As a young bishop, Thomas S. Monson learned the importance of following the promptings of the Spirit and trusting in the Lord. One night, during a state priesthood leadership meeting, he had the distinct impression that he should leave the building and drive to the Veterans Hospital on the north end of Salt Lake City. Before leaving home that night, he had received a phone call informing him that an elderly member of his ward had been admitted to the hospital for urgent care. The call requested that Bishop Monson find a moment to come and pronounce a blessing upon the suffering man. Bishop Monson informed the caller that he would visit the hospital at the conclusion of the meeting he was required to attend. But during the meeting the prompting came again. "Leave and proceed to the hospital at once." Bishop Monson looked at the pulpit. The stake president was speaking. Sensing that leaving at that moment would be clumsy and disrespectful, he anxiously awaited the conclusion of his remarks. At the end of the stake president's message, Bishop Monson hurried out the door and rushed to the hospital. Running the full length of the corridor on the fourth floor, he saw a flurry of activity outside the designated room. A nurse stopped him and asked, "Are you Bishop Monson?" When he responded "Yes," the young lady continued. "I'm sorry. The patient was calling your name just before he died."
As Bishop Monson made his way from the hospital that night, he vowed he would never again fail to act on a prompting from the Lord. He would immediately follow the impressions of the Spirit wherever they led him. [MUSIC PLAYING]