Elder Sergio R. Vargas Relates How He Gained a Testimony in the Middle of the Ocean

This story appears here courtesy of TheChurchNews.com. It is not for use by other media.

By Kaitlyn Bancroft, Church News

When Sergio Rodrigo Vargas Barría fell in love with Andrea Ana Sánchez Maragaño, he had a simple solution to their religious differences: They would have one wedding in his church for his family, and another in her church for her family.

But he quickly learned it would not be that easy. Her parents had joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when she was 6 years old, becoming pioneer members in their home city of Frutillar, Chile. She was raised with the gospel, and she wanted a temple marriage. So she invited him to learn more about her faith from the missionaries.

Elder Vargas accepted the invitation, and his entire life changed.

He recalled working for a salmon company at the time, helping transport live fish by sea. During a 25-hour voyage, he found a private place to read the Book of Mormon and ask Heavenly Father about the Church. Outside it was stormy, but as he felt peace from the Spirit, Elder Vargas received a testimony of the restored gospel.

“That was my sacred grove,” he said.

Since his baptism in 2003, Elder Vargas has striven to serve the Lord. He has held a variety of callings but most recently was sustained as a General Authority Seventy during the Saturday morning session of the Church’s 194th Annual General Conference on April 6.

When called as a new General Authority Seventy, Elder Vargas was serving as an Area Seventy in the South America South Area. His previous Church callings include high councilor, branch president and stake president.

“I am a witness … that Jesus Christ is our Savior and He lives. I know this,” Elder Vargas said, adding: “Every time I serve the people, I reaffirm my testimony that this is true. … And I am willing to serve Him for the rest of my life.”

Testimonies and the Temple

Elder Vargas was born November 2, 1976, in Puerto Varas, Chile, where he and his two siblings were raised. His mother, Gladys Barria, kept the home, and his father, Renato Vargas, was a police officer. Elder Vargas described himself as “just a normal guy” who was more interested in playing basketball with the Latter-day Saint missionaries than in learning from them. “I was like Amulek. ‘I knew concerning these things, yet I would not know’” (Alma 10:6).

Download Photo

He earned a bachelor’s degree in marine resources from the University of Los Lagos in 1999 and a business administration diploma from Austral University in 2002, and began a career as an aquaculture engineer.

Then Elder Vargas met his future wife through her sister. It was love at first sight for him, but she was a little less sure, so they were close friends until she was ready to date him. As their relationship progressed and Elder Vargas planned to propose, she shared with him why her religion was so important to her.

In a Church News interview, Sister Vargas recalled being a teenager and realizing she was relying too much on her parents’ testimonies. She needed to gain a testimony for herself, so she began asking questions in her seminary class.

When she prayed about the gospel, “I felt that this is the true Church,” she said through Elder Vargas, who translated her comments from Spanish. “When I learned about the scriptures, … I felt that I was going out from the meetinghouse with the army of God. … Every time I pray, I feel my Heavenly Father very close to me, and also Jesus Christ.”

Sister Vargas’ faith was an important influence on Elder Vargas, who said he was not prepared to hear the missionaries with an open mind and heart until he met his future wife. He and Sister Vargas were married July 26, 2003, and were later sealed in the Santiago Chile Temple.

Elder Vargas said he experienced a feeling of belonging at the temple that day, as well as the happiness of family members on the other side of the veil. This was especially important to him because the sealing room was virtually empty.

“We were talking with the temple president, … and he told us, ‘I want you to know something very important: that this room is full of people,’” Elder Vargas recalled. “And I turned my head [to look at the empty chairs], and I felt so deeply that my family was there with us in our sealing.”

Download Photo

Challenges and Blessings

Elder and Sister Vargas are the parents of three children: an 18-year-old daughter, a 14-year-old son and a 13-year-old son. Their family has faced its fair share of challenges — such as their 14-year-old son’s heart condition and their daughter’s Type 1 diabetes.

But key to their son’s surgeries was the heart-lung machine that President Russell M. Nelson helped create during his career as a pioneering heart surgeon. The Vargases’ son is alive today and “very healthy,” thanks to President Nelson’s professional work, Elder Vargas said.

Even if they had not received the hoped-for outcome in their son’s case, however, “We have been a witness of miracles because of his condition, and … we are bound [together] with the temple by sacred covenants,” Elder Vargas said.

Another testimony-building experience came during the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Elder Vargas said he felt prompted at the time to expand his education through the Brigham Young University–PathwayConnect program and to learn English. He didn’t fully understand why until later — when those new skills became enormous blessings as he was called as a General Authority Seventy.

“As a family, we have been preparing for a long time,” he said, adding, “To learn a new language, to connect with more people, … I can say that was a preparation for this call.”

Elder Vargas earned a professional skills certificate from BYU–PathwayConnect. Aside from his University of Los Lagos and Austral University education, he also holds a business administration diploma from the University of Concepción and a sustainable business strategy certificate from Harvard Business School Online.

Sister Vargas holds a degree in marine biology from the University of Los Lagos.

Download Photo

Elder Vargas has worked in several positions in the Chilean aquaculture industry, including operations manager assistant, operations deputy manager, farming deputy manager, and operations and infrastructure manager, all for Aquachile.

At the time of his call as a General Authority, the Vargases were living in Frutillar, Chile, and he was working as a production and operational manager for Ventisqueros, a member of the German Schörghuber Corporate Group.

Elder Vargas said he’s now leaving behind the fishnets of his aquaculture experience to more fully focus on becoming a fisher of men.

Church members in Chile are like “a pillar of light,” Elder Vargas continued. He praised local Latter-day Saints for “how faithful [they] are to keep [their] covenants. They live the gospel. They live the gospel daily, and you can see this in them.”

When not busy with Church, work and school obligations, the Vargas family enjoys volleyball, swimming, cooking, baking and spending time with extended family. Elder Vargas especially loves music; he plays the guitar and the drums and has also taught his children. They play Latin American music and a variety of U.S. music together, he said.

‘Jesus Christ Is at the Head’

Since being called as a General Authority Seventy, Elder Vargas said he has reflected on how this calling will allow him to share the gospel. This is important to him because as someone who joined the Church later in life he did not have the opportunity to serve a mission as a young man.

“So, it’s been amazing [to see] how the Lord prepares you,” he said. “Now I know that I have a place in which I belong. And to know that I was prepared before I came here to the earth is something that really touched my heart.”

Sister Vargas added that Elder Vargas’ Church service throughout the years has been a blessing to her and to their family. She has particularly appreciated accompanying him on various assignments around Chile, meeting Church members and learning from their strong testimonies.

Elder Vargas said he wants the people he serves to know that he has a testimony of Jesus Christ. Recalling his conversion experience on the ship, he said: “I knew in that very moment that Jesus Christ lives. … He knew where I was. He knew my name. …

“And that’s why I want to say to other people … that this is the Church of Jesus Christ. This is true. Jesus Christ is at the head, and [President] Russell M. Nelson is our beloved Prophet. That’s what I can tell you.”

Elder Sergio Rodrigo Vargas Barría

Family: Sergio Rodrigo Vargas Barría was born November 2, 1976, in Puerto Varas, Chile. He married Andrea Ana Sánchez Maragaño on July 26, 2003, and they were later sealed in the Santiago Chile Temple. They have three children.

Employment: Elder Vargas has worked in several positions in the Chilean aquaculture industry, most recently as a production and operational manager for Ventisqueros, part of the German Schörghuber Corporate Group.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in marine resources from the University of Los Lagos in 1999, business administration diploma from Austral University in 2002, professional skills certificate from BYU–PathwayConnect, business administration diploma from the University of Concepción, and sustainable business strategy certificate from Harvard Business School Online.

Church service: Area Seventy in the South America South Area, high councilor, branch president, stake president.

Copyright 2024 Deseret News Publishing Company.