Episode 5

Into All the World

PRESIDENT DANIEL K. FREI MISSION PRESIDENT IN BELO HORIZONTE, BRAZIL

ANNOUNCER: The Mormon Channel Presents, “Into All the World”.

(BEGIN MUSIC)

PRESDIENT SPENCER W. KIMBALL: The vision will begin to be fulfilled.

PRESIDENT THOMAS S. MONSON: The membership is found throughout the world.

PRESDIENT SPENCER W. KIMBALL: The New Zealanders, the Australians…. (foreign language speaker)… Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma…

PRESIDENT THOMAS S. MONSON: Five new temples. (foreign language speaker)

PRESDIENT SPENCER W. KIMBALL: Go ye into all the world.

(END MUSIC)

PROF. REID NEILSON: Hello, my name is Reid Neilson and I‟m an Assistant Professor of Church History and Doctrine at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, where I teach on the Global Church. Today I‟m interviewing President Daniel K. Frei, President of the Brazil Belo Horizonte Mission. President Frei, thank you for being with us today.

PRESIDENT DANIEL K. FREI: Glad to be with you.

PROF. NEILSON: As we start this interview, I‟d like to ask you about your family. Would you introduce yourself for our listeners?

PRESIDENT FREI: You bet. I was born and raised in the small community of Santa Clara, Utah, which is just outside of St. George. That community was settled by Swiss immigrants who were converts to the Church, immigrated to Utah and sent by Brigham Young to establish the Southern Utah area. Uh… born and raised there. Served a mission in Brazil in 1971 and „72. Attended the university, Southern Utah University. Graduated with a Bachelors degree in Zoology. Attended dental school at University of Pacific in San Francisco,

California. Returned to the St. George area and practiced for 28 years there. As far as Church service is concerned, served as an Elders Quorum president; three times on the High Council; served as a Bishop; ten years in a Stake Presidency and then received our call to serve as a mission president in 2006, and we have been here… we‟re finishing our 35th month and so we‟ll be returning home in another month!

PROF. NEILSON: So this will probably and possibly be the first and last interview you‟ll do as a Mission President in Brazil, right?

PRESIDENT FREI: Probably so.

PROF. NEILSON: Well I‟m glad we caught you. It‟s a delight to hear what‟s going on in the Church all over the world, and it‟s especially fun today to hear what‟s going on in Brazil… an area that we have not yet talked about. So you were called almost three years ago to be President of the mission here in Brazil. What were your reactions when you first were called?

PRESIDENT FREI: Well, the call came out of the blue. I was practicing full time as a dentist and, uh, one day my receptionist came back, stuck her head in one of the operators where I was working on a patient and she said, “Elder (L. Tom) Perry‟s secretary is on the phone and she‟d like to speak to you.” I, uh, visited with her just a minute. She indicated that Elder Perry would like to visit with my wife and I and we made an appointment and that began the process. And of course once we received the call it then takes another two or three months before you actually are called to a specific mission. But having served in Brazil and with a language basis in Portuguese, we expected that it would probably be to Brazil.

PROF. NEILSON: What was your reaction when you got the call?

PRESIDENT FREI: Surprised, but gratitude I would say was the two main feelings.

PROF. NEILSON: I‟d imagine that you, when you got the call, thought back on your earlier missionary service as a young man.

PRESIDENT FREI: Well, for those of us that have served missions, there probably is not a day that passes that I don‟t think about my mission, but I don‟t draw from that mission, experience and faith and encouragement and, uh, all of those great flood of feelings and thoughts that come to you in that situation, yes.

PROF. NEILSON: Well, thank you. In fact, before we talk about your mission today

in 2009, uh, let‟s go back and talk about the Church in Brazil years ago. What was the Church like in Brazil at that time and then perhaps during the interview we can contrast or compare then and now your experiences.

PRESIDENT FREI: Sure. I think that‟s one of the great interesting things about Brazil. Brazil is one of the countries in the world where the Church has enjoyed phenomenal growth. During my time in the early „70‟s, there were probably six or seven stakes in Brazil. There are now two hundred and I think, sixteen… 215, 216. There are over a million members here now. In the early „70‟s there were three missions. There are now 27. And so you get a little bit of a feel for what has happened in a period of three or four decades. It really is phenomenal and almost mind boggling.

PROF. NEILSON: Well, having served as a missionary myself, I‟m well aware that many missionaries experience culture shock when they go to new lands and experience new foods and peoples and languages. I can only imagine it was culture shock for you in a very real sense, not to be back in Brazil but to see the country and the Church so different than it was at that time.

PRESIDENT FREI: That‟s correct. In the area that we serve now, the state of Minas Gerais, when I was here, there were six missionaries in this state, and one small branch. There are now two missions, 80 wards and branches, six stakes and seven member districts. That is a tremendous change that I have witnessed just in my life. And I don‟t consider myself to be an old person! And to see and to witness that, is as you said, a bit of a culture shock, it truly is.

PROF. NEILSON: It seems in recent years there‟s been sort of a shift with the allocation of resources. I know that I served in Japan, there‟s fewer missionaries in Japan today, and fewer missions for that matter, than there were years ago when I served there, and my understanding is that many of these resources from parts of Asia, continental Europe, etc, where the Church is growing slower are being shifted down south where the Church is really growing into places like Brazil. Is that your understanding? Is that sort of the sense that you get being on the ground there?

PRESIDENT FREI: Yes, I think that‟s true. Elder Perry last year in the new mission president‟s seminar in 2008, June of 2008, indicated that that‟s exactly what‟s happening. The resources that the Church has, they‟re putting the resources where there‟s more potential for growth. And of course the purpose of the Church is to preach the Gospel and to get the message of the Gospel to as many people as

it can with the resources that it has. And so that only makes sense that to use those resources and that effort to put where the greater majority of Heavenly Father‟s children can hear and will accept the message that the missionaries are teaching.

PROF. NEILSON: Well I can only imagine the dilemma facing the Brethren on a daily basis… (Pres. Frei laughs)… realizing that resources are finite, you know, we have a certain number of missionaries. How do we bring the most number of our Heavenly Father‟s children into the fold in convert baptism, etc. So it sounds like you‟re the beneficiary of a lot of wonderful things right now in the Brazil area.

PRESIDENT FREI: Yes, we truly are.

PROF. NEILSON: Well, let‟s talk about Brazil for a moment. Of course, most people are aware of generally where it‟s located, but don‟t know a whole lot more about that. Tell us about Brazil. Where is it located specifically in South America? Who are its neighbors? What‟s the culture like there? The form of government?

PRESIDENT FREI: Well, Brazil is the largest country of South America. It‟s located on the eastern part of the continent. You have certain settlements, certain small areas throughout the country. In the south, there are local geographic areas where there are high concentrations of Germans and there‟s a little bit of German spoken, but by and large Brazil is predominantly Portuguese speaking. And, uh, Portuguese is similar to Spanish but different also. Uhm, culturally, it‟s a very tropical climate. The Equator goes through Brazil. Everyone has heard of the Amazon Jungle.

PROF. NEILSON: Right.

PRESIDENT FREI: The great Amazon River, which exists in the northern part of the country. The southern part of Brazil is a little colder; although very, very rarely do you have any freezing temperatures or any snow in Brazil. It‟s very tropical in nature. Aesthetically it is a beautiful, beautiful country, it truly is.

PROF. NEILSON: Well, thank you for that description. You mentioned about the German immigrants there. That‟s an interesting place to start our story as far as the Church in Brazil. I think most Latter-day Saints are unaware that the first members of the Church in Brazil were actually German immigrants who were living there in the area during the early 20th century.

PRESIDENT FREI: That‟s correct.

PROF. NEILSON: And eventually missionaries were working almost exclusively among the German speaking colonies in Brazil in the years before World War II. Eventually because of some political issues, the Brazilian government said, “Hey, you‟re not going to be doing this anymore.” And finally the Church said, “Okay, we won‟t be using German language in church meetings beginning in 1939” which is probably interesting to listeners that aren‟t as aware of the history. In fact, it wasn‟t until 1942 that the Church actually adopted Portuguese as the official language of missionary work there in the whole country of Brazil. I know that the Sao Paulo temple there in Brazil was a huge milestone in Church growth in Latin America in terms of growth and also in terms of bringing temple blessings to Father in Heaven‟s children who did not have those same blessings as a result of the Revelation on the Priesthood in 1978: a very, very important moment in our Church‟s history. And it‟s my understanding that today Brazil is only behind the United States and Mexico in terms of the number of members. Does that sound right?

PRESIDENT FREI: Yes, that‟s correct. And, uh, not very far behind Mexico. In fact, Brazil and Mexico are very close. And I‟m not sure whether Mexico is even ahead of Brazil now or not. It may be a little bit ahead in total number of members but Brazil and Mexico are very,very close in total number of members.

PROF. NEILSON: Well theres no question that the center of gravity of the Church continues to sink to the south, in places like Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Argentina and other places in Latin America and the Pacific Islands, and over in West Africa. We‟ve moved from being a North American church to, in a few more years, we truly will be a South American Church, I think.

PRESIDENT FREI: In recent years, the great growth of the Church has been in Central and South America and of course that, in a sense, is fulfilling a prophecy that we encounter in The Book of Mormon as to how the children of Lehi will receive the blessings of the Gospel, and how those blood lines will be blessed and so we really do see the fulfillment of prophecy that was made literally hundreds and thousands of years ago.

PROF. NEILSON: Well, in my class on the Global Church here at BYU, sometimes my students get very excited about what‟s going on and come up and ask me after class, they say, “Professor Neilson, what can I do to help the Church grow internationally?” And my reaction is

always, “Learn Spanish or learn Portuguese, because that‟s where the service opportunities are going to be in the coming decades.”

PRESIDENT FREI: Yes, that‟s very good. You‟re absolutely right. And that‟s one of the things that they can do. And another thing, if you‟re wanting to know how to help the Church grow, contribute to the missionary fund. The majority of our missions now, here in our mission and I assume it‟s true throughout Brazil, are Brazilian missionaries. When we arrived here three years ago, we were about 65% American and 35% Brazilian missionaries. That number has flip- flopped. We‟re almost 70% Brazilian now. And many of those Brazilian missionaries come from homes where there is only one, or more often than not, neither of the parents are members. These are young people who have heard the Gospel, who have been converted to the Gospel, who have joined the Church, who have wanted to serve and consequently, they have none or not much support from home, especially monetary support. And they‟re basically supported by people who contribute into the general missionary fund. And, uh, without that contribution and that offering, many of these young men and women who are serving would not have that chance and opportunity. And so, I agree with you… learn a language, prepare yourself but contribute financially too. It‟s a great, great blessing to these young people who can participate and serve. They then return home prepared to meet the world. They‟re trained, they‟ve learned the Gospel and taught the Gospel, they‟ve felt the Spirit and are then ready to contribute in positions of leadership and help their own branches and wards grow.

PROF. NEILSON: I appreciate that sentiment President, thanks. A few years ago I was talking with a colleague of mine who was a returned mission president from Brazil, and he was sharing the same trend that you just pointed out… that it used to be mostly North Americans coming down to Brazil with a few Brazilians, and that‟s totally flip-flopped. And he made a very interesting comment to me, which I‟ll share with you now. I said, “Well, President, what do you think? Do you think this is a good thing?” He said, “Well I hope the day never comes that there aren‟t North American missionaries in places like Brazil.” And my assumption was, “Oh, just so the North Americans could help show them how the Church is to be run and operated, having grown up where the full program of the Church has been around for a long time.” And he said, “No. That‟s not why.” And I was a little surprised. I said, “Well why?” And he said., “It‟s so imperative for these Brazilian Elders and Sisters to see how they can compete… and I use that word loosely… but see how they can stand side by side with North

American Elders and Sisters and realize that they are just as good, have as strong testimonies and can contribute just as much to the Church as anyone from North America can.” And I thought that was a fascinating insight.

PRESIDENT FREI: He‟s absolutely correct. Most of these young Brazilian missionaries, they know that the vast majority of the Americans have been born and raised in the Church, they‟ve had the opportunity to attend seminary and institute, they‟ve gone to Especially for Youth, they‟ve gone to youth conferences, they‟ve gone to Scout camps. They‟ve had all of this training: Quorums, Aaronic Priesthood outings and Quorums and training within these Quorums and yet as they serve side by side they see that they have the same potential.

PROF. NEILSON: Right.

PRESIDENT FREI: And it increases their self esteem, their belief in themselves and the fact that they can move forward, that they can go home and serve as Bishops and Stake Presidents. And so it does create within them a sense of self worth and esteem which will greatly bless their lives throughout the remainder of their lives.

PROF. NEILSON: Let‟s hear more about your missionaries, President Frei. You mentioned the split… about 70/30 Brazilian to non-Brazilians…

PRESIDENT FREI: That‟s correct. Uh-huh.

PROF. NEILSON: What about Sisters to Elders. What‟s the demographic there?

PRESIDENT FREI: Well, we currently have 130 missionaries and 20 of those are Sisters. So, uhm, that‟s going to be, what, about 15% Sisters?

PROF. NEILSON: Right.

PRESIDENT FREI: That‟s run pretty true for the last, uh, for the three years that we‟ve been here. Most of those Sisters are Brazilian Sisters and some of them a little bit older. We have, and have had, Sisters in their 30‟s who wanted to serve and who are serving. The demographic stays about the same as far as percentage also… about the same percentage of Brazilian Sisters compared to American Sisters… about 65% to 70% Brazilian.

PROF. NEILSON: And these missionaries, most of them obviously native there. What MTC do they go to? I know there‟s a Missionary Training Center there in Brazil itself. Do most go there? Do they come to

the Provo MTC and then go down and continue their language training? How does that work?

PRESIDENT FREI: No, they all go to the MTC in Sao Paulo.

PROF. NEILSON: So if you‟re called to Brazil, you don‟t go to Provo at all. It‟s all down in Brazil.

PRESIDENT FREI: That‟s correct. Even the North American missionaries. Now once in a great while, you‟ll have an American missionary who‟s having trouble getting a visa to enter the country, and he may start his MTC experience in Provo. But generally, it‟s just for a week or two. But 99% of them spend all of their time in the MTC in Sao Paulo.

PROF. NEILSON: And how many weeks is that. What is the program there?

PRESIDENT FREI: Well, for the North Americans, it‟s a regular two month program, just as it is in Provo.

PROF. NEILSON: Right.

PRESIDENT FREI: Language preparation, Gospel preparation, missionary preparation. For the Brazilian missionaries, who do not need the language training, they spend 19 days there. And most of that is spent on Gospel instruction, missionary techniques, those kind of things. So again, North Americans, it‟s a two month experience, native Brazilians it‟s a 19 day experience.

PROF. NEILSON: Is the Missionary Training Center, is it close by a temple? Are all the missionaries endowed before they go out from Brazil? I only ask that question because a lot of Church members don‟t realize that in places like West Africa that‟s not, or at least historically was not always the case that missionaries would have the blessings of the temple before they went out. What‟s the situation in Brazil?

PRESIDENT FREI: You‟re absolutely right. The MTC is very, very close to the Sao Paulo Temple, and, I‟m not sure what the percentage would be. Many of the missionaries before they enter the MTC will have been endowed. As you mentioned, there are temples in different parts of Brazil. However, many of them, for instance the young missionaries that leave the area where we live and serve do not have a temple close. So they‟re interviewed by Stake Presidents or Branch Presidents, and Bishops and Mission Presidents. They enter the MTC with a current temple recommend but actually are endowed in the temple and receive their temple blessings as they

arrive in the MTC in Sao Paulo.

PROF. NEILSON: I see.

PRESIDENT FREI: And I‟m not sure what the percentage would be, but there would be a large number of them who go to the temple after they have entered the MTC.

PROF. NEILSON: Very interesting. How do they actually do missionary work on a regular basis? Every missionary in the world has had such a different experience. What are some of the general themes of your particular mission there in Brazil? Are they out street contacting? Are they going house to house? Is there much member missionary work? Are there referrals? Tell us about day to day, on the ground proselyting.

PRESIDENT FREI: Well, uh, I assume that in most missions there are different techniques that are used, depending on the local culture and laws, so on and so forth. Here in our area, we apply a variety of techniques. Street contacting always has been, and I suppose always will be, one of the main techniques that a missionary uses. Sometimes the door to door approach, tracting, as we have come to call it in the Church. In Brazil, there‟s a program, the Pass Along Cards. I‟m not sure whether most of your listeners know what that is, but here in Brazil there are three different cards. They‟re small, Pass Along Cards. Here they‟re called Friendship Cards.

PROF. NEILSON: Uh-huh.

PRESIDENT FREI: And there are three different kinds. One offers a Book of Mormon the other, another one offers a small booklet on how to strengthen your family, and the third offers a DVD about Jesus Christ and about His life. That‟s one of the main ways that members are involved here, but as Church leaders have always said, missionary work never will be what it should be without the help of the members. And so we rely an awful lot on members, member‟s referrals: friends, neighbors, family, and acquaintances. Missionaries are taught to ask referrals from everyone and certainly it‟s much easier when members are used in the teaching process… people whom they already know. So it‟s just a variety of techniques and methods that are used, but those four are probably the main techniques that the missionaries use.

PROF. NEILSON: I see. And, uh, what percentage of the day are missionaries out finding versus teaching? How many discussions, for instance, would most missionaries teach on a weekly basis?

PRESIDENT FREI: Well, on a weekly basis, in our mission, they would probably teach between 30 and 40 lessons a week. Again, it‟s probably easier here in this country than it is in some countries. But, if you‟d think about that, if you‟re teaching four, some teach more than that, but if you‟re teaching 40 lessons a week and you divide that by the number of days, that‟s lots of teaching.

PROF. NEILSON: That is a lot of teaching!

PRESIDENT FREI: Uh-huh. It‟s lots of teaching. And, uh, I would suspect that on an average most missionaries would spend 3 to 4 hours a day in finding and then the rest of the day in teaching lessons

PROF. NEILSON: In terms of other things the missionaries do while they‟re there, are there many service opportunities for your Elders and Sisters?

PRESIDENT FREI: Yes, we‟re involved with service. Uhm, you have to remember that missionaries are called to teach the Gospel and they‟re not called to be service missionaries. And when they do participate in service type projects, it should be with the intent to find someone to teach or to take people that they‟re teaching and participate in those projects to strengthen bonds and relationships. So service projects is not a major part of what they do, but it is one of the things that they participate in, uh, once in awhile to help further their major calling, which is to teach the Gospel.

PROF. NEILSON: Well, I think that‟s, uh, I think that‟s the ideal. It sounds wonderful what‟s going on in Brazil. Before we conclude today, President Frei, do you have any last thoughts you‟d like to share? And then I‟d also like to hear a testimony both in English and in Portuguese, if that would be all right.

PRESIDENT FREI: You bet. Well, we‟re grateful to be involved. The Church is a very dynamic and growing organization. When you think about what‟s happening in the world, it‟s almost mind boggling. You take the kind of organization that it is and the kind of growth that it‟s experiencing, and it‟s all done through voluntary efforts. People who volunteer their time and their energies… it simply is amazing as to what, uh, takes place and what is happening. We feel very privileged to be here and to participate in it. We love the young missionaries that we deal with. They‟re a great treasure and this experience of being a Mission President is very, very unique. I truly do not think there‟s another calling like it. In all of the Church, those who have served as Mission Presidents will tell you that. The relationship, the love that is formed with these young

people and to learn about them and to understand their backgrounds and what many of them are giving up to participate and to be involved. It‟s just a great blessing and we consider ourselves very blessed to be a part of it. I suppose we could say that to be a Mission President, one must have a testimony. At times, at different periods in your life, depending on what‟s happening, it‟s not the easiest thing to close up a business and sell the things that you have and to leave your family and to leave the country and to go someplace where culture and climate and food and way of life is different. It‟s not the easiest thing, but we do it because we believe very strongly in what we‟re doing. I am grateful to have a testimony. There are many things that are important in my life, but a few things that are precious. Those things that are precious I would consider my family and my testimony. I have no doubt that God lives. He is the great all powerful, all knowing being that created the universe and everything that exists within it. And yet, more than that, He is a loving Heavenly Father. And the whole intent of His purposes, His work and His glory is to have us return and to live in His presence and to enjoy eternal life with Him. Because of that, He sent His Son. I have a testimony of Jesus Christ. I know that He was born on the Earth, that he walked the Earth, that He organized the Church, that He taught a Gospel which is His doctrine and it is the recipe which we must follow to return to His presence. I have a great testimony of The Book of Mormon. I love The Book of Mormon. And to me it‟s very simple. I‟m not a complicated person. The Book of Mormon is true, and because of that, Joseph was a Prophet. And if Joseph was a Prophet, the Church is true. Sometimes there are things that maybe we don‟t understand or can‟t completely explain, but The Book of Mormon is true. I know that it is. And consequently I know that the Church is true. (He gives his testimony in Portuguese)

PROF. NEILSON: Well President Frei, thank you for sharing your thoughts about missionary work down in Brazil, your own personal insights and testimony. I hope that our listeners fully appreciate how the Lord‟s work continues to move forward in this part of the Lord‟s vineyard and hope that the Lord‟s choicest blessings are upon you and the missionaries and Church members that are laboring in that part of the world.

PRESIDENT FREI: Thank you very much for your interest and we wish you good luck on your radio station. We understand that it‟s something that‟s brand new that‟s started, and hope that it‟s nothing but the best for you.

(MUSIC STARTS)

PROF. NEILSON: Well it‟s been wonderful so far. Thank you so much.

ANNOUNCER: You have been listening to “Into All the World.”

(MUSIC ENDS)