President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints taught tens of thousands of Latter-day Saints gathered in Bogotá, Colombia, Sunday afternoon that heaven’s greatest blessings are possible thanks to Jesus Christ.
“We receive great comfort from God when He says: ‘This is my work and my glory — to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man,’” President Nelson said in Spanish, quoting a scripture. “Both of His objectives are possible by the Atonement of His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ.”
“Please, study the scriptures as families. Pray together. Renew your baptismal covenants by regularly participating in the sacrament [the Church’s weekly worship service],” President Nelson said. “Pay your tithes with grateful hearts. Attend the temple as often as your circumstances allow. There you can receive the blessings God has for His faithful children.”
The meeting originated from Movistar Arena in the capital of Colombia and was broadcast to Church meetinghouses throughout the country.
Elder Cook pled with the people to develop their own faith and seek their own witness of the divinity of Jesus Christ.
“Many of you, if not most, have a testimony,” Elder Cook said. “We each need to strive for a personal testimony. President Joseph F. Smith [1838 –1913] said, ‘One fault to be avoided by the Saints, young and old, is the tendency to live on borrowed light [and] to permit … the light within them to be reflected, rather than original.”
Church scripture compares the highest level of heaven (known as the celestial kingdom) with the sun (a self-contained light) and a lower degree of heaven with the moon (a reflected light). In a similar way, Elder Cook said, the goal for a follower of Christ should be to obtain his or her own light from God.
“We cannot obtain the celestial kingdom and live with God the Father and Jesus Christ on borrowed light,” Elder Cook said. “We need our own testimony of Jesus.”
Sister Nelson said these are marvelous days, “filled to overflowing with the fulfillment of prophecies.” With so much going on, she said, “you and I don’t have time for things that don’t really matter. We only have time to understand truth and to do exactly what we came to earth to do. In order to do so, we need to do things the Lord’s way.”
Sister Cook reminded the Saints there are many ways to serve in the kingdom of God.
“Whatever we do, however we serve, we make a difference in someone’s life,” Sister Cook said. “And we serve our Savior. The Lord said, ‘Let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven’ [see Matthew 5:16]. Brothers and sisters, we can wake up every morning and say, ‘This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.’ We are blessed to be engaged in the greatest cause of all, ‘to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man’ [Moses 1:39].”
On Monday, President Nelson, Elder Cook and Elder Enrique R. Falabella of the Seventy met with Iván Duque Márquez, President of the Republic of Colombia. They discussed religious freedom and the importance of protecting families. President Nelson said President Márquez “was a thoughtful host who is very grateful for the help of our Church.”
After the presidential meetings Church leaders traveled to Quito, Ecuador, where an evening devotional will be held at General Rumiñahui Coliseum.
This is President Nelson’s fifth visit to Colombia. He first traveled to the country as an apostle in 1986. Former presidents Spencer W. Kimball and Gordon B. Hinckley have also visited Colombia.
