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I think this has been a remarkablesession. The messages have beeninspiring; the music has been

beautiful, the testimonies sincere. Ithink anyone who has attended thissession will never forget it—for theSpirit we’ve felt.

My beloved brothers and sisters,over 44 years ago, in October of 1963,I stood at the pulpit in the Tabernacle,having just been sustained as a mem-ber of the Quorum of the TwelveApostles. On that occasion I men-tioned a small sign I had seen onanother pulpit. The words on the signwere these: “Who stands at this pul-pit, let him be humble.” I assure youthat I was humbled by my call to theTwelve at that time. However, as Istand at this pulpit today, I address

you from the absolute depths ofhumility. I feel very keenly mydependence upon the Lord. I humblyseek the guidance of the Spirit as Ishare with you the feelings of myheart.

Just two months ago we saidfarewell to our dear friend and leaderGordon B. Hinckley, the 15thPresident of The Church of JesusChrist of Latter-day Saints, an out-standing ambassador of truth to theentire world and beloved of all. Wemiss him. More than 53,000 men,women, and children journeyed tothe beautiful Hall of the Prophets inthis very building to pay their lastrespects to this giant of the Lord, whonow belongs to the ages.

With the passing of PresidentHinckley, the First Presidency was dis-solved. President Eyring and I, whoserved as counselors to PresidentHinckley, returned to our places inthe Quorum of the Twelve Apostles,and that quorum became the presid-ing authority of the Church.

On Saturday, February 2, 2008,funeral services for PresidentHinckley were held in this magnifi-cent Conference Center—a buildingwhich will ever stand as a monumentto his foresight and vision. During thefuneral, beautiful and loving tributeswere paid to this man of God.

The following day, all 14 or-dained Apostles living on the earth

Looking Back andMoving ForwardP R E S I D E N T T H O M A S S . M O N S O N

Together we shall move forward doing His work.

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assembled in an upper room of theSalt Lake Temple. We met in a spirit offasting and prayer. During thatsolemn and sacred gathering, thePresidency of the Church was re-organized in accordance with well-established precedent, after thepattern which the Lord Himself put in place.

Members of the Church aroundthe world convened yesterday in asolemn assembly. You raised yourhands in a sustaining vote to approvethe action which was taken in thatmeeting in the temple to which Ihave just referred. As your handswere raised toward heaven, my heartwas touched. I felt your love andsupport, as well as your commitmentto the Lord.

I know without question, mybrothers and sisters, that God lives. Itestify to you that this is His work. Itestify as well that our Savior JesusChrist is at the head of this Church,which bears His name. I know thatthe sweetest experience in all this lifeis to feel His promptings as Hedirects us in the furtherance of Hiswork. I felt those promptings as ayoung bishop, guided to the homeswhere there was spiritual—or per-haps temporal—want. I felt themagain as a mission president inToronto, Canada, working with won-derful missionaries who were a livingwitness and testimony to the worldthat this work is divine and that weare led by a prophet. I have felt themthroughout my service in the Twelveand in the First Presidency and nowas President of the Church. I testifythat each one of us can feel theLord’s inspiration as we live worthilyand strive to serve Him.

I am keenly aware of the 15 menwho preceded me as President of theChurch. Many of them I have knownpersonally. I have had the blessingand privilege of serving as a counselorto three of them. I am grateful for theabiding legacy left by each one of

those 15 men. I have the sure knowl-edge, as I am confident they had, thatGod directs His prophet. My earnestprayer is that I might continue to be a worthy instrument in His hands tocarry on this great work and to fulfillthe tremendous responsibilitieswhich come with the office ofPresident.

I thank the Lord for wonderfulcounselors. President Henry B. Eyringand President Dieter F. Uchtdorf aremen of great ability and sound under-standing. They are counselors in thetrue sense of the word. I value theirjudgment. I believe they have beenprepared by the Lord for the posi-tions they now occupy. I love themembers of the Quorum of theTwelve Apostles and treasure my asso-ciation with them. They, too, are dedi-cated to the work of the Lord and arespending their lives in His service. Ilook forward to serving with ElderChristofferson, who has now beencalled to that quorum and who hasreceived your sustaining vote. He,too, has been prepared for the posi-tion to which he has been called. Ithas also been a joy to serve with themembers of the quorums of theSeventy and with the PresidingBishopric. New members of the

Seventy have been called and weresustained yesterday, and I look for-ward to associating with them in thework of the Master.

A sweet spirit of unity exists amongthe General Authorities. The Lord hasdeclared, “If ye are not one ye are notmine.”1 We will continue to be unitedin one purpose—namely, the further-ance of the work of the Lord.

I feel to express thanks to myHeavenly Father for His countlessblessings to me. I can say, as didNephi of old, that I was born ofgoodly parents, whose own parentsand grandparents were gathered outof the lands of Sweden and Scotlandand England by dedicated missionar-ies. As those missionaries bore hum-ble testimonies, they touched thehearts and the spirits of my forebears.After joining the Church, these noblemen, women, and children madetheir way to the valley of the GreatSalt Lake. Many were the trials andheartaches they encountered alongthe way.

In the spring of 1848, my great-great-grandparents, Charles StewartMiller and Mary McGowan Miller, who had joined the Church in theirnative Scotland, left their home inRutherglen, Scotland, and journeyedto St. Louis, Missouri, with a group ofSaints, arriving there in 1849. One oftheir 11 children, Margaret, wouldbecome my great-grandmother.

While the family was in St. Louisworking to earn enough money tocomplete their journey to the SaltLake Valley, a plague of cholera sweptthrough the area, leaving death andheartache in its wake. The Miller fam-ily was hard hit. In the space of twoweeks, four of the family memberssuccumbed. The first, on June 22,1849, was 18-year-old William. Fivedays later Mary McGowan Miller, mygreat-great-grandmother and themother of the family, died. Two daysafterward, 15-year-old Archibaldpassed away, and five days after his

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death, my great-great-grandfather,Charles Stewart Miller, father of thefamily, succumbed. The children whosurvived were left orphans, includingmy great-grandmother Margaret, whowas 13 years old at the time.

Because of so many deaths in thearea, there were no caskets available,at any price, in which to bury thedeceased family members. The oldersurviving boys dismantled the family’soxen pens in order to make casketsfor the family members who hadpassed away.

Little is recorded of the heartacheand struggles of the nine remainingMiller children as they continued towork and save for that journey theirparents and brothers would nevermake. We know that they left St. Louisin the spring of 1850 with four oxenand one wagon, arriving finally in theSalt Lake Valley that same year.

Others of my ancestors faced simi-lar hardships. Through it all, how-ever, their testimonies remainedsteadfast and firm. From all of them Ireceived a legacy of total dedicationto the gospel of Jesus Christ. Becauseof these faithful souls, I stand beforeyou today.

I thank my Father in Heaven formy sweet companion, Frances. ThisOctober she and I will celebrate 60 wonderful years of marriage.Although my Church service began atan early age, she has never once com-plained when I’ve left home to attendmeetings or to fulfill an assignment.For many years my assignments as amember of the Twelve took me awayfrom Salt Lake City often—sometimesfor five weeks at a time—leaving heralone to care for our small childrenand our home. Beginning when I was called as a bishop at the age of22, we have seldom had the luxury of sitting together during a Churchservice. I could not have asked for amore loyal, loving, and understand-ing companion.

I express gratitude to my Heavenly

Father for our three children andtheir companions, for eight wonderfulgrandchildren, and for four beautifulgreat-grandchildren.

It’s difficult for me to find thewords to convey to you, my brothersand sisters, my heartfelt appreciationfor the lives you live, for the good you do, for the testimonies you bear.You serve one another willingly. Youare dedicated to the gospel of JesusChrist.

During more than 44 years as aGeneral Authority, I have had theopportunity to travel the world over.One of my greatest joys has been tomeet with you, the members, wher-ever you may be—to feel of your

spirit and your love. I look forward tomany more such opportunities.

Throughout the journey along thepathway of life, there are casualties.Some depart from the road markerswhich point toward life eternal, only todiscover the detour chosen ultimatelyleads to a dead end. Indifference, care-lessness, selfishness, and sin all taketheir costly toll in human lives.

Change for the better can come toall. Over the years we have issuedappeals to the less active, the of-fended, the critical, the transgressor—to come back. “Come back and feastat the table of the Lord, and tasteagain the sweet and satisfying fruits of fellowship with the Saints.”2

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In the private sanctuary of one’sown conscience lies that spirit, thatdetermination to cast off the old per-son and to measure up to the statureof true potential. In this spirit, weagain issue that heartfelt invitation:Come back. We reach out to you inthe pure love of Christ and expressour desire to assist you and to wel-come you into full fellowship. Tothose who are wounded in spirit orwho are struggling and fearful, we say,Let us lift you and cheer you and calmyour fears. Take literally the Lord’sinvitation, “Come unto me, all ye thatlabour and are heavy laden, and I willgive you rest. Take my yoke upon you,and learn of me; for I am meek andlowly in heart: and ye shall find restunto your souls. For my yoke is easy,and my burden is light.”3

It was said of the Savior that He“went about doing good . . . for Godwas with him.”4 May we follow thatperfect example. In this sometimesprecarious journey through mortality,may we also follow that advice fromthe Apostle Paul which will help to keep us safe and on course:“Whatsoever things are true, whatso-ever things are honest, whatsoeverthings are just, whatsoever things arepure, whatsoever things are lovely,whatsoever things are of good report;if there be any virtue, and if there beany praise, think on these things.”5

I would encourage members of the Church wherever they may be to

show kindness and respect for allpeople everywhere. The world inwhich we live is filled with diversity.We can and should demonstraterespect toward those whose beliefsdiffer from ours.

May we also demonstrate kindnessand love within our own families. Ourhomes are to be more than sanctuar-ies; they should also be places whereGod’s Spirit can dwell, where thestorm stops at the door, where lovereigns and peace dwells.

The world can at times be a fright-ening place in which to live. Themoral fabric of society seems to beunraveling at an alarming speed.None—whether young or old or in-between—is exempt from exposureto those things which have the poten-tial to drag us down and destroy us.Our youth, our precious youth, inparticular, face temptations we canscarcely comprehend. The adversaryand his hosts seem to be workingnonstop to cause our downfall.

We are waging a war with sin, mybrothers and sisters, but we need notdespair. It is a war we can and willwin. Our Father in Heaven has givenus the tools we need in order to doso. He is at the helm. We have noth-ing to fear. He is the God of light. Heis the God of hope. I testify that Heloves us—each one.

Mortality is a period of testing, atime to prove ourselves worthy toreturn to the presence of our

Heavenly Father. In order to be tested,we must sometimes face challengesand difficulties. At times there appearsto be no light at the tunnel’s end—nodawn to break the night’s darkness.We feel surrounded by the pain of bro-ken hearts, the disappointment ofshattered dreams, and the despair ofvanished hopes. We join in utteringthe biblical plea “Is there no balm inGilead?”6 We are inclined to view ourown personal misfortunes throughthe distorted prism of pessimism. We feel abandoned, heartbroken,alone. If you find yourself in such a sit-uation, I plead with you to turn to ourHeavenly Father in faith. He will liftyou and guide you. He will not alwaystake your afflictions from you, but Hewill comfort and lead you with lovethrough whatever storm you face.

With all my heart and the fervencyof my soul, I lift my voice in testimonytoday as a special witness and declarethat God does live. Jesus is His Son,the Only Begotten of the Father in theflesh. He is our Redeemer; He is ourMediator with the Father. He loves uswith a love we cannot fully compre-hend, and because He loves us, Hegave His life for us. My gratitude toHim is beyond expression.

I invoke His blessings upon you,my beloved brothers and sisters, inyour homes, in your work, in yourservice to one another and to theLord Himself. Together we shall moveforward doing His work.

I pledge my life, my strength—allthat I have to offer—in serving Himand in directing the affairs of HisChurch in accordance with His willand by His inspiration, and I do so inHis holy name—even the Lord JesusChrist—amen. ■

NOTES1. D&C 38:27.2. First Presidency statement, in Ensign,

Mar. 1986, 88.3. Matthew 11:28–30.4. Acts 10:38.5. Philippians 4:8.6. Jeremiah 8:22.