CNBC reports on Mormons, missionaries, and LDS business leaders

CNBC's Erin Burnett traveled to Taiwan, Utah, China, and Brazil to explore the world of LDS missionaries and former missionaries who have become international business leaders. Overall a pretty good report - one of the most favorable we've seen from the mainstream media in a long while. Watch the report in this video:

Mormons in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, etc.

This is an excerpt from one of my favorite Church-made videos, "Ensign to the Nations":

Street named after President James E. Faust in Brazil

The street leading to the temple in the city of Campinas has been renamed "James Esdras Faust Street".  In Curitiba, there is also a square named "Joseph Smith Plaza".

Mormon business executive to launch a new airline in BRAZIL

While I was in São Paulo, Brazil (where I served my LDS mission) last week, everyone was buzzing with the news of Brazil's newest airline.  The airline is being launched by JetBlue founder David Neeleman, an LDS entrepreneur made famous by his vast business success.  The company is not yet named.  In the photo above, Mr. Neeleman is shown with a model plane painted with the phrase "Você Escolhe," meaning "you choose", referring to the current contest open to the public to name the new airline.  The first place winner of the contest will win free air travel for life!

David Neeleman has a lot of interest in Brazil: he was born in Brazil, served an LDS mission there, and has dual citizenship, and his son is currently there on a mission, as well.

The New York Times covers this news here.  Bloomberg covers it here.

Since the miserable failure of the Brazilian flagship carrier, VARIG, caused a major void in Brazilian air travel, the country of nearly 200 million people has suffered in terms of a problematic aviation sector, high airfare, etc.  The new airline hopes to address the needs of the Brazilian aviation market by providing decent fares and regular flights between even more cities throughout the country.  

Open House of Curitiba Brazil Temple

THE CURITIBA TEMPLE will be open to the public from May 10 to May 24, 2008.  This gorgeous temple will be open to all in the general public for two weeks before the temple is dedicated and closed to the public.  

O templo de Curitiba Brasil será aberto ao público entre o dia 10 ao 24 de Maio, 2008.  Por favor, venham conhecer a Igreja de Jesus Cristo dos Santos dos Ultimos Dias.

Remembering the São Paulo Temple Rededication & Celebration

I was going through some old photos and decided to share some on this blog.  Click here for photos to the album.  The pictures are some shots from the massive LDS celebration held by the Church in 2004 in São Paulo, Brazil.  It was attended by over 60,000 people, and thousands participated as singers, dancers, producers, etc.  I was there to assist with all the props and floats. Great experience!  The football stadium Pacaembu was filled to capacity for the exciting event, even despite the heavy rainfall that lasted nearly all afternoon and evening!

Curitiba Brazil Temple/Templo de Curitiba Brasil

This photo was shot this morning in Curitiba.  The scaffolding has come down . . . it's moving along very well. How exciting! Another temple for Brazil.  The Church in Brazil began in Santa Catarina, very close to Curitiba... so this is major news since this is such a historic part of Brazilian Mormon history.

I was on the phone this evening with a friend in Curitiba, and he told me that the Cultural Celebration is scheduled for June 1, 2008.  The dedication of the temple will immediately follow that (June 2?).

Great news!

In memory of Elder Helvecio Martins (Lembrando o Élder Martins)

Elder Helvécio Martins passed away in 2006 in São Paulo, Brazil after a lifetime of education, service, and dedication to his faith.  I always admired his story of faith, dedication, patience, and hard work.  Of course, my love for Brazil and its people might have something to do with it too.  His son, the brilliant Dr. Marcus Martins, lives in Hawaii where he teaches at BYU-Hawaii, and chairs the department of religious education.  (I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Martins in Provo, Utah, and would love to talk with him again.)  I hope you enjoy the excerpt below.  The following is borrowed from an article in the Ensign published years ago:

On a clear April night in 1972, while stuck in a traffic jam in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Helvécio Martins contemplated his family’s search for truth. He and his wife, Rudá, had investigated many religions, but none seemed to fill their spiritual void. “I conversed with God that night, asking for help,” he says.

Missionaries arrived at their home several nights later and, Rudá observes, “ended up talking to us until very late. We gained a testimony that night.”

The family was baptized on 2 July 1972. According to Elder Martins, “We had found the truth, and nothing would stop us from living it”—not even the fact that their family could not directly enjoy the blessings of the priesthood. But “when the Spirit tells you the gospel is true,” says Helvécio, “how can you deny it?”

Brother Martins began teaching the Gospel Doctrine class in his ward two weeks after his baptism, and Rudá served in the Primary presidency. In 1974, he was called to be public communications coordinator for the North Brazil Region. In 1975 President Spencer W. Kimball announced the construction of the São Paulo Temple.

“Although we didn’t expect to enter it, we worked for the construction of the temple just like other members,” remembers Elder Martins. “It was the house of the Lord, after all.” Sister Martins sold her jewelry to help with fund-raising, and Brother Martins served on the publicity committee.

At the cornerstone-laying ceremony in March 1977, recalls Elder Martins, President Kimball “took hold of my arm and privately told me, ‘Brother, what is necessary for you is faithfulness.’ ” This counsel strengthened the Martinses’ commitment—faith that had led them to set up a missionary fund for their son, Marcus, whose patriarchal blessing in 1973 said that he would preach the gospel. Elder Martins also recalls that one day as he and Rudá visited the future temple site “we were overcome by the Spirit. We held each other and wept.”

On 9 June 1978, they learned of the revelation that all worthy male members could hold the priesthood. Immediately, they knelt and thanked the Lord. The Martinses were sealed as a family when the São Paulo temple opened, and Marcus served a mission.

Helvécio Martins was born on 27 July 1930 to Honório and Benedicta Martins in Rio de Janeiro. He left school at age twelve to help support his seven brothers and sisters. “I have no regrets about the difficulties of my youth,” he said. “Learning to work hard has been a great asset in my life.”

After he married Rudá Tourinho de Assis on 7 December 1956, Rudá encouraged him to finish his high school equivalency, obtain a bachelor’s degree in accounting, and take graduate classes. Helvécio later became the financial management controller for the largest corporation in Brazil and later was the financial director for a subsidiary company. He also became an assistant professor at Rio de Janeiro State University.

The Martinses have four children: Marcus Helvécio, thirty-one; Marisa Helena, twenty-four; Raphael, fifteen; and Aline, thirteen; and three grandchildren: Flavio, Natalia, and Felipe. “We’re a family that loves to talk and tell stories—especially Helvécio,” says Rudá. “Often we’ll sit for hours talking, with the kids saying, ‘Dad, tell this story, tell that story.’ ”

Elder Martins has served as a counselor to two stake presidents, as a bishop, and, until June 1990, as president of the Brazil Forteleza Mission. Of his being the first black General Authority, he says, “Rudá and I are somewhat embarrassed [by all the publicity]. But if my calling encourages others and furthers the work, then the publicity is okay. It’s an enormous responsibility, but God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, and I confide in him.”

Temple in the Amazon

The Amazon is a remarkable place, and now the LDS Church has concrete plans to construct and dedicate a large Temple in the Amazonic Basin's main city of Manaus. Already, the Church has temples in the Brazilian cities of Sao Paulo, Curitiba, Campinas, Porto Alegre, and Recife. Church members from the Manaus region have to travel up to two days by bus to attend the Temple, so this will be a great blessing to many of those Amazonians.

I took this picture when we were in the Amazon a little over a year ago. Later, I will provide pictures of the temple and the construction site, as they become more readily available.

Brazilian Senate honors the LDS Church

Senator Edison Lobão, of Brazil's Senate, sponsored an initiative to officially recognize the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (A Igreja de Jesus Cristo dos Santos dos Ultimos Dias). He called the opportunity to recognize the Church “an honor” and “a joy.” He said the Church has served “to foster the highest character of the Brazilian people.”

Mormonism has officially been present in Brazil for 80 years, when the first Church official traveled from the South American Mission headquarters in Buenos Aires to Santa Catarina, Brazil.  There he set up an organization to teach the German-speaking immigrants in southern Brazil.  Since that time, the membership of the LDS Church in Brazil has reached nearly one million.  Brazil ranks third in the world in terms of members of the LDS Church (after the U.S. and Mexico).

Church public service television ad in Brazil (em Português)

Brazilian Report on the LDS Church (in Portuguese)

This brief report from the network BAND discusses the Church's beliefs, origins, and global growth.  The reporter claims that Mormonism is the FASTEST growing religion in Brazil.