SAO PAULO — One week shy of his 95th birthday, President Russell M. Nelson bid farewell Sunday to 37,000 Brazilian Latter-day Saints waving white handkerchiefs in the final moments of his Latin America Ministry Tour.
The leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had traveled 14,779 miles, met with the presidents of two countries (Colombian President Iván Duque and Ecuadorian President Lenín Moreno) and addressed more than 344,000 church members in Guatemala, Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina and Brazil during the nine-day, five-nation tour that began Aug. 24.
Traveling with his wife, Sister Wendy Nelson, and Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Mary Cook, President Nelson also addressed missionaries and met with children receiving wheelchairs in partnership with Latter-day Saint Charities.
Still, after taking just a few minutes to reflect with reporters on his “joyful” time in Central and South America, President Nelson looked forward — talking about his upcoming birthday celebration at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, the announcement of new temples during October general conference and more travel.
“This work is moving forward at an accelerated pace. I can hardly wait to bounce out of bed each morning and see what the day will bring.” — President Russell M. Nelson
“There are exciting things ahead,” said President Nelson.
And, he added, there is “more to come.”
“This work is moving forward at an accelerated pace,” he said. “I can hardly wait to bounce out of bed each morning and see what the day will bring.”
With the completion of his trip to Latin America, President Nelson has traveled 98,033 miles to six continents, 28 nations and 43 cities since January 2018.
“For each country we are going in, there is 199 that we are not in,” said President Nelson. “And they are wishing we could come to them. But little by little, we will do the best we can.”
Gathered in the Anhembi Convention Center on a flat, expansive convention floor, Latter-day Saints viewed the meeting with President Nelson on huge screens.
Speaking without a text or without scriptures to the vast audience — joined by another 170,000 members participating from other locations across Brazil — President Nelson spoke from his heart. “I come as a servant of the Lord, with what I hope may be good advice for you,” he said.
He asked the children in the congregation to stand and asked their parents to teach them about prayer, temples, tithing, taking care of their bodies, and about the Atonement and eternal life. ”I think some of these children you have are some of the brightest children that the Lord has ever let come to planet Earth,” he said.
Comparing contention to Utah’s safe driving slogan “Zero Fatalities,” Sister Nelson spoke about having “zero contention.”
“The doctrine of the Savior is zero contention, zero,” she said.
Elder Cook asked church members in Brazil to become one through a shared church history, making their home sanctuaries of faith and including others. “We are united by our love of and faith in Jesus Christ and as brothers and sisters of a loving Heavenly Father.”
Sister Cook asked members to attend the temple. “Every time we visit the temple and perform ordinances there, we are walking on holy ground,” she said.
There are 1.4 million church members, 273 stakes, seven temples and 35 missions in Brazil, the largest Latin American nation. “This is a very special part of the world, the American hemisphere,” said President Nelson. “The Lord loves these people.”
Antonio Carlos de Camargo joined the church in 1947. In 1954, he attended a meeting with President David O. McKay — the first Latter-day Saint prophet to visit the country. The 1954 devotional was held in a small, rented building and attended by about 250 people.
”You can see the difference — 250 to 37,000,” he said after Sunday’s meeting. “What impressive progress the church has made here in Brazil.”
As President Nelson departed, members waved white handkerchiefs. Elder Cook said it was an “intense, spiritual and powerful” experience to look out into the audience as see “a sea of white handkerchiefs as far as you can see, almost in every direction.”