'One of a kind' — Friend and colleague
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Declaring him to be "one of a kind," President Thomas S. Monson honored his "beloved friend and colleague" President James E. Faust as "blessed with an insightful mind, a keen intellect and a charitable spirit."
During President Faust's funeral Aug. 14 in the Salt Lake Tabernacle, President Monson, first counselor in the First Presidency, said his colleague exemplified the declaration of the Apostle Paul: "Be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity."
In remarks to family members, friends and Church members gathered in the newly renovated Tabernacle, President Monson declared: "Jim knew the Lord, and the Lord knew Jim. I have a firm testimony of this truth."
Continuing, President Monson recalled attending a quarterly conference of the Cottonwood Stake in May 1967. "There I met a most capable and dedicated stake president, James E. Faust. Thus began a close and cherished friendship."
Not long after, Elder Harold B. Lee asked then-Elder Monson of the Quorum of the Twelve and chairman of the Church's leadership committee to choose four men to serve with him as members of the committee. He chose Wendell J. Ashton, Neal A. Maxwell, James E. Faust and Hugh W. Pinnock. "Three of the four would later be called as General Authorities of the Church. With the passing of President Faust, each of the four has now gone beyond."
President Monson spoke tenderly of the relationship between President Faust and his wife, Ruth Faust. "They were partners in life; they will be partners through all eternity."
President Monson referred to Samuel 9:6, in which the servant of Saul upon entering a city says, "Behold now, there is in this city a man of God."
Relating the scripture to President Faust, President Monson continued,"My brothers and sisters, we have had in this city a man of God — even President James E. Faust. He was a man of experience, a man of wisdom, a man of love. He was a man of faith, a man of prayer. But most of all, he was a man of God.
"There was no chink in his armor; there was no guile in his soul; there was no flaw in his character. President Faust loved the Lord with all his heart and soul and served Him with all his might to the very end of his mortal life."
President Monson declared: "James E. Faust is no foreigner nor stranger where he has gone, but a fellow citizen with the noble brethren with whom he has served. At last his eternal spirit is free from a body worn by work and impaired by illness. He has gone to that paradise for which he is so well qualified. He leaves to his family and to all of us who knew him a legacy of love."
As he concluded, President Monson said, "To my dear friend Jim, I say, 'Goodbye — until we meet tomorrow.' Until then, wherever I go in this beautiful world, a part of Jim Faust goes with me. He was a man for all seasons. He was a teacher of truth. He left behind a heritage of honor and a legacy of love. God bless his memory. God bless his family. God bless all of us, his friends."
