Reactivation efforts offer the warmth of 'home'
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Elder Eduardo Gavarret said that when he was a boy living in Minas, Uruguay, he and the rest of the members of his family would gradually gather to their home's warm, comfortable dining room as they finished their chores. Members of the Church "should have the opportunity to experience such pleasant feelings," said Elder Gavarret of the Seventy in his address during the Sunday afternoon session of conference.
"And they can experience these feelings through our efforts of reactivation and missionary work," he said.
As an example, he told of more than 1,700 members in Peru "who have come home."
"What made it possible for these persons to return home?" he asked, answering, "It was the combined effort of 14 stakes and four districts in a mission who labored for one year to bring about the return of all these persons through reactivation and the ordinances of baptism and confirmation."
Elder Gavarret related the story of Lima Peru Puente Piedra Stake President Angel Alarcon who visited a member whose home was in an area of limited access. On his mobile phone, President Alarcon called the member and said, "I am at your door right now, and I wish to speak to you. We need you, and we invite you to come to our Church meetings tomorrow."
The man replied, Elder Gavarret said, "'I will be there.' Thus he started his journey back home."
Elder Gavarret said, "The interest, attention and care towards our brethren are profound manifestations of love for our Heavenly Father. In fact, we express our love for God when we serve and when this service is focused on our neighbor's well being."
He concluded, "Oh, that each one of us would accept, as a beautiful demonstration of our love for our Heavenly Father, the responsibility we bear as members of this Church to seek after those who are not here with us."
