Hello again, everyone! While I don't know how many of you may have been able to watch President Monson's funeral services today, I wanted to note something that I found understandably significant. When President Nelson spoke in General Conference last October, he looked vibrant and healthy. During the funeral for his predecessor today, he looked tired, worn, and much older. I would assume that this is simply because he had likely prayed very fervently that President Monson, who was just less than 3 years younger, would outlive him, and with the passing of President Monson and the fact that he was now the senior leader and has yet to go through the process of reorganizing the First Presidency following the death of his mentor. the process of being involved in the final part of President Monson's life and the prospect of the upcoming mantle may have him feeling worn out at the moment.
Since I was born, I have not personally witnessed a time when a younger prophet has died, leaving an older man to succeed him. But it is plain that, for the moment, President Nelson is worn down by the load he is getting ready to bear. I would, however, anticipate that when he and his counselors meet the press (which will, barring anything unexpected, occur Monday morning), the settling of the prophetic mantle will compensate for any feelings he currently has of being worn down and overwhelmed. I would also anticipate that once that mantle settles, he will be serving as the Church President for at least the next 2-3 years.
As I have previously noted, we have seen varying lengths of prophetic tenures over the history of the Church, and perhaps even more so in recent years. The presidency of Spencer W. Kimball, the last prophet to pass away before I was born, spanned just 6 days more than 11 years and 10 months. Ezra Taft Benson, who died in the summer before my baptism, served just short of 8 years and 7 months.
Howard W. Hunter, who was the prophet at the time I was baptized, had the shortest presidency of all, serving several days short of just 9 months. President Hinckley became Church President a few years before my ordination to the Aaronic Priesthood, and when he died in January 2008, I had been a Melchizedek Priesthood holder for 3 years, and his tenure had lasted the longest of any Church President since my birth, with his death occurring a couple of weeks after he had marked 12 years and 10 months as Church President.
While President Monson was 17 years younger than his predecessor, his nearly 10 year tenure of service saw him taking on less responsibility for the final two years of his life, and him stepping away from active involvement in the day-to-day government of the Church about 5.5 months prior to his passing . As I previously noted, I was married during his time as Church president.
President Nelson becomes the first Church President to outlive his younger predecessor since President Kimball, who was exactly 4 years to the day older than his predecessor (both were born on March 28, with President Kimball's birth in 1895, and President Lee's in 1899).
I just wanted to share these observations to note that, even though the responsibility likely very much weighs on him for now, not just because he has outlived President Monson, I fully anticipate that when he and his counselors (whomever they may be) meet with the press on Monday, the prophetic mantle will have settled on him to sustain him for that task. That has been seen at other times when an older prophet succeeded a younger one (as has occurred previously with Brigham Young, Wilford Woodruff, and Spencer W. Kimball).
And while President Nelson may not have a particularly long tenure as Church President, he has been well prepared to take the mantle through almost 34 years of dedicated apostolic service, the last 2 or so of which have been as the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.
Friday, January 12, 2018
A Note on President Nelson's Appearance at the Funeral for President Monson
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
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