Elder Soares Offers Counsel, Blessing to Young Single Adults

 
This story appears here courtesy of TheChurchNews.com. It is not for use by other media.

By Rachel Sterzer Gibson, Church News
 

WEST JORDAN, Utah — Roughly 1,400 young single adults had the special opportunity of listening to loving — and personalized — counsel from an Apostle on Sunday night, October 16.

Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles — with the help of his wife, Sister Rosana Soares, and other invited guests — answered questions submitted by young adults during a devotional held at the Jordan Institute of Religion.

Young adults expressed concern about a variety of topics, including decision making, resisting temptation, standing up to opposition and preparing to serve a mission.

Acknowledging that many young Church members have heartfelt questions — more than can be covered in one evening — Elder Soares invited his listeners to do two things.

 
First, “spend more time on your knees and in your scriptures seeking for the truth about what concerns you,” he said. “I can assure you that as you seek for answers with a believing heart, in due time, you will find all the answers you are looking for from your Heavenly Father, who loves you so much, and who is the source of all knowledge.”

Second, focus on the Savior. “As you do so, my friends, I can assure you that you will find answers to the deep and important concerns of your souls.”

Elder Soares blessed the young adults, telling them “as you humble yourselves before the Lord and offer the sincere desires of your heart to Him, you will find the answers to your heartfelt questions, receive the direction you need through the Holy Ghost to continue worthily walking on the covenant path, and feel the peace that can only be obtained through our Savior Jesus Christ.”
 

Hearing God’s Voice

The first question Elder Soares addressed involved learning to hear God’s voice, especially while striving to make decisions.

Learning to hear and heed the impressions of the Spirit is one of the most important tasks of mortality, Elder Soares said.

Follow the pattern established in the scriptures, carefully study out concerns and then make a decision. “Then, in sincere, faithful, and real intentioned prayer, we go to the Lord. If it is right, we will get the sweet surety that comes only from the Holy Ghost. If there is anxiety and uncertainty in our heart, it is better to start this process over,” Elder Soares advised.

 
He also noted that the process often involves the principle of patience. “Not every answer is shaped, designed and timed according to our expectations or specifications.”

There will be times when the Lord will let individuals solve a problem on their own because He trusts them to use their talents, gifts and agency to reason out their own solutions. “We must do our best to be faithful and worthy to have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost with us and qualify to receive personal revelation, but leave for God’s wisdom the management of His answers and blessings,” Elder Soares said.

To those who are striving to keep themselves on the covenant path and to do right, “Heavenly Father will not let us make big mistakes without proper warning.”
 

Resisting Temptation

Another of the young adults’ concerns centered on how to deal with personal temptation, which “is a concern for all of us,” Elder Soares said.

First, he encouraged listeners to look unto the Savior in every thought. “This can be done by striving to align our minds and heart with His, by looking for everything that is good in life.”

Next, Elder Soares told young adults to rely on the Savior as they strive to avoid temptation. “We should be constantly asking for His help and support; He is always ready to succor us in every circumstance. Our mortal inclinations, or the ‘natural man’ as taught in the scriptures, are part of us and will not disappear on their own.”

 
Individuals should avoid things that they know could cause them to fall into temptation, he said. As his wife says, “If we don’t see it, we don’t think of it. If we don’t think of it, we don’t do it.”

Elder Soares recalled the Savior’s dismissal of the devil, who was attempting to distract Him from His mission. “’Get thee hence, Satan. … Then the devil leaveth him, and behold, angels came and minister unto him’” (Matthew 4:10-11).

“If we have the courage to act like Jesus in rejecting temptation, our Father in Heaven can send His angels to minister to us in our most challenging moments, as He did for Jesus,” Elder Soares promised.
 

Withstanding Opposition

One young adult wondered how to stand firm in the gospel of Jesus Christ despite opposition to the Church, its leaders, standards or policies.

“This is a good question precisely because it is heartfelt and clearly coming from a place of faith and a desire to live the commandments,” Elder Soares said.

Heavenly Father wants individuals to ask questions, but in faith, so they can increase their faith in Jesus Christ, he said.

Elder Soares invited a young adult named Noah to share his experience in withstanding opposition.

 
Noah related how he grew up in a conservative Jewish family but after the death of his beloved grandmother, he began to question whether he would see her again. He met with the missionaries, but his family moved and he lost contact with them.

One day he knelt and told Heavenly Father, “If the Church is true, if the Book of Mormon is true, if Jesus Christ is the Savior …, then send the missionaries my way.” The following Saturday he heard knocking on a nearby door and looked out the window to see two missionaries tracting.

Unfortunately, he faced a lot of resistance to his baptism from family and friends who felt he was abandoning his faith, traditions, people and culture.

When faced with opposition, Noah said, “I think that it really comes down to acting on the little faith that we might have … and leaning on that and asking our Heavenly Father in prayer.”

The Church is striving to provide resources to members on difficult issues and questions — such as the Joseph Smith Papers, Gospel Topic essays, etc. — from a faith-filled perspective, Elder Soares noted.

“I believe that the real issue is not that we sometimes have questions or doubts, but it is how we deal with these questions productively with an eye toward increasing our faith in Jesus Christ and His gospel.”

Elder Soares advised listeners to maximize the habits that will fill their lives and hearts with light: prayer, scripture study, Church meetings, temple attendance and partaking of the sacrament.

Next, he said to carefully study the words of Church leaders. “You will find many thoughtful and inspired pieces of advice on how to handle these things.”

Elder Soares reiterated President Russell M. Nelson‘s plea to young adults last May to take charge of their testimonies. “Work for it. Nurture it so that it will grow. Feed it truth. Don’t pollute it with false philosophies of unbelieving men and women,” President Nelson said.
 

Preparing for a Mission

One young adult expressed anxiety about serving a mission and asked how to prepare to represent the Savior.

Elder Soares invited Ashtyn Montgomery, who recently returned from a full-time mission to San Diego, to share her thoughts.

Montgomery described herself as “a scared little girl” when she was getting ready to go on a mission. “But you have to let faith take over fear,” she said.

One of the most important things she did was to focus on her love for the Savior. Any time she was anxious or unsure she thought, “My Savior did this for me. I can do this for Him.”

Those thinking about missionary service should also read and gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon, she advised.

Elder Soares told prospective missionaries to focus on the Savior’s ministry, to prepare to receive the ordinances and covenants of the temple, to learn to love the scriptures and to attend institute classes regularly and intentionally.

In conclusion, Elder Soares testified of the Savior. “It is through the Savior Jesus Christ and His healing, atoning sacrifice that we are enabled to stand tall and strong, even in the face of adversity and temptations. The Savior’s healing power fills our souls with peace, light, understanding, joy and love. As we rely upon our Savior Jesus Christ, we will be strengthened to deal with our struggles, our weaknesses, and our temptations. He will increase our capacity to feel a consistent peace in every circumstance of our lives.”

 
In her remarks, Sister Soares shared the example of two women who became roommates for the summer. One was a member of the Church, and the other was part of the LGBT community. Still, the two became good friends without either of them needing to change their attitudes or beliefs.

“Brothers and sisters, that is a simple but an important example that we need to see. We don’t love people because they are members of the Church or because they are doing things that we think are right. We love them because they are children of God,” Sister Soares said.

Latter-day Saints can respect the differences of others while still upholding their faith, beliefs, testimonies and covenants. Echoing the words of President Nelson, Sister Soares testified, “the answer to our challenges is to increase faith in Jesus Christ.”
 

Receiving Answers

Following the devotional, a long line wound around the chapel and cultural hall and out into the hallways as young adults waited to shake hands with Elder and Sister Soares.

 
“What a blessing to have one of the Savior’s Apostles respond to the concerns of our young adults,” said William Hatch, director of the Jordan Institute of Religion. “Being in the same room with Elder and Sister Soares, learning important spiritual truths and having a chance to shake his hand are very impactful experiences.”

For Larissa Dias, shaking Elder Soares’ hand was definitely memorable.

“I almost cried,” added her friend, Ben Nave.

Besides gaining her own thoughts and impressions from the devotional, Dias said she thought about a friend of hers who was afraid to serve a mission and how the messages were answering that friend’s questions.

Joshua Finch came to the devotional with a question in his heart. Did he receive an answer? “Absolutely,” he said.