President Russell M. Nelson has already met with Latter-day Saints in the U.K., Israel, and Kenya during his global tour that began April 10, but his messages have been reaching people across the world. Along the way, President Nelson has been sharing his thoughts and insights on Facebook.
In answer to the question of why he would embark on such a tour, President Nelson wrote:
The reason why is simple:
The Lord’s message is for everyone. This is a global work. Whenever I'm comfortably situated in my home, I'm in the wrong place. I need to be where the people are. We need to bring them the message of the Savior.
No matter where we would go, we would neglect more than we'd serve, but we’ll do all we can do in two weeks, and we'll go home and rest for a while, then tackle another journey.
Our goal is to invite all of God's children on both sides of the veil to come unto their Savior and enjoy the blessings of the temple, have enduring joy, and qualify for eternal life. And that will bring hope, help, and lift to all people.
President Nelson's desire is to not only reach Saints across our worldwide Church but also across the veil, hoping to help missionary work in the hereafter. While in Jerusalem, President Nelson testified of He who made eternal life and missionary work a reality, our Savior who died to bring us life.
President Nelson wrote:
I was privileged to spend some time in Jerusalem at the beginning of our trip. This is a land which was made holy by the Son of God. He had an earthly ministry here. He healed the lame, gave sight to the blind, and restored life to those who had died, so one can’t help but feel closer to Him in this holy place.
The message of the Lord Jesus Christ is a message of hope, it is a message of love, it is a message of joy. It is underlined in this time of a little heightened tension.
I am honored to be listed among the many who teach and testify of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Savior of the world, and He has given us an example by which we can live.
He taught us how to love, how to pray, how to endure. There’s no trial that we can endure that He doesn’t know about. He gives each one of us hope.
In his latest stop in Kenya, President Nelson spoke of the divinity of diversity, a true strength to our Church that spans cultures, languages, and continents. He testified that we are all made in God's image, no matter our race, gender, or differences.
I am thankful to have been with the Saints in Kenya and Zimbabwe, where so many have an innate love of God. I wondered what I have learned in my 93 years that I could share with them.
I testified that God is our Father. We are His children, created in His image. We don't look alike. That's good. We have individual identities, spiritually and physically, but we are His children.
Our Heavenly Father wants us to come home, but He gives us the dignity of choosing to come home. He desires for us to live with Him when we’re through with this mortal experience.
Through His Only Begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, He gave us that great gift of the Atonement so we can repent of our mistakes. We all make mistakes—there is nothing unusual about it. But we can repent, and, through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, there is no mistake that cannot be forgiven.
Jesus is the Christ, and His way of life is the way of joy and happiness, not only in this life, but in the life ahead, when our Father hopes we will return home to Him.
While we cannot travel with our prophet on his global tour, we are blessed to still have access to his words and learn the messages our Heavenly Father wants shared with His children around the world.