The following teachings are from President Monson’s ministry as President of the Church and are arranged chronologically. Following Promptings: “The sweetest experience I know in life is to feel a prompting and act upon it and later find out that it was the fulfillment of someone’s prayer or someone’s need.
President Thomas S. Monson, who served as President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints beginning in February 2008, as a counselor in the First Presidency from 1985 to 2008, and as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from 1963 to 1985, passed away on January 2, 2018.
He said, “President Monson, do you remember that I promised you if I ever fell in love, I would let you know?” I said, “Yes, sir.” He continued, “President, I have fallen in love.” I replied, “Good. With whom?” He said, “You’ll never guess.” I was discreet; I didn’t guess. I said, “You tell me.”
Thirteen of those years, from 1995 to 2008, were at the side of President Gordon B. Hinckley, who called President Monson to be his First Counselor. 72 President Monson’s tenure in the First Presidency drew on his varied background in Church administration and left him with a heavy workload that made it difficult to leave the office.
Oct. 6, 2012LDS Church President Thomas S. Monson speaks during the morning session of the 182nd Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Oct. 6, 2012, when he announced a change in the minimum age for full-time missionaries.
Monson served in top leadership councils for the Mormon Church — making him a well-known face and personality to multiple generations of Mormons. A church bishop at the age of 22, the Salt Lake City native became the youngest church apostle ever in 1963 at the age of 36.
Monson Announced a Lower Age Requirement for Missionary Service. On Saturday, 6 October 2012, during the first session of the182nd Semiannual General Conference, President Thomas S.
Oct. 6, 2012Since the missionary age change announcement on Oct. 6, 2012, there has been a 20 percent increase in young adults who serve full-time missions, and a 21 percent increase of the number of missions worldwide.
Professionally, President Monson has had a distinguished career in publishing and printing. He became associated with the Deseret News in 1948, where he served as an executive in the advertising division of that newspaper and the Newspaper Agency Corporation.
October 10, 1963Thomas S. MonsonEnd reasonCalled as Second Counselor in the First PresidencyLDS Church ApostleOctober 10, 1963 – January 2, 2018Called byDavid O. McKay59 more rows
There is no maximum age, but men should be at least 18 years old, and women should be at least 19 to be a Church-service missionary. Church-service missionaries can be called for a term of anywhere from 6 to 24 months. They usually work between 8 and 32 hours a week and live at home while they are serving.
All Mormon men aged 19 to 26 are eligible to receive a mission call and concentrate two years of their life to what current LDS President Gordon Hinckley calls "this sacred service." Women over the age of 21 may also be called as missionaries, but they only serve 18 months.
During the church's October 2012 General Conference, church president Thomas S. Monson announced that the minimum age for missionary service for young men had been lowered from 19 to 18 and that the minimum age for young women had been lowered from 21 to 19.
Eyring. When the new price kicks in, the overall cost for a man to serve a two-year mission will be $12,000, while women, who serve 18 months, will pay $9,000. The increase affects all missionaries living in the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan and more than a dozen European countries.
If someone had asked me when I was little if I would serve a mission, I would have said no. My heart softened toward the idea as I got older, partly because I had seen my older siblings serve. But I still never really thought of it as something I would do.
When I was 17, people started asking me whether I was going to serve a mission. I hadn’t decided yet, so I always put them off.
At the beginning of 2010, I was struggling with some trials and went on a walk to clear my mind. While on the walk, I felt the Spirit whisper that I should not worry about the past; instead, I should think about my future. Just as I began reviewing my goal of finishing school, I was prompted to think about serving a mission.
I had planned my entire life to serve a full-time mission. But when I went to college at Brigham Young University (Utah, USA), I started to get nervous. How could I know whether I was really supposed to serve a mission? I spent the year before my 21st birthday begging Heavenly Father to tell me if I should serve.
I was blessed with a strong testimony of and love for the gospel at a young age, but I don’t recall one defining moment when I knew serving a mission was right. I just always knew I would go. I set a goal early to live in a way that would qualify me to serve a mission.
Significant changes impacted the way the Church leads , functions , teaches, and proselytes. In 2009, the Church distributed a DVD and pamphlet on welfare principles and in 2010 released a new handbook of instructions for Church leaders, accompanied by two worldwide training broadcasts. The new handbook stressed working in councils through open and honest discussions, alleviating the load of the bishop through delegation, and, most important, helping Church members become true disciples of Jesus Christ. Also in 2010, international training by members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles began implementing priesthood leadership conferences and area reviews that included a comprehensive overview of humanitarian service, welfare needs, missionary work, and temple work.
Hobbies like pigeon-raising offered respite from the pressures of President Monson’s duties and inspired his great-grandchildren to call him “Grandpa Birdie.”. His passion for raising pigeons was reflected in a merit badge on pigeon-raising offered by the Boy Scouts of America for a time.
When meeting with impoverished East German members, President Monson would give away his suits, shoes, calculator, and even a set of marked scriptures. 54 And he never forgot his fellow members from the Sixth-Seventh Ward, watching out for aging and low-income friends like Ed Erickson, whom President Monson invited to family gatherings and birthday celebrations. In a 2009 talk, he taught: “Have the courage to refrain from judging and criticizing those around you, as well as the courage to make certain everyone is included and feels loved and valued.” 55
A good student, Tom Monson enrolled at the University of Utah at age 17 after graduating from West High School in Salt Lake City, Utah.
During the first five years of President Monson’s tenure, the Church contributed to relief efforts in the aftermath of earthquakes in Haiti and Nepal, a Japanese tsunami, and floods in Thailand.
President Thomas S. Monson speaks at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, on November 1, 2011. Photo by Ravell Call.
Serve where you’re called.’” 77. Thomas S. Monson was set apart and ordained as the 16th President of the Church on February 3, 2008, choosing President Henry B. Eyring to serve as his First Counselor.
Smithson said new areas were opened because so many missionaries were coming into the mission field.
Doermann said the missionaries were talking about their siblings or people they knew who would be influenced by the age change announcement.
BYU junior Gary Smithson served at age 18 as a result of the age change. He said the Provo MTC was filled with so many missionaries who were excited about the work.
The LDS Church began sending missionaries to international MTCs as much as possible to help lighten the load on the Provo MTC, according to Smith.
Smithson said new areas were opened because so many missionaries were coming into the mission field. Elder Gary Smithson poses for a picture with Margerita and Enrique Romero. The Romero family was sealed in the temple in Paraguay.
Many BYU students decided to serve missions because of the missionary age change.
The missionary age change brought a “wave” of missionaries to the mission field, according to Smith.
He said, “President Monson, do you remember that I promised you if I ever fell in love, I would let you know?”
On one occasion many years ago, while visiting the Indianapolis Stake, I remember President Lowe, who was with Purdue University there, saying to me, “Brother Monson, would you like to come out to my home and stay with us Saturday evening, or would you prefer to forego the 40-mile drive and stay here with my counselor in Indianapolis?”
During the last half century or so, there has been throughout the world a gradual but continual decline in many phases of life. We observe relationships without morality, science without humanity, knowledge without character, business without ethics, worship without sacrifice, pleasure without conscience, politics without principle, and wealth without works.
Perhaps the renowned author Charles Dickens best described our day when he spoke of a period over two centuries ago. His classic A Tale of Two Cities begins:
The great Thomas Carlyle said: “The man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder—a waif, a nothing, a no man. Have a purpose in life, and, having it, throw such strength of mind and muscle into your work as God has given you.” 6
Mormon Heretic has been blogging since January 2008 at his own blog, Mormon Heretic. In 2009 he was invited to join Mormon Matters, and joined Wheat and Tares in 2010. He is married with three kids, is active in the LDS Church, a returned missionary, and a member of the Mormon History Association and the John Whitmer Association.
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