MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay — In a return to “this beautiful country of Uruguay,” Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles found people whose “hearts are filled with warmth and love.”
From June 7-9, Elder Stevenson met with members of all ages of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Montevideo — a laid-back and friendly city that contains most of the population of the South American country.
A highlight for him was a devotional with Primary-age children and their parents on Saturday night, June 7 — he said he was impressed by their enthusiasm and the way they think about the gospel.
“You have never seen faces that were so bright, countenances that were so warm and such an enthusiasm for the gospel,” he said. “We even had a chance to shake hands with nearly every one of those Primary children last night, so that probably is something that I will take home with me, and I will never forget the beautiful faces of young Primary children in Uruguay.”
During his South America assignment this week, Elder Stevenson is accompanied by his wife, Sister Lesa Stevenson, and Elder Eduardo Gavarret, a General Authority Seventy and second counselor in the South America South Area presidency, and his wife, Sister Norma Gavarret. Elder and Sister Gavarret are Uruguayan, and they were greeted warmly with “un abrazo” — a hug — by many members.
After Uruguay, Elder Stevenson’s ministry continues to Argentina and then to Chile, where he will dedicate the Antofagasta Chile Temple on Sunday, June 15.
While in Montevideo, he also met with government and religious leaders, sat down with a national journalist and saw firsthand the Church’s efforts to care for those in need.
While speaking to the members, Elder Stevenson expressed admiration and gratitude to the multigenerational Latter-day Saint families in Uruguay — some of which go back 70 years and are a foundation for their wards and stakes. And he paid tribute to the youth and young adults who are sharing the gospel, preparing for the temple and going regularly to the house of the Lord in Montevideo.
During a special stake conference of the Las Piedras Uruguay Stake on Sunday, June 8, Sister Stevenson reflected on how she and Elder Stevenson were in Uruguay in 2018 with President Russell M. Nelson during his nine-day ministry to five countries in South America.
“I want to testify of a living Prophet,” Sister Stevenson said. “He is truly the Lord’s mouthpiece on earth. We were so blessed to be able to come with President Nelson to Uruguay and to see how he loved this country and people.”
In that stake conference, Elder Stevenson left the members with a testimony and a blessing: “A blessing for each one of you and your families. A blessing that you will find great joy in gospel service, a blessing for your faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement,” he said. “I offer a blessing to you and a testimony of God the Father and Jesus Christ and of the sacred role of Jesus Christ as your Savior and Redeemer.”
Elder Stevenson meets Uruguay’s vice president and Catholic cardinal
Elder Stevenson met with Uruguay’s vice president, Carolina Cosse, on Monday, June 9. He was accompanied by Sister Stevenson and Elder and Sister Gavarret.
They talked about humanitarian efforts, education and other endeavors. Elder Stevenson spoke highly of the children he had met and outlined how young adult members of the Church in Uruguay are engaged in civic affairs and pursuing education.
Also on Monday, Elder Stevenson met Cardinal Daniel Sturla of the Catholic Church. In 2015, Cardinal Sturla met with then-Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who is now the first counselor in the First Presidency.
Monday’s meeting is one of several recent interactions that Church leaders have had with Catholic leaders around the world, including Elder Patrick Kearon of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles with a cardinal in the Philippines last month and Elder Matthew S. Holland, a General Authority Seventy, representing the Church at Pope Leo XIV’s inauguration Mass.
About their conversation, Elder Stevenson said: “I was grateful to share how we invite people to come unto Christ. We are doing that in such a beautiful, remarkable way with the 18 stakes and two districts that are here in Uruguay. It was just nice to be able to visit with each other about that and to be able to offer to him my witness that Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the world.”
An Apostle’s visit to Uruguay is ‘like the sound of a trumpet’
Members spoke of feeling inspired by Elder Stevenson. Inez Gaite Lanz of the Las Piedras stake said: “Jesus Christ is coming soon, and Uruguay needs to know it. All the blessings — having a temple, the visit of an Apostle — is like the sound of a trumpet, a call to action. We are a grateful people, and the Lord is watching over us.”
Her husband, Luis López Rodriguez, told the Church News, “It is not easy to be a member, but we need to remain steadfast, and we will be rewarded.”
One child asked Elder Stevenson, “Do you know President Nelson?” Elder Stevenson smiled and replied in the affirmative.
He told a group of children how impressed he was with them: “I can’t wait to tell the First Presidency that they can be very proud to know the future of the Church will be in good hands in Uruguay.”
To the young adults he said, ”You are the future of the Church. You are powerful, and you are strong.”
Daniel Garcén of the Montevideo Uruguay North Stake said that even being among the 400 to 500 attending the young adult devotional Saturday night, he felt special.
“Every time an Apostle and his wife come and talk, it’s always inspiring for us because it reminds me that the Church cares for us, the Church is thinking about us — that it’s not only worldwide but especially for me at this time,” Garcén said.
Temple work was a main theme during a leadership conference for the leaders of ward and stake organizations from around the country on Saturday afternoon. With a second house of the Lord announced for Uruguay in the April 2025 general conference — the Rivera Uruguay Temple — Elder Stevenson said the Lord is hastening His work in this country.
“The Restoration included ordinances that no one else has. No other temples in the world perform eternal ordinances except those of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” he said.
Elder Gavarret read several verses from Doctrine and Covenants 138, which is a vision given to President Joseph F. Smith in 1918 about the spirit world. Elder Gavarret asked the leaders to ponder, “What blessings can come to people who work in temple and family history?”
Humanitarian efforts in Uruguay are ‘the Savior’s hands’
The Church recently donated new equipment to the Pasteur Hospital in Montevideo. On Monday, June 9, Elder Stevenson visited the hospital and saw the impact of that donation. He told the hospital directors how the Church has a divinely appointed responsibility to care for those in need.
The contribution included a gastroscope, colonoscope and five scalable hemodialysis equipment units.
The hospital’s technical director, Natalia Silva, thanked the Church for the support and said the equipment will strengthen the hospital’s capacity to provide specialized care to its patients.
On Saturday, June 7, the Stevensons and Gavarrets spent time with a group of women who are making blankets for children with terminal illnesses.
The group was created by Gabriela Vega of the San José de Carrasco Ward in the De La Costa Uruguay Stake and previously featured in the Church News.
In the meeting, Vega said, “When we began to knit, I asked the sisters only one question: ‘Are you prepared to knit for a child that might live only one or two days?’ And they said yes.”
Their efforts brought to Elder Stevenson’s mind Mosiah 18:21: “Having their hearts knit together in unity and in love one towards another.”
Sister Stevenson thanked them for their efforts, saying, “We love you. You are being the Savior’s hands here.”
Meeting with the Montevideo missions
Around 380 missionaries from the Uruguay Montevideo and Uruguay Montevideo West missions met together in a chapel in the Malvin neighborhood Saturday morning to hear from Elder Stevenson.
“Every missionary in the country of Uruguay is gathered together,” he said. “We know this has attention from heaven.”
Sister Maryrus Lazo, from Lima, Peru, serving in the Montevideo West mission, said she felt blessed to be able to listen to an Apostle. “I felt really loved. And I can say that I got confirmation that I am here because Heavenly Father wants me to serve here.”
Her companion, Sister Jessica Ivie from South Bend, Indiana, said she felt the love of the Savior through Elder Stevenson. “Jesus Christ lives, and He’s our Savior. This message is something we have the opportunity to share.”
Elder Spencer Palaki, from Seattle, Washington, serving in the Montevideo mission, said Heavenly Father “sees our potential as His sons and daughters, and as missionaries we have the ability to help others find that perspective.”
His companion, Elder Walker Johnson from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, said he got a strong confirmation that his call was from God “and that God really loves us and knows what we are doing.”
