Thomas Monson becomes Mormon leader

Uchtdorf called Monson “a man of great courage, a man of great wisdom, of deep love, of deep spiritual power and warm sensitivity for the individual like no one else.”

“People often say, ‘Well, he tells stories,”’ Uchtdorf said. “Well, no, I think he talks in parables, like the savior did. He shares it in a way my grandchild can understand it.”

Monson freely quotes from the Bible but also from Dickens, one of his favorite authors. In a 1991 article in a church magazine, Monson cited a passage from “A Christmas Carol” to illustrate his point that children “are most perceptive and often utter profound truths.”

On Monday, Monson announced he had promoted Uchtdorf, 67, a Czech-born former German airline executive, to the church’s First Presidency, a three-man body that includes Monson.

Most Mormons now live abroad
The selection of the sole apostle born outside the U.S. could signal that Monson is aware of the challenges facing what has become a global enterprise. About 55 percent of all Mormons now live outside the U.S., and some countries are experiencing problems retaining believers.

Emma Lou Thayne, 83, who served on the board of the church-owned Deseret News with Monson for 17 years, described Monson as a business-minded intellectual who is compassionate and willing to listen to all points of view.

Thayne, a poet and self-described feminist, said Monson heeded her prodding to stop referring to female employees as girls.

“I’d say, ‘Tom, these are women. You would not call the men who came in here boys,”’ she said. “He’d accept it and say, ‘That’s good to know.’ Then he’d forget the next time and I’d remind him again. But he was never acerbic. That’s a good quality to have.”

If Monson’s lifetime appointment as church president is marked by the same acts of kindness he likes to talk about in public, it could serve the church well as it continues to seek its place in the American mainstream, said Richard Bushman, a Mormon scholar.

“If you get down to fundamental acts of goodness, it sort of reduces the doctrinal matters — all the concern about whether Mormons are crazy in their beliefs,” Bushman said. “I look forward to this, to get back to basics.”

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