Being with Pres. Monson & Japan Memories

As you look at this photo, I am to the right of Thomas S. Monson 

In 1968 I was at the Tokyo Mission home waiting for a new companion to arrive. I was in the foyer of the mission home when to my surprise Thomas S. Monson and his wife walked in the front door.  I then said, "Elder Monson, we weren't expecting you. Pres. Komatsu (our Mission President)  isn't here."

"Oh, I was just visiting with the missionaries in Australia and I told my wife, 'Why don't we just drop in and see how the missionaries are doing in Tokyo,' " Elder Monson replied. It was then that I first learned that Pres. Monson likes to drop in and visit people unexpectedly. He wasn't even over our mission.

Only two Elders, two other sisters, and I were at the Mission Home at the time.  I invited him in to sit down and we visited with Elder Monson and his wife for about an hour in the living room of the Mission Home. What a wonderful experience!  He is the most loving and gracious person. (The Mission Home was later torn down so the Tokyo Temple could be built on the same land.  It is in a great location with a beautiful park just across the street and many embassies of foreign countries are also in the immediate neighborhood.) 

However, this wasn't the first time I had the opportunity to talk to Elder Monson or be in his presence.

After Elder Monson was called to be an apostle, he was assigned to be the General Authority over my stake in Price, Utah.  He became my favorite because I always loved his incredible talks.  These were the days when we had quarterly stake conference and had visiting authorities at almost every stake conference.  This conference happened to be on the Fourth of July.  I went up to shake his hand and tell him that he reminded me of how the Prophet Joseph Smith must have been.  He  then graciously signed this piece of stationary that I just happened to have in my purse.  The other signature is of Henry D. Taylor who was an Assistant to the Twelve at the time.  

President Monson has always been a "dropper-inner."  He likes to arrive unannounced.

When I was attending a stake conference in St. George, it had been announced that we would have no general authority. However, just before the meeting started, I saw my stake president gasp as Thomas Monson and his wife walked down the aisle.  He rushed to greet him stopping right by where I was sitting.  "Elder Monson, we didn't know you were coming," my Stake President stammered.

"Oh, my wife and I were at home in Salt Lake yesterday  where we have had fog for a month, and we decided to just hop in the car and come to St. George for church so we could see the sun," Elder Monson replied with a twinkle in his eye.

When I lived in Princeton Ward, Elder Monson was the one who came and dedicated the new chapel because his wife had been a member of the ward when she was a girl.

When my student, Josh Holdaway, was lost in the mountains on New Year's Day, Elder Monson felt impressed to go to LDS hospital and subsequently ended up giving Josh a blessing after he had been found 24 hours later.  Then after Josh was released and sent home, Elder Monson surprised Josh and his mom by just knocking on their door one day, saying, "Oh, I just wanted to drop by and see how Josh is doing. "  

Thomas Monson is one of the most Christlike people I have ever had the privilege to be around.  He believes in visiting people of all walks of life.  I used to work for a lady named Gay Hill who lives in Murray.  She and her husband were not active in the Church, but he would just drop by to visit with them from time to time.  What an incredible example he has set for all of us!

In 1967 I was called to serve a mission in Japan. Here I am with two elders, singing at a Church banquet in Osaka, Japan.  I think we sang something really spiritual like "Blowing in the Wind."  Whenever the Church members wanted entertainment, they always asked the missionaries and we loved to oblige. Elder Harry Schultz is the one playing the guitar.  He was a member of the BYU Program Bureau so we were always entertaining someone for the 6 months I was in Osaka.  When I got to Tokyo South Branch, we even put on the "Grinch Who Stole Christmas" in Japanese.  My Japanese companion helped us translate it.  The members never knew what to expect next when we were in charge of the programs, but they must have loved it because they kept asking us.  In the photos, above and below, I had my hair pulled back in a ponytail which was quite long, but I don't think you can see it.

Here I am at Gotanda, a light rail train station, with my companion, Janet Lang.  This is in Tokyo and I was on my way to Osaka. June 1967. While I was in Osaka, Gordon B. Hinckley came to a conference, and I was lucky enough to be in a small group of missionaries who took him out to eat after the conference was over. For some reason, no one had brought their camera that day, so we didn't get a photo of him with us.

After being in Osaka for 6 months, I was transferred to Tokyo North Branch for another 6 months. Sister missionaries were not supposed to wear kimonos to proselyte, so my companion took this photo of me on our preparation day on the front lawn of the church.

It was here that I was made a Senior Companion for the first time. I had only been out 9 months, but Pres. Komatsu gave me a greenbean Japanese sister as a companion. However, she became a very dear companion and friend.  I loved my mission.  I felt like I was on vacation instead of a mission.  I just loved the Japanese people.  The members always said I may have been a gaijin (foreigner), but I have a Japanese heart.

It seemed I was always in the right place at the right time. While I was in North Tokyo, Spencer W. Kimball came to talk to the missionaries and he wasn't over our mission, either. Then I was transferred to Sendai for 2 months, but while I was there I was blessed again. Gordon B. Hinckley came and personally visited with each missionary in that area.  While we were eating lunch, one of the missionaries asked him what his greatest desire was and he replied, "I just want to endure to the end.  I am just a simple man with simple faith." 

I loved hearing conference yesterday and today. I felt like many of the speakers were talking just to me. Seeing President Monson reminded me of Japan and all the times I was so fortunate to rub shoulders with some of the greatest men to ever walk this earth--prophets of our Lord.

I especially agree with Pres. Monson when he said, "Never let a problem to be solved be more important than a person to be loved."

I just pray that I can endure to the end and also help some people along the way.