By Rodolfo Acevedo, first counselor, Santiago
Chile Puente Alto Stake
Published: Saturday, Nov. 24, 1990, LDS Church
News
Commemorating the visit of Parley
P. Pratt and his wife, Phoebe, to this nation in the 1850s, a memorial plaque
has been placed at the cemetery where their infant son was buried in 1852.
Elder Pratt of the Council of the
Twelve, accompanied by his wife and Elder Rufus Allen, arrived in Chile Nov. 8,
1851. Three weeks later, on Nov. 30, Sister Pratt gave birth to a boy they
named Omner. The baby lived until Jan. 7, and was buried in a private
Valparaiso cemetery. The cemetery plaque notes that Omner Pratt was "Son
of Parley P. Pratt, Apostle of Jesus Christ and first missionary of The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to South America, who dedicated this land
for the preaching of the gospel."
Local members located the
gravesite through their research. They also donated funds for the plaque, and
made arrangements for the grave marker to be placed. The register of graves is
well-preserved and the gravesite is in good condition. The Cemetery of the
Dissidents (for foreigners), as it is called, is under the care of the Union
Church.
Elder Waldo P. Call of the
Seventy and president of the South America North Area until his recent release
as a General Authority unveiled the plaque. He also dedicated the infant's
grave site. Elder Call, whose middle name is Pratt, is a direct descendant of
Elder Pratt. Elder Call was accompanied by local Church leaders, including
Romelio Narvaez, regional representative, who presented a historical summary.
In the dedication of the grave
site, Elder Call petitioned for a special blessing for Chile. "Wilt thou
bless those who govern; and bless us as members of the Church that by our
living the gospel worthily thou mayest bless this people, that there may be
peace, that there may be food on the tables of all the Chilean families, and
that they may listen to the gospel message and feel that it is true."
In 1850 the Pratts and Elder
Allen sailed from San Francisco to gather information about the conditions in
the countries of South America, and to find whether missionaries could begin
preaching the gospel of the restored Church.
Upon its arrival, the party first
stayed in a hotel, a site now occupied by the Chilean-North America Cultural
Institute.
The party soon rented a home on
Victoria Street. It was here that Sister Pratt gave birth to Omner. The baby
lived only five weeks. In the cemetery register in Valparaiso, the inscription "died
of weakness" is recorded.
After the baby died, Elder and
Sister Pratt and Elder Allen traveled to Quillota, a village in Chile's
interior some 25 miles east. At this time the country was engaged in a civil
war. The missionaries could not speak the local language, nor could they find
employment to earn money for living expenses. They had no scriptures except a
Spanish version of the Bible, and they found that the law of the land did not
permit freedom of religious worship.
In view of these obstacles, they
decided not to make further effort to establish the gospel in Chile.
When the brigantine
"Dracut" weighed anchor and sailed away from the harbor of
Valparaiso, Chile, on March 5, 1852, Elder Pratt and his wife and Elder Allen
were aboard. As the ship sailed away from the harbor, the Pratts could see the
promontory with the cemetery where their infant son was buried.
Some 105 years were to pass
before missionaries would again be sent to Chile. Since that time - in only 34
years - the Church in Chile has flourished to where today it has 266,000
members, 2 percent of the total population.
"The little grave left on a
lonely hill in Valparaiso in 1852 has been as a dormant seed planted by an
apostle of the Lord to bear fruit in the flowering of the gospel a century
later," said Elder Narvaez.
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