"Aligning Our Will with His"

General Conference Applied

S4 E16 – Sunday, January 26, 2025 | “Aligning Our Will with His” by Elder Ulisses Soares; October 2024 General Conference

Listen on Amazon Music | Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Spotify

Podcast Episode Social Media Posts

Facebook | Instagram

Podcast Episode Outline

Introduction

Bio

“Ulisses Soares was sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on March 31, 2018.

“Ulisses Soares was born in São Paulo, Brazil, on October 2, 1958. He married Rosana Fernandes in October 1982. They are the parents of three children and five grandchildren.

“Elder Soares received a Bachelor of Arts degree in accounting and economics from the São Paulo Pontifical Catholic University, School of Economic Science in 1985 and later received a Master of Business Administration degree.

“Elder Soares has served in a number of Church callings, including full-time missionary in the Brazil Rio de Janeiro Mission, elders quorum president, counselor in a bishopric, high councilor, stake executive secretary, regional welfare agent, stake president and president of the Portugal Porto Mission (2000–2003).

“Prior to his call to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Elder Soares had been serving as a General Authority Seventy since April 2, 2005. He was named a member of the Presidency of the Seventy on January 6, 2013. He served previously as a counselor in the Africa Southeast Area, President of the Brazil Area and as a counselor in the Brazil South Area.

“He was an accountant and auditor for multinational corporations in Brazil and director for temporal affairs in the Church area office in São Paulo, Brazil. At the time of his call as a General Authority, he was serving on a special assignment for the Presiding Bishopric of the Church in Salt Lake City.”
This was Elder Soares’s 19th general conference address. His most recent address was “Covenant Confidence through Jesus Christ” from the April 2024 General Conference. That address included three invitations: 1) Live your life as if you’re going to the house of the Lord each day; 2) Don’t offend the Spirit of the Lord; and 3) Pay the price now to develop covenant confidence.

Aligning Our Will with His:

“During our sojourn in mortality, we often wrestle with what we think we know, what we think is best, and what we assume works for us, as opposed to comprehending what Heavenly Father actually knows, what is eternally best, and what absolutely works for children within His plan. This great wrestle can become very complex, especially considering the prophecies contained in the scriptures for our day: ‘This know also, that in the last days … men shall be lovers of their own selves, … lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.’

“One sign that indicates fulfillment of this prophecy is the current growing trend in the world, adopted by so many, of people becoming consumed with themselves and constantly proclaiming, ‘No matter what, I live my own truth or I do what works for me.’ As Paul the Apostle said, they ‘seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s.’ This way of thinking is often justified as being ‘authentic’ by those who indulge in self-centered pursuits, focus on personal preferences, or want to justify certain types of behavior that frequently don’t match God’s loving plan and His will for them. If we let our heart and mind embrace this way of thinking, we can create significant stumbling blocks for ourselves in acquiring the most priceless pearl that God has lovingly prepared for His children—eternal life.

“While it is true that each of us travels an individualized discipleship journey on the covenant path, striving to keep our hearts and minds centered on Christ Jesus, we need to be careful and constantly vigilant to not be tempted to adopt this type of worldly philosophy in our life. Elder Quentin L. Cook said that ‘being sincerely Christlike is an even more important goal than being authentic.’

“My dear friends, when we choose to let God be the most powerful influence in our life over our self-serving pursuits, we can make progress in our discipleship and increase our capacity to unite our mind and heart with the Savior. On the other hand, when we don’t allow God’s way to prevail in our life, we are left to ourselves, and without the Lord’s inspiring guidance, we can justify almost anything we do or don’t do. We can also make excuses for ourselves by doing things our own way, saying in effect, ‘I am just doing things my way.’ …

“While personal circumstances such as genetics, geography, and physical and mental challenges do influence our journey, in things that truly matter, there is an inner space where we are free to choose whether or not we will decide to follow the pattern the Lord has prepared for our life.”
“The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change” by Stephen R. Covey: “One day as I was wandering between stacks of books in the back of the college library, I came across a book that drew my interest. As I opened it, my eyes fell upon a single paragraph that powerfully influenced the rest of my life.

“I read the paragraph over and over again. It basically contained the simple idea that there is a gap or a space between stimulus and response, and that the key to both our growth and happiness is how we use that space.

“I can hardly describe the effect that idea had on my mind. Though I had been nurtured in the philosophy of self-determinism, the way the idea was phrased – ‘a gap between stimulus and response’ – hit me with fresh, almost unbelievable force. It was almost like ‘knowing it for the first time,’ like an inward revolution, ‘an idea whose time had come.’

“I reflected on it again and again, and it began to have a powerful effect on my paradigm of life. It was as if I had become an observer of my own participation. I began to stand in that gap and to look outside at the stimuli. I reveled in the inward sense of freedom to choose my response – even to become the stimulus, or at least to influence it – even to reverse it.”

What is the speaker inviting me to do, and how might I consider taking action?

Invitations

1: “We should align our mind and desires with the will of the Lord and willingly do everything we can during our mortal journey to attain the eternal blessings of God’s kingdom.”

“What works for Thee works for me.”
- “I pray that each of us, in our time and turn, will be able to declare, with covenant confidence, to our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ that ‘what works for Thee works for me.'”
- This is the ultimate destination of our discipleship – aligning our will with Heavenly Father’s will.
Christlike Attribute: I strive to be submissive to God’s will. (Mosiah 24:15) (Humility)
“Lessons from the Lord’s Prayers“, Elder Russell M. Nelson, April 2009 General Conference: “Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world—He who ransomed us with His blood—is our Redeemer and our Exemplar. At the close of His mortal mission, He prayed that His will—as the Beloved Son—might be swallowed up in the will of the Father. In that crucial hour the Savior cried, ‘Father, … not as I will, but as thou wilt.’ So we should pray to God, ‘Thy will be done.'”
“Five Loaves and Two Fishes“, Dallas Jenkins, October 29, 2024, BYU Forum: (Dallas Jenkins is an American filmmaker and producer, best known for creating and producing the critically acclaimed TV series The Chosen.): “I’m very confused at this point. I go into the kitchen, and I’m wallowing in my sorrow, and my wife comes in, and she says: ‘I don’t know why, but I know that God is putting it on my heart almost as clear as it’s an audible voice: ‘Read the story of the feeding of the 5,000, and I do impossible math.’ I don’t know what that means. I don’t know why He’s saying that, but I just know that I know that I know.’ …

“I wasn’t going to be able to solve this and figure this out on my own. Now, I still didn’t know what impossible math meant in this case, because success wasn’t on the horizon. But in that moment, all I cared about was God’s will. So I surrendered, probably for the first time in my life. I broke down … and I got to a place where I was truly okay with whatever God wanted for me. …

“I implore you, starting now, don’t wait until you’re in your forties for God to break you down and bring you to your knees and surrender. Starting now, get to this place, this superpower actually, that comes from giving that up to God. It is not your job to feed the 5,000, it is only to provide the loaves and fish. I love you. And I hope that you can learn that earlier than I did.” (What? Eye. Read. 💡 Newsletter: November 3, 2024)
“It takes a courageous and a willing heart to pause and pursue an honest and meek introspection to acknowledge the presence of weaknesses of the flesh in our life that may impede our ability to submit ourselves to God, and ultimately decide to adopt His way rather than our own. The ultimate test of our discipleship is found in our willingness to give up and lose our old self and submit our heart and our whole soul to God so that His will becomes ours.”
- “Prophets See around Corners” by Sheri Dew: “A year after being called to the Twelve, Elder Russell M. Nelson told students at the Salt Lake Institute of Religion that ‘for the first little while after I was called to the Twelve, I thought, ‘There’s just no way that I can get my arms around this assignment. It’s so enormous – so huge The Lord depends upon twelve human beings to carry the message to every kindred, nation, tongue and people – worldwide – no one excluded.’ I thought, ‘I don’t have a mind line any of the other Brethren of the Twelve.’ Finally, I stopped wondering whether I was adequate or not and … should not spend any of my moments in idle conjecture but should get busy and read the scriptures and make of myself what the Lord would have me be.’
  
  “It is reassuring to know that those called to the highest, holiest offices in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints did not seek or expect the position but are willing to answer the Lord’s call to serve.”
Action:
1. “Lessons from the Lord’s Prayers” – Footnote 1: “The January 1976 issue of the Ensign was published as a ‘Special Issue on Prayer.’ The sincere student of prayer will gain much from a study of those articles.” I am going to study the January 1976 issue of the Ensign specifically trying to better understand how to align my will with Heavenly Father’s will through prayer. I will also study the section on “Prayer” in the Guide to the Scriptures on the Church’s website. (“The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that we must ask for in order to obtain.”)
Promise: “As we strive to be true to every covenant we have entered into and live ‘by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God,’ we will be protected against falling victim to the sins and errors of the world—errors of philosophy and doctrine that would lead us away from those most precious pearls.”

Take Action

How will you take action on the invitations extended in this General Conference address?

Conclusion

As we conclude this episode, I have some important information. Show notes for this and all other episodes can be found on my website, mitchellryanpeterson.com. On my website, you will also find my weekly What? Eye. Read. 💡 newsletter.

In my newsletter, I share the best thing I heard, saw, and read during the past week, as well as the best idea I developed. If you are wondering how you can help me: if you could subscribe to, rate, and review the podcast as well as share it with others, I would appreciate it. And please also sign up for my newsletter at mitchellryanpeterson.com.

You can also follow me on Instagram and Facebook where I share additional General Conference related content. The links to my social media accounts are in the podcast episode details for each podcast episode. Lastly, please remember that General Conference Applied is meant to be a supplement for your review of General Conference Addresses.

I promise that you will get more out of each General Conference Applied episode when you study the General Conference address first. Thank you for joining me in this effort to become doers of the word and to take action on general conference invitations.

Additional Content

Previous Podcast Episode (“Holiness to the Lord in Everyday Life” by Elder Gerrit W. Gong)

Next Podcast Episode (“Welcome to the Church of Joy” by Elder Patrick Kearon)

All Podcast Episodes