The leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Sunday reminded a massive gathering of church members in Glendale to follow the covenants to unlock God's promises and reminded them about the important role that church members will play in preparing for the second coming of Jesus Christ.

An estimated 68,000 people flocked to State Farm Stadium in Glendale to attend a visit from President Russell Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in what is believed to be the largest LDS gathering in Arizona history.

The Glendale devotional comes one month after Nelson's trip to Chico, California, which sought to offer hope to victims of last year's Camp Fire, the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history. Over the past year, Nelson also has spread his message abroad, with events in places including England, Zimbabwe, China, the Dominican Republic and Peru.

Nachelle Sampson and her 11-year-old daughter traveled from Apache Junction to see Nelson. It’s the first time, Sampson said, that she or her daughter have heard from a man who is revered as a prophet by members of the church.

Nelson, 94, became president of the Salt Lake City-based Church in January 2018.

"It’s kind of like going to Disneyland,” Sampson said. “It’s, like, this is a man who’s very close to God and he’s here to speak to the people of Arizona and give us direction and revelation. It’s a great feeling."

Sampson said she was glad that her daughter would get to hear from Nelson at such a young age, hoping that the experience would stay with her as she grows up.

Nelson began his speech with humor, noting how his life turned out much differently than he imagined it would.

"As the one on our high school football team who sat on the bench during most games, I must say this is an amazing sight — to be with you in a football stadium filled to the rafters,” he said.

Nelson then delved into a story about he and his wife, Wendy, visiting one of her young cousins two weeks ago. The cousin, whom he gave the pseudonym “Robert,” is a Brigham Young University student who had just returned from a mission trip when he had a skiing accident that left him with a fractured spine, split sternum, broken ribs and no feeling in his legs.

Nelson said family and friends fasted and prayed that God would heal Robert from his wounds, but said that they found comfort in knowing that “Robert is of Abraham.”

"All the promises the Lord made to Abraham are for Robert too — if he keeps his covenants,” he said. “At this moment, Robert’s spinal cord has been severed, but his blessings through the Abrahamic covenant are intact.”

Nelson said God’s “miracle” of giving Abraham and Sarah a son, Isaac, even though they were considered too old to have children, could comfort Robert’s family as they prayed for a miracle with Robert’s recovery. He cited numerous other of God’s miracles to Abraham, and stated that so long as followers are true to their covenants, they would “have access to the power of God to do the seemingly impossible in our lives.”

He said that being faithful to covenants means followers have to be willing to be seen as “peculiar” by others.

“Our thoughts, behavior, language, entertainment, fashion, grooming, and time on the internet — to name a few things — are to be distinct from patterns and habits considered as normal by the world,” Nelson said.

Nelson concluded his speech by emphasizing the important role that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints plays in furthering Jesus’ cause as his return to Earth nears.

President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency spoke before Nelson. Oaks focused on faith and trusting God’s will, plan and timing. Oaks discussed technological, cultural and other changes that impact young people in the Church, but emphasized the need to hold true to LDS values despite what the worldly trends may be.

"Too many of you are selling your precious time into slavery by excess talking and texting,” Oaks said. “Cut it back and rejoin the world of those who talk face to face. That is what we need for our future missionaries, as well as what you need for all that follows.”

Mormon faithful battled traffic to hear leader

Early crowds battled traffic and long security lines getting into the stadium as an expected 68,000 attendees filtered in to hear Nelson speak.

“The traffic was really slow on the roads getting into the stadium,” said Andrea Alonso, a member of the LDS Church for four years now. However, she said once they got in, the event coordinators made it easy for them to navigate to their seats.

Alonso attended the event with her boyfriend, Gustavo Lazaro, who was baptized just two weeks ago.

“I am really excited to see him, especially since I just got baptized,” Lazaro said. “I hope today I will learn a lot to help me continue on with my plans and with my faith.”

Alonso said she expected something big from Nelson’s speech.

“This is like the Savior is talking to us so it means a lot,” she said. “This is coming from our Father so we expect something emotional and big.”

Jake Dalton, 17, had similar hopes for the devotional.

"I’m at that age where you’re on the cusp and you don’t know exactly what you’re going to do,” he said. “You’re about to graduate high school, you’re trying to think about college and maybe serving a mission, so I’m hoping to get some inspiration and direction.”

Dalton said his faith used to not play as large of a role in his life as it does now. He said the guidance of the leaders of the LDS church has helped influence his decisions and point him in the right direction for adulthood.

Stadium went silent as Nelson entered

A quietness fell over the stadium at around 5:45 p.m. and congregants stood in silence as Nelson entered the venue.



Once congregants were permitted to sit, sections of church members would wave as Nelson looked in their direction.

Just before 6 p.m. a choir kicked off the event by singing the hymn, “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.” The entire stadium then joined in singing “Now Let Us Rejoice” before a church leader prayed over the event.

Sister Kristen M. Oaks addressed the crowd, stressing the importance of following the tenets of the Book of Mormon and not being tempted by worldly desires. She said she could promise that those who stayed true to their covenants would be “uplifted and edified” through their faith.

Sister Wendy M. Nelson, Nelson's wife, then took the stage to address the crowd. She began her speech by noting the devotional’s proximity to Valentine's Day, saying she wishes she and her husband had the ability to hear what each congregant needs in order to feel more loved and supported by the church.



A large percentage of her speech was spent discussing her belief in her husband as the “living prophet of God on Earth.” She went on to describe the many times she said her husband has been awoken during the night because he is receiving a message from God.



She talked about spiritual experiences she has had that further solidified her faith before turning the stage over to her husband.

More than 6 percent of Arizonans are Mormon

A little more than 6 percent of Arizona's population identifies as Mormon, according to 2017 U.S. Census figures, ranking it behind only Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and Nevada for population percentage. In terms of actual numbers, there are more than 428,000 church members in 895 congregations throughout Arizona, church spokeswoman Jennifer Wheeler said last week. That places it fourth, behind only Utah, California and Idaho.

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Arizona is home to six Temples. Five of those currently are operating, while one, Arizona's original Tempe in downtown in Mesa, is temporarily closed for renovations.

The Mesa Temple opened in 1927. It was the only one in the state until 2002, when a Temple was dedicated in Snowflake. Since then, Temples have opened in Graham County near Thatcher (2010); Gilbert and Phoenix (2014), and Tucson (2017).

Kristin Egnor has heard an LDS president speak before at the faith’s general conference, but it’s the first time she’s been able to bring her young daughter along to hear from one.

Egnor called it a “rare opportunity” for her and her daughter to see in person what they talk about every day.

"She’s young but she can still feel the spirit,” she said. “We talk about that, and she talks about it, and it’s an opportunity to feel it and recognize it.”

Egnor also said the event was special because of its ability to unify believers in the faith.

"It’s easy to feel like you’re all alone, so when you come here and see thousands and thousands of people that believe in the same thing you do and support you and, in a way, love you — there’s nothing like it,” she said.

In a statement last week, Nelson said that his message in Glendale would focus on spreading the Lord's love everywhere.

"Our doctrine is not complicated or convoluted or complex," he said. "It's so simple — love God and love your neighbor."

Last year, Nelson urged members to stop describing themselves as "Mormons," saying that it is offensive to God to use anything other than the faith's full name.

Sean Glenn of Mesa attended the Glendale event with his family. He said Nelson has inspired him to pray with his family every day and to be part of the gathering of Israel. Glenn said it was important for him to bring his children to see the church president as they grow up and form their faith.



“It’s extremely important that our kids learn about Jesus and learn about values and about loving and helping each other,” he said. “I think an experience like this can be really life-changing and life-forming.”



Glenn praised Nelson’s speech and leadership style since taking office, and said he was also appreciative of the opportunity to hear from Sister Oaks and Sister Nelson.



“I’m grateful that the women in our church are giving us great counsel and leading and I really appreciated their advice too,” he said.

Heidi McElhaney of Queen Creek called Nelson’s speech “inspiring” and described it as “another testament to me that he’s the prophet of God.”



She said she came to the event to feel the spirit of God and that she “absolutely” felt it as Nelson addressed the crowd.



“I think his style is Christ-like love,” she said. “You can just see the love in his eyes and in what he does and you can physically feel his love.”