It is perhaps one of my favorite stories Thomas S. Monson, 1st Counselor in the presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often referred to as Mormon Church) tells of himself as a child.
He was eleven at the time, and in Primary (program for children age 3-11). His class, the Blazers, included a group of very enthusiastic boys. Though he doesn’t go into detail, I’d bet they caused a headache or two for the leaders of the Primary.
One particular Sunday the Primary President, a grandmotherly woman by the name of Melissa, asked ‘Tommy’ to stay behind and visit with her for a few minutes. She placed a loving arm around his shoulder and, to his surprise, began to cry.
He immediately asked her what was wrong. She responded, telling him she couldn’t seem to keep his class reverent during the prayer, song, scripture verse, and short talk given at the beginning of their Primary opening exercises. It was then she asked him if he would be willing to help her by setting a good example for the other boys in his class.
In no time at all the Blazer boys were one of the best classes during the first several minutes of Primary. President Monson wrote:
“Strangely to me, but not to Melissa, that ended any problem of reverence in that Primary. She had gone to the source of the problem — me. The solution was love” (Thomas S. Monson, “Come Listen to a Prophet’s Voice: Love,” Friend, Feb 2002).
The story of this wonderful woman and President Monson doesn’t end there. I would invite you to click on the link above to read the rest.
Even those called to be prophets, apostles, and leaders were once children: at times precocious and michievous, and yet ready to learn to choose the right. We all start out needing to be guided in the right way, and the guidance most definitely should come through love.
If this same woman had chastised young Tommy, or made him feel as though he were being bad, things could have turned out so differently. I’m certain she must have prayed repeatedly to know how to help the boys in the Blazer class recognize the need to find a more reverent frame of mind during the first few minutes in class.
Even at a young age President Monson was obviously empathic towards the feelings of others. His heart was good and kind, if a bit roudy at times. Little choices like accepting the call to help his Primary leader led him to be the man he is today.
“It has been said that the gate of history turns on small hinges, and so do people’s lives. The choices we make determine our destiny” (Thomas S. Monson “Choose You This Day,” Ensign, Nov. 2004).
If we desire our children, and those children we teach, to choose the right way we must take even the tiniest matters of concern to the Lord in prayer. We must be vigilant in listening to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and above all we must treat these chidlren with love. Indeed, we must look upon them as though we were raising the next prophet of the Lord.
For more information on the life of Thomas S. Monson, please visit:
http://www.mormonwiki.com/Thomas_S._Monson
http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/people/thomas_s_monson.html
