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

President Monson greets some members on the side of the road in Arizona

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

Shortly after President Monson arrived at the Safford Regional Airport in Arizona, yesterday, his traveling party made it’s way towards the town of Thatcher, a few miles away.  Some members had gathered on the road along the route to wave as he drove by.  Instead, all the cars stopped on the road, and President Monson, President Eyring, and Elder Holland stepped out to meet and greet the people.

Here is how one of the members describes the experience:

Here the 6-7 car entourage comes over the hill and we are all so excited we start waving early just to make sure our hands are up when He drives by. Then we see which car he is in and keep waiving…….and the car stops and pulls over! Then all the other cars pull over and once all cars stopped and security personnel got out and blocked traffic the Prophet, President Henry B Eyring and Elder Jeffrey R Holland got out of their cars and came over and started talking to us and shaking hands. When the Prophet saw Talley He gave her a Hi-Five and put both his hands on her shoulders and started telling her that he liked her yellow shirt because that is his favorite color, and proceeded to tell her at length why yellow is his favorite color for it seemed like 5 minutes. Then he said one more time “give me five” and they slapped hands! We all were able to shake hands with all three. He made sure he talked to everyone and shook their hands. More and more people started trying to stop and before we knew it there was like 30+ people there. The Spirit flows through every handshake and everyone there had tears in their eyes. Then we started singing “We Thank The O God For a Prophet” while he was walking away and He stopped and turned and faced us and sang with Gusto with us! It was amazing to hear this man sing. Then when it was over he waved and walked away…..not without making us all laugh first! When he got to the yellow center line of the road he put both hands out like a tight rope walker and “walked the line” for us all then got to his car waved one more time and left. I don’t think any person in the world could have any doubt in their mind that the Church is true if they had the opportunity to see and meet and feel the spirit that radiates from the Prophet of the Church, it penetrates the soul! AMAZING!

To read more about the experience, and see more photos, see the link below:
We Got to Meet President 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: Provo, Utah
Purpose: Dedicating Zions Bank Financial Center

Yesterday, President Monson dedicated the Zions Bank Financial Center in Provo, Utah.  Many elected officials, business leaders, and Utah county residents were in attendance at the event.  The Deseret News reports:

“May it ever be a bright and shining star in the business community of Provo, and may its influence extend far and wide,” President Monson said of the new headquarters for Zions Bancorp’s central Utah region.

In addition to offering a dedicatory prayer, President Monson told those in attendance about some of his boyhood experiences in Utah County and also reaffirmed The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ confidence in the bank.

“You can rest assured that this church doesn’t put its investments and its confidence in anything that isn’t stable, honorable and (having) a record of performance and integrity,” he said.

See the link below for more information:
Deseret News – President Thomas S. Monson dedicates Zions Bank Financial Center

Place: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Purpose: Temple dedication

Over the weekend, President Monson was in Vancouver, Canada, to dedicate the new temple there, the 131st temple of the Church.  The Church News reports:

President Monson placed mortar in the cornerstone then asked others to do the same.

“You look like a good boy,” President Monson told Ashton Bates, 9. He added, “You are going on a mission. Have your mother remember that.”

See more about the dedication at the following links:

Vancouver British Columbia Temple: Church’s 131st temple dedicated
President Monson dedicates Vancouver LDS temple

Place: Weber State University, Ogden, Utah
Purpose: Commencement address

This morning, President Monson gave the commencement speech to the 2314 graduates of Weber State University in Ogden, Utah.  He told them that in order to lead an abundant life you must have the ABCs – attitude, belief, and courage.  The Salt Lake Tribune notes:

“You … can be explorers in spirit with a mandate to make this world better,” said Monson, whose speech conveyed wisdom from a range of famous people and thinkers, from evangelical Christian pastor Charles Swindoll to Eleanor Roosevelt to Vince Lombardi.

The graduation ceremony will be broadcast on television May 1, on KUED, from 4:30-6:00 p.m.

See more at the links below:
Mormon Times – Mormon President Thomas S. Monson: Path for graduates
LDS Church Newsroom – President Monson Addresses Weber State University Graduates
KSL.com – Pres. Monson addresses WSU graduates
Salt Lake Tribune – LDS President Thomas S. Monson tells Weber graduates to seek abundant life
Deseret News – Mormon President Thomas S. Monson lays out simple path to success for Weber State University graduates