Ohmygoodness, Elder, I wrote
this & forgot to send it! Got
distracted going to OR for my husband’s uncle’s 100th birthday
party. He still gardens and his 96yo
wife is still alive too.
A YSA meeting inspired me to look up the
ten prophets who served in my lifetime so far.
I came to earth when the seventh prophet of our dispensation was serving. Although I don’t remember Heber J Grant and
George Albert Smith, I have loved their teachings. I was only six months old when President
Grant died but he developed the welfare system which I have held up as an
alternative model to socialism. I was 5
½ years old when President Smith died but his emphasis on humanitarianism and
the scouting program has deeply benefitted me and mine, more as givers than
receivers though. We have 3 Eagle Scouts
& I have appreciated the good deals at DI!
David O McKay was the prophet of my youth
and the first I knew to be a true and living prophet by the power of the Holy
Ghost. I remember it still, he stood at
the podium, tall and majestic with beautiful white hair and wearing a white
suit. His voice was mild, yet piercing
and that is when I knew. He emphasized
both family and education during his ministry, which were the very things I
needed at the time. I also remember
being struck by his definition of spirituality:
Spirituality, our true aim, is the consciousness of victory
over self and of communion with the Infinite. Spirituality impels one to
conquer difficulties and acquire more and more strength. To feel one's
faculties unfolding and truth expanding the soul is one of life's sublimest
experiences. Would that all might so live as to experience that ecstasy! (Conference Report, October 1956, First Day—p.6)
Joseph Fielding Smith was president when
I was 26-28 years old. I had 3 children and
my husband was in Vietnam. The
Vietnamese Colonel he was advising brought him a beautiful woman who was half
Vietnamese and half French, since that was what had pleased all the other
American officers. My husband politely
declined the Colonel’s offer explaining that he had a wife at home. President Smith said, “The supreme act of worship is to keep the commandments,” and I
was so gratified to learn that my dear husband could be trusted to worship God
at all times and in all places. President Smith also said something that
confirmed what I have begun to understand recently about the Lord’s
prayer: “…Thy kingdom come, thy will be
done, on earth as it is in Heaven…”
President Smith said, “The Lord was praying for the end of the world,
and so am I.” That was almost 30 years
ago!
President Harold B Lee was only in office
18 months. We were stationed in FL at
the time of his death and I was working the graveyard shift at the local
hospital. I was in the CCU and a woman
died suddenly of an embolism to the lung.
I will never forget the look of terror on her face just before she lost
consciousness. Although I did all I
could do to save her, I felt a heavy burden of responsibility. A few days later I read a newspaper report on
President Lee’s death. Apparently, he
went to the ER with a bleeding ulcer and even though the ER doctor had saved
many lives, he was not successful in saving President Lee. The physician concluded that we are not in
charge of life and death, which has brought me comfort many times since. One quote of President Lee’s profoundly affected
me the rest of my life: “The
most important of the Lord's work you will ever do will be the work you do
within the walls of your own home.” Other good ones were:
“You cannot lift another soul until you are standing on
higher ground than he is.”
“Life is fragile, handle with prayer.”
“Be loyal to the royal that is in you, for you are the child
of a King.”
“Just as a flood-lighted temple is more beautiful in a severe
storm or in a heavy fog, so the gospel of Jesus Christ is more glorious in
times of inward storm and of personal sorrow and tormenting conflict.”
President Spencer W. Kimball said he
expected President Lee to serve a good long time and never envisioned himself
ever having to take on the mantel of the church. He loved the American Indians. He signed a Book of Mormon for Kerry when he
was a visiting apostle to Kerry’s Southwest Indian Mission. A couple years later Kerry served his table
in the BYU Skyroom and President Kimball greeted him by name! In spite of health problems, he was a
powerful servant of the Lord. We loved
how he learned to talk after losing his voicebox to cancer. He also visited Kentucky while Kerry was
bishop and expressed appreciation for the southern hospitality. He told us how back home he once worked from
early morning to late at night and was never offered a bite to eat. He paused and then said, “You will see the
day when all you have to eat is what you can grow in your own back yard.” When he announced that all worthy males could
receive the Priesthood (including blacks), a couple in our ward got up and
walked out. He died after we moved to RI
where my husband attended the Navy War College.
We missed him. His wife Camilla
liked to “travel” by watching PBS during her elderly years. Some of my favorite quotes by President
Kimball are:
“Profanity is the effort of a feeble brain to express itself
forcibly.”
“Just do it.”
“Lengthen your stride”
We can’t say enough about President Ezra
Taft Benson. His apostolic counsel while
serving as Secretary of Agriculture in the cabinet of President Dwight
D. Eisenhower endeared him to us. He was a true patriot and tried to warn the
Church about the looming corruption in the government. So much of what he prophesied is now coming
true. The Book of Mormon truly is a type
of our day which may be why President Benson called us all to repentance
regarding it. We have read it every year
since. One of my favorite quotes of President Benson’s
is: “The
Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world
would take people out of the slums. Christ would take the slums out of people,
and then they would take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their
environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world
would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature.”
It was
interesting to watch how the church functioned during the last few years of President
Benson’s life, since his failing health rendered him unable to even attend
conference. I have only recently
realized how the Lord was preparing his two counselors, Elder Hinkley and Elder
Monson for their future duties.
I remember the thrill of seeing President
Howard W Hunter going through the same endowment session we were attending in
the Salt Lake Temple. I was impressed
that he was taking time out of his hectic schedule to serve. He taught by example. We would have liked to have known him better
but he only served nine months before his death. I particularly appreciated this quote from
him, “One of the greatest things a father can do for his children
is to love their mother.”
President Hinkley served 13 years and
left a memorable legacy as a prophet of the latter days. During his administration, he
directed the most intense temple building program in the history of
the Church and established the Perpetual Education Fund to help young Mormons in developing
countries gain an education and become self-sufficient. He also increased media attention and
improved the public image of the Church.
He had the vision to build the unprecedented conference center with all
the latest technology and architecture.
Even the pulpit was made from a black walnut tree President Hinkley had
planted many years earlier. We all enjoyed the sense of humor of both he
and his wife Marjorie. My mother never
missed their talks. Here are some of
his quotes: “If life gets too hard to stand, kneel.”
“You can be smart and happy or stupid and miserable. . . it's
your choice.”
“Without hard work, nothing grows but weeds.”
“You can't plow a field simply by turning it over in your
mind.”
President
Monson is our current prophet. He is a
tall, friendly man, also with a sense of humor. He will be known for hastening the work. Here are some of his teaching: that have
uplifted me:
“Faith
and doubt cannot exist in the same mind at the same time, for one will dispel
the other.”
“Work will win when wishy washy wishing won’t.”
“I forbid you, agnostic, doubting
thoughts, to destroy the house of my faith.”
“I hope that you will learn to take
responsibility for your decisions. Don't take counsel of your fears.”
