My very important person for this week is Thomas Spencer
Monson, prophet and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints. I chose to write about President
Monson because he has such a sense of duty and is such a good example of
service to other people.
President Monson serves other people because he
has a testimony of Jesus Christ and is converted to following Him. He explained how Christ is the perfect
example of doing one's duty to serve others.
"Although He came to earth as the Son of God, He humbly served
those around Him. He came forth from
heaven to live on earth as mortal man and to establish the kingdom of God
The scriptures tell us that He said, "I came into the world to do the will of my
Father" (Book of Mormon -
Another Testament of Jesus Christ, 3 Nephi 27:13). Another scripture tells us that He "went about doing good,… for God was with him"
(Acts 10:38).
President Monson reminded us that Christ answered
His call of duty in the Garden
of Gethsemane
Thomas S. Monson follows his own advice. We often hear stories of his visits to the
many aged widows in his ward, but we know that he served other people also. He was only 22 years old in 1950 when he was
called to serve as bishop of the Sixth-Seventh Ward in the Temple View Utah
Stake. This was his home ward, the same
ward where he grew to manhood. He
accepted his responsibility to be the "father of the ward, the president
of the Aaronic Priesthood, a provider for the poor and needy, the keeper of
proper records, and the common judge in Israel
One of his assignments as bishop was to send a subscription
to the Church News and to the Improvement Era to every serviceman from
his ward. He was also counseled to write
a monthly personal letter to every serviceman from his ward. Then Bishop Monson understood the importance
of personal letters because he had served in the navy during World War II. He called a sister in the ward to assist him
in mailing the letters, and then he proceeded to write to every one of those 23
servicemen every month. He continued to
write to all of them even though some of them did not write back. One young man did not write to his bishop for
seventeen months, but Bishop Monson never got discouraged. Then he received a letter: "Dear Bishop, I ain't much at writin' letters. Thank you for the Church News and magazines, but most of all thank you for the
personal letters. I have turned over a
new leaf. I have been ordained a priest
in the Aaronic Priesthood. My heart is
full. I am a happy man."
Several years later while he was speaking at a
stake conference, Elder Monson mentioned
writing to all his servicemen. After the
meeting was over, this former serviceman came up to him and thanked his former
bishop once again. "Thank you again
for your concern for me and the personal letters which you sent and which I
treasure" ("The Call to Duty, "Ensign, May 1986, 39).
Elder and then President Thomas S. Monson gave
the same counsel for many years as shown by the following quotes (All quotes
are from Heidi S. Swinton in "Thomas S. Monson - Answering the Call of
Duty," Ensign, August 2012, 11).
"As
we follow in [Jesus Christ's] steps today, we too will have an opportunity to
bless the lives of others. … Jesus
invites us to give of ourselves:
`Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind.'"
("The Gifts of Christmas," Ensign,
Dec. 2003, 2)
"To find real happiness, we must seek for it
in a focus outside ourselves. No one has
learned the meaning of living until he has surrendered his ego to the service
of his fellowmen. Service to others is
akin to duty, the fulfillment of which brings true joy" ("The Lord's
Way," Ensign, May 1990, 93).
"Whatever our calling, regardless of our
fears or anxieties, let us pray and then go and do, remembering the words of
the Master, even the Lord Jesus Christ, who promised, `I am with you always,
even unto the end of the world'" ("They Pray and They Go," Ensign, May 2002, 51).
"We can strengthen one another; we have the
capacity to notice the unnoticed. When
we have eyes that see, ears that hear, and hearts that know and feel, we can
reach out and rescue those for whom we have responsibility" ("The
Call to Serve," Ensign, Nov.
2000, 47).
"None of us lives alone - in our city, our
nation, or our world. There is no
dividing line between our prosperity and our neighbor's poverty" ("In
Quest of the Abundant Life," Ensign,
Mar. 1988, 3).
"There are feet to steady, hands to grasp,
minds to encourage, hearts to inspire, and souls to save" ("How Firm
a Foundation," Ensign, Nov.
2006, 68).
"Perhaps when we face our Maker, we will not
be asked, `How many positions did you hold,' but rather, `How many people did
you help?'" ("Faces and Attitudes," New Era, Sept. 1977, 50).
"As we go about our daily lives, we discover
countless opportunities to follow the example of the Savior. When our hearts are in tune with His
teachings, we discover the unmistakable nearness of His divine help. It is almost as though we are on the Lord's
errand; and we then discover that, when we are on the Lord's errand, we are
entitled to the Lord's help" ("Windows," Ensign, Nov. 1989, 69).
"By learning of Him, by believing in Him, by
following Him, there is the capacity to become like Him. [Our] countenance can change; [our] heart can
be softened; [our] step can be quickened; [our] outlook enhanced. Life becomes what it should become" ("The Way of the Master," Ensign, Jan. 2003, 4).
Thomas S. Monson is a very important person in
the eyes of the Lord because President Monson is the Lord's mouthpiece on earth
today. President Monson is also a very
important person in my eyes because I know he is the living prophet of
God. I encourage all of us to follow his
counsel because I know that his counsel is exactly what the Lord would have us
do. I know that God desires each of His
children to serve His other children; in fact, I know that we have a duty to do
so!
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