In a snug room inside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in St. Charles, a few dozen Spanish-speaking members of a new congregation met last month for the first time.

Many of those who attended the Nov. 27 service of the newly formed San Carlos branch had, for years, driven to Frontenac in St. Louis County to attend Spanish-speaking services. The congregation needed a more central location.

This month, Spanish-speaking services for Latter-day Saints are scheduled for 9 a.m. Dec. 18 and 25 at 2245 Old Highway 94 S. Beginning in 2012, Sunday services will begin at 12:30 p.m.

"We started meeting as a small group in 2002 in Clayton," said Carlos Delgado, branch president for the Spanish-speaking Latter-day Saints in St. Charles. "About 10 people were at the first meeting. We started growing. The order of the church is when we grow to a certain number, we split. The way the church works is we start as a branch and when we reach a certain number of families or priesthood holders we start a ward, a bigger group."

Delgado's comments for this story were translated by branch member Ada Perotti, who lives in St. Charles with her husband, Filis Suarez, and son, Francesco Freire. The family lived in Orlando, Fla., before moving to St. Charles. Perotti works in human resources; Suarez is an accountant.

U.S. census figures seem to indicate it was only a matter of time before Spanish-speaking congregations started forming in St. Charles County. The 2010 census showed 8,414 Hispanics — 2.8 percent of the county's population — living within the county's five public school districts. English as a Second Language courses are taught to children from preschool to high school in the county's public schools.

Perotti said many Spanish-speaking Latter-day Saints attended English-speaking services because there wasn't an alternative. "That was a main problem," Perotti said. "We want every member of the church to be able to worship and understand the Gospel. The distance to the (Frontenac) church is really far for most of the Spanish-speaking people. So we wanted to form a group here for the first time."

Jorge Conte, who serves as Delgado's counselor, or assistant pastor, said missionaries are an important part of the church. Conte said 52,225 missionaries preach the Gospel in countries throughout the world.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is based on Joseph Smith's revelations brought by heavenly messengers in the 1820s. The church has more than 14 million members, and there were 272,814 converts in 2010.

"Joseph Smith's prophecy for the future was the church would grow and spread out until it was around the world," Conte said. "Today we have 14 million members around the world and are in 140 different countries. The Book of Mormon has been translated into 125 different dialects. The prophecy has been fulfilled. We're very enthusiastic about growing because I think people need a god."

Delgado said the new branch has members from Nicaragua, Peru, Puerto Rico, Panama, Mexico and El Salvador. It is a melting pot of Latin American members who start learning about the religion's teachings at a young age.

"We come from Latin American countries where the growth of the church is tremendous," Perotti said. "As Hispanic people emigrate and come to America they don't know where to find us. Especially adults who don't speak (English). And people want to worship in their own language. There's more of a connection. We've been blessed in St. Charles to reach out to Hispanics in the area so they can find those worship places."

Church leaders prayed and fasted for more than a year to reach the conclusion that a new congregation would meet in St. Charles. Services start with a sacrament meeting, then there's Sunday school for the children, primary teachings, and young men's and women's organizations. Adult men go to priesthood meetings; women go to the relief society meetings. Sunday school topics are picked by leaders of the church in Salt Lake City.

"The purpose of the church is to have its members come to Christ," Delgado said. "We have to help the families who have the same goals. That's the way we are organized."

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in St. Charles also has two English-speaking congregations, called wards. There are 28,660 branches and wards around the world.

Inside the two St. Charles chapels where the English- and Spanish-speaking services are conducted, no crosses adorn the walls and none can be seen behind the pulpit.

Latter-day Saints don't use the cross as a symbol of faith; rather, they use the lives of the people as an example, said Deborah Coffey, a public affairs media specialist for the Latter-day Saints.

"Other (religions) use the cross as an example of Christ's death. We worship directly to God himself," Coffey said. "We focus on the living Christ."

Another difference from other religions is that Latter-day Saints have unpaid ministries. Not even the organist is paid. Delgado spends the week as a roofing subcontractor. Then he hammers home his message on Sundays to a crowd grateful to hear and understand his words.

"Everybody has to have the opportunity to learn and share the Gospel in the same way," Delgado said.

Editor's note: This article has been amended to state the full name of the church in the first reference.