The Church in Panama

In 1954 the first Panamanian Latter-day Saints were baptized. Early missionaries taught in Spanish and, in the San Blas islands, in Guna. By the 1980s there were enough Panamanian missionaries to keep the mission open when political turmoil led to a period without foreign missionaries. The Church grew, and a temple was dedicated in 2008.

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History of the Church in Panama

Although several Latter-day Saints were stationed in the Canal Zone (a United States–occupied region of Panama) in the 1940s, a lasting Latter-day Saint presence was not established in the country until 1953. Beginning in the Canal Zone and working their way into the rest of the country, missionaries made slow progress in their preaching. In 1954, Juan Coleman and his wife, Irene Andreve, were the first local converts baptized in Panama.

In 1964, the Church began formal efforts to gain legal recognition and to preach more broadly in Panama. Early missionary efforts focused on the Guna people of the San Blas Islands (now known as Guna Yala). On February 4, 1966, 12 young men were baptized on Carti Tupile. The first meetinghouse in Panama was dedicated in 1974 in Ustupo. A stake was organized in Panama City in 1979, and selections of the Book of Mormon were published in Guna in 1981.

Amid political turmoil in the 1980s, only Panamanian Saints could be called to serve missions in the country. The local members took up this call with zeal, hearkening diligently unto the Lord (see Isaiah 55:2). Within a year, the work was thriving, and a mission was organized, with headquarters in Panama City. After he dedicated the land in 1991, Elder Howard W. Hunter, who was then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, said, “This is the beginning of a new era.” In 2002, Panamanian Latter-day Saints celebrated the announcement of the Panama City Temple. The temple was dedicated in August 2008.

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