Journeys of Faith

Liliana Pineda Prieto, a schoolteacher, and Manuel Antonio Berroteran-Diaz, a telephone technician, began their marriage for eternity with a 14-day bus journey from El Salvador to the Mesa Arizona Temple in November 1966. Liliana and Manuel sometimes slept on their seats on the bus and sometimes on the tile floors of local meetinghouses. Two days after their sealing, they began the return trip. “I was about twenty-one, and my wife was twenty,” said Manuel, “so we were young enough to stand anything.”

The Berroteran-Diaz Family.

In 1979, when civil war broke out between El Salvador’s military government and left-wing guerrilla groups, all foreign missionaries and leaders were compelled to leave the country. The El Salvador Mission closed. Some Salvadoran Latter-day Saints also left, fearing for their safety.

On October 8, 1981, Manuel was called as regional representative, overseeing all Church affairs in El Salvador. He traveled around the country, visiting and training Latter-day Saints. As often as possible, Liliana and their children traveled with him, piling into a five-seat car. “We took the time to be with them and take them with us,” Manuel remembered. They would “stop near a riverbank and have some sandwiches and drinks, stay there for an hour, then continue our trip.”

On one trip between El Salvador and Guatemala, guerillas stopped their car and searched it. They searched Manuel and became suspicious when they found he wore a layer of clothing (his temple garment) under his shirt. “My wife and children were very worried,” Manuel remembered. “The children asked my wife if they were going to kill me. Mama told them, ‘No, he’s not going to be killed, he’s just being searched for something under his clothing.’ She always was courageous and gave the best counsel to our children.”

In the unstable conditions of the civil conflict, teaching the gospel in the home became especially important. “Our ward was about three miles away; it was not far,” Manuel remembered. “But three miles, on those occasions, were too dangerous.” Liliana and Manuel took turns conducting and teaching during family home evening.

In 1984, the El Salvador Mission reopened, with Manuel and Liliana presiding. Manuel used small planes to visit remote mission areas after two vital bridges were destroyed. Liliana’s favorite story to teach the missionaries was the story of Ammon and his brothers and its message of trust in the Lord’s protection.

Once, members of the army caught two missionary elders in a sweep of young people intended for conscription. Another time, a group of guerillas captured a bus with two missionary sisters on board. On both occasions, army and guerilla leaders soon recognized the missionaries as religious ministers and released them safely.

Salvadoran Latter-day Saints kept the gospel light burning through many challenging journeys.