Transcript
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-I came on my first assignment AS one of the 12, in 1986, to create the stake in Passo Fundo. Which is in the southern part of the country. That was stake number 53 in Brazil. We now have 250 stakes in Brazil. There were no temples then. Now we have six, with two more announced. That is almost unbelievable. -It's amazing to see the progress of the Church. The Church is expanding and growing every year, and this has been a great blessing for us to be eye witnesses of this growth. [MUSIC PLAYING]
-When you think of the fact that President James E. Faust was among the very earliest missionaries here in Brazil, they hardly baptized anyone. That was more than 70 years ago. And in that period of time, we've grown to a church in excess of a million people. -It's been tremendous to be here with Elder Nelson. -Elder Andersen and I spend an entire day studying the work of this area presidency and of the people of this area. I sense the great responsibility that you have. -We had one day with the mission presidents as well, where we were able to speak to amazingly talented mission presidents, most of whom are Brazilian. -They hopefully learned something from us. We absolutely learned a lot from them. I'm very grateful for the privilege of being with you today. When I come to a stake conference here in Brazil, I see the future of the Church. We're so grateful for our leaders here. -[NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING] -This was a wonderful experience. We read about the apostles in deLiahona and see them in conference, but sometimes they seem so far away. When they are here, the spirit is strong, and it's impressive how they manage to teach simple things, but things that touch us, make us ponder, and make us wish to improve. -I bear testimony of the prophets sacred words to us. I bear testimony of my husband's sacred calling. -What I learned from Elder Andersen's work is that we can always do better. We can always improve. We have the gospel that teaches us how to be better, how to follow the example of Christ, and to try to be like him. -I'm very optimistic. Brazil is part of the heart of the Church. There are leaders, pioneers. The Lord uses the unlikely to accomplish the impossible. It's a marvelous phenomenon. I'm honored to be part of it. In the sacred name of Jesus Christ. Amen. [MUSIC PLAYING]