A History of the Church in
Panama
Overview
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 on Ustupo Island, 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. “This is the beginning of a new era,” Elder Howard W. Hunter of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said in 1991 after he dedicated the land. In 2002, Panamanian Latter-day Saints celebrating the announcement of the Panama City Temple. The temple was dedicated in August 2008.