Mission Facts
- Created with the name The Andes Mission November 1, 1959
- Changed to The Andes North Mission 1966
- Changed to The Peru-Ecuador Mission June 10, 1970
- Changed to The Peru Mission August 1, 1970
- Changed name to The Peru Andes Mission February 1971
- Changed name to The Andes Peru Mission April 1971
- Changed to The Peru Lima Mission 20 June 1974
- Changed to The Peru Lima South Mission January 1, 1977
About Peru and and a Brief history of the Church in Peru
Peru is a country on the Pacific cost of the central part of South America.
It is a constitutional republic. The capital city is Lima. It is a country
with a large indiginous population. In addition to Spanish, Quechua and Aymara
are also spoken.
Geographically Peru consists of three regions, (1) the coast, (2) the mountains,
and (3) the jungle. The coast is one of the driest deserts of the world, where
it almost never rains. It is very common for the houses on the coast to be
without a roof over the kitchen or the unfinished floors. The mountains is the
region East of the coast, and are part of the Andes mountain range. They are
so high there is snowfall there in spite of the fact that they are so close
to the Equator. The jungle is the Eastern region of Peru. It is the beginning
of the Amazon river.
Peru has a very rich history. Before the arrival of the Spanish many great
civilizations florished. The most famous of these is the Incan civilization.
The center of the Inca civilation was in Cuzco in the mountains of Peru. The
civilization extended from Ecuador to Argentina. Today the famous ruins of
Macchu Picchu is a good example of the greatness of the Incan empire.
Today about 90% of the population are Roman Catholics. The first branch of
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized on July 8, 1956
Fredrick S. Williams and his family moved there and worked with the Church
to establish the branch. It was organized by Elder Henry D. Moyle, member
of the Quorum of the Twelve. Donald L. Hokanson and Shirrel M. Plowman
arrived August 1956, and began to proselyte. The first branch conference
was held February 24, 1957 with 22 members and 22 investigators. In
November of 1959 the Andes Mission was created with 5 branches and 300
members.
The Church continued growing, and the first stake was created in Lima on
February 22, 1970 with 10,771 members. The president was Roberto Vidal.
The Lima Temple was announced in 1981, and finished and dedicated the 10th
to the 12th of January 1986. By the end of 1995 there were 279,000 members,
63 stakes, 393 wards, 368 branches, and 7 missions
Bibliography:
Deseret News 1997-1998 Church Almanac
Extended History of the Church in Peru
The following history is currently only in English. It was compiled
by former mission president Dale H Christensen.
Click here to read the history (Requires
Adobe Acrobat Reader.)
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