Elder Ulisses Soares knows the timing of his recent travels was no coincidence.
The Latter-day Saint Apostle was in the Caribbean last week visiting several nations for a variety of ecclesiastical assignments.
At that same moment, missionaries and members in the Dominican Republic were grieving.
On Feb. 20, Elder Brennan Conrad, an 18-year-old missionary, died after falling from the roof of his Dominican apartment building. In his seven months of full-time missionary service, the Hyde Park, Utah, resident had earned the love and respect of his fellow missionaries because of his faithfulness and aptitude for the Spanish language.
“Elder Conrad was very obedient and a very good leader,” he said.
Elder Soares knew Elder Conrad’s fellow missionaries were in pain — and he was anxious to reassure them they were loved and remembered. They could find comfort.