Thank You, Thomas S Monson

On January 2, 2018, President Thomas Spencer Monson, sixteenth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, passed away quietly, surrounded by his family. For almost a full decade he served as the president of the church, which was the pinnacle of a life dedicated to service in the church. He was called as an apostle at the age of 36, and had previously served as a bishop. He also had a special connection to Canada as he served as the mission president for the Toronto, Ontario Canada mission. He dedicated the Calgary Temple in 2012 and has always had a special place in his heart for our country. For all of my life I remember him as someone I looked forward to hearing from during General Conference. He would always have stories from his life to support the lessons he would teach us. I often thought of him as a wise and kind grandfather, imparting his wisdom and knowledge to us. Most of all, I will remember him for his love for Jesus Christ. His testimony and witness of Christ is one of his lasting legacies.

In the days following his passing, I read and watched a lot of tributes to President Monson. Mostly, they were positive and praiseworthy. Even Donald Trump was able to say something nice about him. A few media outlets chose to focus on the negative, highlighting things that really had little to do with President Monson, making it seem like his term as president was plagued with controversy. They could not have been further from the truth. Yes, there were those who left the church because he would not change established doctrine and policy that would go against the Lord's will. There are those in every generation. It just serves as a further tribute to Monson's love and obedience to the Lord. True, there were some incidents that happened that caused people to wonder if the church was going to be taken down by scandal. When you get to the bottom of the scandal, however, you see that there was really nothing scandalous about anything, other than the lengths some would go to discredit the church. Throughout it all, President Monson never turned to mud-slinging, insults, or denigration. While he was firm in his resolve to do the Lord's will, he always did so with humility and love. 

He was the President of the church during a very difficult portion of my life, and many of his teachings were a strength and a boon to me. I was always impressed with his ability to help me see the beauty in life and to keep a good sense of humor about things. Instead of going through a lengthy list of accomplishments and stats about the man, let me share with you some of his words of teaching and counsel over the years that mean a lot to me.

There is something wise in the admonition to choose friends with caution. This doesn't mean that we are suspicious of everyone, but that we are to be truly careful in choosing our friends. This includes opening your heart to the possibilities of befriending the seemingly friendless. I also appreciate the counsel to plan our future with purpose. It is easy to go through life without goals, but real growth happens when we have a purpose in life. As for framing my life with faith, well, it's hard for me to put into words how that has impacted my life, but I know that my life would be considerably more difficult and sad if I did not have faith.

So often I hear people say that they want to make a difference in the world. It does not matter what vocation you choose, but if you are seeking to be a good example to those around you, you will make the world a better place.

As a Sunday school teacher in my ward, this one is very relevant to me. Every week I prepare for my class with this in mind. My goal is not to give information, but to hopefully get my students to think about their lives in a way that will cause them to make the necessary changes in their life and thereby find more happiness.

Of course, with the thinking comes action, otherwise we are just sitting there thinking, and thinking. Just thinking never accomplished anything important unless action follows the thoughts.

So many examples to go with this. We can offer a helping hand to the less fortunate, or we can more easily walk on by them without making eye contact. We can stand by the person being bullied, or we can mind our own business and say nothing. We can make the hard choice of standing alone for our morals, or we can compromise our standards and integrity for the sake of "fitting in".

This ties in with the last one. It is so easy to get caught up in seeking to stay relevant, current, and popular. The result is that we often fall for anything instead of standing for truth and right.

How do we find, grow, and nurture our testimony? Here is a formula that President Monson gave us that will help.

The trials we face in life are not going to be easy, but they will help define us. We can be all upset that life isn't perfect, or we can be learning from those challenges. I am thankful that the wisdom that I learned during my challenges helped me become a better person.

President Monson was all about service. He loved a ;life of it. He always challenged us to reach out to those in the most need. He counseled us in word and action to serve the sick, the elderly, the lonely, the oppressed, and the poor. 

Love and kindness. He never was short on those two attributes. His attitude to face everything with a positive spin is both infectious and inspiring.

I had to use this advice in my life a lot. I especially found that this works with myself as well as others. The true healing that is found in forgiving ourselves and others is astounding.

Not much I can add to this, except to say "Thank you, President Monson."