Elder Walter F. Gonzalez counsels LDS Hispanic young single adults to be bold in defending the gospel
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Be bold in defending the gospel and the Church, Elder Walter F. Gonzalez of the Seventy counseled young single adults in a regional Hispanic fireside.
He reminded the young adults that they — as Latter-day Saints and as Hispanic members — are in a minority.
Speaking on Sunday Oct. 18 during the meeting held in the Salt Lake Sugar House Stake Center, he said that when President Gordon B. Hinckley called him to Utah he thought, "I will finally be among the majority." He said he learned, however, that there are plenty of opportunities for missionary work in Utah.
Elder Gonzalez advised the young adults to be as accomplished as they can. "You can be accomplished in education and knowledge but also in the gospel," he declared. "Knowledge is power, particularly knowledge of the gospel."
The secret to having knowledge and being bold, he said, is found in Moroni 8:16 "… Behold, I speak with boldness, having authority from God; and I fear not what man can do; for perfect love casteth out all fear."
"If you increase your capacity to love, you increase your ability to be bold," he said. "You should be as bold as you are accomplished."
In a question and answer session after his remarks, Elder Gonzalez also responded to a question on how to balance daily living with Church responsibilities.
He said that no one can be busier than the Savior, but even He stopped to bless the children of the people in the Americas. "Christ had a schedule to keep, but staying with the children and people was more important."
Elder Gonzalez was accompanied by his wife, Sister Anahir Nunez Gonzalez. She and her husband met at a youth conference in Uruguay and have four children, one of whom attended the fireside.
Sister Gonzalez told the young adults that sometimes it is difficult to follow the gospel "when people want you to do one thing, and the Lord wants you to do another. But it is always better to follow the Lord."
At age 12, Sister Gonzalez developed a testimony of the gospel. "I read and knew the Book of Mormon was true," she said. "I got into it. I was kind of mad at the Nephites for turning away. I prayed, and said, 'I don't want to be like the Nephites. I want to dedicate myself to the Lord.'"
She encouraged the young single adults to remain close to the Lord. "He knows you more than anyone else."
