President Thomas S. Monson

General Conference is so soon!! I don't think I've ever been this excited for Conference. I'm taking a Teachings of the Living Prophets class, and it has given me a different perspective. I've learned more about what it means to be a prophet, seer, and revelator. Also, I've learned a lot about the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles and their individual lives.

I really loved learning about President Monson's life and I thought I'd share a little bit of what I've learned.

He was born on August 21, 1927 in Salt Lake City. He is the second of six children.

He was raised by very faithful, kind parents. He said this about his father, "I never heard my father speak a negative word towards another person. In fact, he would not remain in the room if anyone were speaking disrespectfully or negatively towards another person." (Gerry Avant, "on the Lord's Errand," Church News, February 9, 2008, 5.)

He was raised during the Great Depression so many times they would have to go without many necessities. They lived near the train tracks so many homeless and needy individuals would come knocking on their door asking for food. His mother, Gladys Monson, never turned them away. Often times they were invited to sit and eat. (Micheal Goodman, "Thomas S. Monson," in Presidents of the Church manuscript, Craig Manscill, et al, eds.)

He graduated from West High School in 1944. At the age of eighteen he was ordained an elder just before he left to serve his country in the navy during the closing months of World War II. (Church News, April 26, 1975, p. 5.)

While stationed in San Diego, President Monson really wanted to be a commissioned officer and be began working towards becoming an ensign. A few days after his commission came, he also received a call to serve in the bishopric of his ward. He decided to take the conflict to his stake president, Elder Harold B. Lee of the Council of the Twelve Apostles. After listening the the conflict, Elder Lee counseled him to refuse the commission and request a discharge from the Naval Reserve. When President Monson was concerned that the discharge would bot be approved, Elder Lee said, "Brother Monson, have more faith. The military is not for you." (Goodman, 9.)


Later he wrote, "I have often contemplated what the course of my life might have been had I not received and followed the advice of Elder Lee. I pondered the thought that the wisdom of God at times appears as foolishness to men. But the greatest single lesson we can learn in mortality is that when God speaks and a man obeys, that man will always be right." (Thomas S. Monson, Inspiring Experiences That Build Faith: From the Life and Ministry of Thomas S. Monson, p. 195.)

When the war ended President Monson went back to the University of Utah, where he met his wife. They met at a "Hello Day" dance in 1944. He looked over the head of the girl he was dancing with and saw Frances Johnson waltz with her partner. He looked for her after the dance, but it was an unsuccessful search. Finally they met two weeks later s they both waited for the streetcar to take them from the university, to downtown Salt Lake City. (Church News, April 1975, pp. 5, 13.)

This is what he said about their first date.
"My family was very informal but her family was quite formal... This was the first time I had gone to the living room of a home where I had dated a girl and found both the mother and the father dressed up - waiting to met the boyfriend. I was taken back a little bit."

Frances' father, Fanz Johnson, asked if "Monson" were a Swedish name. "When I told him it was, he went over to a dresser drawer and brought out a picture of two missionaries with the top hats and canes of years ago and asked me if I were related to one of the missionaries whose name was Elias Monson. I was pleased to tell him that he was my grandfather's brother. Frances' father had tears come into his eyes and then he told me that this was one of the missionaries who had brought the gospel to his family in Sweden. At that point, I had the support of my future father-in-law an future mother-in-law. All I had to do was to convince their only daughter that she was to become my bride on day. (Church News, April 26, 1975, p. 5. 13.)

She was convinced and they were married on October 7, 1948, in the Salt Lake Temple. They have three children.

Here are a few facts

Education

He graduated cum laude from the University of Utah. Later he got his MBA from BYU in 1974 (This was while he was an apostle).

Profession

• Manager of the classified advertising department of the Newspaper Agency Corporation.
• Advertising executive for the Deseret News (1948)
• Chairman of the board of Deseret News.
  

Church Service

1950-1955 Bishop of the Salt Lake 6th-7th Ward (Age 22)
1955-1959 Counselor in the Temple View Stake Presidency
1959-1962 President of the Canadian Mission (age 31)
4 Oct 1963 Member of the Quorum of the Twelve (age 36)
Nov 1985 Second Counselor to President Benson, President Hunter
12 March 1995 First Counselor to President Hinckley
3 February 2008 16th President of the Church

Can you believe he was a bishop at 22, a mission president at 31, and an apostle at 36? Holy moly! It's also crazy because he wasn't a General Authority before he was called to the Twelve.

There's a lot more about his life that I could write about but I'm just going to share a few stories that I really liked.

At age 23, when he was serving as a bishop, he was in a stake priesthood leadership meeting. While in this meeting he got an impression that he should immediately leave and drive to the Veterans' Hospital in Salt Lake City. Earlier that evening he was informed that a member of the ward was taking in for hospital care and was asked if he could stop by and give them a blessing. The prompting got stronger, "Leave the meeting and proceed to the hospital at once." But the stake president was speaking at the pulpit and he didn't want to disrupt the meeting. He painfully waited until the stake president was finished and bolted for the door before the benediction was even announced. He ran at full length all the way to the 4th floor of the hospital. A nurse stopped him and asked, "Are you Bishop Monson?" "Yes" "I'm sorry," she said, "The patient was calling your name just before he passed away." After that, he vowed that he would never fail to act upon a prompting from the Lord. He would acknowledge the impressions of the Spirit when they came, and he would follow wherever they led him, ever to be "on the Lord's errand".

Here are a few great quotes by President Monson.

"Our journey into the future will not be a smooth highway which stretches from here to eternity. Rather, there will be forks and turning in the road, to say nothing of the unanticipated bumps. Pray daily to a loving Heavenly Father who wants you to succeed in life."
(President Monson, Deseret News, 1999)

"How fragile life, how certain death. We do no know when we will be required to leave this mortal existence. And so I ask, 'What are we doing with today?' If we live only for tomorrow, we'll have a lot of empty yesterdays today. Have we been guilty of declaring, 'I've been thinking about making some course corrections in my life. I plan to take the first step-tomorrow'? With such thinking, tomorrow is forever. Such tomorrows rarely come unless we do something about them today..." "Because life is fragile and death inevitable, we must take the most of each day..." (General Conference, April 2001)

Sarah and Moses

Well I found some more information about the marriage of Sarah Ann Inkley and Moses Clawson. Brigham Young told them that they should get married because Cornelia was dying. Sarah was very young and could care for their children. Before I said that their marriage doesn't make sense, but it does. I'm sure that was hard for all of them. Cornelia died a month after Sarah and Moses were married (I'm not positive it was a month, but it seems right...) I bet that was hard for all of them.
I'm still curious about it though. What was that like for 20 year old Sarah to marry a 52 year old man? What was it like for the family at that time? And how did she fit in with them as Moses' wife?

I'm sure it was a very hard situation. I want to learn more :) This is Moses

And this is Sarah. I think she's a cute old lady :)

they call him Moses

I'm taking a genealogy class and my ancestors are awesome! Right now I'm most interested in learning about my great, great grandpa, Moses Clawson.
Moses was born on October 8, 1801 in Dryden, New York. In 1821 he married Cornelia Brown. I found a little bit of information about them joining the church. In his journal he wrote:


“In the fall of 1830 Col. John Stevens an old Gentleman came to my house and said to me; Reports say in the papers there is a Golden Bible found, which thrilled through me like an electric shock which caused me to reflect materially, not being a praying man my desire was to get the Book forthwith which in a few months was put into my possession. [ I ] read it carefully and believed that God had again manifested himself unto men by giving them history of this American continent.”

Then this one was written later on:

“ ....2 Elders from Kirtland Ohio came to our settlement by the name of John Gould and George Babcock, being of inquiring mind I invited them to come to my house. They preached a number of times in the settlement. On the 2nd of March 1835 myself my wife and my youngest sister Lola went into the Waters of Baptism under the hands of John Gould. After being confirmed [ and ] promised the gift of the Holy Ghost [ I ] was visited with a feeling for several days as though my whole frame was on fire – through which I received great knowledge as pertaining to the things of God.”

I love this journal entry. Moses wrote this himself. I'm grateful that he took the time to write in his journal so that I could know how he felt. He knew the church was true and it's easy to see that after learning a little bit about his life, but I reading about how he felt personally.

After joining the church Moses and his family went Kirtland, Ohio. While they were traveling to Kirtland, his oldest son, Ebenezer was run over by a wagon giving him some severe head injuries. Some missionaries in the area gave him a blessing and the next day he was almost completely healed and was ready to drive the wagon.
In Kirtland, Moses and Cornelia received their Patriarchal blessings from Joseph Smith Sr, who was the first Patriarch of the church. They then traveled to Missouri. When the saints were driven out of Independence they settled about three miles from Far West.

Mobs continued to follow the Mormons. About 1838, Moses was imprisoned for over two weeks in the Richmond, Missouri jail, along with sixty to seventy others. Joseph Smith Jr. was included.

Later on, Moses was sent to a mission to the eastern United States. He returned in 1844. Shorty after that he went on another mission to the East, but returned home when Joseph Smith Jr. was murdered.

In 1847, Moses was ready to head west, but was asked to stay behind and help build wagons for future companies.
Finally he and his family arrived in Salt Lake City in 1849. The next spring he was called to serve a mission in England. He served there for three and a half years. When returning back home he presided over the LDS immigrant ship Ellen Maria, which had 299 saints aboard.
Then later he led a company of 56 wagons across the plains to Salt Lake. They arrived in September of 1853.

While he was leading this company, he heard that his wife Cornelia was very sick. So he went ahead of his company to be with her. Right before Cornelia died he married Sarah Ann Inkley. Sarah is my great, great grandma. I didn't know that they were married before Cornelia died.
Sarah and Moses met in England. They got to know each other a little better while traveling on the Ellen Maria. Moses got sick on the Ellen Maria and Sarah nursed him back to health.

I've been reading about Sarah and it's weird that they even got married in the first place. I don't think they loved each other. Sarah was in love with a young man named William Taylor. They were engaged in England, but William emigrated many years before she did. When she got to Salt Lake she saw him and learned that she probably wouldn't be his only wife (later this man married four wives). In one history of Sarah Ann Inkley it says, "Just what occurred to bring Moses Clawson and Sarah Ann Inkley together at this time is not known. Both had disappointments and tragedy in their lives." This makes me so curious! Moses was 32 years older than Sarah and their marriage doesn't make sense. Hopefully I can find some more information later on. Anyway, Moses and Sarah were married on September 25, 1853 by Brigham Young in his office. They had 13 children. (Cornelia gave birth to 12 children. Moses had a total of 25 kids!).

I have learned so much already, but there's a lot more to learn! So far I'm lovin' this. I feel like I know them better :) They're my family. It's interesting because my great, great grandpa was born in 1801. There is only four generations between us. Four generations in 200 years! Isn't that crazy?

Missionaries

In response to hey there, Delilah. My sister is hilarious.

Can I just say that I do not like the phrase "my missionary"? You won't believe how many times I heard it this summer. There were a lot of Oakcrest counselors who had boyfriends on missions. I understand that they have strong feelings for boys that happen to be on missions, but really, it's just silly to call them "your missionary".
One time, (or maybe a few) when I received a letter, I was asked if it was "my missionary". I do not own a missionary. I just think it's plain silly. That's all :)

I also think the whole "waiting" thing is silly too. If it's right it'll happen whether you wait or not. There are so many dating experiences you would miss if you waited for a boy to return from a mission. Dating is good. It opens your eyes to what is really out there and helps you learn more about yourself.
But then, there are girls that say they're waiting but really they're not. Two years is a long time. Reality is, things change.
The Hey There Delilah song was very funny :)

To my close friends that have strong feelings for boys that are on missions I'm not talking about you. :) I just heard a lot about it over the summer. And then my sister's post made me think.

If you want some entertainment, you should read, my sister, Janet's blog fairly happy. She's incredible.

Regina

Regina Spektor is an artist. She has her own style. Some people think her music is weird, which it is. She's unique. I love her music because there's so much meaning in her songs, but it's like a puzzle.

I love being an aunt!

I may be the baby of the family. I may have missed a few big family events. I may have not been around when my family was dirt poor. I may have not seen what my dad was like as an athlete. I may not know exactly what it was like when my mom was going nutty trying to make dinner or clean the house. I may have felt like the only child when everyone was grown and moved out. I may feel like I'm the only one who doesn't have a family of their own.

I may be the baby of the family but I am not complaining one bit! There are a few things I that I would have liked to be around for. However, I have had a lot of opportunities that my older siblings didn't have. Spending one-on-one time with my mom and dad was not something my older siblings did very often. For many years I had them all to myself. I wasn't around when my family was just starting or when my mom had a new baby, but I get to watch each of my siblings start their family and have their own children. I don't remember a time when I felt like we didn't have enough money. I have seen a switch in the roles of my parents. My dad has retired and my mom works. My siblings never saw my mom stressed out about going to work everyday or my dad waking up to make my mom breakfast before she leaves. I am grateful for being the caboose and the roles that come with that.

One role that I'm especially grateful for is being an aunt! I became an aunt at seven years old when Bryson was born. I remember holding him for the first time in Kristy and Randy's small apartment in Atlanta, Georgia. After that the nieces and nephews just kept coming! It was so much fun when they started getting old enough to talk and play. I didn't ever have a younger brother or sister but I had many nieces and nephews to play with. And of course I was always the favorite aunt!



A week ago today my sister-in-law Katie gave birth to baby girl. They named her Camille. Lucky for us BYU students they had the baby in Provo. That night Kevin and I went to the hospital to see our new niece. She was beautiful.
As we were driving away Kevin said something about how babies aren't as fun as a toddler that can walk and play. When I was a lot younger I did like when they could talk and play. Now I would rather hold a baby.

A couple of months ago I was talking to a friend. For some reason we started talking about evil spirits. After he left I went to my sister's house to spend the night. I was driving by myself and I was really scared. Not only am I sensitive to things like that anyway, but at that time I was working at Oakcrest. The spirit was especially a big part of my life. I hated how I felt. Finally, I arrived at Debbie's house. I walked in and quickly went to see my two month old niece Betty. I soon as I looked at her all of the bad feelings vanished! As I looked at her I felt so peaceful. I love babies and I love being an aunt. This is Betty

Anna and Betty

I love being an aunt! I love being the youngest of my family. As of last week, I have 17 nieces and 13 nephews. 29 total and 2 on the way.




I'm taking a genealogy class right now. Even though we haven't really got in to it yet, I already gained a better understanding for the unity of family. I love my family :)

the game of life

I usually don't do write about personal things. Deep thoughts and funny things, yeah but as far as how school's going and stuff I just usually don't get too personal. But today I want to at least get a little more personal.

The last couple weeks have been hard. My brother warned me about winter semester before he went to China. He said that winter semester is usually hard because we don't have many breaks and it's cold. I'm definitely feeling that right now.
A few weeks ago I had a break down on campus. I was tired from the continuous lack of sleep and I had a lot to think about. I went into the bathroom in the Jessie Knight Building. I went into the stall and just cried without caring who heard me. I really wanted to talk to my mom but she was at the temple I think.
Most of the time I'm happy and I feel fine, but for some reason when life is busy and I have a lot to think about it's harder than it usually would be.
I miss my family a lot. I talk to my parents often but the last little bit I haven't really talked to my siblings. At the first of the semester around my birthday, many of my brothers and sisters came to visit or they called a lot. I just haven't seen anyone for a little while. My brother's not here at BYU this semester either. He's in China and sometimes I'll be walking on campus and remembering the times when he was here too. It seems like ages ago! I'm sure he doesn't know it but he helped me a lot. My family gives me strength and when I talk to them my problems seem much smaller. I did go home this weekend to go to a funeral and it was great to see my parents. I love BYU but when it was time to leave home and come back to Provo I just didn't want to.
Last week Brother Archuleta, the first counselor in our bishopric, came up to me after ward prayer. Because I'm serving as the relief society president I expected him to pull me aside and inform me of someone that needs help or someone that I should be aware of or some kind of assignment. Instead he asked how I was doing. I told him that I was good because that's just what comes out in casual conversation but this wasn't just a "hello how are you?" He really wanted to know how I was doing. I told him that I had had a hard week and I've been pretty stressed. For some reason he felt that he should see how I'm doing. On the verge of tears, I told him thank you. I was very grateful for this because sometimes life just gets lonely. Even though I have friends and roommates and family, life still gets lonely. Even though I know that my family and friends love Satan works hard on trying to make me forget. After talking to Brother Archuleta I gained a better understanding that my Father in Heaven is aware of me. I'm grateful for Brother Archuleta's kindness. And for a Father in Heaven who watches over me.
Brother Archuleta talked to me again yesterday. He told me not to keep my feelings inside and that it's good to talk to people. I've been thinking a lot about what he said because I think that I do keep my feelings inside. I do like to open up and talk to people but it's different going to someone and telling them MY problems. It's also hard to talk to someone that isn't really going to listen to me. Yeah they might sit and listen but I mean really listen. Anyway I need to enjoy the last little bit of this semester!
Life is a roller coaster that's for sure!! I got a blessing from my dad on Saturday and in the blessing he said something like I'm having these experiences to help me have a full life. Which I completely believe but when you're going through hard times it's not that easy to say "Oh this is helping me learn about life". It stinks when it's hard and usually I JUST want it to end! It will end. I know it will :) And I have so much more in life to look forward to, not to mention an AWESOME summer being an Oakcrest counselor!!!