How New Seventy Elder Ortega Learned to Find Joy and Serve in the Lord’s Vineyard

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By Trent Toone, Church News

Over years of Church service, Elder Eduardo F. Ortega has learned a valuable lesson. In any calling, as a bishop or ministering brother, “it is easier knowing that we represent the Lord.”

“If we think how He would do it, it’s much easier,” Elder Ortega said, citing Jacob 5:71-72 in the Book of Mormon, which reads in part: “If ye labor with your might with me ye shall have joy in the fruit. ... And it came to pass that the servants did go and labor with their mights; and the Lord of the vineyard labored also with them.”

Said Elder Ortega: “I have felt the Lord serving beside me many times, in many callings, because it’s His vineyard, not ours. We are servants and helpers.”

Elder Ortega was sustained as a new General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during April 2025 general conference.

Heritage of Faith

Eduardo Francisco Ortega was born July 10, 1977, in Godoy Cruz, Mendoza, Argentina, to Fernando Daniel Ortega and Irma Elvira Endstorfer.

He was raised by parents who devoted their lives to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Over the years they served in many leadership callings, including leaders of the Nicaragua Managua Mission. They currently serve as president and matron of the Buenos Aires Argentina Temple.

As Elder Ortega accepted his new calling, he was deeply humbled and felt a profound tenderness for his grandparents and others who paved the way for his own Latter-day Saint journey.

“I hope they are happy,” he said. “They were not just accepting the gospel for themselves, but now we know they were accepting it for us.”

Gaining a Testimony

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Elder Ortega has fond memories of attending Primary, Young Men activities, seminary and fulfilling his Aaronic Priesthood duties. But he didn’t sincerely pray to gain a testimony of the gospel until he was beginning his mission.

Preparing to serve in the Colombia Cali Mission, Elder Ortega knelt in his room one night at the missionary training center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and fervently prayed to receive a personal witness of the Savior, the Prophet Joseph Smith, the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and other fundamental doctrines he would teach as a missionary.

His prayer was answered.

“That’s where I gained my own strong testimony of Jesus Christ,” Elder Ortega said. “My mission was definitely critical in my gaining a testimony.”

As a missionary, he loved serving the Colombian people. The experience marked a spiritual turning point in his life.

“I was a good young man who attended church every Sunday and kept the commandments. Of course, during my youth we loved serving others, but during my mission it was completely different — my parents were not there saying, ‘Let’s do this, let’s do that,’" he said. “It was the first time I had the most tender feeling to help others. I realized I felt joy serving others on my own.”

An Important Decision

Following his mission, Elder Ortega spent some time with his parents during their mission in Nicaragua and in the United States at BYU learning English before he returned to Argentina in 2001.

He was participating in a three-day conference for young Latter-day Saints in Buenos Aires when he met and became acquainted with Gabriela Cappi, a member of the Montevideo Uruguay West Stake. They became friends and eventually started dating long distance.

“It was an international relationship,” Elder Ortega said, smiling at his wife.

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When the Ortegas began dating, there were no smartphone applications, text messaging or social media tools designed for fast and affordable long-distance communication — only expensive international phone calls.

In addition to their weekly calls, they made costly trips each month to see each other. The one-way journey between Buenos Aires and Montevideo took eight hours and required a ferry ride and a lengthy bus ride.

After six months of international calls and travel, the couple realized they had an important decision to make.

“You ask yourself if this is worth it — the time and money," Sister Ortega said. “Where are we going, and what are we doing with this [relationship]?”

They knew that to marry, one of them would need to leave their native country, family and friends, and education and job opportunities to start a new life with the other.

Ultimately, they felt guided to marry, and it was decided that Sister Ortega would join Elder Ortega in Argentina.

“I left everything behind — a great job, family and friends — but it was worth it," she said. “I had everything, but I didn’t have the most important thing I wanted — to build my family. The only barrier had been to find the right man, and when I found him, I didn’t want to let him go."

Elder and Sister Ortega were married in the Montevideo Uruguay Temple on September 13, 2002.

Faith and Church Service

Elder and Sister Ortega started their marriage and family during a period of political and financial crisis in Argentina. When facing challenges or major decisions, they prayed, fasted, paid tithing and relied on the Lord.

“It was very difficult for a young couple to start their lives in that situation,” he said, noting he was a student who worked odd jobs for a few years. “But we had faith, we had our promises, our covenants with the Lord; they would be our security. We knew everything would be good at the end. We served the Lord with all our hearts. It was very hard the first few years ... then we started to see the blessings.”

The Ortegas knew how and what it meant to serve in the Church because they were both blessed with faithful Latter-day Saint parents and families devoted to the gospel.

Like Elder Ortega’s parents, Sister Ortega’s parents, Antonio Rodríguez Cappi and Graciela María Franzia de Cappi, both converts, served in many leadership callings. They were leaders of the Argentina Trelew Mission and president and matron of the Montevideo Uruguay Temple.

“My parents have served all my life, putting aside many things because the Lord is first,” she said, adding that it was during her parents’ service as mission leaders that she learned to do hard things and gained a testimony. “The Lord was always there with us.”

Their parents’ examples of Church service provided a natural foundation for their own marriage.

“We had something in common. Our parents put the Lord first, and we saw them serving, serving, serving. The foundation of our marriage was already there,” said Elder Ortega, who felt the Lord’s guidance while completing his education, serving as a bishop and assisting his wife with their two young children.

“We decided at the beginning of our marriage that we would serve the Lord with all our heart and strength. We followed the same pattern that we saw with our parents. We raised our family serving. Of course, there will be challenges and trials in life, but if we follow that pattern of service, everything will be OK.”

Witness of the Savior

Reflecting on his spiritual journey, Elder Ortega shared his witness of the Savior.

“I do have a testimony of our Savior, that He lives. I’ve seen Him working side by side with me, and I know this is His work, not ours,” he said. “I know He came to save us, to give us light, opportunity, to give us hope in our lives. His eternal Atonement gives us opportunity and hope for us.”

About Elder Eduardo F. Ortega

Family: Eduardo Francisco Ortega was born in Godoy Cruz, Mendoza, Argentina, on July 10, 1977, to Fernando Daniel Ortega and Irma Elvira Endstorfer. Married Gabriela Alejandra Cappi Franzia in the Montevideo Uruguay Temple on September 13, 2002. They are the parents of three children.

Education: Earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture from John F. Kennedy University Argentina and a master’s degree from the University of Belgrano. Received a diploma in leadership from Harvard Business School.

Employment: Worked as a construction project manager, first for SBA Co. and then for Village Roadshow Co. Worked as Latin America real estate director for American Express Co. Served as board member for both Arch Royale Projects Ltd. and CoreNet Global.

Church service: Area Seventy, stake presidency counselor, bishop, bishopric counselor, elders quorum president, high priests group leader and full-time missionary in the Colombia Cali Mission.

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