Tad Talk
Here are three takeaways from my reporting trip to cover stories surrounding President Russell M. Nelson’s second Latin American visit.
1. You may remember that Elder Gerrit W. Gong called President Nelson “a natural diplomat” when he accompanied him on his South Pacific travels in the spring.
That’s a long-term hallmark of his ministry. He was dispatched as a young apostle to Eastern Europe in the 1980s to work with Communist governments, paving the way for church recognition in several places.
President Nelson, as I wrote before he departed in August on his latest trip, has used each stop since becoming the leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to meet with important national, regional or local leaders. This time he met with the presidents of Colombia (Iván Duque) and Ecuador (Lenín Moreno), as well as other dignitaries and leaders in Guatemala, Argentina and Brazil.
During one media availability immediately after he and President Nelson met with Duque, Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles made an interesting observation about not only President Nelson but the dignitaries he meets.
“There was wonderful conversation between President Nelson and President Duque,” Elder Cook began, speaking on the third day of a nine-day trip. “It’s wonderful to be with President Nelson when he’s involved with this. I’ve watched him now for two nights with religious leaders and now this head of state, and all of them do their homework, so they know that he’s capable and has a great intellect and has accomplished great things. Then they get with him, and they’re surprised that he’s very kind, he’s humble, and he’s personal and he’s interested in them. The conversation becomes very wonderful. It was the last two nights with leaders of other faiths, and it was today with the leader of the nation.”
2. The church’s humanitarian arm, Latter-day Saint Charities, is operating in some of the world’s remotest places.
Photographer Ravell Call and I visited some of the Wayuu people in northern Colombia for an upcoming story. The clan we visited does not normally allow visitors. Our translator, Jorge Trujillo, told us that Colombians have heard about the Wayuu but few have visited or seen any images or video.
“It’s like going to Atlantis,” he told me in ongoing wonder the morning after our visit. “I’ve been to Atlantis.”
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