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Elder and Sister Martinez Testify of Life at the LDSFL Second Annual Conference

  • Writer: Stephani Evans
    Stephani Evans
  • May 6
  • 8 min read

Three weeks ago, Latter-day Saints for Life held its second annual Worldwide Conference. Keynote speakers for the event were Elder Hugo E. Martínez and Sister Nuria Álvarez Martínez.


Elder Martínez is a former family physician and is currently serving as a General Authority Seventy in the Utah Area Presidency. Sister Martínez is a former pediatrician, attorney, and business owner. They are the parents of five children. Or, as Elder Martínez stated:  


“I have five children, Sister Martínez has six; still raising me.” - Elder Martínez 

Both Elder and Sister Martínez shared their wisdom and heartfelt love as they testified of life and invited us to be bold in our convictions as we serve those who are in need. 


Sister Nuria Álvarez Martínez 



Link to full talk:


“Let us bring light to the world with life.” -Sister Nuria Álvarez Martínez

Life of Service and Conversion

Sister Martínez grew up in a home without organized religion. After getting married, she was unsure if she wanted to have children, as she stated: “I didn't know what I was to teach any child that was born to me or us, and that worried me.”


After missionaries knocked on their door, “open[ing] the gates of heaven,” Elder and Sister Martínez heard a talk given in their sacrament meeting in which they were told that couples have no reason to wait to have children. She was currently completing her pediatric residency and wondered if she ought to drop out in order to start a family. She wanted to stay home with her children so that, as she stated, “they would learn my bad habits and not the bad habits of a babysitter.”


After counseling together and with their bishop, they decided it would not be wrong to wait until she had finished her pediatric residency before having their first child. She finished her residency on June 30th, and their first child was born on August 12th. 


The Contradiction of Abortion

Later, at the age of forty, Sister Martínez entered law school. 


“You can imagine the divergence of thought and conviction that met and clashed in that environment.” - Sister Martínez

During one of her civil law seminars, students were required to select from an array of topics, research the present status of the law of said topic, and write a paper. After arriving late to this seminar, Sister Martínez was given the only remaining topic: abortion. 


Sister Martínez reflected on the assignment thus:


“It was a terrible experience for me. To research the statistics of abortion in the U.S; to read that some fetuses were destroyed very near term at the same gestational age of many babies in our nurseries. That means that the aborted fetuses were just as old and probably just as big as normal babies born in the hospital. Pregnancies were terminated at the same gestational age as some premature babies that survived to live a full life after proper treatment. It was and it's still so confusing to me to know that these deaths in utero, after having witnessed the extreme life-saving efforts employed, and at a very high monetary cost, to help premature babies of the same age and size go home with their parents. How psychotic, how fractured could our collected minds be?”

She reflected on the fact that laws exist which punish criminals for causing the death of an unborn child when attacking a pregnant woman, but no laws in place to protect those children from abortion. 


Pro-Life Service

Sister Martínez then went on to reaffirm the Church's stance on abortion, which has remained unchanged, and which reminds us that “Church members may appropriately choose to participate in efforts to protect life and to preserve religious liberty.” 


“This may be your first step in reaffirming life, but it shouldn't be your last.” - Sister Martínez

Sister Martínez shared several resources available for those considering abortion, including Pro-Life Utah and their Save A Life Partners Program. Other ways to participate in protecting life include:


-participating as concerned citizens by staying up to date on pro-life issues

-sending letters to legislators to promote life

-volunteering in baby supply drives

-helping to put together baby kits to support women in need


Perhaps most uplifting of all, Sister Martínez reminded us that if we have no time or money to participate in pro-life work, we can contribute by teaching our children that life is precious.


“You can bring light with life as you help others seek answers from the highest source, who is Heavenly Father.” - Sister Martínez

Choosing Hope

Sister Martínez concluded her talk by sharing the story of a young couple close to her and Elder Martínez. This young couple had two children, and were preparing to welcome a third, when an ultrasound of their baby, their first boy, showed that he was not growing properly. They were told this was possibly due to Edward's Syndrome, a genetic anomaly where there is a third copy of the 18th chromosome. Most individuals with this condition only live a short time after birth. 


In order to confirm this diagnosis, physicians offered to perform an analysis of the amniotic fluid, a procedure which carries some risk of miscarriage. Knowing that the purpose of this procedure was to help the couple decide if they wanted an abortion, the couple decided there was no need for it to be done, as they would be keeping their baby whether he was born with it or not. This child is now nine years old and has had no developmental delays.


Sister Martínez closed her talk with these words:

“Had their child come with health problems, they would surely have received him too, with the same love and joy, because in the end, as President Dallin H. Oaks said: ‘Our attitude toward abortion is not based on revealed knowledge of when mortal life begins. It is fixed by our knowledge that all of the spirit children of God must come to this earth for glorious purpose.’ 
“And that is it in a nutshell. All of the spirit children of God must come to earth for [a] glorious purpose, and we should not impede or be an obstacle to God's purpose in any way or by any means. Let us support as best as we can those who need assistance as they bring God's spirit children to earth, whether they are close to us, or unknown to us. Let us bring light to the world with life.” 


Elder Hugo E. Martínez


Link to full talk:


“When we talk about eternal families, it includes all of Heavenly Father's children.” - Elder Martínez

Protective Nature of the Family

Elder Martínez opened his talk by reminding us that we are living in times which have been prophesied. In Moses 7:48, Enoch saw the earth weeping. “Woe woe is me… I am pained… because of the wickedness of my children.”  


Elder Martínez then read from Psalm 127: 3-5:


3 Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. 

4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. 

5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.


Speaking of these verses, Elder Martínez stated:

“Imagine that, having children allows you to speak with your enemy at the gate. That is strength. That is power. That is knowledge. That is light. That is a family that stands together.” 

Joy of Parenthood

Elder Martínez then went on to discuss conference talks which have been given regarding abortion, the first of which was given by Spencer W. Kimball in 1974. We learn from him that not only is abortion wrong, but that family and parenthood is part of Heavenly Father's plan for us. 


“Certainly anyone who purposely denies himself or herself honorable parenthood is to be pitied, for the great joy of parenthood is fundamental in the normal, full life.” - Spencer W. Kimball 


For those in this life who cannot have children despite righteous desires to do so, Elder Martínez reminds us that the blessings of exaltation are available to all, including eternal progeny. 


“When we talk about eternal families, it includes all of Heavenly Father's children.” - Elder Martínez

Story of Forgiveness 

Elder Martínez then went on to share a story of serving as a member of the bishopric in Puerto Rico. During this time, he was asked to do a baptismal interview. The sister he was interviewing was being taught the Gospel and confessed to having had an abortion years prior, following pressure from her husband. She described afterwards feeling numb, and that she could not shake the feeling that she had done wrong. Following her abortion, she was afraid that God would punish her by not allowing her to have more children, or that her children would be born with illnesses. 


When Elder Martínez asked her current beliefs on the subject in the interview, she explained them “precisely like the Savior himself would.” When asked what she had taught her daughters, she said that she had “specifically and intentionally taught them” of the sanctity of life. 


The Holy Ghost was present, and Elder Martínez was able to tell her she was worthy to be baptized and that she had been forgiven. He described tears on her face, and that “the weight and burden of so many years had finally been lifted by the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.”


Fear of Man

Elder Martínez then went on to read from Doctrine and Covenants, section 30: 


1 “Behold, I say unto you, David, that you have feared man and have not relied on me for strength as you ought. 

2 But your mind has been on the things of the earth more than on the things of me, your Maker, and the ministry whereunto you have been called; and you have not given heed unto my Spirit, and to those who were set over you, but have been persuaded by those whom I have not commanded.”


The fear of man is one of the adversary's greatest weapons. In a commentary on the Doctrine and Covenants by Stephen E. Robinson and H. Dean Garrett, Elder Martínez read these words: 


“Fear of man isn't about being frightened of someone, but being too concerned about what people will think, or political or social consequences."


“Our society generally worries too much about how our peers, colleagues, friends, neighbors or family might react if we make a “big deal” of our religious convictions. Yet we aren't concerned enough about how God will react if we abandon or adjust those convictions in order to “get along.” The desire of some people to be considered broadminded, flexible, or nondogmatic by the world is greater than their desire to be deemed faithful by the world. They cannot bring themselves to offend the idols of Babylon."  


“On the other hand, people who are absolutely committed to the Gospel are often also irritating to their more worldly neighbors, because they will not negotiate or compromise their beliefs for the sake of better relations with others.”


What Does the Lord Ask of Us?

Elder Martínez then asked us: “So, what do we do?”


He answered in the words of Elder Neil L. Andersen from October 2021.


“Let us share our deep feelings about the sanctity of life with those who make decisions in society.” 


Elder Martínez closed with these words:

“Certainly we will come closer to our Heavenly Father and our savior Jesus Christ if we will continue to step up, and truly represent our discipleship and our beliefs, and share our spiritual experiences and share the joy and light that the Gospel of Jesus Christ, restored by true and living prophets, in his true and living church, can share. This is my witness and my testimony. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer, Amen.”

How will you follow the Martinezes’ counsel to live and share your pro-life beliefs? Here are some easy places to start: 



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