President Monson

Kori reminded me recently of something I really should write down. It concerns President Monson. I have always had a deep love for Thomas S. Monson. When I was a little girl I was always drawn in by his voice. His voice to me was the voice of the church and the voice that brought me to Jesus Christ. It was the beginning of my testimony. When I was old enough to understand the stories that voice was telling, I gained even more appreciation for Elder Monson and the wonderful, loving man that he was. He had an incredible way of recognizing "the one" and responding quickly to the spirit to help people. When I was in high school, my friends pooled their money to get me a gift. No, it wasn't the latest cassette tape or makeup. It was a three volume set of Elder Monson's conference talks. They knew how much I admired him. I had looked forward to him becoming the Prophet, but when that happened, I didn't have an immediate testimony of him being the Prophet. His first public address at a church wide meeting was at a Young Women general meeting soon after he became the Prophet. Kori and I had gotten tickets and were in the conference center for that event. When President Monson walked in, I was just flooded with a witness that he indeed was our living Prophet. I think the Lord knew that I would be seeing him in person and helped me to have that sweet witness at that time. When President Monson was getting old and it was looking like he wouldn't be with us much longer, I started to worry. What would my life be like without him? Could I listen to conference without his voice? Was I going to be okay? The night before he passed away I had a dream. I was with my family outside the conference center waiting for conference to start. President Monson walked up to us and talked to us and spent time with us. He was dressed in a white suit and he wasn't wearing any shoes. When I got up the next morning I found out that he had passed away. I think the Lord again knew my concerns and allowed me to have that dream as a way to tell me that everything was going to be alright. Our new prophet, President Nelson has been amazing and I love him. But I still miss President Monson. Conference isn't quite the same. I will always feel a connection to and a great respect for President Monson and I hope to meet him one day on the other side.