Prophet - Rescuing the People by showing he cares

I was listening to the interview of Heidi Swinton, who wrote President Monson's biography today. It was a very good interview and got me excited to read it after I'm done reading my current book (Bill Simmons' book on basketball - a little vulgar but also extremely well researched on my favorite sport).

I was impressed by how he consistently tries to meet with people and talk to them and let them know he cares. When I think about President Monson, one clear lesson is that just by letting people know you care, you can help them. It's a reason to always do home teaching and a reason to visit people. It shows you care.

In the interview, Heidi tells the story of a church member, Henry Burkhardt, who spent a lot of time with President Monson in Germany as he was the temple president and mission president for years. President Monson made a lot of promises to the German people about having all the blessings of the gospel even while there was a full communist reign there. Those promises came true with the blessings of the temple, which is incredible considering communism was still strong at the time. When Heidi asked Henry Burkhardt what the most incredible experience he had with President Monson, he replied, "Dec 20, 1979 was the date. My wife had spent 9 weeks in the hospital and wasn't getting better. That's when word got to President Monson about her sickness. He hopped on a plane the next day and we went and gave a blessing to my wife."

I am impressed by that. He cared about people so much.

I heard a story about when President Monson visited Spokane WA for a stake conference. During the conference he went out of his way to go visit the home of a faithful stake patriarch who was sick.

I've also seen him shake hands for over an hour at the end of a regional conference. He cares about people. It's obvious.

I was also impressed by how he wrote so many things about his life and experiences in journals. If someone as busy as him makes time to write in journals, I should to. It probably enlarges the memory, crystallizes thinking and experiences, and creates a record.

I love our church leaders and in particular the prophet. I know he is who he says he is, God's representative on earth. I know Jesus Christ leads the church through his prophet.

Have a great Sunday tomorrow.