President Thomas S. Monson recalled the words of a favorite hymn from his childhood, "Master, the Tempest Is Raging (Hymns, No. 105) and borrowed a line as the theme of his priesthood session address: "Peace be still."

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President Thomas S. Monson

"As a boy, I could fathom somewhat the danger of a storm-tossed sea," he said. "However, I had but little understanding of other demons which can stalk our lives, destroy our dreams, smother our joys and detour our journey toward the Celestial Kingdom of God."

He personified a few such "demons" — the Demon of Greed; the Demon of Dishonesty; the Demon of Debt; the Demon of Doubt; the Demon of Drugs; and those twin Demons of Immodesty and Immorality.

"Each of these demons can wreak havoc with our lives," he said. "A combination of them can spell utter destruction."

Concerning greed, he cited Ecclesiastes 5:10 and quoted the words of Christ: "Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of things which he possesseth. (Luke 12:15.) He added, "We must learn to separate need from greed.

Pertaining to dishonesty, President Monson said, "In decision making, ask not 'What will others think?' but rather 'What will I think of myself?'"

He quoted past counsel from President Gordon B. Hinckley to avoid and minimize debt and added, "We must not allow our yearnings to exceed our earnings."

President Monson included alcohol when discussing the "demon of drugs. "Drugs impair our ability to think, to reason, and to make prudent and wise choices," he said. "Often they result in violence, child and wife abuse, and they can provoke conduct which brings pain and suffering to those who are innocent."

Pertaining to what he characterized as the demon twins of immodesty and immorality, he said, "I should make them triplets and include pornography. They three go together."

To pornography, he applied the "mists of darkness," interpreted as the temptations of the devil in Lehi's dream of the tree of life. (See 1 Nephi 12:17) and he quoted an apostle of the past, Elder Hugh B. Brown, as saying, "Any immodesty inducing impure thoughts is a desecration of the body — that temple in which the Holy Spirit may dwell."

"For each of us," President Monson remarked, "it is infinitely better to hear and heed the call of conscience. Conscience always warns us as a friend before punishing us as a judge."

The influence of righteous fathers is felt in families, he said, though sometimes fathers can forget that they once were boys and that boys can be vexing to parents.

The congregation obviously enjoyed his account of when he was a boy and went out looking for dogs. Ultimately, he shut six dogs in the family shed. His father, unaware of the dogs inside, opened the shed and "immediately faced six dogs, all attempting to escape at once."

"As I recall, Dad quietly told me, 'Tommy, coal sheds are for coal. Other peoples' dogs rightfully belong to them.' By observing him, I learned a lesson in patience and calmness."

President Monson admonished priesthood holders to magnify their callings, saying, "I have learned that when we heed a silent prompting and act upon it without delay, our Heavenly Father will guide our footsteps and bless our lives and the lives of others. I know of no experience more sweet or feeling more precious than to heed a prompting only to discover that the Lord has answered another's prayer through you."

As an illustration, he told an experience that happened a year ago in which he heeded a prompting to visit a friend in a nursing home. While in a lounge area having a conversation with his friend, he saw a man come to get a drink from a vending machine. "He glanced at me and said, 'Why, you are Tom Monson.' 'Yes,' I replied. 'And you look like a Hemingway.' He acknowledged that he was Stephen Hemingway, the son of Alfred Eugene Hemingway who had served as my counselor when I was a bishop and whom I called Gene."

The son said his father was in the same facility and was near death. He had been calling President Monson's name. The family had wanted to contact him but had been unable to find a telephone number. President Monson excused himself and went to the room of his former counselor, where family members had gathered.

"The family members regarded my meeting Stephen in the lounge area as a response by our Heavenly Father to their great desire that I would see their father before he died," he related. "I too felt that this was the case, for if Stephen had not entered the room in which I was visiting at precisely the time he did, I would not have known Gene was even in the facility.

"We gave a blessing to Gene. A spirit of peace prevailed. We had a lovely visit, after which I left."

The next day, President Monson received word that his former counselor had died just 20 minutes after receiving the blessing from his son and President Monson.

"I like to think," he said, "that Gene Hemingway's thoughts that evening, as we basked in the Spirit's glow, participated in humble prayer and pronounced a priesthood blessing, echoed the words mentioned in the hymn, "Master the Tempest is Raging." He recited them:

"Linger, O blessed Redeemer!

"Leave me alone no more,

"And with joy I shall make the blest harbor

"And rest on that blissful shore."