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While in Chile, Elder Soares teaches importance of learning of Christ, following the prophet

‘If more people felt the Savior’s love, the world would be different,’ Elder Ulisses Soares tells members in Santiago, as he begins three-country ministry trip

SANTIAGO, CHILE — The challenges in the world today can be alleviated by learning of Christ and following the prophet, Elder Ulisses Soares said in Santiago, Chile, at the beginning of a three-country ministry trip to the South America South Area.

“With all that is happening in the world, it is easy to feel uncertainty,” he said. “Coming unto Christ and following the prophet has never been more important.”

Local Church leaders in Santiago, Chile listen to Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Elder Craig C. Christensen, a General Authority Seventy and president of the South America South area on Saturday, June 3, 2023. | Christina Smith, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

While in Santiago over the past four days, Elder Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke with missionaries, addressed members at a multistake conference and participated in a special family home evening broadcast for members in Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina.

Joined by his wife, Sister Rosana Soares, Elder Soares focused his message on the foundational gospel actions of reading the scriptures to learn how to emulate the Savior, following the prophet to prepare for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, and ministering in higher and holier ways.

Elder Craig C. Christensen, president of the South America South Area and a General Authority Seventy, also participated in the ministry trip with his wife, Sister Debbie Christensen. Elder Christensen added to Elder Soares’ counsel to follow the prophet and seek personal revelation.

“Do what is needed to have a rhythm of spiritual renovation each day. Pray, reflect, study,” Elder Christensen said.

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Changing lives as missionaries

Speaking to missionaries from both the Chile Rancagua and Chile Santiago South missions, Elder Soares shared why he feels it is important for missionaries to be teaching gospel principles with urgency.

“Many values are disappearing from society,” he told them. “We’re here to teach about Christ, His commandments and about the spiritual protection that comes from obeying them. … Spiritual power comes when we are obedient.”

He told the missionaries that a principal benefit of their service is that they will strengthen their own testimonies by sharing them with others. As a result, they will become a new person by the time they complete their mission.

Elder Christensen served his own mission in the same part of Chile as the missionaries he and Elder Soares addressed. He shared that he still has a deep love for the Chilean people and encouraged the missionaries to see beyond the individual person they might be teaching.

Elder Craig C. Christensen, a General Authority Seventy and president of the South America South Area, speaks to members of the Church in Santiago, Chile, on Saturday, June 3, 2023. | Christina Smith, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

“Behind every individual is a family, and each of them is a child of God,” he said. “Invite them with so much faith and so much love that they won’t be able to help but feel the Spirit.”

As missionaries left on foot, in taxis and on buses, they appeared to be full of energy for the feelings they had during the devotional.

“I feel like the Spirit revealed to me a goal I should have for this final stretch of my mission. It was exactly what I needed to know what He expects of me right now,” said Sister Emily Borquez, a missionary serving in the Chile Santiago South Mission from Coquimbo, Chile. 

Sister Borquez is only a few weeks away from the end of her mission, and she said she is now more excited to move forward with the rest of her life using what she has learned during the last 17 months. The devotional’s message had a positive effect on newer missionaries, as well. 

“Sharing a personal testimony can change lives, so I’m going to work on doing that more,” said Elder Bryce Neeley, a missionary serving in the Chile Santiago South Mission from Denver, Colorado. 

“Those experiences that I’ve had have changed me, and they can help themselves to be better, too.” 

Help youth serve

On Saturday, June 3, Elder Soares took time to answer questions from local Church leaders in a standing-room-only meeting in San Bernardo, just south of Santiago. Among the topics covered were questions about supporting youth, temple worship and teaching the gospel in the home.

People walk the streets of Santiago, Chile, on Monday, June 5, 2023. | Christina Smith, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Elder Soares said he has observed a difference in the current generation of youth than those that preceded it.

“This generation needs to feel something in their hearts. They need to serve. … This connects them to the Savior.”

Elder Christensen said that this means that leaders and parents need to “be present for them and with them” and encouraged the adults to serve alongside the youth.

“Get them doing. Start young because they experience life young. They want to do,” he said.

Elder Soares explained this doesn’t mean the adult leaders need to figure out what to do for the youth. He said it means they need to allow the youth to lead and figure out how things can be done.  

“We adults need to listen to the ideas of youth because they know what will work. They are capable.”

By the end of the night, Elder Soares told the group that he could feel the goodness of their hearts through their questions.

‘The world would be different’

In a special stake conference for the Santiago Chile Los Alerces Stake, Sister Soares spoke about the need for the Church to be organized the way the Savior organized it during His earthly ministry. She said the current trend of personal spirituality without prophetic direction is misguided and incomplete.

“We need more than to be good people or spiritual people,” she said. “And we certainly can’t obtain forgiveness on our own.”

Sister Rosana Soares, wife of Elder Ulisses Soares, speaks during a stake conference in Santiago, Chile, on Sunday, June 4, 2023. | Christina Smith, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Sister Soares shared her message in Spanish, much to the delight of the members in the audience. Elder Soares also spoke in Spanish and told conferencegoers that “the best language to speak is the language of our hearts — the language of the love we feel.” Adding that he felt the love of Heavenly Father as he was speaking to them.

“If more people felt the Savior’s love, the world would be different,” Elder Soares said. “But as members of the Church, we feel it, and we need to feel it better. We need to focus our life on the Savior to feel [His love] more.”

Quoting from John 8:12, Elder Soares read the words of the Savior to help explain how to feel His love and have His light.

“[H]e that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

Elder Soares said the Savior was capable of making such a bold promise “because He is the source of light.”

“By being aligned with God, we put ourselves in a position to receive His help.”

Building good habits as young adults

Sunday night, young adults from the area gathered in a packed stake center in San Bernardo to learn from Elder Soares and ask the Apostle some of their own questions.

“I know some of you have traveled three or four hours to be here tonight. When we are done, I hope you have something to talk about on your drive home,” Elder Soares said at the beginning of the meeting.

Young adults gather to learn from Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles at a young adult devotional on Sunday, June 4, 2023, in Santiago, Chile. | Christina Smith, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

He told the hundreds of young adults in attendance that President Russell M. Nelson knows that the times in which they are living are not simple and that he prays for them.

Elder Soares was direct with the young adults in telling them they have a role to play in navigating the challenges of the day, as well. He said that many of them studied the gospel for three hours each day as missionaries but wonder why they don’t feel the Spirit as strongly when they return home and leave that type of habit behind.

“We need to maintain good habits after the mission,” he said. “If we only have 15 to 20 minutes, we need to transform them to be as impactful as three hours were in the mission.”

For Mosiah Apablaza, of the Jardines Branch in the Buin District, didn’t anticipate anything big to come out of attending the devotional. But, he said, he was surprised when one of the questions answered was the same one he had been thinking about recently. 

“If something is true, you have to act on it. That was an answer I needed. It helped me a lot, and I didn’t expect it,” he said. 

Yanira Aedo Zelada from the Amengual Ward in the Santiago Chile Cinco de Abril Stake was encouraged by her parents to attend the devotional after having had a hard weekend. 

“I was just thinking about some things that had me feeling sad and questioning the direction I was going,” she said. “The words that I heard in this devotional were inspiring and made me feel the love of my Heavenly Father. It made me feel that He is close to me and that He wants me to be close to Him.”

A testimony on live television

Monday afternoon Elder Soares joined an internationally broadcast television show called “Conectados” that is produced in Chile’s TVN network studios in Santiago.

The show’s hosts asked a variety of questions about the Church, the gospel and the work of an Apostle.

Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles speaks with Maria Jimena Pereyra and Jorge Hevia on Chilean television network TVN’s “Conectados” on Monday, June 5, 2023, in Santiago, Chile. | Christina Smith, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

When asked what it meant to him to be an Apostle, Elder Soares shared his feelings for the Savior and the gravity of the calling.

“This is a calling that will last for all my life until I go to the other side of the veil … going all over the world, carrying the word of God and the words of His Son Jesus Christ,” he said. “It is a life of devotion and full-time dedication — a life that brings much satisfaction to our hearts because being close to Jesus Christ and teaching His words is something special [and] marvelous.”

“An apostle is a man called by God through inspiration to the prophet on the earth today to represent Jesus Christ and testify of Him.”

Elder Soares also talked about the work the Church’s members do around the world to serve others. He mentioned the tsunami relief needed in Tonga in recent years. He talked about helping countries and their needs while recovering from COVID-19. And he talked about the organizations the Church works with to accomplish service in other countries.

“There are agencies and entities that we work with to help people move forward,” he said.

He also gave examples of the monetary contributions made by the Church to help with the World Food Programme, UNICEF and refugees from conflicts around the world.

Four-country home evening

One of the unique ways Elder and Sister Soares shared their testimonies of the Savior came when they participated in a family home evening broadcast from Church offices located next to the Santiago Chile Temple.

The Soareses and the Christensens joined Elder Lorenzo E. Norambuena, an Area Seventy, with his wife, Carolina, the temple president and matron of the Santiago Chile Temple, Hernan and Rosa Herrera, and four members of the Velasquez family — Pablo, Isabel, Antonela and Gabriel.

Together, the group addressed a series of questions about strengthening families through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Elder Soares talked about how many people say they want to be like the Savior but that they don’t study His life enough to know how to be like Him.

“Knowing His teachings, incorporating them in our lives, and following His example, we can live more like Him,” he said. “… What better way is there to be like Him than to study His life and do as He lived and taught?”

Sister Soares said that this does not mean that individuals won’t have challenges in their lives.

“Of course we will have challenges, but we will have the help of the Lord to overcome those challenges because we are doing what we can,” she said.

About the Church in Chile

Chile is home to more than 600,000 members who worship and serve in 74 stakes with 572 wards and branches. Missionaries serve in 10 missions throughout the country.

The temple in Santiago was the Church’s 24th in the world and will mark 40 years in operation this coming September. This temple was the second to be dedicated in South America and was dedicated in 1983 by then-Elder Gordon B. Hinckley. Chile’s second temple is in Concepción, nearly 300 miles to the south of Santiago. It was dedicated five years ago by President Russell M. Nelson. Two additional temples have been announced. The temple in Antofogasta has been under construction since 2020. And a second temple in Santiago was announced in 2021.

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