On December 6, 1925 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Elder Melvin J. Ballard dedicated South America for the preaching of the Gospel. Years later, speaking of the work taking place, Elder Melvin J. Ballard proclaimed, "The work of the Lord will grow slowly for a time just as an oak grows slowly from an acorn... The work here is the smallest it will ever be. The South American Mission will become a power in the Church."
Undoubtedly, the Church has grown by leaps and bounds - but not without its struggles. Today the Church in Argentina struggles with the public image of an American church, has many unemployed and underemployed members, and suffers from a weak Latter-Day Saint (LDS) business network. Also, many young, faithful Saints have difficulty in finding a companion because LDS communities are often small and geographically dispersed.We are a group of Latter-Day Saints who are committed to the creation of a private higher education LDS institution in Argentina for the local Saints. We come from varied backgrounds in business and academia, but share a common vision of replicating the model that Southern Virginia University has developed. Our hope is that the creation of an institution of higher learning in South America will foster the development of a much stronger LDS community among the local members (as is occurring on the campuses of BYU-Hawaii, BYU-Idaho, and Southern Virginia University).
This effort will require the involvement of many both in Argentina and in other parts of the world. At this time, we are creating the business plan and organizing a non-profit educational association in the United States for fundraising to cover essential costs in developing the business plan and to secure a sizable fund from which to start the university. We invite all who would like to help to contribute in one of the following ways:
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