Thomas S. Monson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Thomas S. Monson |
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| 16th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | |
| February 3, 2008 – January 2, 2018 | |
| Predecessor | Gordon B. Hinckley |
| Successor | Russell M. Nelson |
| President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (with Boyd K. Packer as Acting President) |
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| March 12, 1995 – February 3, 2008 | |
| Predecessor | Gordon B. Hinckley |
| Successor | Boyd K. Packer |
| End reason | Became President of the Church |
| First Counselor in the First Presidency | |
| March 12, 1995 – January 27, 2008 | |
| Called by | Gordon B. Hinckley |
| Predecessor | Gordon B. Hinckley |
| Successor | Henry B. Eyring |
| End reason | Dissolution of First Presidency upon the death of Gordon B. Hinckley |
| Second Counselor in the First Presidency | |
| November 10, 1985 – March 3, 1995 | |
| Called by | Ezra Taft Benson |
| Predecessor | Gordon B. Hinckley |
| Successor | James E. Faust |
| End reason | Dissolution of First Presidency upon the death of Howard W. Hunter |
| Quorum of the Twelve Apostles | |
| October 4, 1963 – November 10, 1985 | |
| Called by | David O. McKay |
| End reason | Called as Second Counselor in the First Presidency |
| LDS Church Apostle | |
| October 10, 1963 – January 2, 2018 | |
| Called by | David O. McKay |
| Reason | Death of Henry D. Moyle; N. Eldon Tanner added to First Presidency |
| Reorganization at end of term |
Gerrit W. Gong and Ulisses Soares were ordained following deaths of Monson and Robert D. Hales |
| Military career | |
| 1945–1946 | |
| Service/branch |  U.S. Navy |
| Rank |  Ensign |
| Unit | U.S. Naval Reserve |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 21, 1927 Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. |
| Died | January 2, 2018 (aged 90) Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. |
| Education | |
| Spouse(s) |
Frances Beverly Johnson
(m. 1948; died 2013) |
| Children | 3 |
| Awards |
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| Website | thomassmonson.org |
| Signature | |
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Thomas Spencer Monson (born August 21, 1927 – died January 2, 2018) was an American religious leader and writer. He served as the 16th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). People who follow the religion believed him to be a prophet, seer, and revelator.
Before becoming church president, Monson worked as a manager at the Deseret News, a newspaper owned by the LDS Church in Utah. He spent most of his life serving in various church leadership roles and helping his community.
Monson became an LDS apostle when he was 36 years old. He served in the First Presidency under three different church presidents. He was also the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from 1995 until he became President of the Church in 2008. He took over from Gordon B. Hinckley as the church president.
Monson received several special awards, including the Boy Scouts of America's Silver Buffalo and the World Organization of the Scout Movement's Bronze Wolf. These are the highest awards in each organization. He was also a member of the main governing body for the Boy Scouts of America.
He led the Boards of Trustees for the Church Educational System. Ronald Reagan, a former U.S. President, appointed him to a special task force to encourage private help for public projects. Monson married Frances Beverly Johnson in 1948, and they had three children. Frances passed away in 2013.
Thomas S. Monson's Life Story
Growing Up and Early Years
Thomas S. Monson was born on August 21, 1927, in Salt Lake City, Utah. His parents were George Spencer Monson and Gladys Condie Monson. He was the second of six children. Monson grew up in a close family, with many relatives living nearby. They often went on vacations together.
His neighborhood had many residents of Mexican descent. Monson said this helped him love the Mexican people and their culture. He often spent weekends on farms with relatives. As a teenager, he worked at a printing business his father managed.
From 1940 to 1944, Monson went to West High School in Salt Lake City. In 1944, he started college at the University of Utah. Around this time, he met his future wife, Frances. Her family was from a different part of the city. Her father, Franz Johnson, felt a special connection because Monson's great uncle had baptized him into the LDS Church in Sweden.
Starting His Career
In 1945, Monson joined the U.S. Naval Reserve. He thought he would serve in World War II. He went to San Diego, California, for training. However, the war ended before he was sent overseas. He served for six months after the war. Then he returned to the University of Utah.
Monson graduated in 1948 with a degree in business management. He did not serve a full-time mission when he was young. On October 7, 1948, he married Frances Beverly Johnson in the Salt Lake Temple. They had three children: Thomas Lee, Ann Frances, and Clark Spencer.
After college, he thought about becoming a Navy officer. But his local church leader, a bishop, asked him to serve as a counselor in the bishopric. This church role would conflict with Navy service. After talking with a church apostle, Monson decided not to join the Navy. He was honorably discharged. Six months later, he became a bishop.
Monson taught briefly at the University of Utah. Then he started a career in publishing. His first job was with the Deseret News, where he became an advertising executive. He later became the general manager of Deseret News Press. There, he helped publish important church books. He also worked with Gordon B. Hinckley, who would later become a church president.
Leading in the Church Locally
On May 7, 1950, Monson became an LDS bishop at age 22. He served for five years in two different church groups called wards. Before this, he had served as a ward clerk and a youth leader.
His ward had over 1,000 people, including 85 widows. He visited these widows often. He continued visiting them even after he finished being bishop. He brought them gifts, especially during Christmas. He eventually spoke at the funerals of all these women.
During his time as bishop, 23 men from his ward served in the Korean War. He wrote weekly letters to each serviceman. Church attendance in his ward grew a lot during his service.
In 1955, at age 27, Monson became a counselor in a stake presidency. A stake is a larger group of church wards. He helped oversee different church programs for children and youth. He also helped with building a new church meetinghouse.
Serving as a Mission President in Canada
In April 1959, at age 31, Monson became the president of the church's Canadian Mission. This mission covered parts of Ontario and Quebec. He served there until January 1962. His third child, Clark, was born while he was a mission president.
At that time, there were no local stakes in Ontario or Quebec. So, Monson was in charge of both the missionaries and all church activities in the area. He oversaw 130 missionaries and 55 church branches. He soon put local church members in charge of these branches and districts.
Monson started efforts to share the church's message in French in Quebec. He also encouraged missionary work among immigrants from many European countries. He asked church members to stay in eastern Canada. This was to help the church grow there, instead of moving to Utah. To help with this, he started a big project to build new church buildings.
A church stake was formed in Toronto in 1960. This was a big step for the church in Canada. Monson later attended the dedication of the Toronto Ontario Temple in 1990.
Returning to Utah
After returning from Canada, Monson was called to serve on a high council. He also became a supervisor for several stake missions. He joined church committees related to family history and Home Teaching.
He went back to work at the Deseret News as assistant general manager. A month later, he became the general manager of Deseret News Press. It was a very large printing plant. He stayed in this job until 1963.
Becoming an Apostle
Monson was chosen to be part of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles at a church meeting on October 4, 1963. He was the youngest person called to this group in 53 years. He was 36 years old. He was ordained and set apart as an apostle on October 10, 1963.
From 1965 to 1968, Monson oversaw church activities in the South Pacific and Australia. During this time, he helped create the first LDS stake in Tonga.
With his business background, he helped manage many church operations. These included KSL Newsradio and Bonneville International. In the 1970s, he led a committee that helped publish the LDS Church edition of the King James Bible. He also oversaw other church committees. He continued his education and earned a master's degree in business from Brigham Young University in 1974.
Monson later oversaw church work in Eastern Europe. He helped the church gain access in countries that were part of the Soviet bloc. In 1982, he organized the first stake in East Germany. He also helped get permission for the LDS Church to build a temple in Freiberg, East Germany, which was finished in 1985.
Other Important Roles
Monson was involved in many organizations outside the church. He was on the National Executive Board of Boy Scouts of America starting in 1969. He also served on the Utah State Board of Higher Education. He was a member of the board of directors for a bank.
In 1981, President Ronald Reagan asked him to join a special task force. This group worked to encourage private organizations to help with public projects. Monson resigned from most of his business roles in 1996. This was because church leaders decided that all general authorities should focus only on church-owned businesses.
Serving in the First Presidency
After church president Spencer W. Kimball passed away in 1985, Ezra Taft Benson became the new president. He asked Hinckley and Monson to serve as his First and Second Counselors in the First Presidency. Monson also served as a counselor to Benson's successor, Howard W. Hunter.
When Hinckley became president in 1995, Monson became his First Counselor. He served in this role until Hinckley's death in 2008. During this time, Monson was also the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Becoming LDS Church President
Thomas S. Monson became the 16th president of the LDS Church on February 3, 2008. He took over after President Hinckley died. Monson chose Henry B. Eyring and Dieter F. Uchtdorf to be his counselors.
When Monson was born, there were fewer than 650,000 church members worldwide. Most lived in the western United States. When he became president, there were over 13 million members. Most of them lived outside the United States and Canada. By 2012, Monson had announced 31 new temples that were being built or planned.
Monson and his counselors met with President George W. Bush in 2008. He and apostle Dallin H. Oaks also met with President Barack Obama in 2009. They gave Obama five books of his family history records. Monson did not attend a meeting with Obama in 2015 due to his age and health. This was to save his strength for a church conference.
In May 2017, the church announced that Monson would not attend meetings regularly due to his age. He turned 90 in August 2017. He was the seventh church president to reach this age. In September 2017, the church said he would not attend the general conference. This was the first time a church president had missed an entire general conference weekend since 1992.
His Passing
Thomas S. Monson passed away peacefully at his home in Salt Lake City on January 2, 2018. He was 90 years old. The church announced that a public viewing would be held. Funeral services took place in the church's Conference Center.
After his death, two spots opened in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. These were filled at the next general conference. Russell M. Nelson succeeded Monson as church president.
Thomas S. Monson's Legacy
Temple Dedications
As church president, Monson dedicated 14 new LDS Church temples. He also rededicated four others. Some of these temples were in places like Rexburg, Idaho; Curitiba, Brazil; and Kyiv, Ukraine.
As a counselor in the First Presidency, Monson dedicated seven more church temples. These included temples in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and several in Mexico. He also attended the dedication of many other temples throughout his service.
Volunteer and Community Work
Monson was involved in the printing industry. He was president of the Printing Industry of Utah. He was a Life Scout and an Explorer in his youth. As an adult, he served in many Scouting leadership roles. He was a merit badge counselor and a chaplain.
He was a strong supporter of the Scouting for Food drive. He served on the national executive board of the Boy Scouts of America from 1969 until his death. He also represented the Boy Scouts of America at international conferences.
Awards and Special Recognition
In 1966, the University of Utah honored Monson as a distinguished former student. He received several honorary degrees from different universities. These included degrees from Brigham Young University and the University of Utah.
Monson received the Boy Scouts of America's Silver Beaver award in 1971. In 1978, he received the Silver Buffalo award, which is the highest honor in the BSA. In 1993, he received the Bronze Wolf, the highest award from the World Organization of the Scout Movement. A leadership complex at a Scout reserve was named after him.
In 2013, he also received Scouting's Honor Medal. This was for saving a girl from drowning when he was 12 years old. In 2008, the Salt Lake chapter of Rotary International gave him its Worldwide Humanitarian Award.
In 2009 and 2010, a list called "80 Over 80" named Monson as one of the most powerful people over 80. In 2011, Gallup listed him as one of "Americans' 10 Most Admired Men."
See also
In Spanish: Thomas S. Monson para niños
