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Thomas Spencer Monson was sustained as the 16th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 5, 2008, following the death of President Gordon B. Hinckley.
Solemn Assembly
There’s an air of anticipation that fills the air in weeks, days and hours before General Conference, which intensifies when a new prophet and President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is sustained by the general membership of the Church (Mormons). Such was the case today, April 5, 2008, in light of the 178th Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ.
Individuals, families, and extended families gather together in their homes, meetinghouses, and, in Salt Lake City, on Temple Square in the newly built Conference Center, refurbished Tabernacle and Assembly Hall--to glean spiritual knowledge, direction, vision, and replenishment to guide them in coming months. Donned in spring colors and in the shadow of the Salt Lake Temple, thousands of Latter-day Saints gather at the feet of modern apostles and prophets just as those early Christian saints listened to the early apostles and the Savior at the gates of the temple, in meetinghouses, and on the shores of Galilee.
Such a meeting, in which the President of the Church is sustained, along with his two counselors, is referred to by the Lord and Mormons as a “solemn assembly. In this spring conference, the solemn assembly occurred in the first session of the Saturday morning April 2008 conference. Thomas S. Monson, Henry B. Eyring, and Dieter F. Uchtdorf were sustained as the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
For Mormons, standing and raising their hands to the square as a symbolic gesture of their choice to sustain the newly called prophetic leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a privilege and a historic spiritual moment. By assignment, each group of members is called to stand and share their sustaining vote of the new First Presidency. As Mormons believe and witness that the Lord calls and foreordains these prophets, seers, and revelators, there is a joy and rejoicing in watching His hand move forward His work on the earth.
Thomas S. Monson: Background
President Monson had previously served as First Counselor in the First Presidency of the Church to President Hinckley. President Monson was called into service for the Church at a young age—he was called as a bishop at twenty-two, as a counselor in a stake presidency at twenty-seven, a mission president at thirty-one, and an apostle at thirty-six.
Born on 21 August 1927, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to G. Spencer and Gladys Condie Monson; Thomas S. Monson grew up during the Great Depression, which shaped in him, a character of compassion. When he was seventeen, during WWII, Monson joined the U.S. Navy. However, the war was soon over and he was able to enroll in classes at the University of Utah, where he graduated with honors and a business degree in 1948. On October 7, 1948, he married Frances Beverly Johnson. They eventually had three children, two sons and a daughter.
