Montevideo, Uruguay, Pioneers Recall Church’s Growth from 1950s Baptisms to Today’s 130 Congregations

Laura Pujado was born into a family whose faith was shaped by the first members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Uruguay. Her aunt, Gladys Cristobal, was baptized in July 1950, and her mother, Margarita Cristobal, was baptized that December. Pujado said her mother was already serving in Primary before her baptism. “We didn’t have leaders yet,” Pujado said. “I think that’s why my mother and my aunt got that sense of responsibility — they had to do something.”

Pujado said such family stories are often shared, and that she and others have spent their lives repeating what their mothers did. “Maybe you inherit that faith,” she said. She remembers her mother’s perseverance and love and said, “I am now in that place. I need to be better because my mother was great.” Her account reflects a pattern of passing on faith across generations (Psalm 78:4).

The Church’s presence in South America traces back to late 1925, when Elder Melvin J. Ballard, an early 20th-century Apostle, offered a prayer in Buenos Aires, Argentina, dedicating the continent for the preaching of the gospel. The following year, he prophesied that the Church would grow “as an oak grows slowly from an acorn.” Missionaries traveled to Montevideo in 1927, but growth became more substantial after the Uruguay Mission was created in 1947. The government granted legal recognition to the Church in 1952.

Pujado described church life in the 1950s, when a branch might meet in someone’s home at 10 a.m. and members would then take a bus to another branch to be with more people. Young adults moved from one meeting to another throughout the day. Her parents later met through this network. Her father, Carlos Pujado, was baptized in 1958 and was one of the first missionaries from Uruguay to serve.

According to the latest statistics listed on ChurchofJesusChrist.org, the Church has almost 110,000 members in Uruguay, meeting in 130 congregations, with two missions. The Montevideo Uruguay Temple was dedicated in 2001. The Rivera Uruguay Temple was announced during the April 2025 general conference.

One General Authority Seventy currently serves from Uruguay: Elder Eduardo Gavarret, the second counselor in the South America South Area presidency. Two others are emeritus: Elder Francisco J. Viñas and Elder Walter F. González. González told the Church News that the Church’s growth in South America is evidence that it “is a land of believers. … Our people are very open to the gospel message.”

The Church’s global histories for Uruguay report that after the Uruguay Mission was created in 1947, baptisms happened quickly, and 23 branches were organized across the country within four years. During the 1960s, local members were called to leadership positions as the Church matured in the country. The Montevideo Uruguay Stake was organized in 1967, and Uruguay now has 18 stakes and two districts.

Victor Solari, asked about the Church’s growth in Uruguay, said, “It’s wonderful. It’s a miracle.” The first meeting of the Church in his city, Colonia Suiza, was held on Aug. 23, 1959. His father, also named Victor Solari, attended that meeting, was the first person baptized in the city, and later became the first branch president there.

When Solari was baptized as a child, there were only 12 temples worldwide, all far from his home, and he did not expect to attend one. Today, South America has 29 dedicated temples, nine under construction and 23 in various stages of planning and design, for a total of 61 on the continent. The Church’s 207th temple is scheduled to be dedicated on Sunday, June 15, in Chile.

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