Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
Elder Soares
- My wife is not here so I am only half a person.
- The First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve pray more for you missionaries than for anyone else in the Church.
- It is a great blessing to know that prophets, seers, and revelators think about you, love you, and pray for you.
- I was only 5 years old when the missionaries first came into our home and taught our family the gospel. I remember how I felt when they were in our home. I did not want them to leave. Those 2 missionaries made ALL the difference in the lives of our family. When I look back at all that has happened in our family since we listened to those 2 missionaries, I don’t think they had any idea what would happen to our family, and especially what would happen to that 5 year old boy in that family. How great is your calling!
- The Lord has complete confidence in you. How can we missionaries respond to that confidence he has placed in us?
- Missionary work requires clean hands and a pure heart. See D&C 38:33 and 42
- Our lives need to be virtuous so continuous revelation can come to us.
- If missionaries carry any burdens of unresolved issues, they move slower and less effectively.
- There are marvelous promises for those who have clean hands and pure hearts and who are obedient.
- The Holy Spirit is the most important influence in our missionary service.
- I am aware of an elder that was serving faithfully. He and his companion participated in a service project to clean up a city park. As they were cleaning, this missionary bent down to pick up a scrap of paper, and the paper happened to be a pornographic picture. The picture was vile and filthy. He only looked at it briefly, but it left an indelible stain in his mind. Despite his best efforts to pray and ponder and try to forget the image, the image remained. He was finally so distraught that he told his mother of the experience in a letter sent home. His mother suggested that he memorize the words to a favorite hymn about the Savior, and that he recite the words whenever he was having problems with the vile image. This simple practice cleansed his soul and his conscience. Through God you can overcome and do ALL things.
- Focus on your purpose — obedience will allow you to be focused. We love you, but beyond that, we trust you!
- As a disciple of Jesus Christ, I bless you with power and courage to rely on the spirit rather than on your own talents and capabilities. I bless you that you will feel peace and love for all of God’s children. I know that God hears us. I know that He loves us. He is our Father. I know these things BY MYSELF — I know that Jesus is the Christ and that He lives. I used to believe these things but I can now affirm to you that I KNOW that He lives.
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