A History of the Church in
El Salvador
Overview
In June 1949, missionaries from the Mexican Mission rented a hall in San Salvador, where they offered English lessons and showed Church-produced films, neither of which garnered much interest. In the evenings, they taught the gospel to Ana Villaseñor, their widowed landlord. On March 2, 1951, after housing missionaries for several years, Ana converted and was baptized in El Salvador.
For nearly a decade, the gospel spread slowly in El Salvador. This changed in 1960, when more Salvadoran Saints began being called as leaders and missionaries. Under local direction, gospel preaching accelerated. Primary, seminary, and institute classes were organized to expand gospel learning among children and youth. Beginning in 1965, Salvadoran Saints began making the long journey to the temples in Arizona and later in Mexico City to participate in sacred ordinances. On June 3, 1973, the first stake in El Salvador was organized in San Salvador; by 1980, three more stakes had been organized.
In 1980, civil war swept across El Salvador. All North American missionaries were evacuated, and the mission closed. In 1984, the mission reopened with entirely local leadership and missionaries. The mission was so successful that, despite the war, six new stakes were organized throughout El Salvador before the conflict ended in 1992. Salvadoran Saints have sought the Lord with faith and diligence, and He has heard them (see Psalm 34:4). “We pray for Thy blessings to rest upon … El Salvador,” President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency said on August 21, 2011, during the dedication of the San Salvador El Salvador Temple, “May peace reign in the land.”