Lives to serve others: Real humanitarian
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If you want to keep up with President Thomas S. Monson, be prepared to meet a lot of people. Once commenting on her husband's extrovert disposition, Sister Frances Monson said it sometimes takes him half an hour to walk a block because everyone seems to know him and wants to shake his hand.
No doubt about it, President Monson, first counselor in the First Presidency, is an outgoing man. He shakes a lot of hands — or if time or circumstances don't permit that, he waves to a lot of people — not because he feels obligated to do so but because he genuinely cares about others. Amazingly, he seems to remember everyone with whom he's ever had a conversation of any length.
If, during the interview for this article, he had been asked to name a hobby he could have said, "Bringing comfort to people in need, brightening the day of someone who is all alone, helping lift someone's spirits." It's how he spends many hours of his time, but don't expect him to tell you all about it.
He turned 78 on Sunday, Aug. 21. Using only the scale of chronological years, he would not be called a young man. But, if there were employed some scale measuring the energy spent in serving others, he'd seem light-years away from being old.
People close to him have been eyewitnesses to his service to others or have heard first-hand accounts from recipients of his kind deeds. Across much of the world, they've observed him among people, seeing his tenderness toward them and their loving admiration for him.
He has the rare gift of treating everyone equally, yet making each feel unique, special and even important. Ten years ago, Church News photographed him and Sister Monson with Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia on the grounds of the Stockholm Sweden Temple. A few days later, the same camera caught President Monson leaning down to speak to a petite elderly widow in Goerlitz, a city in the former German Democratic Republic. As he started to walk away, he saw that the camera had caught a charitable deed — he had slipped a little money into the widow's hand. With a stern shake of his head and a dismissive wave toward the camera, he said, "You don't need to put any of that in the paper." It seemed evident that President Monson did not show one more degree of kindness or respect to the king and queen in Sweden than he did for the little widow and other members in Goerlitz.
About 13 years ago Werner Adler, also from what was formerly the German Democratic Republic, said, "You have an expression in America about someone being so kind that he will give you the shirt off his back. President Monson is more kind than that. He gave me the suit he was wearing."
He explained that he was present at a district conference in the Annaberg-Bucholz District of the Dresden Mission when President Monson, then of the Quorum of the Twelve, made an unannounced visit to the conference in the 1960s and spoke to the congregation.
"I am a big man, just about the same size as President Monson, so I guess that's how I attracted his attention," Brother Adler said. "He noticed that I was wearing a very old, nearly worn-out suit. In our country at that time, it was hard for just about anybody to buy new clothes; for a man my size, it was nearly impossible. After the conference, President Monson asked me to wait a few minutes. He stepped into a little room, took off his suit and came out dressed in an extra pair of trousers he had in his bag and a shirt. He said, 'Here, I think this will fit you.' "
Brother Adler said President Monson offered to give him his shoes, also. "But I looked down at his feet and said, 'I think your shoes are too big for me.' " Another member standing nearby said he thought the apostle's shoes would fit his son. So he sat down and took off his shoes and gave them to the other man.
"I'll never forget that day," Brother Adler said. "Apostle Thomas S. Monson had come to our conference dressed in a fine suit and was wearing practically new shoes. He left wearing a pair of old trousers, a shirt and old shoes."
Last April, President Monson received the 2005 Legacy of Life Award presented by the Deseret Foundation. In preparation for creating a video for the award ceremony, the foundation sent an interviewer to the offices of President Gordon B. Hinckley and President James E. Faust, with whom President Monson has served the past 10 years in the First Presidency. President Monson has been a General Authority 42 years, having been called in 1963, at age 36, to the Quorum of the Twelve. He served as second counselor to President Howard W. Hunter and President Ezra Taft Benson prior to being set apart as first counselor to President Hinckley on March 12, 1995.
In his comments, President Hinckley said of President Monson: "He gives in many ways. He has a very compassionate heart. He's interested in humanitarianism. He has been very encouraging to those of other faiths concerning taking care of the poor and the needy. He's had a close association with the Catholics and with the Protestants and others of this area, and has been a very strong factor in promoting care of those who are in distress. His heart reaches out to all of those who are in difficulty. And he has a great love for people who are struggling, who are sick, who are sorrowing, who are in difficulty of any kind."
President Faust noted that President Monson "gives back to the community." He spoke of President Monson's long-term service to 87 widows who had lived in his ward when he was a young bishop. "When he was bishop he had a friendship and took extra care of the widows in his ward . . . . And he has continued to look after them over all these years since that time." Over the years, others were added to the list of "old folks" President Monson visits regularly.
President Faust said, "When he has time he goes to old folks homes and visits with them and shares his feelings for them and just opens up his heart and soul to them."
In a Church News interview, President Monson talked about the importance of heeding promptings to go visit someone, to give a blessing or just offer a few words of encouragement. Sister Monson has played a major role in helping him follow those promptings. Parents of two sons and a daughter, they've worked in tandem not only to rear their children but also to be on the Lord's errand.
Their daughter, Ann Dibb, recalls when President Monson was prompted to visit a gentleman in the community who was terminally ill. President Monson wanted to do some errands en route, but Sister Monson said, "I think we need to hurry; we can do these things on our way back." They were able to visit the gentleman, and President Monson gave him a blessing. The gentleman passed away while President and Sister Monson were still in the room.
A son, Clark Monson, in being interviewed for the video presentation last April, quoted Henry David Thoreau: "A man who does anything for money robs eternity."
"Dad has always done everything for other people; he's never done things for the purpose of trying to buy nicer things," Clark said. "He still lives in the same home that my parents built six or seven years after they were married, and it's always been enough room for them and just a simple home. He believes that people should live simply and that's the way he's lived his life. He always gives of himself and doesn't think about his own needs or interests. He really believes in serving others and that's where he receives the greatest gratification in life."
The Monsons' eldest son, Thomas L., gave a glimpse into "life with father" when he recounted the upheaval in his life when, at the age of 7, he was "hauled off to Toronto, Canada, and thrown in the midst of a whole different educational system and no friends and everything was different." The reason for the move was that President Monson had been called in 1959 to preside over the Canadian Mission. Busy with mission work some 15 hours or more a day, he still made time for his young son. An almost nightly activity, Tom remembers, was playing three games of checkers with his father. "He'd let me win one, then he'd beat me at one and then we'd play give-away checkers; either one of us could win that. He did that almost every night and, knowing how busy he was, even though I was just 7, 8 and 9 years old during those years, that meant a lot to me."
The Monson offspring commented on how much fun they have as a family. "Mom and Dad have a wonderful relationship and our family likes to be around our parents because they are fun to be with," Clark said. "They're amusing, they both have a wonderful sense of humor and it's just fun to listen to them interact and talk to each other."
If President Monson has a passion outside his family, the Church and service to others, it is Scouting. Even then, Scouting is another avenue for service. He holds the Silver Beaver and Silver Buffalo awards, as well as the Bronze Wolf, international Scouting's highest recognition, and is the longest-serving member of the National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America.
Just recently, President Monson combined his position in the Scouting organization with service. On July 31, he addressed some 5,000 LDS Scouts and their leaders at the National Scout Jamboree at Ft. A.P. Hill, Va., offering consoling words and counsel after four Scout leaders, including a Church member, had been killed in an electrical accident while setting up a large tent at the Jamboree (see Church News, Aug. 6, 2005, p. 6).
President Monson reminded the thousands participating in the meeting that men who serve boys, in effect, serve God.
On the wall in President Monson's office hangs a print of Henrich Hofmann's painting of the Savior. The print has played a role in the Church leader's life ever since he was called as a bishop at age 22. With each move of office, the artistic portrayal has been hung in a prominent place; now President Monson sees it when he looks up from his desk. It was said of the Lord Jesus Christ that He "went about doing good . . . for God was with him." Such a statement typifies the life of President Thomas S. Monson.
E-mail to: gerry@desnews.com
