Eduardo Ayala

Who is Eduardo Ayala?

Eduardo Ayala was the first Chilean general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Ayala was born in Coronel, Chile. He married Blanca Ester Espinoza in 1959. They eventually had three children: Patricio, Viviana and Ricardo. In 1969, Eduardo Ayala, his wife, and oldest son were baptized into the LDS Church.

In Coronel, Eduardo had worked in industrial planning for a mining company. In the early 1970s, he moved to Santiago to continue his work in industrial planning. In 1974, LDS Church apostle Boyd K. Packer called Eduardo as president of a newly formed Santiago Chile Stake; at the same time, Ayala accept full-time employment in the Church Educational System.

Eduardo later served twice as a regional representative and as a mission president in Uruguay. In 1990, Ayala became a member of the LDS Church's Second Quorum of the Seventy. He was released as a general authority in 1995. After his time as a general authority, Ayala served as president of the Santiago Chile Temple of the LDS Church.