Yesterday, my wife and I attended the Solemn Assembly at the Conference Center in which we, with other members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sustained Thomas S. Monson as Prophet, Seer, Revelator, and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In a Church with more than 13 million members and in a state with more than a 1 million members of the Church, it's rare to receive a ticket to attend a session of General Conference, even though the conference center seats 20,000. And the odds of holding a ticket to attend a Solemn Assembly are even less. Yet Misty and I were there, and we will never forget the experience.
After waiting in line for some time, my wife and I took our seats in the balcony of the Conference Center more than an hour before services began. We watched as thousands of Latter-day Saints filed into the auditorium. In the static of thousands of conversations, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir rehearsed the hymns they would sing.
Then the static stopped. And all stood. An electric witness filled the air, and President Monson entered the meeting hall. By the power of the Holy Ghost, I knew at that moment that he is the Prophet of God and the mouthpiece of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he holds the same keys which Peter held anciently. (See Matthew 16:18-19).
Services commenced, and after an opening hymn and prayer, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf conducted the business of the solemn assembly. First, called on the members of the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to stand. It was proposed that they sustain Thomas Spencer Monson as Prophet, Seer, Revelator, and President of the Church and members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as prophets, seers, and revelators. Their vote was unanimous. Then the Twelve Apostles stood. Their vote was unanimous. Then the quorums of the Seventy, the Patriarchs of the Church, and the Presiding Bishopric stood. Their vote was unanimous.
President Uctdorf then called on all members of the High Priest and Elders Quorums to stand. Inasmuch as I am an ordained Elder in the Melchizedek Priesthood of the Church, I stood. President Uchtdorf proposed that we sustain Thomas S. Monson as President of the Church. I felt the power of God from my head to my toes as I raised my hand to sustain him. And I will sustain him as long as he remains on the Earth.
Members of the Quorums of the Aaronic Priesthood then stood and sustained President Monson. The sisters of the Relief Society, the world's largest women's organization, stood, including my wife, and sustained him also. The Young Women, ages 12-17, also stood and sustained President Monson. Finally, all the members of the Church stood, and again we raised our hands, united together, to sustain President Monson.
I know that Thomas S. Monson is God's Prophet today. And his counselors in the First Presidency and the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are true Prophets, Seers, Revelators, and Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen to their words, and they will guide you in the paths of truth and righteousness which end at the Throne of Grace, even the Throne of God the Eternal Father and His Son Jesus Christ.
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