Jan. 1, 2009: Est. population, 14,573,000; Members, 185,663; Stakes, 33; Wards, 212; Branches, 82; Missions, 3; Districts, 10; Temples, 1; Percent LDS, 1.3, or one in 78; South America North Area.
Located on the equator on the Pacific Coast side of South America, the Republic of Ecuador is divided into three zones by two ranges of Andes mountains. Its population speaks Spanish or Quechua.
A telephone call from Elder Spencer W. Kimball, then of the Quorum of the Twelve, to President J. Averil Jesperson of the Andes Mission in Lima, Peru, on 22 September 1965, directed the beginning of missionary work in Ecuador. Four missionaries, Craig Carpenter, Bryant R. Gold, Joel Lindon Robinson, and Paul O. Allen, were sent to Quito, and on 9 October, Elder Kimball visited the city. Less than a month after Elder Kimball's visit, nine people were baptized on 31 October 1965 in Alangasi de la Merced, located about 50 miles southeast of Quito.
Missionary work progressed rapidly. In the city of Guayaquil missionary work began on 28 January 1966. When the Ecuador Mission, headquartered in Quito, was created on 1 August 1970, membership was 1,000. Ecuador's first stake was organized in Guayaquil 4 June 1978 under the leadership of President Lorenzo Garaycoa. A second mission in the country was organized in Guayaquil on 1 July 1978. Some early missionary efforts were conducted among the Otavalo Indians near Quito, among whom the first all-Lamanite stake in South America was organized in 1981. In 1989, the headquarters for the South America North Area was moved from Lima, Peru, to Quito, Ecuador.
Membership in 1999 approached 150,000 in 32 stakes.
Although the construction of a temple for Guayaquil was announced in March 1982, it was not finished and dedicated until 1 August 1999. On 11 August 1997, President Gordon B. Hinckley became the first Church President to visit Ecuador. He toured the temple under construction and in two meetings, described to 15,000 Ecuadoran Church members how he had been impressed to find the site several years earlier. At a regional conference on 31 July 1999 President Hinckley spoke to nearly 22,000 members and told them, in contemplation of the temple dedication the following day, "This is a day to be remembered by Latter-day Saints for many years to come."
In 2002, membership reached 156,988, and 161,396 in 2003.
Sources: Andes Mission manuscript history and historical reports, Church Archives; Donald Q. Cannon and Richard O. Cowan, Unto Every Nation: Gospel Light Reaches Every Land, 2003; "Ecuador," Ensign, February 1977; "Language No Barrier," Church News, 11 November 1978; Gerry Avant, "Tip Your Panama Hat, This is Ecuador," Church News, 14 February 1981; "Ecuador's First Stake Formed in Guayaquil," Church News, 8 July 1978; Elayne Wells, "In the Andes, Lehi's Children Grow Strong in the Gospel," Church News, 17 February 1990; "Temples in Latin America," Church News, 25 June1994, "Ecuador Receives 1st Visit from a President of Church," Church News, 23 August 1997; "'A Wondrous Day' at Dedication of Guayaquil Temple," Church News, 7 August 1999; John L. Hart, "Burst of Zeal Opens Work in Ecuador," Church News, 6 November 1999.
Stakes — 34
(Listed alphabetically as of Oct. 1, 2009.)
No. / Name / Organized / First President
South America North Area
2144 / Ambato Ecuador / 10 Dec 1995 / Jorge Humberto Verde
2679 / Babahoyo Ecuador / 15 May 2005 / Byron W. Manzo Castillo
2414 / Cuenca Ecuador / 23 Nov 1997 / Wilson Arcesio Pulla Quito
1882 / Duran Ecuador North / 31 May 1992 / Mark Roy Kent
1883 / Duran Ecuador South / 31 May 1992 / Jimmy Winston Olvera
2110 / Esmeraldas Ecuador / 22 Oct 1995 / Jorge Miguel Arroyo Jacombe
2162 / Guayaquil Ecuador Alborada / 11 Feb 1996 / Henry Alejandro Mora
1808 / Guayaquil Ecuador Centenario / 18 Aug 1991 / Luis Guillermo Granja G.
1809 / Guayaquil Ecuador East / 18 Aug 1991 / Jimmy Winston Olvera C.
2163 / Guayaquil Ecuador El Cisne / 11 Feb 1996 / Melvin Merchan
939 / *Guayaquil Ecuador El Salado / 11 Feb 1996
*Guayaquil Ecuador West / 22 Mar 1987
Guayaquil Ecuador / 4 Jun 1978 / Lorenzo Garaycoa
1716a / *Guayaquil Ecuador
Garcia Moreno / 11 Feb 1996
Guayaquil Ecuador Central / 30 Apr 1989 / Gonzalo Eduardo Alvarado R.
1916 / Guayaquil Ecuador Huancavilca / 6 Dec 1992 / Jose Eladio Paredes Garcia
2773 / Guayaquil Ecuador La Pradera / 1 Sep 2007 / Jorge Amaro Garcia Tapia
2370 / Guayaquil Ecuador Pascuales / 8 Jun 1997 / Luis Fernando Ramirez C.
1117 / *Guayaquil Ecuador Prosperina / 11 Feb 1996
Guayaquil Ecuador North / 22 Mar 1987
Guayaquil Ecuador
Febres Cordero / 16 Mar 1980 / Douglas Alarcon Arboleda
2394 / Guayaquil Ecuador Puerto Liza / 7 Sep 1997 / Luis E. Romo Martinez
1006 / *Guayaquil Ecuador South / 22 Mar 1987
Guayaquil Ecuador
Centenario / 4 Mar 1979 / Vincente de la Cuadra S
2641 / Libertad Ecuador / 13 June 2004 / Washington Manuel Cedeno Guale
2831 / Los Chillos Ecuador / 31 May 2009 / Julio Anibal Angulo De la Cruz
1853 / Machala Ecuador 22 Mar 1992 Manuel Andres Galan Pereira
2173 / Manta Ecuador / 25 Feb 1996 / Wilson Marino Chinga H.
1796 / Milagro Ecuador / 5 May 1996 / Alberto W. Guillen Fuentes
1316 / Otavalo Ecuador / 6 Dec 1981 / Luis Alfonso Morales C.
2301 / Otavalo Ecuador Imbabura / 19 Jan 1997 / Juan J. Munoz Otavalo
1224 / Portoviejo Ecuador / 13 Jan 1981 / Jorge Vicente Salazar H.
1259 / *Quevedo Ecuador North / 18 May 2003
*Quevedo Ecuador Bellavista / 7 Sep 1997
Quevedo Ecuador / 27 Apr 1981 / Pedro Jose Cantos J.
2392 / *Quevedo Ecuador South / 18 May 2003
Quevedo Ecuador Guayacan / 7 Sep 1997 / Jose Meliton Vera Lopez
2453 / Quito Ecuador Calderon / 19 Apr 1998 / Jorge Gonzalo Montoya
2050 / Quito Ecuador Chillogallo / 21 May 1995 / Eduardo Calderon Poveda
1053 / *Quito Ecuador
*Quito Ecuador Colon / 15 Jan 1981
Quito Ecuador / 22 Aug 1979 / Ernesto Franco
2431 / Quito Ecuador La Ofelia / 25 Jan 1998 / Olvin Enrique Mora B.
1225 / Quito Ecuador Santa Ana / 15 Jan 1981 / Cesar Hugh Cacuango C.
2096 / Santo Domingo Ecuador / 3 Sep 1995 / Wilson Alcides Echanique Cueve
Stakes discontinued
1839 / Quito Ecuador Inaquito / 12 Jan 1992 / Horacio Araya Olivares
Discontinued 9 Jun 2002
2393 / Quevedo Ecuador San Camilo / 7 Sep 1997 / Angel Cristobal Garcia M.
Discontinued 18 May 2003
2279 / Esmeraldas Ecuador San Rafael / 24 Nov 1996 / Cesar O. Intriago Argandena
Discontinued 14 Mar 1999
1116 / Guayaquil Ecuador Duran / 16 Mar 1980 / Lorenzo Augusto Garaycoa
Discontinued 22 Mar 1987
Guayaquil Ecuador West (939), Guayaquil
Ecuador South (1006), Guayaquil Ecuador North (1117)
1221 / Guayaquil Ecuador Kennedy / 11 Jan 1981 / Fausto Montalvan Morla
22 Mar 1987 / Guayaquil Ecuador West (939),
Guayaquil Ecuador South (1006),
Guayaquil Ecuador North (1117)
Missions — 3
(As of Oct. 1, 2009; shown with historical number.)
(261) ECUADOR GUAYAQUIL NORTH MISSION
Casilla de Correo 16160
Guayaquil, Ecuador
(160) ECUADOR GUAYAQUIL SOUTH MISSION
Casilla 09-06-286
Guayaquil, Ecuador
(93) ECUADOR QUITO MISSION
Casilla de Correo 17-03-078
Quito, Ecuador
Galapagos Islands
A branch of the Church was organized in the Galapagos Islands in 1998. It is administered as part of the Ecuador Guayaquil South Mission. Meetings are held on the island of San Cristobal, one of several islands that comprise the Galapagos.
In 2002 and 2003, the Academy of LDS dentists, in conjunction with the Charity Anywhere Foundation, conducted service expeditions to the Galapagos to help residents who needed restorative dentistry.
Sources: www.academyofldsdentists.com
