Elder Soares Encourages Australian Saints: 'Reinforce Your Spiritual Foundations'

On Sunday, 16 March 2025, Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints spoke to members and friends of the Church in Brisbane, Australia.

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Elder Soares attended a special stake conference for congregations in the Cleveland area of eastern Brisbane. A stake is a Latter-day Saint term for a group of congregations in a geographical area. Following the stake conference, Elder Soares met with local Church leaders.

At the same time as the stake conference in Cleveland on Sunday morning, fellow General Authorities of the Church who are travelling this week with Elder Soares—Elder Arnulfo Valenzuela of the Presidency of the Seventy; Elder Peter F. Meurs; Elder Taniela B. Wakolo; and Elder Jeremy R. Jaggi—attended four other special stake conferences in other parts of Brisbane and south-east Queensland.

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Elder Soares spoke to all in attendance at the five conferences via broadcast for the final 30 minutes of the meetings.

Elder Soares expressed his love and concern for those impacted by a recent cyclone and subsequent flooding, sharing that President Russell M. Nelson, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also expressed his concerns for those affected.

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“I am a witness of his love, and I see his expression of love for everyone through the love of the Saviour,” Elder Soares said.

Elder Soares also spoke about the need to reinforce our own personal spiritual foundations comparing this with the need to repair the gaps that existed in the original foundation of the Salt Lake Temple due to the effects of erosion.

He said, “Nothing is more important than reinforcing our foundations and closing the gaps of spiritual erosion in our lives. We need to reinforce our spiritual foundations consistently and constantly against the erosion of life and the world. Nothing invites the Spirit more than when we centre our lives on Jesus Christ. That is how we close the spiritual gaps in our foundations.”

Elder Soares challenged all to apply the teachings of Jesus Christ and develop His attributes.

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Elder Soares also encouraged Church members to listen to and heed the words of the Prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, promising that this will help us “overcome any challenges we face in this life.”

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After the special stake conferences and a leadership meeting, Elder Soares and other Church leaders met with two families who have been impacted by recent flooding.

He offered love and encouragement to the families, listening to their experiences.

Elder Soares said, “As we centre our lives on the Saviour Jesus Christ, we are able to get the strength we need to go forward in life, despite all the challenges and difficulties we may face during our mortal journey.”

James Easthope, of Brisbane, enjoyed meeting with Elder Soares and others. After the meeting, he said, “As President Nelson has taught us, thinking celestially helps us to have a better perspective on things. Whilst we might lose temporal things, the wider picture helps us to know that deep down it is our testimony that matters.”

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Abby Easthope added, “Thinking of when President Nelson said our joy in life has to do not with our circumstances, but with our focus, and keeping our focus on the Saviour helps me to think positive, think celestial, and that helps me get through the hard times.”

Tala Solitua, who also met with Elder Soares, said, “If we follow the Saviour’s path, we know we have the potential to get through all of this with Heavenly Father’s help.”

Elder Soares invited the families to turn their hearts to Jesus Christ and to “count on Him.”

“He has His warm arms outstretched at the beginning of your day, always ready to embrace you, to support you, to help you in any circumstances. Just trust Him. He understands your pain. That one I can assure you. For sure.”