At his first stake conference as a General Authority in my stake in Utah in October of 1972, Pres. Faust had a profound effect on my life.
As he stood at the podium in our stake center he looked at a bunch of young men who had been called to meet with them and said, "It won't be long and you will be the leaders of Christ's church. Among you there are future elder's quorum presidents, bishops, stake presidents and perhaps even a General Authority."
I remember looking around and thinking... "Not in this group!"
What I didn't understand as a young 14 year old was that he was speaking with prophetic insight. He said that if we would keep our lives clean and pure, that it would happen.
As I think back to that group of young men, indeed many of us have since served as Elder's Quorum presidents, bishops, a couple in stake presidencies and who knows if one of that group might some day sit as a seventy or authority of some sort.
It was on his birthday in 1999 that I heard him stand to speak to a large gathering of Latter-day Saints in Ecuador the day prior to the dedicaton of the Guayaquil Temple. It was a day I will never forget.
Since that October day in 1972, I have watched and listened carefully to this great man of God.
We will miss him.
Mahonri
-- Edited by Mahonri at 05:21, 2007-08-10
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no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing... the truth of God will go forth till it has penetrated every website, sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the great Jehovah shall say the work is done
No matter how prepared you are... and even with gospel truths about eternal families to lifts us up... there is a huge void left by a member of a family... So I pray that they have the comforting presence of the spirit that they need. That was the one thing that helped me so much last spring after momma and then daddy (5 wks later) left US and went home... We were happy for them, they had suffered so much in those waning years... But we felt lonely for their loving hearts.
I knew that so many people who also loved them, but were not family... were praying for our family's comfort and it really DID help... I felt very close to the veil during those following days... It was a really sweet and impressive experience for me, and for others that felt the same reassurances in the family.
Free now to rest from the cares and concerns of this world, free to devote all time to whatever angelic ministry of preaching the gospel on the other side he will be asked to do.
Sad for those who were close to him and are left behind, but happy for them as well since he was true and endured to the end. Grateful for his humble example.
Not sure, but I think may have been one of the General Authorities present at the 1983 Kirtland Encampment I attended as a youth... one that we Eagle Scouts had a private dinner with.
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It seems to me the only thing you've learned is that Caesar is a "salad dressing dude."
I have to admit that I'm a bit envious of the guy. The race is won for him and he ran it with an excellence I can only imagine. Is it wrong to envy those rightous who have passed on?
Actually, MOST Mormons were democrats for many years, since Democrats supported 'alternative' religions like Mormonism unlike the 'conservatives.' It was only in the last few decades, when Democrats stopped being so much about helping the little guy and more about abortion, gays, and other deviant lifestyles that the population of the church has turned around.
