Last Christmas I was given the book To the Rescue: The Biography of Thomas S. Monson, and I finished reading it earlier this week. Thomas Monson is the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I’ve listened to many talks by President Monson over the years, mostly from General Conference, so some of the stories from his biography I was familiar with. The book fills in many more details and events that I wasn’t aware of though.
This book was really enjoyable to read. In many cases the historical context of the events played a major role, the trips to East Germany for instance. I remember when the Berlin wall fell while I was in high school, but I’d forgotten that the Freiberg, Germany temple was actually built prior to that. And I didn’t know that they’d gotten permission to send missionaries to and from Easy Germany before the fall of the wall.
It has always been amazing to me that he has served in full time leadership of the church for so many years. I can’t imagine how much of a sacrifice this must have been for his wife Frances. I don’t see how either of their lives could ever be described as easy.
Ultimately I give this book my highest praise: reading this book made me want to be a better person.