Elder Athos M. Amorím of the Second Quorum of
the Seventy was not what many people might expect in a retired army officer.
Given the chance to serve as chief of staff for Brazil’s highest military
court, he declined and chose to stay home in Resende, in the state of Rio
de Janeiro, “as a gardener.” He cultivated flowers because he loves their
beauty, and he fed the birds that flew so freely around his home because
“I love to hear them singing in the morning and the evening, happy in my
garden.”
He was less concerned about where he served than how
he served. After his release from being president of the São Paulo
Temple, he was called as second counselor in his ward elders quorum presidency
and “was very happy in the calling” because he loved working with Heavenly
Father’s children in any capacity.
That love went back at least to the day he was baptized
in 1972. He felt very deeply that his heart was being changed, a feeling
he found difficult to put into words. He knew, though, that he became
a new man that day.
He remembered the humble missionary who confirmed
him and who indicated that one day this new member would serve as a mission
president. Athos Amorím later presided over the Brazil Fortaleza
Mission. He was also a district president and,
in his mobile military career, president of several small branches
where there are now stakes.
Born on 14 June 1932 in Rio de Janeiro, he married
Maria Alice Ferrao on 31 May 1957. They were sealed in the Washington [D.C.]
Temple in 1978. They had two sons.
Sister Amorím, he said, “always has supported
me well in the service of the Lord.” She shared his awe and happiness at
his calling as a General Authority because “she loves working in the Church and she has a
very strong testimony.”
He hoped his own service could reflect his “joy in
the work. I love Church work, and it is very easy for me to love the people.
I want to share with everyone my testimony of Jesus Christ. That is my
greatest desire.”
Elder Amorim fulfilled the term of his call in a distinguished manner and was honorably released with a vote of thanks by a grateful Church in General Conference assembled October5, 2002.
Bibliography
"News of the Church: Elder Athos M. Amorím of the Seventy," Ensign,
May 1998
"Second Quorum of the Seventy." 2005 Church Almanac, p. 91
