A Miraculous, Little-Known Story About President Monson

Every time I see or listen to President Monson, I’m always reminded of (and deeply impressed by) his loving character and his private ministry.

Here’s a little-known story about him that touched my heart:

In 1971, when Mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, the doctors said she had less than a 20 percent chance of surviving two years. Mother did not know this. Dad did. I found out only because I overheard the conversation between my father and the doctors.

Months passed…it was stake conference, a regional gathering of church members that meets four times a year. My father was a member of the stake high council, a group of high priests who direct the membership on both organizational and spiritual matters. President Thomas S. Monson, one of the Twelve Apostles, directly beneath the Prophet, who at that time was Joseph Fielding Smith, was conducting interviews for the position of stake president.

Before the conference, President Monson met with my father privately, as he did with all councilmen. he asked him, if called, would he serve as stake president? My father’s reply was no. In a religion that believes all leadership positions are decided by God, this was an unorthodox response.

“Brother Tempest, would you like to explain?”

My father simply said it would be inappropriate to spend time away from his wife when she had so little time left.

President Monson stood and said, “You are a man whose priorities are intact.”

After conference, my father was returning to his car. He heard his name called, ignored it at first, until he heard it for a second time. He turned to find President Monson, who had put his hand on Dad’s shoulder.

“Brother Tempest, I feel compelled to tell you your wife will be well for many years to come. I would like to invite you and your family to kneel together in the privacy of your home at noon on Thursday. The Brethren will be meeting in the holy chambers of the Temple, where we will enter your wife’s name among those to be healed.”

Back home, our family was seated around the dinner table. Dad was late. mother was furious. I’ll never forget the look on his face when he opened the door. He walked over to Mother and held her tightly in his arms. He wept.

“What’s happened, John?” Mother asked.

That Thursday, my brothers and I came home from school to pray. We knelt in the living room together as a family. No words were uttered. But in the quiet of that room, I felt the presence of angels.

The mother of Terry Tempest Williams was healed and lived until 1987, sixteen years after President Monson had made the quiet, prophetic declaration that she would “be well for many years to come.”

Source: Williams, Terry Tempest. Refuge: an unnatural history of family and place. New York: Pantheon Books, 1991. Print.