Hello again, everyone! In the late-night hours where the 3rd has become the 4th, I am back to pass along some thoughts about whom we might hear from during the funeral services for President Thomas S. Monson. Based on the outline for President Hinckley's funeral 10 years ago, I have felt the outline could look something like this:
Presiding: President Russell M. Nelson
Conducting: President Henry B. Eyring
Speakers: Sister Ann M. Dibb (representing the family)
Bishop Gerald Causse
Elder L. Whitney Clayton
President Russell M. Nelson
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
President Henry B. Eyring
Again, these are no more and no less than my own personal thoughts, based on what we saw with President Hinckley's funeral services almost 10 years ago. The funeral for President Howard W. Hunter saw a slightly different formula, with addresses from Jon M. Huntsman Sr., Elder James E. Faust, President Boyd K. Packer, President Thomas S. Monson, and President Gordon B. Hinckley. Since this funeral will be put together in the way the Monson family prefers, we could see something different happen. Whatever might happen in terms of that funeral, you can depend on my report on it here after the fact.
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.
Thursday, January 4, 2018
Potential Speakers at Funeral Services for President Monson
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Technically it's Elders Eyring and Uchtdorf. Though I expect them to be retained by President Nelson.
ReplyDeleteYou raise an interesting point, Scott, and technically, you would be correct. The First Presidency has been dissolved and President Monson's counselors have returned to their places in the Quorum of the Twelve. But unless I have misread or misinterpreted what I have read about funerals for Church Presidents, it would appear that, for those services, the counselors assume their customary places on the stand, with the prophet's empty chair between them, and, for that funeral, they are referred to by their honorific title of "President". See, for example, the links above, from the funeral services which were held for Presidents Hinckley and Hunter.
Deletehttps://media.ldscdn.org/pdf/magazines/ensign-march-2008/2008-03-00-ensign-eng.pdf (this report of President Hinckley's funeral lists Presidents Monson and Eyring by their honorific titles for the funeral)
The Church does not have a PDF version of the April 1995 Ensign, which contained the report of President Hunter's funeral, but for that, I provide html links to the relevant articles:
https://www.lds.org/ensign/1995/04/president-howard-w-hunter-he-endured-to-the-end?lang=eng (this talk by President Packer lists him as Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve, even though the return of Quorum President Gordon B. Hinckley and of President Thomas S. Monson, both of whom were more senior apostles to President Packer.
https://www.lds.org/ensign/1995/04/president-howard-w-hunter-a-man-for-all-seasons?lang=eng
https://www.lds.org/ensign/1995/04/a-prophet-polished-and-refined?lang=eng
(With the two talks above, both Presidents Monson and Hinckley were referred to by their honorific titles)
Again, thanks for your comment, Scott, and please let me know if I have misinterpreted those sources. I appreciate you doing so.
Further research on my part seems to indicate that for President Benson's funeral, his counselors, who went on to serve with President Hunter, the counselors were also referred to by the honorific title "President", as in the links below.
Deletehttps://www.lds.org/ensign/1994/07/farewell-to-a-prophet?lang=eng
https://www.lds.org/ensign/1994/07/president-ezra-taft-benson-a-giant-among-men?lang=eng
Interestingly enough, though, it would appear that for President Kimball's funeral services, President Hinckley, his counselor for the four years prior to that, apparently opted to be referred to as Elder Hinckley, out of deference to his Quorum President.
https://www.lds.org/ensign/1985/12/he-is-at-peace?lang=eng
So I think it is largely up to the counselors themselves as to how they are listed for the funeral(s) of the Church President they serve, or, at times, is at the discretion of the Quorum President if they have no preference. Interestingly, though, while the supplement to the Ensign that paid tribute to President Hinckley listed Presidents Monson and Eyring as the First and Second Counselors, if I have recalled correctly, the video of that funeral service refers to them both merely as "Counselor(s) to President Hinckley."
One final note: It is possible, as mentioned in my previous comment, that I am not reading the sources correctly. For the better part of the last month, I have been dealing with illness, which at times makes it hard to think and process information correctly, so again, if I am misreading or misinterpreting anything, please let me know. Thanks.