Thomas Spencer Monson is a well-known religious leader and author from the United States. He is also the current president of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). He was made a Bishop when he was only 22 years old, a mission president when he was 31, and a member of the Quorum of the Twelve when he was 36. He traveled a lot all over the world to work on his humanitarian, educational, and religious goals, and he made a big difference in the areas of missionary work, welfare, and publication committees. He is known all over the United States and Canada for being active and getting things done. People also say that he has a quick mind and a great memory. His care for other people, especially widows, stands out. He has also told members to help people who are in trouble and need help because he is an example of courage and kindness.
Early years and childhood
He was the second of six children born to G. Spencer Monson and Gladys Condie. He grew up in a close-knit family and often took vacations with his nearby relatives. At the start of his teens, he got a job at his father’s printing business.
In 1940, he went to Salt Lake City’s West high school. After four years there, he moved on to the University of Utah in 1944. The next year, he joined the United States Naval Reserve, where he was expected to fight in World War II in the Pacific theater of operations.
After his tour of duty was over, he went back to the University of Utah and got a bachelor’s degree in business management in 1948.
After he finished college, he joined the Naval Reserve again with the goal of becoming an officer. But soon, his ward bishop asked him to be a counselor in the bishopric. Because of this, he had to ask for a discharge from the Navy, which was granted before the Korean War started.
Thomas Monso’s Career
He taught for a while at the University of Utah. After that, he went into publishing. He got a job as an advertising manager at Deseret News. In 1952, he started working in the advertising department of the Newspaper Agency Corporation. He later moved to the Deseret News-Press, where he started as the sales manager and worked his way up to become the general manager.
On May 7, 1950, he became a bishop in the LDS church. During the time he served, there were 1080 people in his ward, including 84 widows whom he regularly visited. He also wrote letters to the men from his ward who were serving in the US military.
In June 1955, he was appointed as a counselor in the presidency of the “Temple view stake” in Salt Lake City. He was made the head of the Canadian mission after four years. After he came back from the Canadian Mission, he was asked to serve on the high council in Holladay and on the General church committee (Priesthood Genealogy and Priesthood Home Teaching Committee).
Joseph Fielding Smith chose him and blessed him as a member of the “Quorum of the Twelve Apostles” in 1963. This made him a “Apostle.” As an apostle, he was in charge of many Church operations, such as KSL Newsradio and Bourneville International Corporation.
From 1965 to 1968, he was in charge of how the church worked in the South Pacific and Australia. He also set up the first LDS stake in Tonga. The next year, he was on the board of advisors for Mountain Bell and also served on the board of directors for Commercial Security Bank. He also led the bank’s audit committee for twenty years. When Key Bank bought the bank, he became a member of the board of directors.
In the 1970s, he was named Chairman of the Scripture Publication Committee, which was in charge of publishing the King James Bible for the LDS church and making changes to the church scriptures. He was also in charge of other Church groups. In 1974, while he was still an apostle, he got a Master of Business Administration from Brigham Young University.
President Ronald Reagan put him on the President’s Task Force for private sector initiatives in December 1981. He worked in this job until the work of the task force was finished.
On February 3, 2008, he took over for Gordon B. Hinckley as the 16th president of the LDS church. During his time as president, there were about 13 million members around the world, and most of them did not live in the United States or Canada.
Thomas S. Monson: Works of note
In 1982, he was in charge of the first stake in East Germany, and he worked hard to get permission for the church to build a temple in Freiberg, East Germany, in the next three years.
He also went to the World Conference in Tokyo, Nairobi, and Copenhagen as a delegate for the Boys Scouts of America.
During his time as president of the LDS church, he announced in different general conferences that 31 temples would be built or planned.
He has written a lot of books and had collections of his speeches published. His autobiography, “Faith Rewarded,” which came out in 1996, is a collection of journal entries about his life in East Germany.
“Christmas Gifts, Christmas Blessings” (1983), “Live the Good Life” (1988), “The Search for Jesus” (1992), “Invitation to Exaltation” (1997), “A Christmas Dress for Ellen” (2004), and “Teachings of Thomas S. Monson” are some of his other important works (2011).
Awards & Achievements
In April 1981, Brigham Young University gave him an Honorary Doctor of Law. Soon after, he got a lot of degrees, including a Doctor of Human Letters from Salt Lake Community College in 1996, an Honorary Doctor of Business from the University of Utah in 2007, and an Honorary Doctorate in Humanities from Dixie State College (2011).
In 1971, the Boys Scouts of America gave him their Silver Beaver Award. In 1978, they gave him their highest honor, the Silver Buffalo Award, for all he had done for young people. In 1993, he was given “The Bronze Wolf,” the highest honorary award from the World organization of the Scout movement, for helping to grow Scouting in many countries.
At the international conference of the Rotary Club of Salt Lake Chapter, he was given a humanitarian award for his work around the world.
Slate.com’s list of the most powerful people over 80, called “80 over 80,” put him at the top for two years in a row. In the following year, he was named one of “America’s ten most admired men” by a consulting firm called Gallup.
Personal History and Legacies
After he graduated, he married Frances Johnson in the Salt Lake Temple on October 7, 1978. They had three kids in the end: Thomas Lee, Ann Frances, and Clark Spencer Spencer.
As president of the church, he dedicated twelve LDS church temples and re-dedicated two. As a counselor in the first presidency, he also dedicated seven church temples.
Estimated Net worth
Thomas is on the list of the most popular and one of the richest Religious Leaders. Based on what we found on Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider, Thomas Monson has a net worth of about $14 million.
Trivia
In the 1950s, he became Secretary of the Utah State Roller Club, a group of people who raised pigeons.
On July 20, 2009, he met President Barack Obama and gave him five books about his family history.