Never Delay A Prompting

As he prepared to go home on Thursday evening, Aug. 16, President Monson commented to his secretary that he felt prompted to visit a friend who had been in his ward’s teachers quorum when young Tom Monson was the quorum’s president. He had learned just that day that his friend had gone into a care center and, although nothing had been said about his friend’s condition, he felt he ought not delay making the visit.
At the care center, President Monson realized that his friend’s hours on earth were limited. With one of the man’s sons assisting, he gave a blessing. The next morning, Aug. 17, President Monson received news that his friend had passed away.
“Never delay a prompting,” said President Monson during a Church News interview just an hour or so after he learned of his friend’s death. “When you honor a prompting, and then stand back a pace, you realize that the Lord gave you the prompting. It makes me feel good that the Lord even knows who I am, and knows me well enough to know that if He has an errand to be run and He prompts me to run the errand, the errand will get done. That’s the testimony of my life.” (President Monson, Church News, August 15, 2015)

Being A Parent and a Grandparent

President Monson said he felt a keen responsibility to account for how he has spent his time here on earth. “You see your children growing,” he said of the passing years. “You look at your grandchildren, and you say to yourself, ‘What if I weren’t here? Have I done all I can to prepare them for their role in life?’ You realize that you never quite do everything, but you want to do better than what you have done.’’ (President Monson, Church News August 15, 2015)

Responding to Promptings

President Monson said that one of the things that has brought him the most joy is “feeling the nudge of the Lord, the promptings. When you respond to them, you discover that in a way you’re answering someone’s prayer.” (President Monson, Church News, August 15, 2015)

Don't Have Empty Yesterdays

I read the obituaries every day,” he confided. “When you see people your own age afflicted and experiencing life-threatening illnesses, I think it prompts you to apply to yourself the philosophy, ‘I want to do the best I know how to do every day.’ Someone said, ‘Live only in the past, and you’ll have a lot of empty yesterdays tomorrow.’ (President Monson, Church News, August 15, 2015)

Preparing for Future Callings

“I’m a great believer that the Lord provides us specific experiences to prepare us to deal with some of the challenges that we’re going to encounter in our own period of service.” (President Monson, Church News, Aug 15, 2015)

Proximity Priniciple

We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing. Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates action.
- Frank Tibolt

Setting Goals

It is a paradoxical but profoundly true and important principle of life that the most likely way to reach a goal is to be aiming not at that goal itself but at some more ambitious goal beyond it.
- Arnold Toynbee