The document summarizes Thomas S. Monson's address to the Latter-day Saints during the Church's General Conference in May 2008. In 3 sentences: President Monson looks back on his ancestry and service in the Church. He expresses gratitude for those who have gone before and calls members to continue moving forward in unity doing the Lord's work. He testifies of God's love and of Jesus Christ, and promises to lead the Church through revelation as the new President.

1. Looking Back and
Moving Forward
P R E S I D E N T T H O M A S S. M O N S O N
Together we shall move forward doing His work.
you from the absolute depths of
humility. I feel very keenly my
dependence upon the Lord. I humbly
seek the guidance of the Spirit as I
share with you the feelings of my
heart.
Just two months ago we said
farewell to our dear friend and leader
Gordon B. Hinckley, the 15th
President of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints, an out-
standing ambassador of truth to the
entire world and beloved of all. We
miss him. More than 53,000 men,
women, and children journeyed to
the beautiful Hall of the Prophets in
this very building to pay their last
I
think this has been a remarkable respects to this giant of the Lord, who
session. The messages have been now belongs to the ages.
inspiring; the music has been With the passing of President
beautiful, the testimonies sincere. I Hinckley, the First Presidency was dis-
think anyone who has attended this solved. President Eyring and I, who
session will never forget it—for the served as counselors to President
Spirit we’ve felt. Hinckley, returned to our places in
My beloved brothers and sisters, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles,
over 44 years ago, in October of 1963, and that quorum became the presid-
I stood at the pulpit in the Tabernacle, ing authority of the Church.
having just been sustained as a mem- On Saturday, February 2, 2008,
ber of the Quorum of the Twelve funeral services for President
Apostles. On that occasion I men- Hinckley were held in this magnifi-
tioned a small sign I had seen on cent Conference Center—a building
another pulpit. The words on the sign which will ever stand as a monument
were these: “Who stands at this pul- to his foresight and vision. During the
pit, let him be humble.” I assure you funeral, beautiful and loving tributes
that I was humbled by my call to the were paid to this man of God.
Twelve at that time. However, as I The following day, all 14 or-
stand at this pulpit today, I address dained Apostles living on the earth
MAY 2008 87

2. assembled in an upper room of the Seventy have been called and were
Salt Lake Temple. We met in a spirit of sustained yesterday, and I look for-
fasting and prayer. During that ward to associating with them in the
solemn and sacred gathering, the work of the Master.
Presidency of the Church was re- A sweet spirit of unity exists among
organized in accordance with well- the General Authorities. The Lord has
established precedent, after the declared, “If ye are not one ye are not
pattern which the Lord Himself put mine.”1 We will continue to be united
in place. in one purpose—namely, the further-
Members of the Church around ance of the work of the Lord.
the world convened yesterday in a I feel to express thanks to my
solemn assembly. You raised your Heavenly Father for His countless
hands in a sustaining vote to approve blessings to me. I can say, as did
the action which was taken in that Nephi of old, that I was born of
meeting in the temple to which I goodly parents, whose own parents
have just referred. As your hands and grandparents were gathered out
were raised toward heaven, my heart of the lands of Sweden and Scotland
was touched. I felt your love and and England by dedicated missionar-
support, as well as your commitment ies. As those missionaries bore hum-
to the Lord. those 15 men. I have the sure knowl- ble testimonies, they touched the
I know without question, my edge, as I am confident they had, that hearts and the spirits of my forebears.
brothers and sisters, that God lives. I God directs His prophet. My earnest After joining the Church, these noble
testify to you that this is His work. I prayer is that I might continue to be men, women, and children made
testify as well that our Savior Jesus a worthy instrument in His hands to their way to the valley of the Great
Christ is at the head of this Church, carry on this great work and to fulfill Salt Lake. Many were the trials and
which bears His name. I know that the tremendous responsibilities heartaches they encountered along
the sweetest experience in all this life which come with the office of the way.
is to feel His promptings as He President. In the spring of 1848, my great-
directs us in the furtherance of His I thank the Lord for wonderful great-grandparents, Charles Stewart
work. I felt those promptings as a counselors. President Henry B. Eyring Miller and Mary McGowan Miller,
young bishop, guided to the homes and President Dieter F. Uchtdorf are who had joined the Church in their
where there was spiritual—or per- men of great ability and sound under- native Scotland, left their home in
haps temporal—want. I felt them standing. They are counselors in the Rutherglen, Scotland, and journeyed
again as a mission president in true sense of the word. I value their to St. Louis, Missouri, with a group of
Toronto, Canada, working with won- judgment. I believe they have been Saints, arriving there in 1849. One of
derful missionaries who were a living prepared by the Lord for the posi- their 11 children, Margaret, would
witness and testimony to the world tions they now occupy. I love the become my great-grandmother.
that this work is divine and that we members of the Quorum of the While the family was in St. Louis
are led by a prophet. I have felt them Twelve Apostles and treasure my asso- working to earn enough money to
throughout my service in the Twelve ciation with them. They, too, are dedi- complete their journey to the Salt
and in the First Presidency and now cated to the work of the Lord and are Lake Valley, a plague of cholera swept
as President of the Church. I testify spending their lives in His service. I through the area, leaving death and
that each one of us can feel the look forward to serving with Elder heartache in its wake. The Miller fam-
Lord’s inspiration as we live worthily Christofferson, who has now been ily was hard hit. In the space of two
and strive to serve Him. called to that quorum and who has weeks, four of the family members
I am keenly aware of the 15 men received your sustaining vote. He, succumbed. The first, on June 22,
who preceded me as President of the too, has been prepared for the posi- 1849, was 18-year-old William. Five
Church. Many of them I have known tion to which he has been called. It days later Mary McGowan Miller, my
personally. I have had the blessing has also been a joy to serve with the great-great-grandmother and the
and privilege of serving as a counselor members of the quorums of the mother of the family, died. Two days
to three of them. I am grateful for the Seventy and with the Presiding afterward, 15-year-old Archibald
abiding legacy left by each one of Bishopric. New members of the passed away, and five days after his
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3. death, my great-great-grandfather,
Charles Stewart Miller, father of the
family, succumbed. The children who
survived were left orphans, including
my great-grandmother Margaret, who
was 13 years old at the time.
Because of so many deaths in the
area, there were no caskets available,
at any price, in which to bury the
deceased family members. The older
surviving boys dismantled the family’s
oxen pens in order to make caskets
for the family members who had
passed away.
Little is recorded of the heartache
and struggles of the nine remaining
Miller children as they continued to
work and save for that journey their
parents and brothers would never
make. We know that they left St. Louis
in the spring of 1850 with four oxen
and one wagon, arriving finally in the
Salt Lake Valley that same year.
Others of my ancestors faced simi-
lar hardships. Through it all, how-
ever, their testimonies remained
steadfast and firm. From all of them I
received a legacy of total dedication
to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Because
of these faithful souls, I stand before
you today.
I thank my Father in Heaven for
my sweet companion, Frances. This
October she and I will celebrate
60 wonderful years of marriage. Father for our three children and spirit and your love. I look forward to
Although my Church service began at their companions, for eight wonderful many more such opportunities.
an early age, she has never once com- grandchildren, and for four beautiful Throughout the journey along the
plained when I’ve left home to attend great-grandchildren. pathway of life, there are casualties.
meetings or to fulfill an assignment. It’s difficult for me to find the Some depart from the road markers
For many years my assignments as a words to convey to you, my brothers which point toward life eternal, only to
member of the Twelve took me away and sisters, my heartfelt appreciation discover the detour chosen ultimately
from Salt Lake City often—sometimes for the lives you live, for the good leads to a dead end. Indifference, care-
for five weeks at a time—leaving her you do, for the testimonies you bear. lessness, selfishness, and sin all take
alone to care for our small children You serve one another willingly. You their costly toll in human lives.
and our home. Beginning when I are dedicated to the gospel of Jesus Change for the better can come to
was called as a bishop at the age of Christ. all. Over the years we have issued
22, we have seldom had the luxury During more than 44 years as a appeals to the less active, the of-
of sitting together during a Church General Authority, I have had the fended, the critical, the transgressor—
service. I could not have asked for a opportunity to travel the world over. to come back. “Come back and feast
more loyal, loving, and understand- One of my greatest joys has been to at the table of the Lord, and taste
ing companion. meet with you, the members, wher- again the sweet and satisfying fruits
I express gratitude to my Heavenly ever you may be—to feel of your of fellowship with the Saints.”2
MAY 2008 89

4. Heavenly Father. In order to be tested,
we must sometimes face challenges
and difficulties. At times there appears
to be no light at the tunnel’s end—no
dawn to break the night’s darkness.
We feel surrounded by the pain of bro-
ken hearts, the disappointment of
shattered dreams, and the despair of
vanished hopes. We join in uttering
the biblical plea “Is there no balm in
Gilead?”6 We are inclined to view our
own personal misfortunes through
the distorted prism of pessimism.
We feel abandoned, heartbroken,
In the private sanctuary of one’s show kindness and respect for all alone. If you find yourself in such a sit-
own conscience lies that spirit, that people everywhere. The world in uation, I plead with you to turn to our
determination to cast off the old per- which we live is filled with diversity. Heavenly Father in faith. He will lift
son and to measure up to the stature We can and should demonstrate you and guide you. He will not always
of true potential. In this spirit, we respect toward those whose beliefs take your afflictions from you, but He
again issue that heartfelt invitation: differ from ours. will comfort and lead you with love
Come back. We reach out to you in May we also demonstrate kindness through whatever storm you face.
the pure love of Christ and express and love within our own families. Our With all my heart and the fervency
our desire to assist you and to wel- homes are to be more than sanctuar- of my soul, I lift my voice in testimony
come you into full fellowship. To ies; they should also be places where today as a special witness and declare
those who are wounded in spirit or God’s Spirit can dwell, where the that God does live. Jesus is His Son,
who are struggling and fearful, we say, storm stops at the door, where love the Only Begotten of the Father in the
Let us lift you and cheer you and calm reigns and peace dwells. flesh. He is our Redeemer; He is our
your fears. Take literally the Lord’s The world can at times be a fright- Mediator with the Father. He loves us
invitation, “Come unto me, all ye that ening place in which to live. The with a love we cannot fully compre-
labour and are heavy laden, and I will moral fabric of society seems to be hend, and because He loves us, He
give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, unraveling at an alarming speed. gave His life for us. My gratitude to
and learn of me; for I am meek and None—whether young or old or in- Him is beyond expression.
lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest between—is exempt from exposure I invoke His blessings upon you,
unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, to those things which have the poten- my beloved brothers and sisters, in
and my burden is light.”3 tial to drag us down and destroy us. your homes, in your work, in your
It was said of the Savior that He Our youth, our precious youth, in service to one another and to the
“went about doing good . . . for God particular, face temptations we can Lord Himself. Together we shall move
was with him.”4 May we follow that scarcely comprehend. The adversary forward doing His work.
perfect example. In this sometimes and his hosts seem to be working I pledge my life, my strength—all
precarious journey through mortality, nonstop to cause our downfall. that I have to offer—in serving Him
may we also follow that advice from We are waging a war with sin, my and in directing the affairs of His
the Apostle Paul which will help brothers and sisters, but we need not Church in accordance with His will
to keep us safe and on course: despair. It is a war we can and will and by His inspiration, and I do so in
“Whatsoever things are true, whatso- win. Our Father in Heaven has given His holy name—even the Lord Jesus
ever things are honest, whatsoever us the tools we need in order to do Christ—amen. ■
things are just, whatsoever things are so. He is at the helm. We have noth-
pure, whatsoever things are lovely, ing to fear. He is the God of light. He NOTES
1. D&C 38:27.
whatsoever things are of good report; is the God of hope. I testify that He 2. First Presidency statement, in Ensign,
if there be any virtue, and if there be loves us—each one. Mar. 1986, 88.
any praise, think on these things.”5 Mortality is a period of testing, a 3. Matthew 11:28–30.
4. Acts 10:38.
I would encourage members of time to prove ourselves worthy to 5. Philippians 4:8.
the Church wherever they may be to return to the presence of our 6. Jeremiah 8:22.
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