The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ecuador

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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ecuador

The church arrived in Ecuador on October 31, 1965. Since then, it has grown to about 269,200 members in 334 congregations across the country. Ecuador has many members and is among the countries with the most LDS members in South America. The church operates 7 missions and 73 FamilySearch Centers, with 44 stakes, 5 districts, 276 wards, and 58 branches.

Temples
There are two temples in Ecuador. The Guayaquil Ecuador Temple was dedicated on August 1, 1999. A second temple was announced for Quito on April 3, 2016.

Early history
The first sacrament meeting in Guayaquil took place in January 1966, and the first church branch was organized in Otavalo in March 1966. By the end of that year, the Otavalo branch had grown to more than 18 members. Elder Spencer W. Kimball, a leader of the church, visited Ecuador several times to support missionary work and the spread of the Book of Mormon. The church established a strong presence in Quito, Guayaquil, and among the Otavalan Indigenous people.