When Elder Ulisses Soares was serving as a mission president in Portugal, he prepared a talk for missionaries in a zone conference and felt good about his message.
The morning of the conference, a feeling of doubt came — “as if I heard the Lord’s voice saying, ‘This is not what your missionaries need,’” Elder Soares recalled. He knelt and prayed.
In the latest #HearHim video and blog post released Thursday, May 27, Elder Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles described how the Lord guided him to verses of scripture that completely changed his talk.
The revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith in Doctrine and Covenants 33 for two men who were called to preach the gospel led Elder Soares to give a message that met the exact needs his missionaries had at the time.
“I remember that the feeling of peace that came to my heart was so strong, confirming in my mind and my heart that this was what the missionaries needed to learn on that day,” Elder Soares wrote. “That decision to listen to the Lord changed the direction of our mission, changed the missionaries’ vision and changed the way we carried out the work.”
Elder Soares said he receives a “warm, unmistakable feeling” in his body when something is correct. But the process isn’t instantaneous.
“First, I must do my part. When I’m going in the wrong direction, I feel confused and lost. But when I allow my mind to reflect, the Lord starts to enlighten my mind, and the ideas start to come with more clarity,” he said.
“This process has helped me to center my life more on the Savior and has helped me to hear Him more intensely and continuously.”
Watch more #HearHim videos from Church leaders here.
