The Life and Ministry of Thomas S. Monson

On a chilly day in April 1972, Elder Thomas S. Monson made a familiar drive to one of the hospitals in Salt Lake City. For more than two decades, he had frequented these hospitals to give blessings and bring cheer to ward members, family members, friends, and many others. This time, he was going to see his beloved mother.

When their visit concluded, he went to see Elder Spencer W. Kimball, one of his brethren in the Quorum of the Twelve, who had recently undergone open-heart surgery. Elder Kimball was resting, and Elder Monson didn’t want to disturb him, so he left to return to his car. At the elevator, he was met by two women who asked if he would give their father a blessing. He accompanied them to the intensive care unit of the hospital, where he administered to their father.

As Elder Monson began to leave the room, he heard a man call his name. He looked toward the man’s bed and recognized him as a former ward member. “I was delighted to give him a blessing,” Elder Monson recorded. When he left the room, he was approached by a nurse in tears who asked if he was going to Primary Children’s Hospital. He said he hadn’t planned on going that day—but would be happy to go if she wanted him to see someone there. The nurse told him about a cousin who had contracted polio many years earlier and was having difficulties.

When Elder Monson arrived at the children’s hospital, he met a man who led him to the nurse’s cousin, to whom he gave a blessing. The man then asked Elder Monson if he had time to bless a 10-year-old girl who had leukemia. They went together to give her a blessing.

Regarding his hospital visits that day, Elder Monson wrote in his journal, “I came away … realizing that our Heavenly Father is very mindful of those who suffer here in mortality and who desire, at the hands of the priesthood, a blessing.”¹

President Monson greeting man in hospital

President Monson ministers with love to a longtime friend in Toronto, Canada.

Such experiences were frequent in the life of Thomas S. Monson. After a similar day during which he spent nearly two hours at a hospital, he wrote, “I felt that I had done some good and had been where the Lord wanted me to be on this day.”²

Being where the Lord wanted him to be was a lifelong commitment for President Monson. He often spoke of the privilege of being “on the Lord’s errand”—of being the Lord’s hands on the earth, especially in caring for people in need. He said, “I always want the Lord to know that if He needs an errand run, Tom Monson will run that errand for Him.”³

Birth, Childhood, and Youth

“What do you think of Mark’s train, Tommy?” Gladys Monson asked her 10-year-old son.

“Wait just a moment,” he replied. “I’ll be right back.” He rushed out the door and ran home. He had amends to make.

That morning, young Tommy had received a Christmas gift he had yearned for—an electric train that his parents bought at some sacrifice during the days of the Great Depression. After he played with it for a few hours, his mother told him she had bought a wind-up train for Mark Hansen, the son of a widow who lived nearby. When she showed it to Tommy, he noticed that Mark’s train had an oil tanker car, which his set lacked. He pleaded with his mother to have the tanker, and she finally handed it to him, saying, “If you need it more than Mark, you take it.”

Gladys and Tommy took the rest of the train set to Mark, who hadn’t expected such a gift and was thrilled. He wound up the engine, and as the train went around the track, Gladys Monson asked her son the simple, penetrating question of what he thought about Mark’s train. He later recalled, “I felt a keen sense of guilt and became very much aware of my selfishness.”

When he reached home, he picked up the oil tanker—and another car from his own set—and ran back to give them to Mark, who happily coupled them to the other cars. “I watched the engine make its labored way around the track,” Elder Monson later said, “and felt a supreme joy difficult to describe and impossible to forget.”⁴

The joy of giving, the joy of sacrifice, the joy of caring about others—these were all lessons that Tommy Monson learned during his boyhood, lessons that would shape the heart and character of a future prophet.

young Thomas S. Monson

Tom Monson as a youth

Thomas Spencer Monson was born in Salt Lake City on August 21, 1927, the second child and first son of G. Spencer and Gladys Condie Monson. He was welcomed into the world by his sister, Marjorie, and a close-knit family of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, many of whom lived on his same block. His mother’s ancestors were among the Church’s earliest converts in Scotland and had arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in 1850, three years after Brigham Young’s pioneer company. Tom’s father had English and Swedish progenitors who immigrated to Utah Territory beginning in 1865.

“To know the man Thomas Spencer Monson has become, it is important to know his roots and the environment that nurtured him,” said Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve.⁵ Going by the name “Tommy” as a young boy, he grew up in a humble home and neighborhood, about a mile southwest of downtown Salt Lake City. Almost all of his growing-up years occurred during the Great Depression, which began when he was two years old, and during World War II. Through these difficult times, his parents and others taught him charity and compassion, loyalty and hard work—qualities that sank deep into his character.

He said that his mother instilled in him “tender feelings and caring for others.”⁶ She sought to lift people and showed special compassion for those who were homebound. She also fed and nurtured men who hitched rides on trains during the Depression, looking for work (see chapter 17). “My own mother … taught me by her life and actions what the [Bible] contains,” Elder Monson said. “Care for the poor, the sick, the needy were everyday dramas never to be forgotten.”⁷

His father was as quiet and reserved as his mother was outgoing, and his Christian charity also made a strong impression. An uncle who lived nearby was so crippled by arthritis that he couldn’t walk. Spence Monson would often say, “Come along, Tommy; let’s take Uncle Elias for a short drive.” Spence would drive to Elias’s home, carry him outside, and gently place him in the front seat so he would have a good view. Elder Monson recalled, “The drive was brief and the conversation limited, but oh, what a legacy of love!”⁸ This lesson, he said, “was not lost on me.”⁹ (See chapter 17.)

From his father, he also learned to work hard. At age 14, Spence Monson had quit school and started working at a printing company because his father was seriously ill and his family needed the income. After Spence and Gladys were married, Spence began working at another print shop, where he became manager and remained for more than 50 years, working six days a week and many evenings. When Tom was 12, he began working with his father after school and on Saturdays, doing small tasks at first and gradually learning the printing trade until he became an apprentice. From that beginning, he would eventually establish a career in the printing industry.

Young Tommy Monson was also nurtured by his leaders and teachers at church. Recalling a time when the Primary president, Melissa Georgell, offered loving correction, he said: “Our deportment in Primary was not always as it should be. I had a lot of energy and found it difficult to sit patiently.”¹⁰ One day the Primary president asked him to meet with her, and as she put her arm around his shoulder, she began to cry. Surprised by her tears, he asked why she was crying. “I can’t seem to get the … boys to be reverent during the opening exercises of Primary,” she explained. “Would you be willing to help me, Tommy?” He promised that he would.

“Strangely to me, but not to [her], that ended any problem of reverence in Primary,” he recalled. “She had gone to the source of the problem—me. The solution was love.”¹¹ Throughout his adult life, he would continue to visit this dear woman until she passed away at the age of 97.¹² (See chapter 11.)

A teachers quorum adviser gave Tom a pair of Birmingham roller pigeons and used them to teach about his responsibility as a quorum president to rescue quorum members.¹³ A Sunday School teacher taught that “it is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35) by suggesting that class members take the money they had saved for a party and give it to the family of a classmate whose mother had just died (see chapter 19). From a Scoutmaster who had a prosthetic leg and was the object of a prank by one of the boys, Tom learned about responding with kindness rather than anger (see chapter 21).

His boyhood experiences during summers in Provo Canyon, south of Salt Lake City, also had a lifelong influence. There he grew to love swimming, fishing, and other outdoor activities. Later he would use these experiences to illustrate principles of the gospel. Racing toy boats in the Provo River would become a way to teach about the gifts that Heavenly Father has given to guide His children through mortality (see chapter 7). Starting a fire that took several hours to extinguish would become a way to teach about obedience (see chapter 12).

University, Navy, and Marriage

After graduating from high school in 1944, Tom faced many pivotal decisions. That fall he enrolled at the University of Utah, quite certain he would be called into military service when he turned 18 the next year, since World War II was still raging in Europe and the Pacific.

During that year in school, Tom met Frances Johnson, the woman who would become the love of his life. The first time he picked her up for a date, her father asked, “‘Monson’—that’s a Swedish name, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Tom answered.

Frances’s father then showed him a photo of two missionaries and asked if he was related to the one named Elias Monson. Tom replied that Elias was his grandfather’s brother.

Hearing this, Frances’s father began to weep. His family had known Elder Elias Monson while they lived in Sweden. Frances’s father kissed Tom on the cheek, and her mother cried and kissed him on the other cheek.¹⁴ This courtship, he thought, was off to a good start. He and Frances shared many of the same interests, such as time in nature, time with family, and dancing to big bands. “She laughed readily,” he recalled; she was “charitable and kind” and showed “a great deal of empathy.”¹⁵

In July 1945, after a year at the university, Tom enlisted in the military. The war in Europe had ended in May, but fighting continued in the Pacific. Praying for guidance at the recruiting station, Tom chose to enlist in the United States Naval Reserve rather than the navy—a decision he would later say changed the course of his life (see chapter 5). The war in the Pacific ended soon after he enlisted, and he honorably completed his military service after one year in San Diego, California. It was a momentous year for him, providing opportunities to stand with courage for his convictions, to set an example, and to give a priesthood blessing for the first time (see chapters 8 and 23). Not wanting Frances to forget him, Tom wrote to her every day he was in San Diego.

When Tom returned to Salt Lake City in 1946, he resumed his studies at the University of Utah and earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing, graduating with honors in 1948. He also continued his courtship with Frances, and as their love blossomed, he proposed marriage. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple on October 7, 1948. President Monson often spoke of the counsel they received that day about how to keep good feelings in their marriage (see chapter 17). After their reception, they began their lives together on the same block where Tom had grown up.

Thomas and Frances Monson wedding photo

Tom and Frances Monson at their wedding reception in 1948

Bishop of the Sixth-Seventh Ward

On the day Thomas S. Monson was born in 1927, a new bishop was sustained in his family’s ward. When Spence Monson went to the hospital to see his wife and their newborn son, he announced, “We received a new bishop today.” Holding up little Tom, Gladys Monson said, “And I have a new bishop for you.”¹⁶

Whether or not that was a moment of premonition for Gladys, her words were fulfilled sooner than anyone could have expected. On May 7, 1950, when Tom Monson was just 22 years old, he was called to be the bishop of the ward he had grown up in. This ward had more than 1,000 members, including his parents, his brothers and sisters, and other relatives. Tom and Frances had been married for only 19 months.

Bishop Monson described the Sixth-Seventh Ward as “a humble, pioneer ward in a humble, pioneer stake.”¹⁷ At the time it had many challenges. A large number of members were not attending church and needed love and fellowship to help bring them back into activity. Because many of them were poor, the ward had the greatest welfare needs in the Church.¹⁸ Elderly members, including more than 80 widows, also needed special care. The ward was highly transient, with many people moving in and out each month. Years later, President Monson recalled his feelings—and faith—about facing so many challenges as a young bishop:

“The magnitude of the calling was overwhelming and the responsibility frightening. My inadequacy humbled me. But my Heavenly Father did not leave me to wander in darkness and in silence, uninstructed or uninspired. In his own way, he revealed the lessons he would have me learn.”¹⁹

Some of the lessons revealed to Bishop Monson came through the help and mentoring of others. He learned other lessons through prayer. “Every bishop needs a sacred grove to which he can retire to meditate and to pray for guidance,” he said. “Mine was our old ward chapel. I could not begin to count the occasions when on a dark night at a late hour I would make my way to the stand of this building where I was blessed, confirmed, ordained, taught, and eventually called to preside. … With my hand on the pulpit I would kneel and share with Him above my thoughts, my concerns, my problems.”²⁰

One by one, Bishop Monson sought out members who were not attending church. At the door of one home, he told the father, “I’ve come to get acquainted and to urge your attendance with your family at our meetings.” The man turned him away, and the family soon moved to California. However, many years later he came to see Elder Monson, who by then was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve. “I’ve come to apologize for not getting out of my chair and letting you in the door that summer day long years ago,” he said. “I’m now second counselor in my ward bishopric. Your invitation to come out to church, and my negative response, so haunted me that I determined to do something about it.”²¹ (See chapter 2.) Although this family returned to Church activity after leaving the Sixth-Seventh Ward, many other members returned during Bishop Monson’s service. Sacrament meeting attendance increased substantially.²²

Bishop Monson was devoted to the ward’s youth and sought to keep them within the fold of the Church. One time he felt impressed to leave a priesthood meeting to look for a young man who seldom attended church. He finally found him working in the grease pit of an automobile service station. Bishop Monson told the young man how much he was missed and needed, and he began attending.²³ (See chapter 2.) He later served a mission and eventually served as a bishop twice. Among his many expressions of gratitude was a letter, written 40 years later, in which he said:

“As I ponder the events in my life, I am so grateful for a bishop who looked, found, and showed a great interest in one who was lost. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you did and have done for me personally. I love you.”²⁴

Bishop Monson gave special care to the widows in his ward. He helped them when they were at risk of losing their homes, when they needed life’s essentials, and when their health was failing. He cheered them with visits in times of loneliness and heartache. During the Christmas season, he used vacation time to visit each one, giving her a box of candy or a chicken for roasting. He continued to visit many of them long after he was released as bishop, and he visited many who were widowed after his service as bishop. One example is a woman who was widowed in 1965—10 years after he was released—whom he saw regularly until she died in 2009 at age 98, when he was President of the Church. “Pearl … was one of the widows I have called on throughout all these years,” he recorded in his journal. “She has had a difficult life but has endured.”²⁵ He spoke at her funeral a few days later, one of more than 800 funerals he spoke at after he was called to the Quorum of the Twelve.

Sixth-Seventh Ward bishopric

Bishop Thomas S. Monson with his counselors in the Sixth-Seventh Ward bishopric

With so many people needing temporal assistance, Bishop Monson sought both innovative and inspired ways to help, often creating opportunities for members to serve. One December he learned that a family from Germany would soon be moving into the ward. A few weeks before they arrived, he went to look at the apartment that had been rented for them and found it to be so dark and dreary that he was heartsick. “What a dismal welcome for a family which has endured so much,” he thought.²⁶

The next morning he brought up this matter in a meeting with ward leaders. Bishop Monson wrote that a “spirit of genuine love … permeated the heart and soul of each member” as they willingly offered their services.²⁷ For the next two or three weeks, ward members worked together to prepare the apartment.

When the family arrived, tears flowed as they saw a bright apartment with new carpet, new paint, cupboards full of food, and a Christmas tree decorated by the youth. The father gripped Bishop Monson’s hand and tried to speak words of gratitude, but his emotion was too great. Instead, “he buried his head in my shoulder,” Bishop Monson said, “and repeated the words, ‘Mein Bruder, mein Bruder, mein Bruder.’”²⁸ As ward members left that night, one young woman asked, “Bishop, I feel better than I have ever felt before. Can you tell me why?” He responded with these words from the Lord: “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40).

In 1955, after five years of service, Bishop Monson was called as a counselor in the stake presidency. Although he no longer had the calling of bishop, he remained a bishop in his heart for the rest of his life, continuing his care for members of the Sixth-Seventh Ward and using the lessons he learned to teach others and to guide his future service. Reflecting on those years, he later said, “I always considered myself as a bishop who erred on the side of generosity; and if I had it to do again, I would be even more.”²⁹

The Sixth-Seventh Ward building was torn down in 1967, but not before Bishop Monson rescued something that had special meaning to him: the beautiful pulpit where he had knelt in prayer as a bishop.³⁰ In 2009, as President of the Church, he spoke from this pulpit when he dedicated the new Church History Library. It was an emotional experience because the pulpit represented so many memories from his boyhood, his youth, and his ministry as a bishop. “This pulpit, in part, tells the story of my own faith,” he said at the time. “[It] is, to me, a cherished remembrance of sacred experiences.”³¹

Family

Tom and Frances Monson were elated when their first child, a son they named Thomas Lee, was born in 1951, a year after Tom began serving as bishop. The Monsons’ only daughter, Ann Frances, was also born while Tom was serving as bishop, in 1954. Their third and final child, a son they named Clark Spencer, was born in 1959 during their mission in Canada.

Monson family photo

The Monson family in 1962. Left to right: Frances, son Tom, Clark, father Tom, and Ann

While working long hours in his profession and in Church service, Tom was a devoted husband and father. His children remembered that other fathers “seemed to be home more than our dad was, but they didn’t seem to do as much with their children as Dad did with us. We were always doing something together, and we cherish those memories.”³²

Young Tom recalled that while his dad was presiding over the Canadian Mission, they had little free time together. But every night before going to bed, he would go to his father’s office in the mission home and play a game of checkers. “In its own way, that memory is as sweet to me as the one I have of my father flying all the way to Louisville, Kentucky, years later to give me a blessing against the pneumonia I had contracted during my military basic training there,” Tom said.³³

Ann appreciated how her father shared experiences from his Church assignments: “My fondest memories are of him coming home Sunday evenings after a stake conference assignment or mission tour and hearing him tell of the special inspiration he had in calling a patriarch or of the faith-promoting experiences he had interviewing missionaries.”³⁴ Later, when Ann had her own family, she appreciated the opportunity for her sons to work alongside their grandpa, as well as their experiences in Provo Canyon: “Everyone in the family enjoys sitting around a campfire at the family cabin, roasting marshmallows and listening to Grandpa tell stories.”³⁵

Clark said that although his father was often traveling on Church assignments, he “always made time for his children. … I never felt deprived of time with Dad. When he was home, he would play games with us and take us out to get ice cream. … I spent a lot of time as a boy fishing with my father.”³⁶ During one fishing trip, Clark was touched when his father asked him to reel in his line and said, “In about five minutes your brother Tom will be sitting down to take the bar exam admitting him to the practice of law. He has worked hard through three years of law school for this and he will be a little apprehensive. Let’s just kneel here in the boat. I’ll offer a prayer for him, and then you offer one.”³⁷

Frances devoted herself to raising their children and creating a happy, supportive home. Shortly before her father died in 1953, he told her, “I am very proud of you, Frances. I am proud of your husband, Tom. You will both receive many blessings because of your loyalty and devotion to the gospel, your home and family.”³⁸

Career

After Tom graduated from the University of Utah in 1948, he had many job offers, including some from large companies out of state. He decided to accept a position with the Deseret News as a classified advertising sales representative. Within a few months he became assistant manager of classified advertising, and the next year he became manager.

President Monson and printing press

Thomas S. Monson checks a printing plate at the Deseret News Press.

In 1953, Tom began working at the Deseret News Press, one of the largest printing establishments in the western United States. In some ways, this was a return to his roots as a teenage boy, when he worked with his father in a print shop. At the Deseret News Press, he became assistant sales manager, then sales manager. One of his accounts was with Deseret Book, and as he helped Church leaders publish their books, he developed many close associations and had many tutoring experiences. “I consider it one of the highlights of my life to have been able to work so closely with General Authorities and others in helping them convert their manuscripts into a finished product,” he wrote.³⁹ He also handled most of the Church’s printing, including missionary literature and the printing of the Book of Mormon in multiple languages.

President of the Canadian Mission

July 1957 was a month of big changes for the Monson family. In addition to being sales manager at the Deseret News Press, Tom was appointed assistant general manager. Then toward the end of the month, the family moved into a new home in a suburb of Salt Lake City, leaving the neighborhood where Tom had grown up and served as bishop.

Changes would keep coming. Less than two years later, Tom was called to preside over the Canadian Mission, with headquarters in Toronto. Once again he would be assuming a heavy responsibility at a young age (31), and this time it would require a long move for his family. Frances, who was experiencing health difficulties related to her pregnancy, would also have many new responsibilities. Elder Harold B. Lee of the Quorum of the Twelve gave helpful words of counsel that would become prominent themes in President Monson’s teachings:

“Whom the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies.”

“When you are on the Lord’s errand, you are entitled to the Lord’s help.”

“God shapes the back to bear the burden placed upon it.”⁴⁰

In April 1959 the Monson family boarded a train for Toronto, where they would live for nearly three years. The two children, Tommy and Ann, were seven and four. Frances had tears in her eyes as they left home, but the family made this sacrifice willingly, with faith that they were doing God’s will.

In Canada they immediately became immersed in missionary work. President Monson began supervising the work of 130 missionaries (later to become more than 180), who were scattered throughout the large provinces of Ontario and Quebec. As he had done as bishop, he led with optimism and love, helped build faith, and inspired confidence. He also relied on the Lord. One of his missionaries said, “His choices always seemed to fit into the Lord’s larger plan.”⁴¹ Another missionary recalled: “He had a dramatic impact on that mission. … In one quick tour of the mission he knew every missionary’s name and many of the members. He lifted everyone, everywhere he went—he completely energized the entire mission.”⁴²

Canadian Mission group photo

President and Sister Monson (second row, center) with some of the missionaries in the Canadian Mission

Under President Monson’s direction, the mission thrived. “The Lord has poured out His spirit on the people,” he reported to the First Presidency. “Cities that never had baptisms before are now producing converts every month.”⁴³ To a large degree, he attributed this success to the members becoming more involved in finding people for the missionaries to teach and in fellowshipping them.

The Monsons’ third child, Clark, was born six months after they arrived in Toronto. In addition to caring for three young children, hosting missionaries and others in the mission home, and serving as the mission Relief Society president, Sister Monson assisted with missionary work. One day she received a phone call from a man who said, “We have come from our native Holland where we have had an opportunity to learn something about the Mormons. My wife would like to know more. I would not.” Sister Monson gave the caller’s name and address to the elders, but they delayed making contact. She would ask them, “What about my Dutch family? Are you going to call on them tonight?” After several weeks, she told them that if they weren’t going to contact the family soon, she and her husband would do it themselves. Two elders made the visit, and the Jacob and Bea de Jager family joined the Church. Brother de Jager, who initially said he was not interested in the Church, served as a General Authority Seventy from 1976 to 1993.⁴⁴

There were no stakes in eastern Canada when the Monsons arrived, so in addition to supervising the work of the missionaries, President Monson had responsibility for the seven districts in the mission. Full-time missionaries presided over many of the districts and branches, and one of President Monson’s priorities was to call local priesthood holders to serve in those positions. This approach built local leadership and allowed the missionaries to spend more time proselyting and teaching. By 1962, a local leader presided over every Church unit in the mission.⁴⁵

When the Monsons arrived in eastern Canada in 1959, the Church had only two small chapels in the entire mission, so most congregations met in rented halls. Feeling a need to upgrade the meeting facilities, President Monson initiated a building program. Having chapels for services also helped missionary efforts, providing a sense of permanence in dedicated buildings. When the Monsons completed their mission, seven new chapels had been built or were in progress, and ten more were in the planning stages.⁴⁶

The Church reached a milestone in August 1960 with the creation of the Toronto Stake. This was the first stake in eastern Canada and the 300th in the Church. “It was a highlight of our mission to see the membership … become a stake of Zion,” President Monson wrote. “[They] rejoiced in this accomplishment.”⁴⁷ More stakes would come in the future, as well as a temple in the Toronto area, for which he would break ground in 1987.

In a mission filled with highlights, President Monson said the main one was being able to serve with his family. “[That] three-year period was one of the happiest of our lives, as we devoted full time to sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with others,” he reflected.⁴⁸

After nearly three years of service, Thomas S. Monson was released as president of the Canadian Mission in January 1962. The family had developed a deep love for Canada, its people, and the missionaries. Just as President Monson maintained strong connections with members of the Sixth-Seventh Ward after he was released as bishop, he remained closely connected to the missionaries and members he had served with in Canada. He attended and spoke at more than 50 reunions with these missionaries—and members of their families and others—from 1962 to 2015.

Called as an Apostle

When the Monsons returned from Canada in February 1962, Tom returned to his work at the Deseret News Press. In March he was promoted to general manager, a demanding position, especially since he was directing a massive shift to new printing processes and equipment. He also served on four general Church committees.

On the afternoon of October 3, 1963, Tom was visiting with a guest in his office when his secretary informed him that he had a phone call. Answering the phone, he was surprised to learn that the caller was the secretary to the President of the Church, David O. McKay, and that President McKay wanted to talk with him. After visiting briefly on the phone, President McKay asked Tom if he could come to his office that afternoon.

Tom’s car was in the repair shop, so he borrowed one and drove to President McKay’s office. Because of his service on Church committees, he thought President McKay wanted to discuss one of those assignments, but the President had something different in mind. “He had me sit next to him on a chair at the side of his desk, facing him,” Tom recalled, and then he said, “I have named Elder Nathan Eldon Tanner to be my second counselor in the First Presidency, and the Lord has called you to fill his place in the Council of the Twelve Apostles. Could you accept that calling?”⁴⁹

Overcome by what President McKay had asked, Tom was unable to speak. “Tears filled my eyes,” he said, “and after a pause that seemed like an eternity, I responded by assuring President McKay that any talent with which I might have been blessed would be extended in the service of the Master.”⁵⁰

That evening, Tom asked Frances to go for a drive. Taking four-year-old Clark, they drove to a monument in Salt Lake City, and as they walked around it, Frances could sense that something was on Tom’s mind. When she asked about it, he told her about the call to the holy apostleship. Frances later said, “I was surprised and humbled. … That was a most significant call and an overwhelming responsibility.”⁵¹ As always, she gave her wholehearted support.

Elder Monson in the audience at general conference

Elder Thomas S. Monson in the congregation at the October 1963 general conference, prior to the announcement of his calling as an Apostle

In general conference the next morning, Thomas S. Monson was sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, as a special witness “of the name of Christ in all the world.”⁵² At age 36, he was the youngest Apostle to be called since Joseph Fielding Smith in 1910, and he was 17 years younger than the next youngest Apostle at the time.

In that same session of conference, Elder Monson gave his first address as a General Authority. After expressions of gratitude, he gave the following testimony and pledge:

“I know that God lives, my brothers and sisters. There is no question in my mind. I know that this is his work, and I know that the sweetest experience in all this life is to feel his promptings as he directs us in the furtherance of his work. I have felt these promptings as a young bishop, guided to the homes where there was spiritual, or perhaps temporal, want. I felt it again in the mission field as I worked with your sons and your daughters—the missionaries of this great Church. …

“… I pledge my life, all that I may have. I will strive to the utmost of my ability to be what you would want me to be. I am grateful for the words of Jesus Christ, our Savior, when he said:

“‘I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him’ (Rev. 3:20).

“I earnestly pray … that my life might merit this promise from our Savior.”⁵³

Six days later, on October 10, 1963, Elder Monson was ordained an Apostle and set apart as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve by President Joseph Fielding Smith, who was President of the Quorum.

Thomas S. Monson

Engaged in the Apostolic Ministry

When Elder Monson was called as an Apostle, the global expansion of the Church was hastening at an unprecedented pace. Like other General Authorities, he was soon traveling around the world to guide this growth. Sometimes he was gone for five weeks at a time, teaching members and missionaries, organizing new units of the Church, dedicating meetinghouses, and implementing Church programs.

Elder Monson took to heart the words of a member of the Twelve who said that service as an Apostle required “total commitment to the work of the Master to buoy and lift, teach and train, lead and direct the Saints of God. It means accepting the burdens and strengthening the hopes of the Church and its people.”⁵⁴

Administrative matters were secondary to looking for ways to bless individuals. One of hundreds of examples was his service to Paul C. Child, who had been Elder Monson’s stake president during his youth. In the late 1970s, President Child and his wife, Diana, were in failing health and living in a care facility. Elder Monson visited them regularly, and one time during Sunday services at the facility, he paid tribute to this beloved leader. When he returned home, he told Frances, “I think I accomplished more good during that particular visit than in many conferences.”⁵⁵

In his assignments at Church headquarters, Elder Monson influenced nearly every aspect of the Church’s structure and programs. From 1965 to 1971, he served as chairman of the Adult Correlation Committee, helping unify the Church’s manuals, handbooks, and organizations. He was also adviser to the Young Men and Young Women organizations. He served on the Missionary Executive Committee from 1965 to 1982 and presided over it for the last seven of those years. During that time he participated in assigning tens of thousands of missionaries, selecting mission presidents, creating new missions, developing missionary training programs, and overseeing visitors’ centers. “Many are the faith-promoting experiences which have occurred in the assignment of missionaries,” he wrote.⁵⁶

In 1965, President McKay assigned Elder Monson to supervise the work of the Church in the South Pacific. This assignment required traveling from the islands of the Pacific to the continent of Australia. Elder Monson developed a deep love for the Saints in these places and was inspired by their devotion to the gospel and by their faith.

When Elder and Sister Monson first visited Samoa in 1965, they went to a village where they met with nearly 200 children at a Church school. Toward the end of the meeting, Elder Monson felt prompted to greet the children individually, but he checked his watch and saw that there wasn’t enough time before his plane was scheduled to leave. Nevertheless, when the prompting came again, he told the school’s instructor about his desire to shake hands with each child. The instructor was overjoyed because the children had been praying for such an experience. “Tears could not be restrained,” Elder Monson said, “as the precious boys and girls walked shyly by and whispered softly to us the sweet Samoan greeting ‘talofa lava.’”⁵⁷

When Elder Monson visited Sydney, Australia, in 1967, a man told him that his testimony during a previous visit had led to his decision to be baptized. “Such a comment brings me to the depths of humility,” Elder Monson wrote in his journal, “and a true awareness of the responsibility which I have.”⁵⁸

Throughout President Monson’s apostolic ministry, his primary concern was for the one. Guided by the Spirit and his own observation, he reached out to those who were struggling or weighed down. Attending stake and area conferences, participating in temple dedications, and serving on committees provided opportunities not just to officiate and instruct, but also to show how deeply he cared about individuals.

Ministering and Miracles in the German Democratic Republic

In June 1968, after Elder Monson had overseen the work in the South Pacific for three years, the First Presidency assigned him to supervise the Church’s missions in Germany, Italy, Austria, and Switzerland. In Germany, nearly 5,000 Church members lived behind the Iron Curtain in the German Democratic Republic. At the time, that part of Germany was under Communist rule, which severely restricted freedoms and repressed religious activities. Primarily because of government restrictions, no General Authority had been there since the Berlin Wall had been built in 1961. One of Elder Monson’s top priorities in his new assignment was to reach out to Church members who lived there.

Traveling to the German Democratic Republic was fraught with risks. Elder Monson contacted an official in the United States government, who discouraged him from going and warned, “If anything happens, we can’t get you out.” He determined to go anyway. “You simply had to realize that the objective was higher than any earthly authority,” he later explained, “and with trust in the Lord you went.”⁵⁹

He made his first visit on July 31, 1968. He and Stan Rees, president of the North German Mission, passed through the heavily guarded checkpoint at the Berlin Wall and spent part of the day in East Berlin. Although the visit was brief, it commenced Elder Monson’s remarkable ministry in the German Democratic Republic—one that would continue for more than two decades and would become a defining part of his service as an Apostle.

Elder Monson next returned in November 1968. With tensions high, he, President Rees, and Sister Helen Rees traveled far into the country to Görlitz, where they went to an old warehouse that was shell-pocked from World War II. They arrived unannounced and found more than 200 Church members meeting on the second floor. In that meeting, Elder Monson had one of the most inspiring experiences of his life.

The speakers gave messages that showed a deep understanding of the gospel, and the singing was more fervent than Elder Monson had ever heard, filling the room with faith and devotion. Despite the hardships, poverty, and deprivations these Saints faced, he saw resilience, hope, and faith. He later said, “I have met with few congregations which have demonstrated a greater love for the gospel.”⁶⁰

Although Elder Monson rejoiced at the faithfulness of these Saints, he also sorrowed because they had no patriarchs, no wards or stakes, and no opportunity to receive temple blessings. During the meeting, he went to the pulpit with tears in his eyes and promised, “If you will remain true and faithful to the commandments of God, every blessing any member of the Church enjoys in any other country will be yours.”⁶¹

During the next few years, Elder Monson and the Church leaders and members in the German Democratic Republic worked tirelessly to do their part to bring about the fulfillment of this promise. Elder Monson returned frequently to strengthen the Saints and give blessings and encouragement. He was assisted by Henry Burkhardt, who presided over the Dresden Mission for 10 years, and many other local Church leaders. Members fasted and prayed, and they heeded Elder Monson’s counsel to abide by the twelfth article of faith—to respect the laws of the land.

Little by little, the promise began to be realized. In 1969 the First Presidency approved ordaining a patriarch in Salt Lake City and authorizing him to travel to the German Democratic Republic to give patriarchal blessings. In the early 1970s, government leaders began allowing a few Church leaders to leave the country briefly to attend general conference.

Elder Monson and group of East German saints

Leaders gather with Elder Monson (first row, far right) after a priesthood meeting in the newly established Dresden Mission in the German Democratic Republic.

In April 1975, Elder Monson felt impressed to dedicate the German Democratic Republic so the work might hasten. He gathered a few leaders on a clearing that overlooked the Elbe River and offered a prayer of dedication in which he pleaded that the way might be opened for members to receive their temple ordinances. He prayed that people would be receptive to the gospel and that government leaders would allow the work to progress. He also prayed that missionaries would again be permitted to teach the gospel there.⁶²

“The paramount blessing needed was the privilege of our worthy members to receive their endowments and their sealings,” Elder Monson later said. “We explored every possibility. A trip once in a lifetime to the temple in Switzerland? Not approved by the government. Perhaps mother and father could come to Switzerland, leaving the children behind. Not right. How do you seal children to parents when they cannot kneel at an altar? It was a tragic situation.”⁶³

Elder Monson discussed this situation and possible solutions with the First Presidency and other leaders in Salt Lake City. In the spring of 1978, President Spencer W. Kimball told him that the Lord would not deny temple blessings to these members, and then he smiled and said, “You find the way.”⁶⁴

Soon after this, a breakthrough came. As Henry Burkhardt continued to petition government leaders to allow families to go to the temple in Switzerland, they asked him, “Why don’t you build a temple here?”⁶⁵ Henry was stunned that the government, which had monitored religious activities so closely for years, would allow the Church to build a temple that would be open only to members who had a temple recommend.

The Church accepted the offer, and gradually the Lord opened the way for building a temple in the German Democratic Republic. Land was obtained in Freiberg, and Elder Monson presided over the groundbreaking on April 23, 1983. “This is a miracle of miracles!” he exulted. “I [felt] rejoicing in my heart and soul.”⁶⁶ A little more than two years later, on June 29 and 30, 1985, President Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the Freiberg Germany Temple and called on Elder Monson to be the first speaker. Expressing his feelings about this historic event, Elder Monson recorded in his journal:

“Today marked one of the highlights of my life. … It was difficult for me to control my emotions as I spoke, for racing through my mind were examples of the faith of the devoted Saints of this part of the world. Frequently people will ask, ‘How has it been possible for the Church to obtain permission to build a temple behind the Iron Curtain?’ My feeling is simply that the faith and devotion of our Latter-day Saints in that area brought forth the help of Almighty God and provided for them the eternal blessings which they so richly deserve.”⁶⁷

group in front of Frieberg Germany Temple

President and Sister Monson at the dedication of the Freiberg Germany Temple, June 1985. Left to right: Emil Fetzer, Elisa Wirthlin, Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, Mary Hales, Elder Robert D. Hales, and the Monsons.

That night, Elder Monson reflected on his ministry in the German Democratic Republic since his first visit 17 years earlier and his dedicatory prayer 10 years earlier—culminating in the dedication of a temple. Although he had been central to “one of the most historic and faith-filled chapters of Church history,” he wrote that “all honor and glory belong to our Heavenly Father, for it is only through His divine intervention that these events have taken place.”⁶⁸

In 1982 the first stake in the German Democratic Republic had been organized in Freiberg. Two years later, Elder Monson and Elder Robert D. Hales created the second stake, in Leipzig. With this, all Church members in the country were part of a stake of Zion.

There remained one more blessing to be realized: permission for missionaries from other nations to teach the gospel in the German Democratic Republic, and for missionaries from that nation to serve in others. In 1988, President Monson sought permission directly from Erich Honecker, the leader of the country.

When President Monson and his group arrived, Mr. Honecker said: “We know members of your Church believe in work; you’ve proven that. We know you believe in the family; you’ve demonstrated that. We know you are good citizens in whatever country you claim as home; we have observed that. The floor is yours. Make your desires known.”⁶⁹

Among other things, President Monson expressed gratitude for permission to build the Freiberg Temple. He then related how nearly 90,000 people had attended the temple open house and tens of thousands more had attended open houses for new chapels in Leipzig, Dresden, and Zwickau. “They want to know what we believe,” he said. “We would like to tell them that we believe in honoring and obeying and sustaining the law of the land. We would like to explain our desire to achieve strong family units. These are but two of our beliefs.”

President Monson explained the need for missionaries, then continued: “The young men and young women whom we would like to have come to your country as missionary representatives would love your nation and your people. More particularly, they would leave an influence with your people which would be ennobling.”

President Monson’s final request was for “young men and young women from your nation who are members of our Church [to] serve as missionary representatives in many nations, such as in America, in Canada, and in a host of others.” He promised that when these missionaries returned home, they would be “better prepared to assume positions of responsibility in your land.”

When President Monson concluded, Mr. Honecker spoke for about 30 minutes. President Russell M. Nelson, who was at the meeting, said “all awaited … with breathless anxiety” to hear how Chairman Honecker would respond to the request.⁷⁰ Eventually he said: “We know you. We trust you. We have had experience with you. Your missionary request is approved.” President Monson said that when he heard these words, his spirit “soared out of the room.”⁷¹

In March 1989, full-time missionaries from outside the German Democratic Republic began serving there for the first time in 50 years. In May 1989, the first 10 missionaries from that nation entered the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. The government placed no restrictions on where they could serve.⁷²

Through many miracles during a span of 20 years, the promises Elder Monson had made in an old warehouse in 1968—and the blessings he had prayed for when dedicating the German Democratic Republic in 1975—were fulfilled. With regard to these blessings, years later he recorded in his journal: “I have learned from my experience that man’s extremity is but God’s opportunity. I am a living witness of how the hand of the Lord has been made manifest in watching over the members of the Church in what once were Communist-ruled countries.”⁷³

New Editions of the Scriptures

While in a sacrament meeting as a youth, Tom Monson heard a member of his stake presidency teach from the 76th section of the Doctrine and Covenants in a way that stirred within him a desire to study the scriptures. His Aaronic Priesthood leaders, whom he described as “wise and patient men who taught us from the holy scriptures,” also helped him develop a love for the scriptures.⁷⁴ One of his Sunday School teachers, Lucy Gertsch, “brought to her classroom as honored guests Moses, Joshua, Peter, Thomas, Paul, and, of course, Christ. Though we did not see them, we learned to love, honor, and emulate them.”⁷⁵

His love for the scriptures deepened during his service as a bishop and his career in printing. Feeling that a better knowledge of the scriptures would help him as a bishop, he read them all by the end of the first year he was called. At the Deseret News Press, “the biggest job was placing orders for the Book of Mormon.”⁷⁶ These experiences with the scriptures were helping him prepare for a unique assignment as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve.

In 1972, President Harold B. Lee appointed Elder Monson to be chairman of the Bible Study Aids Committee, which was asked to find ways to improve scripture study among Church members. This committee later became the Scriptures Publication Committee and was charged with preparing new editions of the scriptures that would facilitate better study. Creating these new editions required a long, intensive effort by committee members and more than 100 scholars, computer specialists, and other experts who worked under their direction.

One massive task was creating footnotes that integrated cross-references from all four standard works: the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price. For the Latter-day Saint edition of the King James Version of the Bible, another enormous task was creating the Topical Guide, which consisted of more than 2,800 gospel topics with scripture study references from the four standard works. Additionally, the new edition included a Bible Dictionary and excerpts from the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible. New chapter headings that emphasized doctrinal content were written, and 24 pages of maps were added.

When this edition of the Bible was published in 1979, Elder Monson wrote that it was “perhaps the most significant advancement in Church scholarship in a century.” He further said that “the revolutionary system of footnoting to the other standard works,” as well as the Topical Guide, make it “a reference Bible without equal.”⁷⁷

Two years later, new editions of the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price were published. These editions included new footnotes, introductions, chapter headings, section headings, and verse summaries, along with an expanded index that integrated references from all three books of scripture. Two new sections were added to the Doctrine and Covenants (137 and 138), as well as Official Declaration 2.

President Monson with scriptures

President Monson played a key role in publishing new editions of the scriptures to facilitate better study.

Elder Monson felt the guiding hand of God throughout the process of preparing these new editions of the scriptures. People with the needed skills came at just the right time, as did new computer technologies. “The Lord opened many doors at various times of need as the work progressed,” he said, “and quiet miracles occurred to keep it moving.”⁷⁸

Elder Monson led the Scriptures Publication Committee for 10 years and felt that this was one of his most significant assignments as an Apostle.⁷⁹ Ultimately, he hoped that Church members would use these new editions of the scriptures and the enhanced study aids to engage in deeper scripture study that would strengthen their testimonies.

After the new editions were published in English, translation into other languages became a high priority. By the end of President Monson’s service as President of the Church, the Book of Mormon had been translated into 91 languages, and selections from the book had been translated into an additional 21 languages. A Church edition of the Bible in Spanish, based on the Reina-Valera translation, was also published in 2009.

Counselor in Three First Presidencies

On the morning of Sunday, November 10, 1985, Thomas S. Monson visited a care center for the elderly, as he often did, to attend Church services and cheer the residents. That afternoon, he gathered with his fellow Apostles in the Salt Lake Temple to reorganize the First Presidency after the death of President Spencer W. Kimball. In the meeting, Ezra Taft Benson was ordained and set apart as President of the Church. He called Gordon B. Hinckley as his First Counselor and Thomas S. Monson as his Second Counselor. At age 58, President Monson was the youngest member of the First Presidency in more than 80 years.

First Presidency 1988

President Monson served as a counselor in the First Presidency from 1985 to 2008. Here he is pictured with Ezra Taft Benson (President of the Church, center) and Gordon B. Hinckley (First Counselor, left) in 1988.

One of the many new opportunities that came to President Monson was presiding over temple dedications. About two months after his call to the First Presidency, he dedicated the Buenos Aires Argentina Temple. In his journal he recorded that “hearts were tender and tears were difficult to hold back as the members of the Church recognized that at long last the eternal blessings which a temple provides were now within their reach.”⁸⁰

In June 1986, President Monson helped create the Kitchener Ontario Stake in Canada, which was the 1,600th stake in the Church. He reflected on his service as mission president in that area 26 years earlier, when the Church’s 300th stake had been created in Toronto. The next year he returned to eastern Canada to conduct the groundbreaking ceremony for the Toronto Ontario Temple, and in August 1990 he returned again for what he called the “capstone event”—the dedication of the temple.⁸¹

As a counselor in the First Presidency, President Monson also extended calls to mission presidents and their wives. He devoted substantial time in getting to know each couple, giving counsel, and expressing his love. When he called 37-year-old Neil L. Andersen to be a mission president, he said, “You’re a young man. Don’t ever let your youth be an excuse. Joseph Smith was young; the Savior was young.” Hearing these words, Elder Andersen thought, “And Thomas Monson was young.”⁸²

President Ezra Taft Benson passed away on May 30, 1994, after having served for nearly nine years as President of the Church. When the First Presidency was reorganized on June 5, his successor, Howard W. Hunter, called Gordon B. Hinckley and Thomas S. Monson to continue serving as counselors. President Hunter did all he could to meet with and strengthen the Saints, but his health was frail and he served as President for only nine months before passing away on March 3, 1995.

On March 12 the Apostles met again to reorganize the First Presidency. Gordon B. Hinckley was ordained and set apart as President of the Church, and he called Thomas S. Monson and James E. Faust to be his counselors. President Monson served in that position throughout President Hinckley’s ministry, making a total of 22 years as a counselor in the First Presidency.

President Hinckley traveled more than a million miles to more than 60 countries, becoming the most traveled President in the history of the Church. “[He] is … meeting with our members who have rarely, if ever, seen a living President of the Church,” President Monson recorded.⁸³ During these travels, President Monson and President Faust managed much of the First Presidency’s work at Church headquarters.

President Monson continued to travel to regional conferences, temple dedications, and other events. In 1995 he went to Görlitz, Germany, to dedicate a meetinghouse—27 years after he had first met with a congregation of Latter-day Saints there (see pages 23–24). “Gratitude filled my heart and soul for the privilege of seeing the hand of the Lord in the blessing of this choice people,” he recorded in his journal.⁸⁴ In 2000, he presided over six temple dedications, one of which was in Tampico, Mexico—a city where he had organized the first stake 28 years earlier.

Concerning President Monson’s service as a counselor to three Presidents of the Church, Elder Quentin L. Cook noted that he “clearly had opinions on issues; he clearly had vast experience. … Because of the strength of his personality, there can be no question that he would have given his very best advice and counsel. He values unity, he values loyalty, he will let his voice be heard when it is appropriate to do so. … But as a decision is reached, he fully and wholeheartedly supports it. The unity of the First Presidency in their important decisions is a great example to the whole Church.”⁸⁵

President of the Church

On January 27, 2008, President Monson went to the bedside of his beloved friend and leader, Gordon B. Hinckley, to give him a priesthood blessing. Beginning in 1963, the two men had served together for more than 44 years in the Quorum of the Twelve and First Presidency. They had developed deep love and respect for each other.

President Hinckley had led the Church with vision, vigor, and inspiration for nearly 13 years. In January 2008, at age 97, he continued with most of his activities, but his strength was waning. After leaving President Hinckley’s bedside on January 27, President Monson recorded, “I held him by the wrist and had a distinct feeling that this was the last time I would see my beloved President and friend alive in mortality.”⁸⁶ President Hinckley passed away that evening.

“I cannot adequately express how much I miss him,” President Monson said at the funeral a few days later. “He was our prophet, seer, and revelator, … an island of calm in a sea of storm. He was a lighthouse to the lost mariner. He was your friend and my friend. He comforted and calmed us when conditions in the world were frightening. He guided us undeviatingly on the path which will lead us back to our Heavenly Father.”⁸⁷

As the senior Apostle, President Monson felt the weight of what President Hinckley’s passing meant for him personally. Regarding this, he said, “I found that most helpful to me was going to my knees and thanking my Heavenly Father for life, for experience, my family, and then directly asking Him to go before my face, to be on my right hand, to be on my left hand, and His spirit in my heart and His angels round about me to bear me up” (see Doctrine and Covenants 84:88).⁸⁸

On February 3, 2008, the Apostles met in the Salt Lake Temple to reorganize the First Presidency. In this meeting, Thomas S. Monson was ordained and set apart as the President of the Church, the 16th man to serve in that calling. He had carefully considered the matter of his counselors and received confirmation from the Lord to call Henry B. Eyring, who had been serving as Second Counselor to President Hinckley after the death of President Faust, and Dieter F. Uchtdorf, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve.

First Presidency 2013 at conference

President Thomas S. Monson (center) with his counselors, President Henry B. Eyring (left) and President Dieter F. Uchtdorf (right), in general conference

The next day, President Monson and his counselors addressed news reporters in the Church Office Building. In part, he said:

“I am humbled as I stand before you today. I testify that this work in which we are engaged is the Lord’s work, and I have felt His sustaining influence. I know that He will direct our efforts as we serve Him with faith and diligence.

“As a Church we reach out not only to our own people, but also to those people of goodwill throughout the world in that spirit of brotherhood which comes from the Lord Jesus Christ. It has been my opportunity to work somewhat closely with leaders of other faiths in solving some of the challenges facing our community and, indeed, the entire world. We will continue in this cooperative effort.”

Referring to the unity that he and President Hinckley had developed after decades of serving together, he continued: “There will be no abrupt change from the courses we have been pursuing. … We will continue the commitment of those who have gone before us in teaching the gospel, in promoting cooperation with people throughout the world, and in bearing witness to the life and mission of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”⁸⁹

Church members sustained President Monson as prophet, seer, and revelator in a solemn assembly in the April 2008 general conference. In his first address to the general Church membership, his messages were some that had been—and would continue to be—the focus of his ministry. He invited Church members who were not participating to “come back” and enjoy the fruits of fellowship. Referring to the Savior’s example of doing good, he said, “May we follow that perfect example.” He encouraged Church members to “show kindness and respect for all people everywhere.” He further encouraged them to make their homes sanctuaries “where God’s Spirit can dwell, … where love reigns.”

Regarding the “pain of broken hearts, the disappointment of shattered dreams, and the despair of vanished hopes,” he pleaded with members to turn to Heavenly Father in faith. “He will lift and guide you,” President Monson promised. “He will not always take your afflictions from you, but He will comfort and lead you with love through whatever storm you face.”⁹⁰

Temples—Beacons to the World

President Monson often said that “no Church-built facility is more important than a temple.”⁹¹ Because so many blessings for the living and the dead are available only in temples, he wanted to make these sacred edifices as accessible as possible to Church members. Only in temples, he taught, could members receive the crowning blessings the Church has to offer.⁹²

President Monson especially wanted members to receive the temple ordinances that allow “relationships [to be] sealed together to last through the eternities.”⁹³ He also emphasized the importance of the work for the dead that is performed in temples. Saying that God is hastening His work in the spirit world, he called on Church members to help by doing family history work and performing vicarious ordinances in the temple for their kindred dead.⁹⁴ President Monson also taught that temples are sanctuaries where members can receive heavenly guidance, respite from the storms of life, and strength to bear trials and resist temptation.

The Church had 12 operating temples when President Monson was called as an Apostle in 1963. During his service as a counselor in the First Presidency, he participated in an extraordinary acceleration of temple building. By the time he became President of the Church in 2008, there were 124 temples. During his ministry as President, he continued this accelerated pace, announcing 45 new temples in 21 countries. A week after becoming President, he dedicated the Rexburg Idaho Temple, the first of 46 temples that were dedicated or rededicated during his presidency. He personally dedicated or rededicated 19 of these, including the Kyiv Ukraine Temple, which was the first temple built in a nation of the former Soviet Union.

President Monson taught that an element of sacrifice is always associated with temples, and he promised that Church members would be blessed for making such sacrifices. For some people, he said, “your sacrifice may be bringing your life into compliance with what is required to receive a recommend.”⁹⁵ For others, “your sacrifice could be setting aside the time in your busy lives to visit the temple regularly.”⁹⁶ Encouraging frequent temple attendance where possible, he urged, “My beloved brothers and sisters, may we make whatever sacrifices are necessary to attend the temple.”⁹⁷

Missionary Work

In the October 2012 general conference, President Monson made a significant announcement that young men and young women would be eligible to serve missions at younger ages. Worthy, able young men could be “recommended for missionary service beginning at the age of 18, instead of age 19.” Worthy, able young women who desired to serve could be “recommended for missionary service beginning at age 19, instead of age 21.”⁹⁸

This announcement brought “an undeniable spiritual outpouring,” said Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve. In the April 2013 general conference, he reported that many had responded immediately to the new opportunity:

“The Thursday following conference, I was assigned to recommend missionary calls to the First Presidency. I was amazed to see the applications of 18-year-old men and 19-year-old women who had already adjusted their plans, visited their doctors, been interviewed by their bishops and stake presidents, and submitted their missionary applications—all in just five days. Thousands more have now joined them.”⁹⁹

missionaries studying

President Monson’s announcement that young women and young men could be recommended for missionary service at younger ages led to a surge in the number of missionaries.

Six months after the announcement, President Monson said that “the response of our young people has been remarkable and inspiring.” The missionary force had increased from 59,000 to more than 65,000, with an additional 20,000 having received their calls.¹⁰⁰ The number of missionaries continued to increase until it reached a peak of 88,000 in 2014.¹⁰¹ That number decreased as the initial surge of missionaries returned home, and at the end of 2017, 68,000 missionaries were serving around the world.

The number of Church-service missionaries also grew during President Monson’s tenure, from about 12,000 in 2008 to more than 33,000. Church-service missionaries supported all the departments of the Church, including service in welfare operations, family history work, mission offices, recreation camps, and many other areas.

Caring for Those in Need

Caring for those in need has always been a focus of the Church of Jesus Christ. The Prophet Joseph Smith said, “[A member of the Church] is to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to provide for the widow, to dry up the tear of the orphan, to comfort the afflicted, whether in this church, or in any other, or in no church at all, wherever he finds them.”¹⁰² President Monson lived, taught, and led according to these words. “I developed very young in life a spirit of compassion for others who might be in need, regardless of age or circumstance,” he said.¹⁰³

In 1936 the First Presidency had announced a welfare program to help care for those in need. At the time, large numbers of people were unemployed and in poverty due to the Great Depression. The Church’s welfare program was “a modern-day application of eternal principles,” such as work, self-reliance, wise financial management, preparedness, and service.¹⁰⁴ The application of these principles addresses both immediate needs and the long-term spiritual and physical well-being of each person, blessing those who give and those who receive.

While serving as a bishop from 1950 to 1955, President Monson saw firsthand how the Church’s welfare program helped alleviate the pangs of hunger and the desperation of want. This plan, he said, “is inspired of Almighty God. Indeed, the Lord Jesus Christ is its Architect.”¹⁰⁵ He was tutored in welfare principles by teachers whom he said were heaven-sent. One time, J. Reuben Clark of the First Presidency read to him the New Testament account of the widow of Nain, then closed his scriptures and said, weeping, “Tom, be kind to the widows, and look after the poor.”¹⁰⁶ (See Luke 7:11–15.) President Monson took those words to heart.

During his 22 years as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve and 22 years as a counselor in the First Presidency, he was a moving force in extending the reach of the Church’s welfare efforts. He was also a guiding influence in refining those efforts. “We as a Church have continued to receive divine direction [in welfare matters] as circumstances have required,” he said. “Programs and procedures used to implement welfare principles have been modified, and they likely will continue to change from time to time to meet changing needs. But the basic principles do not change. They will not change. They are revealed truths.”¹⁰⁷

volunteers in Peru

Throughout his ministry, President Monson was a moving force in extending the reach of the Church’s efforts to care for those in need.

In 1981, President Spencer W. Kimball announced that “the mission of the Church is threefold”: to proclaim the gospel, perfect the Saints, and redeem the dead.¹⁰⁸ President Monson desired to add “caring for the poor and needy” as the fourth part of the Church’s mission, and the First Presidency approved that addition in 2008 and formalized it in the release of a new Church handbook in 2010.¹⁰⁹ Instead of referring to these four major efforts as the “mission” of the Church, the new handbook referred to them as “divinely appointed responsibilities.”¹¹⁰

The results of this emphasis were far-reaching. Church members responded generously to the call to assist in large-scale humanitarian needs, allowing the Church to more than double its humanitarian aid during President Monson’s service. This aid included bringing clean water to millions of people, providing wheelchairs to hundreds of thousands, and giving vision care to help prevent and treat blindness. It also included providing food and clothing, maternal and newborn care, medical training and supplies, educational supplies, and immunization campaigns.¹¹¹

“I am deeply grateful that as a church we continue to extend humanitarian aid where there is great need,” President Monson said. “We have done much in this regard and have blessed the lives of thousands upon thousands of our Father’s children who are not of our faith as well as those who are. We intend to continue to help wherever such is needed.”¹¹²

Some of the Church’s most significant responses to disaster-related emergencies took place under President Monson’s leadership. He told Church members: “Your contributions to the funds of the Church enable us to respond almost immediately when disasters occur anywhere in the world. We are nearly always among the first on the scene to provide whatever assistance we can.”¹¹³

As an example, he told of the Church’s response after an earthquake rocked Haiti in 2010, killing and injuring hundreds of thousands of people: “Within an hour after the earthquake hit … , the Church was in motion, immediately sending relief supplies on their way. We provided water, food, medical supplies, hygiene kits, and other items. We sent teams of doctors and nurses to provide much-needed medical care.”¹¹⁴

Along with the humanitarian and emergency response the Church provided as an organization, President Monson was grateful to the thousands of members who shared of themselves—their resources, time, and expertise—to help those in need. In his opening address at the April 2011 general conference, he briefly reported on the tons of supplies the Church had delivered after a devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Most of his report, however, was about the caring service of individuals:

“Our young single adults have volunteered their time to locate missing members using the Internet, social media, and other modern means of communication. Members are delivering aid via scooters provided by the Church to areas that are difficult to reach by car. Service projects to assemble hygiene kits and cleaning kits are being organized in multiple stakes and wards in Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka. Thus far, over 40,000 hours of service have been donated by more than 4,000 volunteers.”¹¹⁵

During Thomas S. Monson’s time as President, Church members donated an average of more than 7 million hours a year to serving in welfare facilities. Each year, an average of about 10,000 volunteers provided a multitude of services around the world. The Church also responded to hundreds of disasters—earthquakes and tornadoes, hurricanes and tsunamis, fires and flooding, famines and refugee crises—in as many as 89 countries annually.¹¹⁶

Self-reliance is another welfare principle that President Monson emphasized for helping people in need. “Self-reliance … undergirds all other welfare practices,” he taught. “It is an essential element in our spiritual as well as our temporal well-being.”¹¹⁷ In 2012 the First Presidency authorized a self-reliance initiative for countries outside of North America to help individuals and families improve their education, obtain better employment, start and grow a business, and better manage their finances. Within four years, more than 500,000 Church members in more than 100 nations had participated in this initiative.¹¹⁸ Because of its success, in 2015 the First Presidency made the self-reliance initiative available in North America as well.

Frances—A Devoted Companion

“I thank my Father in Heaven for my sweet companion, Frances,” Thomas S. Monson said in the general conference when he was sustained as President of the Church. “I could not have asked for a more loyal, loving, and understanding companion.”¹¹⁹

President and Sister Monson

President Thomas S. Monson and Sister Frances Monson, 2009

President Monson’s heavy responsibilities in the Church began less than two years after he and Frances were married, when he was called as a bishop. These responsibilities intensified throughout his life and also required much of Sister Monson. She gave her support gladly. “It has never been a sacrifice to see my husband doing the Lord’s work,” she said. “It has blessed me, and it has blessed our children.”¹²⁰

Acknowledging this faithfulness, President Monson said, “I have never received anything but support and encouragement from Frances.”¹²¹ His travels to fulfill Church assignments sometimes required him to be away from home for long periods, leaving Frances alone to care for their children. “Beginning when I was called as a bishop at the age of 22, we have seldom had the luxury of sitting together during a Church service,” President Monson said.¹²² He also noted that “in each calling I have constantly discovered new abilities and talents in [her].”¹²³

The Monsons’ daughter, Ann, recalled how her mother led the family while her father was away from home on Church service:

“Many times Dad would be touring missions around the world. … Mother conveyed to us that he was doing his duty and that we would be watched over and protected whenever he was away. She communicated this message to us not only with words but by her quiet manner of making sure everything which needed to be done was always accomplished. … As I reflect upon the many blessings which I have received as the daughter of an Apostle of the Lord, the one which means the most to me is the gift and blessing of the woman he married, my mother.”¹²⁴

Sister Monson experienced some serious health difficulties during the last years of her life, and President Monson did all he could to care for her until she passed away on May 17, 2013, at the age of 85. In the next general conference, he spoke tenderly about her passing and then expressed his testimony of eternal life:

“She was the love of my life, my trusted confidant, and my closest friend. To say that I miss her does not begin to convey the depth of my feelings. …

“Of utmost comfort to me during this tender time of parting have been my testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the knowledge I have that my dear Frances lives still. I know that our separation is temporary. We were sealed in the house of God by one having authority to bind on earth and in heaven. I know that we will be reunited one day and will never again be separated. This is the knowledge that sustains me.”¹²⁵

The Expanding Church

“The Church continues to grow steadily and to change the lives of more and more people every year,” President Monson said in his opening remarks at the October 2013 general conference.¹²⁶ When he became President of the Church, there were 13.2 million members. The Church grew steadily during his time as President, with membership increasing to 16 million, stakes increasing from 2,791 to 3,322, and temples increasing from 124 to 159. Twenty-one countries had their first stake organized during these years, showing another dimension of the Church’s growth.

President Monson emphasized that Church growth requires the service, sacrifice, and good example of Church members. “We … were sent to earth at this time that we might participate in hastening this great work,” he said.¹²⁷ He also emphasized the importance of each member’s personal growth and progress.

Testimony of Jesus Christ

“Look at the kindness in those eyes. Look at the warmth of expression. When facing difficult situations, I often look at it and ask myself, ‘What would He do?’ Then I have tried to respond accordingly.”¹²⁸ President Monson was conversing with Elder Jeffrey R. Holland about his favorite painting of the Savior, by Heinrich Hofmann, which was positioned directly across from his desk. “I feel strength in having it near me.”

painting of Jesus Christ

President Monson drew strength and inspiration from this painting of Jesus Christ, by Heinrich Hofmann.

President Monson first had a print of this painting in his bishop’s office of the old Sixth-Seventh Ward building. Later he took it with him to Canada, when he served as a mission president. He had the same print in his office when he was called as an Apostle, then moved it from place to place until, finally, it hung in his office when he was President of the Church. “I have tried to pattern my life after the Master,” President Monson told Elder Holland. “Whenever I have had … to measure the request to give a blessing against the endless demands of some of my paperwork, I have always looked at that picture and asked myself, ‘What would He do?’” Then, with a smile, he added, “I can assure you the choice has never been to stay and do paperwork!”¹²⁹

President Monson also drew perspective from the painting when he had to make difficult judgments. He would ponder, “On this hand there’s mercy, [and] on this hand there is justice. Where is the weight heaviest?” As he looked at the painting and considered what the Savior would do, he generally chose mercy.¹³⁰

“The painting … is more than a reminder of who is the ‘chief corner stone’ (Ephesians 2:20) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” said Elder Holland. “It is more than a declaration that the man called to be President of the Church is expected to be chief among the living witnesses of the Savior. The painting represents an ideal—the Master after whom Thomas Monson has modeled his life. ‘I love that painting,’ President Monson said as he gazed at it yet again.”¹³¹

President Monson shared his witness of the Savior’s divine mission throughout the world for more than five decades. His life was also an expression of that witness. Living by a scripture he often quoted when encouraging more faithful discipleship, he, like the Savior, “went about doing good” (Acts 10:38). His purpose was always to help people build faith in Jesus Christ so they could experience the blessings of that faith—comfort, peace, strength, hope, joy, and exaltation.

Several months before he became President of the Church, President Monson testified:

“With all my heart and the fervency of my soul, I lift up my voice in testimony as a special witness and declare that God does live. Jesus is His Son, the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh. He is our Redeemer; He is our Mediator with the Father. He it was who died on the cross to atone for our sins. He became the firstfruits of the Resurrection. Because He died, all shall live again. ‘Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives: “I know that my Redeemer lives!”’ [“I Know That My Redeemer Lives,” Hymns, no. 136].”¹³²

Completing the Lord’s Errand

Thomas S. Monson served as President of the Church for nearly 10 years, until his death on January 2, 2018, at the age of 90. He had served a combined 54 years in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, as a counselor in the First Presidency, and as President. Only four men had served longer in those capacities. “[He] influenced the lives and shaped the destiny of millions of people around the world,” said President Russell M. Nelson at his funeral service.¹³³

As the Church grew from 2.1 million members when he was ordained an Apostle to 16 million members during the time he presided over it, Thomas S. Monson continued his lifelong ministry to individuals. He encouraged others to do the same. President Nelson quoted some of his frequent expressions in that regard:

“Send a note to the friend you’ve been neglecting.”

“Give your child a hug.”

“Say ‘I love you’ more often.”

“Always express your thanks.”

“Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved.”

Continuing, President Nelson said: “President Monson … modeled selflessness. He personified the statement of the Lord, who said, ‘He that is greatest among you shall be your servant’ [Matthew 23:11]. He gave his own time to visit, bless, and love others. Even in his waning season, he continued to minister, making frequent visits to hospitals and senior centers.”¹³⁴

Seeking to be on the Lord’s errand was a way of life that Thomas S. Monson learned and lived as a boy, a bishop, a mission president, and an apostle and prophet. “I wanted the Lord to know … that if he wanted something done, he could count on Tom Monson,” he said.¹³⁵ “Where there is want and where there is suffering, I would like to be there to lend a helping hand.”¹³⁶

President Monson waving at general conference

President Monson waves to the congregation as he leaves a session of the April 2008 general conference. He was sustained as President of the Church during this conference.

Whether blessing someone who was sick, rescuing a youth, caring for a widow, comforting the bereaved, or extending the humanitarian service of the Church, Thomas S. Monson was guided by the Savior’s example and His many entreaties to discipleship. “You develop an appreciation that Heavenly Father knows who you are,” he reflected, “and He says, ‘Here, go do this for me.’ I always thank Him.”¹³⁷ As President Monson heeded those promptings, he built bridges to the hearts of individuals and carried faith, hope, and charity throughout the world. He whom the Lord called, the Lord qualified.

Notes

1. Thomas S. Monson journal, Apr. 27, 1972.

2. Thomas S. Monson journal, July 25, 1982.

3. In On the Lord’s Errand (video), ChurchofJesusChrist.org/study/video/feature-films/2009-09-01-on-the-lords-errand-the-life-of-thomas-s-monson; quoted in William R. Walker, “Follow the Prophet,” Ensign, Apr. 2014, 40.

4. Thomas S. Monson, “Your Jericho Road,” Ensign, May 1977, 72–73.

5. Jeffrey R. Holland, “President Thomas S. Monson: In the Footsteps of the Master,” in President Thomas S. Monson: Sixteenth President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (supplement to the Ensign, June 2008), 4.

6. In Gerry Avant, “On Lord’s Errand Since His Boyhood,” Church News, Feb. 9, 2008, 4; see also “Elder Monson: Caring,” Church News, June 23, 1985, 4.

7. Thomas S. Monson, “An Attitude of Gratitude,” Ensign, Feb. 2000, 4.

8. Thomas S. Monson, “Hallmarks of a Happy Home,” Ensign, Oct. 2001, 6–7.

9. In On the Lord’s Errand (video).

10. In Jeffrey R. Holland, “President Thomas S. Monson: In the Footsteps of the Master,” 5.

11. Thomas S. Monson, “Christmas Is Love” (First Presidency Christmas devotional, Dec. 2, 2012), ChurchofJesusChrist.org/broadcasts/article/christmas-devotional/2012/12/christmas-is-love; see also “The Doorway of Love,” Ensign, Oct. 1996, 7.

12. See Thomas S. Monson journal, Dec. 8, 1984.

13. See Thomas S. Monson, “Anxiously Engaged,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2004, 56–57.

14. Thomas S. Monson, “Abundantly Blessed,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2008, 111. President Monson’s great-uncle Elias Monson served in the Swedish Mission from 1906 to 1908.

15. In Heidi S. Swinton, To the Rescue: The Biography of Thomas S. Monson (2010), 92. Used by permission of Deseret Book Company.

16. In Heidi S. Swinton, To the Rescue, 131.

17. Thomas S. Monson, in Conference Report, Oct. 1963, 14.

18. See Thomas S. Monson, “The Bishop—Center Stage in Welfare,” Ensign, Nov. 1980, 89.

19. Thomas S. Monson, “Yellow Canaries with Gray on Their Wings,” Ensign, Aug. 1987, 2.

20. Thomas S. Monson, “The Bishop—Center Stage in Welfare,” 90.

21. Thomas S. Monson, “Stand in Your Appointed Place,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2003, 57.

22. See Heidi S. Swinton, To the Rescue, 136.

23. See Thomas S. Monson, “Sugar Beets and the Worth of a Soul,” Ensign, July 2009, 6–7.

24. Letter from Richard Casto, in Heidi S. Swinton, To the Rescue, 158–59; see also On the Lord’s Errand (video).

25. Thomas S. Monson journal, July 7, 2009.

26. Thomas S. Monson, “A Provident Plan—A Precious Promise,” Ensign, May 1986, 64.

27. Thomas S. Monson, On the Lord’s Errand: Memoirs of Thomas S. Monson (self-published, 1985), 137.

28. Thomas S. Monson, “A Provident Plan—A Precious Promise,” 65. These German words translate to “my brother” in English. See also On the Lord’s Errand (video).

29. In Heidi S. Swinton, To the Rescue, 150.

30. See Heidi S. Swinton, To the Rescue, 243.

31. Thomas S. Monson, remarks given at the dedication of the Church History Library, June 20, 2009, 3, Church History Library, Salt Lake City.

32. In Jeffrey R. Holland, “President Thomas S. Monson: Man of Action, Man of Faith, Always ‘on the Lord’s Errand,’” Ensign, Feb. 1986, 16.

33. In Jeffrey R. Holland, “President Thomas S. Monson,” Ensign, Feb. 1986, 17; see also On the Lord’s Errand (video).

34. In Jeffrey R. Holland, “President Thomas S. Monson,” Ensign, Feb. 1986, 17.

35. In Jeffrey R. Holland, “President Thomas S. Monson: In the Footsteps of the Master,” 9.

36. In Jeffrey R. Holland, “President Thomas S. Monson: In the Footsteps of the Master,” 8.

37. In Jeffrey R. Holland, “President Thomas S. Monson,” Ensign, Feb. 1986, 17.

38. In Heidi S. Swinton, To the Rescue, 112.

39. On the Lord’s Errand: Memoirs of Thomas S. Monson, 177.

40. See Heidi S. Swinton, To the Rescue, 173. From Thomas S. Monson, address given at Harold B. Lee Library dedication, Nov. 15, 2000, 3.

41. In Heidi S. Swinton, To the Rescue, 184.

42. In Jeffrey R. Holland, “President Thomas S. Monson,” Ensign, Feb. 1986, 14.

43. In Heidi S. Swinton, To the Rescue, 196.

44. See Heidi S. Swinton, To the Rescue, 186–87; Thomas S. Monson, Faith Rewarded: A Personal Account of Prophetic Promises to the East German Saints (1996), 27–28. Used by permission of Deseret Book Company.

45. See On the Lord’s Errand: Memoirs of Thomas S. Monson, 240.

46. See On the Lord’s Errand: Memoirs of Thomas S. Monson, 241.

47. On the Lord’s Errand: Memoirs of Thomas S. Monson, 207; see also On the Lord’s Errand (video).

48. In Heidi S. Swinton, To the Rescue, 176.

49. On the Lord’s Errand: Memoirs of Thomas S. Monson, 245–46; see also On the Lord’s Errand (video).

50. In Heidi S. Swinton, To the Rescue, 216.

51. In Gerry Avant, “From Tomboy to Apostle’s Ideal Wife,” Church News, Apr. 26, 1975, 13.

52. Doctrine and Covenants 107:23.

53. Thomas S. Monson, in Conference Report, Oct. 1963, 14; see also video excerpt of the address in On the Lord’s Errand (video).

54. Thomas S. Monson, “Mark E. Peterson: A Giant among Men,” Ensign, Mar. 1984, 11.

55. In Heidi S. Swinton, To the Rescue, 239.

56. In Heidi S. Swinton, To the Rescue, 411.

57. Thomas S. Monson, “The Lighthouse of the Lord: A Message to the Youth of the Church,” Ensign, Feb. 2001, 6; see also Heidi S. Swinton, To the Rescue, 265.

58. In Heidi S. Swinton, To the Rescue, 274.

59. In Heidi S. Swinton, To the Rescue, 279.

60. In Heidi S. Swinton, To the Rescue, 291.

61. Thomas S. Monson, “Patience—A Heavenly Virtue,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 61.

62. See Thomas S. Monson, Faith Rewarded, 35–38.

63. Thomas S. Monson, “Thanks Be to God,” Ensign, May 1989, 51.

64. In Heidi S. Swinton, To the Rescue, 309.

65. Thomas S. Monson, “Thanks Be to God,” 51.

66. Thomas S. Monson, Faith Rewarded, 88, 91.

67. Thomas S. Monson, Faith Rewarded, 104–5.

68. Thomas S. Monson, Faith Rewarded, 106.

69. Thomas S. Monson, “Thanks Be to God,” 52.

70. Russell M. Nelson, “We Are Better Because of Him,” In Memoriam: President Thomas S. Monson, 1927–2018 (supplement to the Ensign, Feb. 2018), 30.

71. Thomas S. Monson, “Thanks Be to God,” 52.

72. See Heidi S. Swinton, To the Rescue, 334–35.

73. Thomas S. Monson, Faith Rewarded, 165.

74. Thomas S. Monson, “Who Honors God, God Honors,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 48.

75. Thomas S. Monson, “Examples of Great Teachers,” Ensign, June 2007, 108.

76. In Heidi S. Swinton, To the Rescue, 120.

77. In Heidi S. Swinton, To the Rescue, 389.

78. Thomas S. Monson, “Come, Learn of Me,” Ensign, Dec. 1985, 48.

79. See Heidi S. Swinton, To the Rescue, 385.

80. Thomas S. Monson journal, Jan. 18, 1986.

81. In “Toronto Temple Dedicated,” Ensign, Nov. 1990, 104–5; see also Thomas S. Monson, “Days Never to Be Forgotten,” Ensign, Nov. 1990, 67–70.

82. In Heidi S. Swinton, To the Rescue, 433.

83. In Heidi S. Swinton, To the Rescue, 471.

84. In Heidi S. Swinton, To the Rescue, 488–89.

85. In Heidi S. Swinton, To the Rescue, 467, 470.

86. In Heidi S. Swinton, To the Rescue, 493.

87. In Julie Dockstader Heaps, “He Was a ‘Giant’ of Faith, Love, and Vision,” Church News, Feb. 9, 2008, 10.

88. In “16th President Fields Questions from Media,” Church News, Feb. 9, 2008, 15.

89. In “The Lord’s Work Will Continue Forward,” Church News, Feb. 9, 2008, 3.

90. Thomas S. Monson, “Looking Back and Moving Forward,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2008, 90.

91. Thomas S. Monson, “As We Meet Again,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2011, 4.

92. See Thomas S. Monson, “The Holy Temple—a Beacon to the World,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2011, 93.

93. Thomas S. Monson, “As We Meet Again,” 4.

94. See Thomas S. Monson, “Hastening the Work,” Ensign, June 2014, 4.

95. Thomas S. Monson, “The Holy Temple—A Beacon to the World,” 93.

96. Thomas S. Monson, “The Holy Temple—A Beacon to the World,” 92.

97. Thomas S. Monson, “The Holy Temple—A Beacon to the World,” 94.

98. Thomas S. Monson, “Welcome to Conference,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2012, 4–5.

99. Neil L. Andersen, “It’s a Miracle,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2013, 78.

100. Thomas S. Monson, “Welcome to Conference,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2013, 5.

101. See Thomas S. Monson, “Welcome to Conference,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2014, 5.

102. Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (2007), 426.

103. In Heidi S. Swinton, To the Rescue, 132.

104. Thomas S. Monson, “Guiding Principles of Personal and Family Welfare,” Ensign, Sept. 1986, 3.

105. Thomas S. Monson, “The Way of the Lord,” Ensign, Nov. 1977, 9.

106. Thomas S. Monson, “The Bishop—Center Stage in Welfare,” 89.

107. Thomas S. Monson, “Guiding Principles of Personal and Family Welfare,” 3.

108. Spencer W. Kimball, “A Report of My Stewardship,” Ensign, May 1981, 5.

109. Minute entry, First Presidency meeting, Aug. 29, 2008.

110. Handbook 2: Administering the Church (2010), 2.2.

111. See Welfare Fact Sheets, 2008–2016; the fact sheets for 2012–16 are available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org/topics/welfare/the-church-welfare-plan.

112. Thomas S. Monson, “Until We Meet Again,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2009, 114.

113. Thomas S. Monson, “Until We Meet Again,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2008, 107.

114. In Gerry Avant, “Church Welfare Program,” Church News, Apr. 16, 2011, 4.

115. Thomas S. Monson, “It’s Conference Once Again,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2011, 5–6.

116. See Welfare Fact Sheets, 2008–2016.

117. Thomas S. Monson, “Guiding Principles of Personal and Family Welfare,” 3.

118. See “Let Us Be Self-Reliant and Independent,” Ensign, Oct. 2017, 43.

119. Thomas S. Monson, “Looking Back and Moving Forward,” 89.

120. In Jeffrey R. Holland, “President Thomas S. Monson,” Ensign, Feb. 1986, 14.

121. In Jeffrey R. Holland, “President Thomas S. Monson: Finishing the Course, Keeping the Faith,” Ensign, Sept. 1994, 16.

122. Thomas S. Monson, “Looking Back and Moving Forward,” 89.

123. In Dorothy O. Rea, “Frances Johnson Monson,” Church News, May 30, 1964, 6.

124. In Jeffrey R. Holland, “President Thomas S. Monson: Finishing the Course, Keeping the Faith,” 16.

125. Thomas S. Monson, “I Will Not Fail Thee, nor Forsake Thee,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2013, 85.

126. Thomas S. Monson, “Welcome to Conference,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2013, 4

127. Thomas S. Monson, “Hastening the Work,” 4.

128. In Jeffrey R. Holland, “President Thomas S. Monson: In the Footsteps of the Master,” 2.

129. In Jeffrey R. Holland, “President Thomas S. Monson: Finishing the Course, Keeping the Faith,” 13.

130. In Heidi S. Swinton, To the Rescue, 525.

131. In Jeffrey R. Holland, “President Thomas S. Monson: In the Footsteps of the Master,” 2.

132. Thomas S. Monson, “I Know That My Redeemer Lives,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2007, 25.

133. Russell M. Nelson, “We Are Better Because of Him,” 29.

134. Russell M. Nelson, “We Are Better Because of Him,” 29–30.

135. Quoted by Sheri Dew, in Tad Walch, “Tears, Pain, Joyful Memories as Mormon Leaders Remember President Monson,” Deseret News, Jan. 3, 2018, deseret.com/2018/1/3/20637926.

136. In Sarah Jane Weaver, “Those with Much Should Reach Out,” Church News, Feb. 6, 2010, 5, thechurchnews.com/archives/2010-02-06/helping-hand-should-reach-out-66954.

137. In Gerry Avant, “Oct. 4 Is President Monson’s 50-Year Anniversary as Apostle,” Church News, Oct. 3, 2013, 4, ChurchofJesusChrist.org/church/news/oct-4-is-president-monsons-50-year-anniversary-as-apostle.