Elder Ulisses Soares learned as a Primary kid how to minister one by one, and it has directed his apostolic ministry to this day.
After his parents joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, branch members showed their love for the Soares family by extending support, inviting them to home evenings and visiting their home to personally get acquainted. And Elder Soares, now of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, still remembers his Primary teacher, Sister Lopes, who would stop by once in a while to better help him understand what he learned in Sunday classes.
“That example remained in my heart as a foundation for my service in the Church,” he recalled. “Her attention and care about ‘one’ made all the difference in my approaches in my ministry in the Church among members.”
To provide a similar support of the “one,” Elder Soares ministered to members, leaders and missionaries in the Asia North Area from May 17 to May 26. Prior to member devotionals in Mongolia and Japan, Elder Soares met with local stake presidencies in every place he visited to ask what concerns he could address for their members. Three of the most common included:
- Finding joy in the journey while living the gospel and serving in the kingdom of God.
- Strengthening the faith of the rising generation.
- Strengthening marriages.
The answer to these and many other concerns, he said, can be found in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. “Even if we are stumbling or staggering, we can fall into His open arms, feel of His perfect love and know that the space between His arms has been consecrated, through His loving and perfect atoning sacrifice, as a place for us.”
Elder Soares held member meetings in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, as well as five cities in Japan: Kyoto, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Sapporo and Tokyo. The Apostle also held leadership meetings in Ulaanbaatar and Sapporo, and ministered to the missionaries in four missions during his visit.
1. Serving in the kingdom of God
“Service in the kingdom of God is an opportunity to extend the loving arms of the Savior to our people and bless them,” said Elder Soares. He shared how serving others and inviting them to come unto Christ can renew faith and bring joy into one’s life.
Elder Soares applauded the maturity and capabilities of local Church leaders in the Asia North Area, many of them first-generation converts who were not raised in a Christian environment. He was “deeply touched,” he said, to hear their inspiring conversion stories, many of which started with Church members willing to shine their light to the world.
“These members were a great and positive influence in the conversion of these great leaders and played a very important role in their retention in the Church.”
Elder Takashi Wada, a General Authority Seventy and president of the Asia North Area, told the Church News that in mission conferences, “Elder Soares encouraged the missionaries to be bold and assured them there are those who are ready to embrace the restored gospel as they open their mouths.”
2. Strengthening the faith of the rising generation
Although the Savior Jesus Christ was perfect, said Elder Soares, he grew “in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man” (Luke 2:52).
“Mary and Joseph probably spent time teaching Jesus as He was growing.” He added that “similar to that process, we have to help our rising generation to do the same using the current and modern sources the Church has put out to help us in this endeavor.” These sources include the scriptures, personal revelation, the words of the prophets, and support materials found in Gospel Library sections like “Children” and “Life Help.”
He quoted Doctrine and Covenants 19:23: “Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me.”
Elder Soares said, “The Lord promised that He would direct our paths if we would accept this invitation. This is one of the most important ways to instill faith and testimony in the hearts of our rising generation. It connects them with the Savior. In Doctrine and Covenants 93:40 the Lord reminds us about the importance of bringing up our children in light and truth. Therefore, Church leaders and parents should unite efforts to help the rising generation develop a personal testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
He continued, “Strong faith and testimonies become our motivation for real conversion and an impenetrable bulwark that protects us from the enemy’s attacks.”
Elder Soares shared the experience of two parents he met years ago in Africa who could not find a good school in the area where they were living and sent their children to boarding school. To strengthen their children’s faith despite the temporary separation, these parents would visit them weekly to study the scriptures and to teach them home seminary classes. They would also pray over the phone at the end of every day.
3. Strengthening marriages
According to “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” “Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Couples can therefore center their relationships on Jesus Christ and His attributes, said Elder Soares, to “find joy together in the journey.”
Families can create a Christ-centered home by reading scriptures, praying, fasting and receiving personal revelation. These acts, he said, can also guide the couple’s efforts in discipleship.
Parents can be prayerful, deliberate, intentional and creative in solving problems and raising their families. He also encouraged husbands and wives to spend time together, listen to each other and engage in family councils.
Despite the different family practices and habits Elder and Sister Soares grew up with, they decided, in consultation with the Lord, to adopt family traditions based on the gospel of Jesus Christ, he recounted. These traditions changed them in all aspects of life, including little things that could have caused disagreements in their marriage.
Elder J. Kimo Esplin, a General Authority Seventy and second counselor in the Asia North Area presidency, told the Church News: “The members were grateful to hear how an Apostle of the Lord faced some of the same challenges they do and how he made time for the Lord, sharing a picture of what it might look like in their own family if they are deliberate, intentional, prayerful and creative.”
South American members in Tokyo
Elder Soares concluded his Asia North Area ministry by speaking to more than 200 Brazilian and 30 Spanish-speaking members from South America. Some Latter-day Saints traveled six or more hours to attend the devotional, given in Portuguese.
While passing through the Denver International Airport, Elder Soares related, he saw signs that said “tornado shelters.” He told his Tokyo, Japan, audience, “Jesus Christ is our protection against the spiritual tornados in our life, and He constitutes the secure shelter where we can be protected.”
Many of the members in attendance had immigrated to Japan for work and have had to adjust to a new way of life. Yet the shelter of Christ, the Apostle said, provides a secure foundation amid uncertain circumstances.
Saints have a personal responsibility to seek this shelter daily, said Elder Soares, by living the basics of the gospel and being worthy of a temple recommend. Making and keeping covenants can also invoke the power of Jesus’ shelter in one’s life, especially by attending the house of the Lord.
Elder Soares ended his Tokyo devotional by testifying of scriptural promises that those who remember the Savior and do righteous works can have the Spirit to guide in daily decisions (see Doctrine and Covenants 20:77) and receive “peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come” (Doctrine and Covenants 59:23).
What attendees learned
“Elder Soares’ visit was particularly personal,” said Elder John A. McCune, a General Authority Seventy and first counselor in the Asia North Area presidency. “He was very down to earth and ‘real’ with the Saints. He shared personal stories in a way that the members could relate.”
A primary focus of Elder Soares’ messages was on Jesus Christ and making and keeping covenants. During COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, said Elder McCune, Mongolia residents were not allowed to leave the country, resulting in no temple endowments or sealings. “It is clear to see why the Mongolian Saints are so overjoyed to have a temple announced in their country.”
One attendee said, “His approach was as a humble disciple of Christ. He showed dignity, respect and love. This was an example to me how we should treat others.”
After a leadership meeting, a Mongolia stake president said: “Focusing on Christ helps us to feel the Spirit more than anything else. My personal inspiration was that if we can help increase the faith of the members, attendance in our meetings will naturally increase.”
One sister adored Elder Soares’ message that those who always focus on Jesus Christ can constantly have the joy and love of God within them.
“Our Savior already overcame the world,” she said. “So no matter how negativity gets stronger in the world, the positivity coming from our Savior will always overcome those worldly darkening effects if we truly and constantly try to live the covenants.”
