Several weeks ago, I asked my good friend Scot Woodbury to help me understand the LDS Church's transition from President Gordon B. Hinckley to Thomas Monson.
In the early days of RSL, in temporary offices across the street from Temple Square, Scot wore many hats for the club, including self-appointed welcoming committee to several of us who had very little experience in Utah. His contributions to the rise of RSL are often overlooked. Thank you, Scott!
Following are his unedited responses to my questions.
SW: Thank you for this opportunity to let me be a guest blogger on your outlet to the world. I appreciate your respect for my faith. I love taking about my faith and how ultimately I live it because it makes me happy and provides me with many answers to life’s important questions. Just a little background for your readers on me. I grew up a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (hereafter referred to as LDS). I was raised in Davis County, Utah and participated in all the youth programs the church offers. When I was 19 I was called to serve in London, England for two years as a missionary (I gained 30 pounds whilst I was there, that is weight not money). I got married 16 months after getting back from my mission in the Salt Lake Temple and have three wonderful kids, Emma, Ben and Lucy.
I decided that the best way for me to do this was to answer your questions as you posed them. I have nothing to hide and am happy to share my belief on my beloved prophet President Hinckley and his successor President Monson. Also for your readers I have included a few links at the end of this if people want to get more info then what I have provided. Also I would be happy to do other entries.
1) SP: How is the prophet dying different from the Pope?
SW: Obviously for me as a member of the LDS church, the prophet is much more significant then the Pope. He was my prophet. The one who speaks with my Heavenly Father and receives revelation and direction for the church and whose teachings will help me to be a better father, husband, employee and servant to my community. But both leaders are revered by their followers as Divinely-chosen leaders of their respective churches. So the emotions and thoughts I had surrounding the death of President Hinckley were probably very similar to the feelings of a devoted Catholic.
2) SP: What do you think of Mr. Monson? I am skeptical of anyone who has spent so much time overseeing media/media business. (It seems so contrary to) the respect I had for President Hinckley.
SW: President Monson is an amazing man. I have met him and was impressed by his great ability to make everyone feel special. He is one of those people that not only genuinely care about people he meets but makes them feel as if they are the most important person in the world. President Monson like President Hinckley understands the importance of all forms of media in furthering the work of the church. I have no doubt he will offer similar media availability as President Hinckley did. President Monson has long been one of my favorite leaders of the LDS church. He is an amazing orator and has a gift of taking everyday experiences and turning them in to teaching moments. I have heard it several times that President Monson is different from the average person in one respect. We all received little impressions or feelings that we should do something but often dismiss them for one reason or another. When President Monson feels impressed to do something he does it. He is a great example to me of not only being hearers of the word but doers also (James 1:22 KJV). I am confident and put my trust and faith in President Monson as my new prophet and spiritual leader. He will continue the work of President Hinckley and will I am sure have a similar attitude towards the media and other faiths.
3) SP: Tongue in cheek - why won't Dave Checketts ever be prophet?
SW: I know you said that this could be off the record but I have no problem answering this. The simple answer is this: in theory Dave could be the prophet. I could be the prophet. But in practicality and more importantly in the way the succession of the church works, we probably will not be. The succession as you may have read is based on seniority amongst the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (the governing body of the church). If Dave or myself or any other male in the church was called to be in the Quorum and outlived the others then we would be prophet. It is most likely not going to happen because the path to leadership in the LDS church begins typically when one is younger. President Monson for example was a Bishop (leader of his local congregation) at age 22, a president of a church mission in Canada at age 32 and called to be an Apostle (Quorum of the Twelve) at age 36. He was groomed to be a leader in the worldwide church not just his local congregation. But the wonderful thing about the LDS church is we are given many opportunities to serve (there is no paid ministry) and with a church that is lead by continual revelation, one never quite knows what the Lord has in store. I personally have had many great opportunities to serve in the church and have seen great blessings as a result of my service. I think this is one of the greatest things about the church is that we serve in our various callings (opportunities) because we know of the great blessings that will come to us as individuals and as families and not because we are getting paid.
More informative links:
President Monson Biography
The Church Official Website
Here is , an official church site that answers more questions about the basic beliefs
The Woodbury Family Blog
Scot S. Woodbury.
How cool is that? Thank you again, Scot! I am sure Scot will answer any questions you have. Feel free to leave comments below.
accompanying copy would probably cost $20,000+ as an ad... such is the value of PR! Snowlion.com has already seen a surge of traffic since yesterday and I suspect Monday will be a busy one at the office. That's a good thing!
