Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, while ministering in Rome, Italy, met with Rabbi Ariel Stofenmacher from Argentina and shared the importance of family history work with him. Elder Soares later posted a video on Nov. 7 recounting special moments from his visit.
“This is about what we do here, gathering families together forever,” Elder Soares said to Rabbi Stofenmacher while showing him the FamilySearch Center in the Rome Italy Temple.
“So that’s why we search and that’s why we have the temples; we provide them opportunities to be gathered together forever,” said Elder Soares.
Elder Soares was one of several leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who posted on social media this week.
Elder David A. Bednar taught at a devotional at BYU–Idaho that “truth is things as they really are,” to an audience of young adults on Sunday, Nov. 3. Just a few hours later, Elder Bednar shared a post to his social media platforms with a video that highlighted part of his message.
“The warning voice I raised in 2009 was earnest, emphatic and urgent because the technology perils and possibilities were are discussing were just emerging. That was then.
“The warning voice I raise today is more earnest, more emphatic and even more urgent because the technology perils and possibilities we are discussing are everywhere, all the time. This is now,” he said in the video.
The devotional built upon a message Elder Bednar delivered to a similar audience in 2009 titled “Things as They Really Are.” The Apostle discussed the pitfalls of social media and the internet, while raising a voice of warning and love to those who may be caught in its trap.
Primary General President Susan H. Porter and Sister J. Anette Dennis, first counselor in the general Relief Society presidency, are currently ministering in South America and will be going to Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia
They each shared videos on Wednesday, Nov. 6, from Lima, Peru, with the Church’s South America Northwest Area (La Iglesia De Jesucristo Sano).
During their ministery, these leaders have visited missionaries, Primary children and various local members.
President Porter said, “I am loving the beauty of these beautiful countries, and especially the beauty of the people who are so kind and so loving.”
Sister Dennis, who previously served with her husband as mission leaders in Ecuador, said she was excited to be in Peru.
Sister Dennis said in Spanish, ”It has also been a pleasure to be here with the brethren, with the children, with the missionaries in sacrament meetings, in devotionals, in trainings.”
Young Women General President Emily Belle Freeman is ministering in northern Europe, including in Ireland, Scotland, Norway and England, and has been sharing her experiences on social media. The Church’s Newsroom has also posted a couple of videos from her ministry, including when President Freeman visited a Ronald McDonald House being built in Dublin, Ireland, on Friday, Nov. 1. The Church’s donation will provide furnishings, fixtures and equipment for the new facility.
She also met with young women and spoke with members.
“Sometimes our light is the most powerful thing that we bring to a situation,” President Freeman said.
Sister Kristin M. Yee, second counselor in the Relief Society general presidency, together with Relief Society Worldwide, shared a post on Saturday, Nov. 2, with a picture she included in her message in the October 2024 general conference.
In her message, titled “The Joy of Our Redemption,” Sister Yee taught that Jesus Christ’s love has the ability to mend hearts, save the world from its mistakes and help it become something more.
“You may feel at times that it’s not possible to be redeemed, that perhaps you are an exception to God’s love and the Savior’s atoning power because of what you are struggling with or because of what you’ve done,” she wrote in her social media post. “But I testify that you are not beneath the Master’s reach. The Savior ‘descended below all things’ [Doctrine and Covenants 88:6] and is in a divine position to lift you and claim you from the darkest abyss and bring you into ‘his marvellous light’ [1 Peter 2:9].”
Sister Andrea Muñoz Spannaus, second counselor in the Young Women general presidency, invited all to participate in the “Luz de las Naciones” broadcast on Saturday, Nov. 9, at 8 p.m. MST. The video invitation included several of the dancers the celebration of Latin American culture hosted by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
