Frederico Maldonado Puertas was born in 1915 and later immigrated to Brazil from Spain when he was 24. At the time, Maldonado was a member of the Catholic Church. When the missionaries knocked on his door in São Paulo to share the message of the restored gospel and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it was not long until he received an answer to his prayers and chose to be baptized on Aug. 3, 1957. His only challenge came when the missionaries taught him about the commandment to pay an honest tithe.
For a newly called General Authority Seventy, Elder Ronald M. Barcellos, this story of his grandfather laid the groundwork for his own testimony.
“My grandpa was a simple man. He didn’t have any luxury,” Elder Barcellos said.
Maldonado showed the missionaries how much he was paid and what his regular expenses were. There was no room to pay all his bills if he paid tithing.
The missionaries promised that the Lord would bless him if he committed to pay his tithing. That promise was immediately put to the test when he chose to pay his tithing to the bishop the following week — not yet a baptized member of the Church — and show faith that God would take care of the financial balance.
As the workweek ended the following Friday, his boss called him into the office and told him that he was valued by the company’s leadership. He handed Grandpa Maldonado an envelope that contained the first payment of a 10% raise to his monthly salary.
As a grandfather, Maldonado later shared that story with his grandchildren — including Elder Barcellos — and he told his family that the Lord hadn’t needed his money; He only needed a demonstration of faith.
“To talk about our background, I have to start with our grandparents,” Elder Barcellos said. “Because the legacy with the gospel in both our lives begins with our grandparents.”
Elder Barcellos’ wife, Sister Karin Spät, is the granddaughter of the Church’s first stake president in South America. In May 1966, the São Paulo Brazil Stake was created, with President Walter Spät and his counselors, President Osiris Cabral Tavares and President Antonio Camargo, called as the new presidency.
Elder and Sister Barcellos met a short time before he left to serve a mission as a young man. They dated for a few months before he began his service in the Brazil Porto Alegre North Mission (1997-1999).
“Heavenly Father blessed us with this legacy of faith — these grandparents who loved the Lord and who were devout disciples of Jesus Christ,” said Elder Barcellos, adding that his grandfather served past the age of 90 and his grandmother was the same way and served as an example of faith throughout her life.
“I grew up watching them serve, so I feel that having the example of parents and grandparents who love the Lord and who always loved serving left a strong impression in my heart.”
Prayer and the Book of Mormon
At 12 years old, Elder Barcellos read the Book of Mormon for the first time. When he finished reading it, he approached the seminary teacher in his ward and asked if he could start attending seminary classes.
“I attended seminary from age 12 to 18 because I just loved being there and listening to the stories of the Bible and the Book of Mormon,” he said. “I have always felt this love for the gospel, and I just always felt it was true.”
Heavenly Father blessed us with this legacy of faith — these grandparents who loved the Lord and who were devout disciples of Jesus Christ.
— Elder Ronald M. Barcellos
Sister Barcellos, meanwhile, remembers growing up watching her sister have the faith to ask Heavenly Father for answers to her questions. She desired to have the same type of spiritual experiences as her sister, but she felt the Spirit tell her that she needed to follow the same pattern she saw from her sister’s example.
“I wasn’t praying or reading the scriptures,” Sister Barcellos said. “At that time I started to pray with all my heart and to read the scriptures more diligently. And I haven’t been able to stop ever since.”
She grew to know that Heavenly Father always listens to her prayers. She acknowledged that the answers didn’t always come quickly. Sometimes those prayers required fasting or many visits to the temple.
One of these important answers from Heavenly Father came later in her life, after Sister Barcellos had received her doctorate in molecular biology but felt a strong impression to leave her career and dedicate more time to raising their children. Despite loving her work, she decided to do what Heavenly Father would have her do.
Living a missionary promise
While in the Brazil Missionary Training Center, Elder Barcellos realized that he had never tested the promise in Moroni 10:3-5 that he could pray and receive an answer to know the Book of Mormon is true.
He had felt of its truthfulness throughout his life to that point, but as a matter of integrity, he didn’t want to invite those he taught to do something he hadn’t done himself.
“I received one of the most powerful spiritual experiences,” he said of that prayer. “It was one of my first identifiable revelations, and I heard Heavenly Father say, ‘Yes.’”
This allowed Elder Barcellos to share with complete faith as a young missionary and later as a mission president that those who were seeking an answer to the truthfulness of the Church and the Book of Mormon would receive that answer from God.
Growing in service together
A year after their 1999 marriage in the São Paulo Brazil Temple, the Barcelloses moved to Valinhos, Brazil. They served in various callings over 11 years and saw the Church go from a small branch of 20 worshipping in a rented storage space to having three wards and a chapel.
“When you are serving the Lord, he magnifies your efforts. And we saw many miracles,” he said of that decade in Valinhos.
Professionally, Elder Barcellos’ software company grew during that time, as well. Eventually, the company went international, and the family moved to Orlando, Florida, for eight years until the Barcelloses were called to serve as mission leaders in the Portugal Lisbon Mission.
He said he was excited to serve another mission — but this time with his eternal companion. He had promised Sister Barcellos, who always had a strong desire to serve a mission, when they got married that they would serve a mission together.
“To see my wife serving, going out with the sister missionaries, talking to everybody and giving copies of the Book of Mormon — she was an amazing missionary,” he said of Sister Barcellos.
They served with nearly 500 missionaries over those three years and loved to see them all return home transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ.
“They were men and women of great faith and power. It was so amazing to see their growth as disciples of Jesus Christ,” Elder Barcellos said.
Sister Barcellos shared the gospel with many individuals during their three years in Portugal.
“Everywhere I went, I would say: ‘I’m a missionary. Have you seen missionaries before?’” she recalled.
One day, she was at a salon to get her hair cut. She talked with the stylist about the Church, but the stylist was not interested. Notwithstanding the lukewarm reception, Sister Barcellos told the hairdresser all about serving a mission and what the Church is about.
The hairdresser moved on to her next appointment after Sister Barcellos left and told her next client, Regina, about the woman whose hair she had just done. Regina was so impressed to hear the story of Sister Barcellos that she asked the hairdresser when she would be coming back. The hairdresser told Regina, who returned to meet and talk with Sister Barcellos. A short time later, after meeting with the Barcellos family and the missionaries for formal lessons, Regina was baptized.
“I just want everyone to have that same feeling that I have in my life,” Sister Barcellos said.
Sister Barcellos said she prayed to Heavenly Father after a mission conference in Coimbra, Portugal, and told Him the joy she felt by sharing her testimony with the missionaries. She prayed, “I want to do this for the rest of my life.”
She felt her prayer was answered when her husband was called as a General Authority Seventy.
As a couple, the Barcelloses have learned to put all their trust in the Lord.
“Stay close to [Heavenly Father], honor your covenants, and His plans for you will materialize,” Elder Barcellos testified.
About Elder Ronald Maldonado Barcellos
Family: Born in São Paulo, Brazil, on Nov. 4, 1975, and grew up in Campinas, Brazil. Son of Sérgio Barcellos Silveira and Marcia Maldonado Barcellos Silveira. Married Karin Spät Albino Barcellos Silveira in the São Paulo Brazil Temple on Dec. 4, 1999. They are the parents of three children.
Education: Studied business administration at São Marcos University in São Paulo. He also received two certificates from the Executive Education Program at Wharton School for the University of Pennsylvania, in corporate governance and business growth and acceleration.
Employment: Worked for several companies in sales and marketing roles and as an entrepreneur. Co-founded several businesses, including GreenMile LLC, where he was chief executive officer.
Church service: Mission president in the Portugal Lisbon Mission 2021-2024, stake presidency counselor, high councilor, stake Young Men president, bishop, bishopric counselor, high priests group leader, elders quorum president and seminary teacher.
