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As of January 1, 2016, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reported 1,326,738 members in 256 stakes and 39 districts, 2,038 Congregations (1,593 wards and 445 branches), 34 missions, and eight temples in Brazil.
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History
The first members of the church in Brazil were immigrants who had joined the church in their native Germany before moving to Brazil. Missionaries arrived in 1928 but, due to the prohibition on ordaining men of African descent to the priesthood, they were instructed to only work with German people living in the southern part of the country. When the Brazilian government outlawed the use of non-Portuguese languages in public meetings in 1938, the mission switched from a German language mission to a Portuguese speaking one. One of the early missionaries in Brazil, serving in 1939, was James E. Faust.
The first stake in Brazil was organized by Spencer W. Kimball in 1966 in Sao Paulo. This was the first stake in all of South America.
In 1967, the policy on race and the priesthood was changed such that dark skinned people were presumed eligible for the priesthood by default unless there was specific evidence of African descent.
In 1978, the Sao Paulo Temple was completed. The opening of the temple in Sao Paulo may have influenced the church's decision to reverse the ban on men of African descent from holding the priesthood due to difficulty in determining racial origins of many Brazilian church members. (See main article.)
Membership history
Missions
a announced to be created July 2013.