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.”

Downloadable video: B-roll | SOTs | English transcription of SOTs

The prophet reminded the assembled Saints during this second stop on his nine-day journey that God will bless them as they are faithful.

28 [Heavenly Father's] objectives are possible by the Atonement of His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. —President Nelson 

“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.

President Nelson was joined by his wife, Wendy, and Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Mary, who are traveling with the prophet on a five-country ministry of Latin America.

nelson colombia Elder Quentin L. Cook speaks to Latter-day Saints at an afternoon devotional at the Movistar Arena in Bogotá, Colombia, on August 25, 2019. 2019 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

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.”

nelson colombia President Russell M. Nelson and his wife, Wendy, greet Colombian faith leaders prior to an afternoon devotional at the Movistar Arena in Bogotá, Colombia, on August 25, 2019. 2019 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

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."

Elder Cook said the meeting “was a conversation about family and children and trying to have better homes.” In a reference to the Church providing humanitarian aid to Colombians Elder Cook said that President Duque “expressed great gratitude … for the assistance the Church has given.”

President Nelson said that President Duque “made a very strong statement about how the moral strength of the various religious communities is part of his governmental hope. He wants all the good that he can get from our church and the others.” He continued, “A plural society with religious orientation is very strengthening to the values of the country and the strength of families.”

Elder Falabella noted, “When President Nelson was asking what we can do for him or his country, he said something very simple but powerful. He said, ‘Please pray for me.’ That’s a sign that he’s a religious man. He believes in God.” In response, President Nelson said that senior Church leaders pray for government leaders every Thursday in the Salt Lake temple.