A Conversation with the Brazil Area Presidency

Brazil, which has more inhabitants than the rest of South America combined and is larger than the forty-eight contiguous United States, has been the scene of much Church growth and development in recent years. To learn more about the Church in Brazil, the Ensign talked with Elder Harold G. Hillam of the Seventy, Brazil Area president, and his counselors, Elder Helvécio Martins and Elder Dallas N. Archibald, also of the Seventy.

The Brazil Area presidency: Center, Elder Harold G. Hillam, president; left, Elder Helvécio Martins, first counselor; right, Elder Dallas N. Archibald, second counselor. All are members of the Seventy.

Question: Tell us about the Church in Brazil.

Answer: The Church continues to grow rapidly. We now have more than 500,000 members among Brazil’s 152 million people, an increase of some 100,000 since 1992. The number of stakes has doubled in the past four years; we now have 114. Three years ago we had fifteen missions, and today we have twenty-three.

Q: How is the Church meeting the demands of this growth?

A: As with most fast-growing areas, leadership needs continue to challenge us. Of the fifty-six brethren who were presiding over Brazilian stakes in 1990, only five remain today; the rest have either moved elsewhere or accepted other callings such as mission president or regional representative. Experienced leadership is in high demand because the Church can grow only as fast as leadership strength allows.

We have relied heavily on regional representatives who have been trained by the area presidency to conduct leadership training, and we look forward to continued training through the newly announced area authorities. We have taught stake presidents how to involve their high councilors in training local leaders so that stake presidents can focus on interviewing members, activating less-active members, and administering stake responsibilities.

Q: Are missionaries reaching all parts of Brazil yet?

A: We feel that the biggest part of Brazil’s Church growth is yet to come. Brazil still has cities of 200,000 or 300,000 people that have never had missionaries, and other large urban areas still have only a single pair of missionaries.

Brazilians are very friendly toward the Church, and they accept missionaries into their homes quite readily. Our members are setting good examples as well. We have priesthood holders in important government positions, which helps provide a link between the Church and civic leaders. In day-to-day life, Brazilian members are known for their integrity and high standards, which helps improve the image of the Church.

Q: What aspects of the Church appeal strongly to Brazilians?

A: Brazilian converts are typically attracted to the Church’s emphasis on family values, and they appreciate the Church’s role as an inspired, moral, Christian institution in which they can put their confidence. Missionaries have been focusing their efforts on heads of households, because when a husband and father joins the Church, his wife and children are much more likely to follow and remain active. In 1990, 11 percent of converts were adult men, but that figure has risen to 25 percent today. We’re seeing some great potential priesthood leaders come into the Church who will open the way for future growth.

To help new converts stay active in the Church, local leaders are instructed how to get to know them and help them achieve gospel-oriented goals. Within days after new converts are sustained in sacrament meeting, the men meet with their bishops to prepare to receive the Aaronic Priesthood, and both the men and the women receive meaningful callings. We instruct the stake presidents on how to interview new converts soon after baptism to help the men start preparing to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood and couples start preparing to attend the temple. New members respond well when they see that their leaders love them and are concerned about their progress.

We had one stake last year that baptized seventy-three adult men, which isn’t unusual for Brazil. What is unusual—and would be in any other area of the Church—is that seventy of those seventy-three men now hold the Melchizedek Priesthood and are active in the Church. Of the three brethren who are no longer accounted for by the stake, two moved away and one died.

Q: What efforts are being made to bring back members who might have drifted away into less activity?

A: We use the council system that Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has spoken about. We ask bishoprics and branch presidencies to meet regularly with their priesthood executive committees and Relief Society, Young Men, Young Women, and Primary presidencies to identify families that would be likely to return to full fellowship with encouragement and attention. When all the leaders in a unit work together in a concerted effort to bring back less-active members, the results can be impressive.

As with proselyting, reactivation efforts work best when they are centered on heads of households. We find that when husbands and fathers come back to the fold, attendance at Relief Society, Young Men, Young Women, and Primary classes also increases.

Q: Tell us about the impact of the temple on members.

A: Much of the Brazilian members’ faith centers on the temple. We’re all familiar with stories about how some members sell everything they own to raise funds for a trip to the temple, but we recently heard about a woodworker who sells his saws and lathes every year to earn money for his temple visit, working diligently to buy back his tools after each trip. That is the kind of commitment that is very real in Brazil.

We have a great challenge in trying to provide Brazilian members with a place to perform temple ordinances for themselves and their dead. The São Paulo Temple is operating at near capacity, so we are making arrangements to keep it open day and night when that becomes necessary. We are grateful that a second temple has been announced for Recife. In view of current rates of growth, we expect Brazil to exceed two hundred stakes by the time the new temple is completed.

It is humbling to watch members disembark from the temple excursion buses after up to four days of travel day and night, often with children in their laps and passengers standing in the aisle. Some members must cross great distances to get to the temple. A weeklong trip by boat and bus is not uncommon.

Q: How would you characterize the strengths of Brazilian people?

A: Brazilians are full of hope. They are a very optimistic people. They can be knocked down by hurtful economic or health problems, but they always find ways to bounce back. They are constantly looking for ways to grow and develop, which is why the Church appeals to so many. The gospel gives them hope to improve their family relations, their personal growth, and their positions in the community. We expect great things to continue happening among the Brazilian Saints.