Luque Paraguay South Stake	22 Oct 2006	Paraguay Asunción North
Ñemby Paraguay Stake	24 Jul 2005	Paraguay Asunción
Paraguarí Paraguay District	20 Nov 1994	Paraguay Asunción
Pedro Juan Caballero Paraguay District	3 Mar 1994	Paraguay Asunción North
Pilar Paraguay District	6 Jun 1997	Paraguay Asunción
San Lorenzo Paraguay Stake	20 Nov 1994	Paraguay Asunción

Missions

Mission	Organized
Paraguay Asunción	1 Jul 1977
Paraguay Asunción North	1 Jul 1998

Temples

Asunción Paraguay Temple

	112. Asunción Paraguay Temple Official website News & images		edit
	Location: Announced: Groundbreaking: Dedicated: Rededicated: Size: Style:	Asunción, Paraguay 2 April 2000 by Gordon B. Hinckley 3 February 2001 by Jay E. Jensen 19 May 2002 by Gordon B. Hinckley 3 November 2019 by D. Todd Christofferson 11,906 sq ft (1,106.1 m²) on a 1.13-acre (0.46 ha) site Classic modern, single-spire design - designed by Eduardo Signorelli

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References

1 2 "Facts and Statistics: Statistics by Country: Paraguay", Newsroom, LDS Church, retrieved 31 May 2023
↑ Excludes groups meeting separate from wards and branches.
↑ Category:Paraguay Family History Centers, familysearch.org, retrieved August 18, 2022
1 2 3 4 Flake, Joel A. (1975). The History of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints in South America. Brigham Young University.
↑ Pratt, Parley P. (1950). Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co. pp. 397–401.
1 2 "Statistics and Church Facts | Total Church Membership". newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org. Retrieved 2022-07-10.
↑ Lovett, Ian. "Mormon Church Cancels Services World-Wide Amid Coronavirus Crisis", The Wall Street Journal , 12 March 2020. Retrieved on 3 April 2020.

External links

Newsroom - Paraguay (Spanish)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Paraguay) - Official site (Spanish)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Official site (Guaraní}
ComeUntoChrist.org Latter-day Saints Visitor site
Official Asunción Paraguay Temple page
Asunción Paraguay Temple page

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[newsroom-1] 1 2 "Facts and Statistics: Statistics by Country: Paraguay", Newsroom, LDS Church, retrieved 31 May 2023

[2] Excludes groups meeting separate from wards and branches.

[3] Category:Paraguay Family History Centers, familysearch.org, retrieved August 18, 2022

[:0-4] 1 2 3 4 Flake, Joel A. (1975). The History of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints in South America. Brigham Young University.

[5] Pratt, Parley P. (1950). Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co. pp. 397–401.

[:1-6] 1 2 "Statistics and Church Facts | Total Church Membership". newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org. Retrieved 2022-07-10.

[7] Lovett, Ian. "Mormon Church Cancels Services World-Wide Amid Coronavirus Crisis", The Wall Street Journal , 12 March 2020. Retrieved on 3 April 2020.

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