Follow The Prophet – The Words & Deeds of God's Living Prophet, President Thomas S. Monson

Place: Thatcher, Arizona
Purpose: Gila Valley Temple Dedication Celebration

Yesterday President Monson was in Thatcher, Arizona, for the dedication celebration of the Gila Valley Temple.  Thousands of LDS youth depicted the history of the area through singing, dancing, and the spoken word.  President Monson presided at the celebration:

President Monson stopped on his way into the stadium to address the crowd. “I love these big events,” he said. “No one in the First Presidency or the Twelve advocate these big events more than Tom Monson.”…

To the delight of the audience, President Monson and President Eyring sang “Aya En El Rancho Grande” in Spanish.

Speaking to the audience during the program, President Monson said the Gila Valley Arizona Temple is the reason for the gathering.

“It shines as a beacon of righteousness to all who will follow its light,” he said.

To read more about the celebration in Arizona, see the link below:
Deseret News – Youths celebrate Gila Valley Temple in Arizona

Place: Salt Lake City, UT (Conference Center)
Purpose: Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert

My wife and I had the fantastic opportunity last night to attend the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square annual Christmas Concert, The Wonderful Gift of Christmas.  The featured guests this year were Grammy Award winner Natalie Cole and Pulitzer Prize winning author David McCullough.

Because of traffic we were running late finding parking before the concert, so I dropped off my wife to save us a seat.  I rushed to park and then raced to the Conference Center to find my wife.  After waiting through the lines in the cold outside, and then finding the auditorium door indicated on my ticket, I found the audience in a quiet hush.  There were already many thousands of people who had found their seats, but they were all standing too.  I realized that the prophet must have just entered the room.

I found where my wife was sitting in the balcony, and quickly joined her.  Indeed, she told me that the prophet, President Monson, had just entered the auditorium a couple minutes previously, and pointed to where he was greeting people in the first rows down below.  It is tradition when the prophet enters the room, a wave of silence envelopes the Saints and they all stand to honor the living prophet of God.  Tens of thousands of people quickly fall into a hush and direct their attention to the man who God has called to lead His kingdom on the earth today.  It is a sublime experience to be in the same room with the prophet.

We enjoyed the concert, and we suspect President Monson did too.  Others in attendance last night were President Uchtdorf, and other General Authorities of the Church.  They also mentioned that former Attorney General of the United States John Ashcroft was in attendance.

How blessed we are to live in the midst of a living prophet of God!

See more about this Christmas concert at the links below:

Deseret News – “Mormon Tabernacle Choir, guests unwrap musical magic”
LDS Newsroom – “Natalie Cole, David McCullough and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Bring in the Christmas Spirit”

Update (12/14/09): President Monson also attended the Saturday evening, and Sunday morning performances of the choir, orchestra, and the honored guests. One blogger tells that President Monson took the stage after the Saturday evening performance to thank the guests:

After the concert, President Monson went on the stage and presented them with gifts and they each gave a little speech about how much fun they have had in Salt Lake for 4 days making the production and hanging out with President Monson…LUCKY!! They said how they were so impressed with the mo-tab and all of “President Monson’s people”…meaning the mormons (she was hilarious).

Another blogger notes the exchanges after the Sunday morning “mini concert”:

The presentation after the concert with President Monson, Natalie Cole and David McCollough. President Monson talked and thanked both of them… saying “the five most important words… we are proud of you … and the two most important words… thank you.” Natalie Cole then talked and said how impressed she was by the Mormons and the amazing experience she had. She thanked President Monson for the family history information he gave her and said how grateful she was we share a common faith in Jesus. David McCollough then talked about his wife and told a little history story about John Adams and his desire for greatness and talked about the Tabernacle Choir as an American icon and all that they contribute to the history and meaning of our country. President Monson seemed to be welling up with emotion while the two of them talked. President Monson and Natalie Cole hugged and then the choir sang “God Be With You Til We Meet Again.” Natalie Cole fought back tears the whole song and it was very touching.

See the posts below for photos from these bloggers of President Monson thanking the guests:

David and Ali: Salt Lake City
A Day in the Life: Top 10 Things I Loved about the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert
Matt’s Basic Life & Occasional Adventure: Conference Center Conference

Location: West Valley City, UT
Purpose: Attending the theater

Listening to President Monson’s talks at General Conference over the years, it’s easy to notice that President Monson loves the arts and the theater.  Occasionally he quotes from plays in his talks, such as Les Miserables, which teaches great moral lessons.

Yesterday he attended, as reported by a cast member, the fantastic musical production of The Scarlet Pimpernel at one of Utah’s most prized and widely-acclaimed theaters, Hale Centre Theatre in West Valley City.  This play is one of the most often run productions at the Hale because of its popularity, being run in 2002 and 2004, so it was brought back again this year.