How Thomas S. Monson shaped my YSA years

There are a lot of ways to chronicle your life, from simply keeping track of ages and dates to lumping experiences into categories like "the middle school/junior high experiment" and "the years I lived in a cheap college apartment."

Leaders have a way of characterizing the time period they lead during as well, as we've seen in the many tributes to President Thomas S. Monson over the past week. I remember a little bit of the Benson and Hunter presidencies, but most of my life can be sorted into either the Hinckley years or the Monson years.

Gordon B. Hinckley was the prophet of my childhood, and is still my favorite general authority of my lifetime. His wit, wisdom, optimism, and down-to-earth work ethic was a backdrop to my life as I rode the crazy roller coaster of teenagehood and early college. "Forget yourself and go to work" repeated itself in my mind often, and the explosion of temples throughout the world was more of a guessing game of "where will we go next?" rather than the unprecedented miracle the generations above me saw it as. 

It was an exciting time to grow up as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And every time I hear Pres. Hinckley's voice I feel safe in the way that being back in my childhood home makes me feel safe. 

But if anyone could replace this man as a leader, it would be Thomas S. Monson, the prophet of my YSA years. His influence on my life is right up there with Pres. Hinckley's, mainly because of his stories and charisma. I loved hearing him speak even when I was a kid who thought General Conference was something to be suffered through so I wouldn't have to put a dress on and go to church (a price I was more than willing to pay, might I add).

But the biggest impact he had on me personally can be summed up in one phrase: "find joy in the journey." 

Pres. Monson gave his "Finding Joy in the Journey" talk in October 2008, after being president of the church for less than a year. I remember appreciating it, but, like with most conference talks, I had mostly forgotten about it after a few weeks.

Months later, I was in the middle of a rough patch in college when I asked my dad for a blessing. I was tired of school, tired of college life, tired of singles wards. I longed for the day when marriage and/or graduation would put an end to it all.

But Dad's message to me wasn't how to get to the destination I sought; he merely reiterated Pres. Monson's admonition to find joy in the journey. That time, the message stuck. It's something that's been on my mind a lot as I've jumped onto the completely different roller coaster of young adulthood.

I wasn't always happy to obey, but looking back, it just might be the single most important ideal I strived to live by during the past decade. Everyone talks about Pres. Monson's ability to reach "the one," which could mean anything from dashing to a hospital to visit someone about to pass through this life to hopping on a plane to Germany to visit someone who needed attention. But even for those of us who didn't interact with him personally, he knew how to reach us.

For me, it was one conference talk. Well-spoken words can have just as much of an impact as an act of service. I had no idea at the time how much I would need that counsel, but it's subtly shaped the way I live my life during my young adult years.

Thanks for sharing everything you had with us, Pres. Monson. And for wiggling your ears.