To the Rescue

Title: To the Rescue - The Biography of Thomas S. Monson

Author: Heidi S. Swinton

Pages: 588

Genre: Biography

Grade: A-

Synopsis: President Monson is the President and Prophet of the 14 million members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He grew up in Salt Lake City and was called to serve as Bishop of the ward he grew up in his early 20s. Before he was called as an apostle at 36, he had served in a Stake Presidency and as a mission president in Toronto, Canada. For almost the last 50-years he has served as a Special Witness of Jesus Christ, traveling the world uplifting the Saints, dedicating lands and temples and extending callings. President Monson played a critical role in the Church gaining permission to build a temple in East Germany, behind the Iron Curtain, where the communist government still generally rejected all religion.

My Review: This biography was very well-written in a way that exemplified the life of President Monson. The book is a collection of stories, many of which focus on the individual in need and the ways that President Monson has spent his life in the service of each and every one of us. The book was spiritually uplifting, motivating and instilled a desire for me to be a better person. I have no doubt that President Monson was prepared to lead the Lord's Church in this day of age. As always, it was a special treat to hear President Monson speak at conference the last couple of days.

From the Book: "(p. 473) At the Veracruz Mexico Temple dedication six weeks later, he spoke of the temple helping the members there. "We all have certain talents, and the Lord knows what they are," he said. "We all have limitations and the Lord knows what they are. Whatever our limitations may be, the Lord said this: 'Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect,' [Matthew 5:48.] He would not give us commandments we could not fulfill. We can become perfect in our love of God. We can become perfect in our love of our fellow men. We can become perfect in the payment of our tithing. We can become perfect in living the Word of Wisdom. We can become perfect in our home teaching. In other words, all of those degrees of perfection are within our reach... We know what we must do."