Languages of the Andes

Aymara is a major language in the Central Andes (an area encompassing territory in Bolivia, Chile, and Peru), with more than two million speakers. In November 1974, Ted Meikle and Stuart Newton worked with a local member to translate a few hymns and minor materials into Aymara. In 1975, Meikle and Newton produced draft translations of selections of the Book of Mormon and a number of hymns. In 1976, revised translations were sent to Bolivia for local review by Cecilio Paredes, Miguel Laura, and two missionary elders. After incorporating the final changes, selections from the Book of Mormon were released in 1977. Miguel came to Salt Lake City in 1980 to review the temple ceremony in Aymara. In 1985, the first complete edition of the Book of Mormon in Aymara was published: Mormonan Kellkatapa: Jesucristot khananächiri kellkata.

Quechua is the most extensive Indigenous language family in the Western Hemisphere, with six to eight million speakers across the Andean region. More than 80 percent of Quechua speakers are in Peru and Bolivia, and sizeable populations are also found in Ecuador, Argentina, and Colombia. Selections of the Book of Mormon in Bolivian Quechua were first printed in 1981. Because many more Latter-day Saints speak and sing in Quechua than read in it, translations of sacrament prayers, hymns, children’s songs, and teaching materials are particularly significant.