Notable quotes:

Elder Soares spoke about becoming "one in Christ" during his October 2018 general conference address:

“Those of us who are at different points in the long journey of discipleship must extend a warm hand of fellowship to our new friends, accept them where they are, and help, love and include them in our lives.”“Service is one of the great geniuses of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”“We can do much better and should do better in welcoming new friends into the Church.”

Talk summary:

God’s children come together in the restored Church from different social backgrounds, traditions, and cultures — forming a wonderful community of Christ.

Through encouragement, support and love, members combine to form a mighty force for good in the world.

Inspired prophets teach members how to support and love one another so they can be united in faith and purpose.

“As we strive to acquire His divine attributes in our lives, we become different than we were, through the Atonement of Christ the Lord, and our love for all people increases naturally.”

New members need fellow members who are interested in them, he added. They also need an assignment and nourishment “by the good word of God.”

Promised blessings:

Elder Ulisses Soares promised that individual lives will be strengthened and blessed as Latter-day Saints of all backgrounds come together and serve as followers of Christ.

Speaker snapshot:

Elder Ulisses Soares is one of the newest members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He was sustained on March 31, 2018.Born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, he is the first and only Apostle from South America serving in the quorum.Elder Soares visited Brazil in his first official visit since his call to the Twelve in August 2018.In his new calling, Elder Soares oversees the Church’s Africa West and Central America areas.He is on the Missionary Executive Council and the Human Resources Committee.From 2000-2003, he served as the mission president of the Portugal Porto Mission.Elder Soares studied accounting and economics at the Sao Paulo Pontifical Catholic University. He also received a Master of Business Administration.Elder Soares is trilingual — in addition to Portuguese, his native language, he speaks English and Spanish.He married Sister Rosana Fernandes in October 1982.Both he and Sister Soares served in the Brazil Rio de Janeiro Mission. They began dating after their missions when they ran into each other at a stake dance.He and his wife have three children and three grandchildren.

On the Web:

See what Elder Soares has been saying lately on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.In his first social media post as an Apostle, Elder Soares shared a mosaic of Christ he keeps in his office.

In a recent Facebook post, Elder Soares shared a tribute about his wife while they were visiting Africa.

Elder Soares has spoken about the significance of being a child of God and the dangers of discrimination in a recent video.