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President Dallin H. Oaks deliberately chose Brazil as the first international destination of his presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Why did he travel there Sunday to dedicate a temple when he could have chosen any of more than half-a-dozen other locations?
One reason may be that Brazil recently surpassed Mexico as the country with the second-largest population of Latter-day Saints, according to official church statistics:
- United States: 6,929,770 members.
- Brazil: 1,573,360.
- Mexico: 1,572,287.
- Philippines: 905,082.
“I was eager to come to Brazil, to any city, because I esteem the nation so highly,” President Oaks said, answering the question directly in an interview with Brazil’s SBT News.
“We have a list of six or eight temples that are ready to be dedicated,” he said, “and it is up to the First Presidency, of which I am the president, to designate who goes to the different temples. As president of the church, I have the first choice, and as soon as I saw that there was a temple in Brazil, I chose that one because I wanted to come to this nation and feel the spirit of the people.”
Brazil, with its robust religious freedom, has been a cornerstone of the church’s global growth since the 1960s. Today it has more than 2,000 congregations and 37 missions.
President Oaks dedicated Brazil’s 12th Latter-day Saint temple. Another 12 temples have been announced or are under construction.
“We are very happy to build a temple that will serve 10 of our regional congregations,” he said about the Belo Horizonte Brazil Temple. “To come to an area as large as this to build a house of the Lord is a very significant thing for us. A temple here is going to bless the lives of many people throughout Brazil.”
The country has also become an important source of church leadership. Elder Ulisses Soares became the first Brazilian in senior church leadership when he joined the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 2018.
Two Brazilians have served in the presidency of the Seventy, and 14 have served as General Authority Seventies.
Today, eight of the church’s 110 General Authority Seventies are from Brazil.
“We feel strength from the reputation of the members,” President Oaks said Sunday, “and the effect of faithful families keeping the commandments and attending the temples and bringing up their young people to do likewise.”
Church membership in Brazil has grown significantly for five straight years since the pandemic. Total membership in Brazil grew by 47,924 in 2025, 12.7% of the church’s growth.
Though Brazil moved past Mexico, growth in that country also remains robust. Mexico’s net church membership rose by 38,229 in 2025, or 10.1 of last year’s church growth.
The church also grew 6% in the Philippines.
“We welcome the opportunity to invoke the blessings of the Lord upon the people of Brazil,” President Oaks told SBT News anchor Leandro Magalhães da Luz.
President Oaks shared a message with the journalist for all Latter-day Saints in Brazil:
“Keep the commandments, be good citizens, strengthen your families and fulfill your responsibilities to those around you,” he said. “We believe in living peacefully with people of all faiths and we believe in doing our part.”
My recent stories
About the church
- President Oaks dedicated the Belo Horizonte Brazil Temple. Read his dedicatory prayer here.
- Elder David A. Bednar dedicated the Cleveland Ohio Temple. His dedicatory prayer is here.
- What’s new and what’s coming to Temple Square.
- President D. Todd Christofferson will rededicate an iconic Latter-day Saint temple in California.
- Young singles at Latter-day Saint conference learn 3 things undermining their dating profiles — and how to fix them. They also defined their biggest challenges and their biggest hope.
- Why more than 85,000 young people of other faiths are studying at Seminary or Institute with Latter-day Saints.
What I’m reading
- “I almost protested a Latter-day Saint Temple. Then I entered one.”
- Seven signs your counselor may be undermining your faith.
- Friends and family mourned a Latter-day Saint influencer killed in a crash.
- Have you noticed people around you are obsessed with mahjong? Or maybe you are part of America’s latest trend.
- I’ve always been fascinated by the yips, the strange condition that makes it hard for someone to complete a normal task. In golf, Johnny Miller developed the yips only when he putted. In baseball, Dale Murphy got the yips as catcher throwing to second base, so he became a center fielder. I got them throwing underhanded pitches to 6-year-olds during coach-pitch games, when I tried so hard to hit their bats just right. Here’s a story on the whole phenomenon.
- Who doesn’t love to see someone finally reach their goal? This is Boston Red Sox pitcher Payton Tolle finding out last year that he was going to the major leagues for the first time. Now he is one of baseball’s best rookie pitchers:
Behind the scenes
In case you missed it last week, President Oaks turned 94.
“I thank the Lord for allowing me to live so long. I am grateful for this opportunity,” he said in Brazil.
Here are some photos from his birthday celebration:
