MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay — On a beautiful and bright fall morning in Montevideo, Uruguay, Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles continued his ministry in the South America South Area by meeting with the president of Uruguay.
On Wednesday, June 7, President Luis Lacalle Pou received Elder Soares at his official residence called the Suárez Residence.
“All of us can do something and live together and work together in different ways. We can do something to bless the people,” Elder Soares said of his meeting with the president.
The 40-minute meeting came one day after Elder Soares arrived in Montevideo. The Apostle also spoke to young adults and missionaries during this second stop of a three-country ministry trip that will continue in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Thursday, June 8.
Elder Soares was accompanied in the meeting by Elder Joaquin E. Costa, General Authority Seventy and first counselor in the South America South Area presidency.
“The president shared the biggest concerns he has for families and individuals, and he let us know of several avenues where we can help,” Elder Costa said.
Letting the president know that the Church is willing to help the people of Uruguay in different ways touched Lacalle’s heart, Elder Soares said.
“I reaffirmed to him that we love God because that’s the first commandment and that we love our neighbor and that we do everything we can to help people,” Elder Soares said. “We use the resources we have through serious entities and organizations in the world in order to express our love to our neighbor.”

Elder Soares and Lacalle spoke of the challenges faced by the South American nation and the shared hope they have to help those who are facing the growing challenges of addiction in Uruguay.
“It is a big, growing problem here in this country, and [Lacalle] wants to help these people to leave this condition and to be productive in the community,” Elder Soares said.
After Lacalle expressed his concerns about the addictions some in Uruguay are experiencing, Elder Soares shared with him about the Church’s “Finding Strength in the Lord: Emotional Resilience” classes that are available in Spanish and 14 other languages.
“We talked about his initiatives, his programs, his desire to help the people of his country, and we have worked with him on some initiatives and also on some humanitarian projects in this country,” Elder Soares said.
For Lacalle, this was not his first experience with the Church. Prior to taking office in March 2020, he attended a religious liberty symposium at Brigham Young University in 2019.
“The Church and the Uruguayan members have a long tradition here in the country that goes back to the 1940s,” said Elder Costa.

Elder Costa added that Lacalle was familiar with the Church’s history of serving in the country.
“The Church in Uruguay has helped in many, many communities and more than 70 humanitarian projects,” Elder Costa said.
Lacalle’s father was also president of the country and was in office from 1990-1995. Six years after leaving office, Luis Alberto Lacalle, attended the open house of the Montevideo Uruguay Temple prior to its dedication in 2001.
Elder Soares was happy that the meeting went as well as it did and said he looks forward to seeing how the Church supports the people of Uruguay moving forward.

“There are many positive things that came out of this meeting,” he said.
The opportunities that come will help show how members of the Church live and serve as the Savior did, Elder Soares explained.
“They have to know that we are engaged in doing good, in helping people, in blessing people. That’s part of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Following his short time in Uruguay, Elder Soares will next visit with religious leaders in Buenos Aires, Argentina, as part of the World Congress of Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue on Thursday, Jun. 8.
The Church in Uruguay
The Church in Uruguay has more than 100,000 members in a country of 3.4 million people. They attend church in 129 wards and branches. Missionaries serve in two different missions that divide the country in half.
The Montevideo Uruguay Temple was dedicated by President Gordon B. Hinckley in 2001.
President Russell M. Nelson last visited Uruguay in 2018 as part of a global ministry tour.