Area Authority Seventy in Chile

At the age of 14, Jorge Pedrero Martinez remembers that two missionaries stopped by his house. They returned later and began teaching the family about the Church. He liked the messages he heard and began reading the pamphlets and the Book of Mormon. Although still a young teenager, he gained a testimony through his reading and was baptized along with his parents in August 1971.

As Jorge grew to adulthood, the gospel served as an anchor, holding him steady during stormy times. He set goals based on things he was learning at Church: study a profession, marry and have a family, and one day travel to a temple in another country to be sealed.

He attended the University of Chile, where he studied to be a doctor. He recalls that in class one day his professor, an atheist, began teaching his views to the students. Jorge had the courage to stand up and tell him he knew there was a God—he had a testimony of that.

While pursuing his studies one day, he met Viviana Soto, who was also studying to become a doctor. “We talked a lot about the Church,” he recalls. “I remember sitting next to her in front of a government building in downtown Santiago and singing ‘Hope of Israel’ to her.”

Viviana became interested in the Church and sought out the missionaries. After she gained a testimony, Jorge baptized her, and the two were married a year later. They have six daughters and one son. “The gospel has allowed us to enjoy the beautiful aspects of family life and of raising our children in accordance with gospel teachings,” he says.

The gospel has helped him understand people and their sufferings, both physical and spiritual. Over the years his concern for his patients contributed to a number of them joining the Church.

“The Lord blesses people when they are faithful to His principles,” says Elder Pedrero. “He gives us the strength of character we need to solve our problems in mortality.”