A History of the Church in
Costa Rica
Overview
In the 1940s, several Latter-day Saints who lived and worked in Costa Rica began holding meetings. In 1946, H. Clark and Adrienne Fails were living in San José, where Clark was working at the United States Embassy. Clark contacted the Mexican Mission, asking that missionaries be sent. Clark was soon called as a counselor in the Mexican Mission presidency, and Adrienne was set apart as a missionary. The missionaries soon found more interested people than they had time to teach.
By the 1960s, branches were organized throughout Costa Rica. In 1965, the headquarters of the Central American Mission was moved from Guatemala City to San José. In the decades since, Costa Rican Saints have provided strength and support to members throughout Central America. In 1966, more than 200 young Latter-day Saints from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama met in San José for the first of many regional youth conferences. Over the next decade, seminary and institute classes began across the mission, and members from Costa Rica joined other Central American Saints in making regular trips to temples in Arizona, Mexico, and Guatemala.
As regional conflicts displaced Saints in neighboring countries, the Saints of Costa Rica welcomed them, “endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). The Costa Rican Saints joined in unity toward the work of salvation, looking forward to a day when they would have a temple of their own. On June 4, 2000, that day arrived, with the dedication of the San José Costa Rica Temple.