On the passing of President Monson
At the death of our beloved church president and prophet, Thomas S. Monson, we express our tender affection and admiration for this man whose lifetime of pure service to millions reflects the Lord and Savior for Whom he was a special witness.
The documented features of President Monson’s life — over six uninterrupted decades of church leadership of which more than half a century was spent as an apostle then prophet; his prophecies and their fulfillment regarding the establishment and flourishing of the church in post WWII Germany; his spearheading key church departments such as welfare; propelling the building of temples throughout the world; being involved in publishing the complete LDS standard works of scripture; lowering the missionary ages for men and women — all of these landmarks are worthy of veneration. He was a remarkable leader.
But it is the unpublicized and therefore unsearchable acts of Christlike compassion that bespeak President Monson’s discipleship. He was a true servant to the public — in private. Nothing serves as a better symbol for this kind of hidden ministering, perhaps, than his frequent solo trips extending over many years behind the Iron Curtain into East Germany. From such a visit, it is known that he traveled home in his house slippers, having given not only his own shoes but second suit and extra shirts to the economically devastated and beleaguered German saints. His service without fanfare has extended to some of our own MWEG members, whose rank and file LDS families have received the kind letter at the passing of their child, the spontaneous visit to their dying parent, the encouraging telephone call after family crisis, all sealed with a prophetic blessing from Thomas S. Monson.
He was a man whose intimate association with the Spirit illuminated and warmed his interaction with God’s children, cultivating peace. As he once counselled in an address, “May we ever be exemplary in our homes and faithful in keeping all of the commandments, that we harbor no animosity toward any man but rather be peacemakers, ever remembering the Savior’s admonition: ‘By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.’”
We could all but hope to live by these words by cultivating peace in our hearts, homes and spheres of influence. While mourning President Monson’s passing, we also rejoice that he is peacefully reunited with prophets, friends and family who have preceded him into eternity, and above all, with his cherished Frances.
