If you don't know who this amazing man is I invite you to find out.
I have to admit that I was having a very hard time letting go of President Hinckley. I know President Monson doesn't mind. He's having a hard time, himself. It's hard to let go of a man you loved so much and with whom you felt that you had such an intimate connection. I felt that I could have walked right into President Hinckley's front room and made myself at home. I know, it's a little silly, but I really felt that close to him.
So when President Monson succeeded him as president of the Church, I struggled. Naturally I prayed for him, and have continued to do so every day since he was made the president. But it just didn't click for me...
Until yesterday.
I don't know how to describe this, but I know that President Monson IS the prophet. I know he is who God, or loving Heavenly Father wants to be at the helm at this time. When I heard him speak yesterday morning, I heard the voice of President Hinckley. It reminded me of the time that President Young (then president of the Quorum of the Twelve) spoke to the folks at Nauvoo and people then heard the voice of Brother Joseph.
The idea of the mantle passing from one prophet to another stems from the story of Elijah and Elisha. If you remember, Elisha had become one of the chief attendants to the prophet Elijah. When he was taken up into heaven, Elijah's mantle was removed and returned to the earth. Elisha picked up the mantle and put it on in a very symbolic gesture. As a further symbol of his new authority, when reaching the Jordan Elisha smote the river and walked across on dry ground again. He then went on to perform great miracles, including raising the dead, healing leprosy, and providing food in the famine for the widow's family.
The mantle now rests with President Monson. Of this I have witnessed and can testify. It is miraculous and wondrous.
Thank God for his matchless mercy! Thank God for a living prophet!
God lives and loves us.
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We thank thee for every blessing...
And love to obey thy command.
"Mortality is a period of testing, a time to prove ourselves worthy to return to the presence of our Heavenly Father. In order to be tested, we must sometimes face challenges and difficulties. At times there appears to be no light at the tunnel's end—no dawn to break the night's darkness. We feel surrounded by the pain of broken hearts, the disappointment of shattered dreams, and the despair of vanished hopes. We join in uttering the biblical plea 'Is there no balm in Gilead?' (Jeremiah 8:22). We are inclined to view our own personal misfortunes through the distorted prism of pessimism. We feel abandoned, heartbroken, alone. If you find yourself in such a situation, I plead with you to turn to our Heavenly Father in faith. He will lift you and guide you. He will not always take your afflictions from you, but He will comfort and lead you with love through whatever storm you face."
Thomas S. Monson, "Looking Back and Moving Forward," Ensign, May 2008, 90
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