Dominican Republic: Land of believers
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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — John and Nancy Rappleye arrived in the Dominican Republic almost 23 years ago with a new job assignment, a few copies of the Book of Mormon, a hymn book or two and scant hope of finding other LDS members.
Instead, members found the Rappleyes. Two days after arriving in the capital city of Santo Domingo, John and Nancy stopped by a customs office to declare their household goods. There they caught the eye of a Dominican woman who had just returned to her native land with her family after living in the United States.
"This lady walked right up to me," recalled Brother Rappleye. "She put her face up to mine and asked 'Are you a Mormon?' "
Stunned, Brother Rappleye answered yes. The woman introduced herself as Mercedes Amparo.
The Rappleyes knew the name. Weeks earlier, they had decided to leave their Ogden, Utah, home and accept a job transfer to Santo Domingo. Moving to the Caribbean didn't make much sense for the young LDS couple at the time. Family and friends were in Ogden, where the Church was stable and strong. They knew no one in Santo Domingo, a city where the faith was essentially non-existent. They had asked about the Church in the Dominican Republic and were told there were no missionaries and perhaps a few scattered members. One Church leader recommended they try to contact an LDS Dominican family thought to be living in the United States — the Amparos.
Logic demanded the Rappleyes stay in Ogden. But logical choices, they would learn, are not always right choices.
In time, Brother and Sister Rappleye — along with the Amparos and others — would become pivotal instruments in writing the first chapter of the Dominican Republic's remarkable Church history. It's a quick read. In just over two decades, the nation's original LDS branch of U.S. expatriates and a handful of Dominicans has developed into a Church power. Today, there are 11 stakes, dozens of wards and branches, three missions and a luminous temple replete with views of the Caribbean Sea. About 70,000 people in this land of baseball and merengue music belong to the Church.
Until 1978, the Church enjoyed little presence in the Dominican Republic outside the popular "Homefront" commercials that were frequently aired on local television. Then President Spencer W. Kimball received a revelation in the summer of 1978 that all worthy men could hold the priesthood. That manifestation meant the gospel could be taught and lived in full in the Dominican Republic, where much of the population is of African descent.
The Rappleyes arrived in Santo Domingo shortly after President Kimball's revelation. Finding the missionary-minded Amparos was an immediate blessing.
"[The Amparos] came to convert this nation. . . they were gung-ho about the gospel," Brother Rappleye said.
Immediately, the two families began making plans to hold Sunday services in the Rappleyes' home.
While settling into his new job assignment, Brother Rappleye became acquainted with a business contact, Rodolfo Nicolas Bodden. In passing, Brother Rappleye told Mr. Bodden that he was a member of the LDS Church and would soon begin holding worship services along with a Dominican named Eddie Amparo. Once again, the Amparo name clicked.
"Eddie Amparo was my best friend 17 year ago," said Mr. Bodden, amazed.
The Boddens began meeting with the Rappleyes and Amparos on Sundays. They were touched by the faith's family message and listened to missionary discussions taught by Brother Rappleye. In August 1978, the Boddens were baptized in a Santo Domingo swimming pool.
Those baptisms prompted a momentum of gospel growth. Soon a wave of missionaries arrived from Florida at the request of the fledgling Dominican unit. Their arrival sounded a clarion call that the gospel would be forever present in this island nation.
"[The country's members ] were all at the airport waving at us — all 12 or 14 of them," recalled Steve Roberts, one of the first elders called to the Dominican Republic.
More than 350 people were baptized in the first full year of missionary work in the Dominican Republic. By 1986, membership reached 11,000 and the country's first stake was organized. Four years later, there were 31,000 Church members.
The history of the Church in the Dominican Republic is, for many, is a miraculous short story. Service has ensured the survival of the faith here. In the early years, people were baptized then called almost immediately to positions in their branches or districts.
"When you see [growth] happening so rapidly, it's like seeing the hand of God," said Brother Rappleye, who now lives with his wife in Tennessee.
Julio Cesar Acosta joined the Church with his family in 1980. He remembers first meeting with dozens of other members for sacrament services in the sister missionaries' small home.
"We rearranged their furniture, then all squeezed into the kitchen and living room for our meeting," he said. Those tight accommodations hinted at the Church's potential in the Dominican Republic.
Dominican Church pioneers remember others laughing when told LDS buildings would one day dot the land. Still, the faithful paid their tithing, shared the gospel with friends, then served and served some more. A few were able to travel to foreign temples to be sealed to their families. Others looked to the day when they would have a holy house on Dominican soil.
Leaders were rapidly found and prepared. Missionaries met young Domingo Aybar and his family in 1985 while checking on a member referral. Domingo was only 15 at the time, yet recognized and accepted the gospel. A few years later he was called to a full-time mission in his native country and, at 26, serving in his current role as a stake president.
The Church has found a foothold in the Dominican Republic because of the quality of her people, President Aybar said.
"Dominicans are believers," he said.
Last September, pioneers like Rodolfo Bodden gathered with members only months removed from baptismal waters to participate in the dedication of the Santo Domingo Dominican Republic temple. John and Nancy Rappleye were there, along with many of the original full-time missionaries. Together, they listened to the counsel of President Gordon B. Hinckley, swapped stories and speculated on the Church's happy Caribbean future.
This tale of faith and growth in the Dominican Republic may indeed defy logic — but remember, said Brother Rappleye, enlisting a favorite phrase: "The Titanic was built by professionals — Noah's ark by amateurs."
