Tonight was the Night!!! - Revised

after months of hoping and praying,

i was able to shake his hand tonight

President Thomas S. Monson
{prophet, seer and revelator}

*prayers are answered and dreams come true*

the who, what, when, why, and where that you might have been wondering:

when i first heard that pres. monson would be the keynote speaker at SUU's graduation last fall, i got goosebumps. my first thought was, "maybe we'll get to meet him some how." fast forward several months... it turned out that there was an invitation for my family to attend a dinner at the president of SUU's house, the night before graduation, honoring select staff, students and honorary graduates (which dallin was). we heard a 'rumor' that pres. monson would be in attendance but you never know with his schedule. that afternoon i drove by the president's house (how retarded am i?) to see if there was any sign of what the night would bring. several police officers in the area made things look promising.

we arrived at the dinner, took our seats and waited for the event to start, when Pres. Benson (of SUU) said, "Our special guest, Pres. Thomas S. Monson of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is en route and will be here shortly." oh man, did that create a buzz in the room!

his car pulled right up to the door of where the event was being held and he walked in with his daughter, Sis. Dibb (YW general presidency), and his entourage of security personnel. pres. monson is TALL! i was surprised. and he was SO funny - cracking jokes left and right. his party got settled and then we ate an AMAZING dinner.

as we were scraping our plates clean of every last drop of food, the award presentations began - various retirees, valedictorians, other staff awards.... yada yada... then the time was turned over to pres. monson to share a few words.

i don't remember most of what he said, which is terrible. but i distinctly remember his ability to draw the Spirit into the room instantaneously. he would be telling a funny story (such as his wife staying home during the dinner - she was tired from the long day - because she was polishing her honorary doctorate she had received earlier that day) and then in the same breath testify of the things he knew to be true. he wasn't bashful about his knowledge of Christ. he was respectful but not hesitant to bring gospel doctrine into the message he shared. it was a humorous and uplifting presentation. i love our prophet.

when the evening ended we anxiously waited to see if he would be quickly escorted back to his vehicle or if he would mingle. there was no mingling, but we WERE able to shake his hand briefly as he walked past each of us to the door. he took my hand, read my name tag, made eye contact, and said my name. he has a photographic memory so i'd like to think if he ever sees me again he'll know my name. . . probably not. :) when he shook kambers hand he said, "ellsworth, i know that name." and quietly moved on.

there have been stories and experiences shared with our family, since the crash, that have let us know the 1st Presidency was aware of what happened. they were aware of each family and each person on that plane. i don't know what pres. monson meant when he said, "ellsworth, i know that name" but it meant a lot to me.

i am grateful for a church that is organized in such a way that we have a living prophet of God on the earth. that we have continuing revelation available to us and that despite being a worldwide church, members are taken care of down to an individual basis, whether it be by visiting/home teaching or other methods. i feel incredibly blessed to have opportunities in my life where my testimony is strengthened and edified and my faith is renewed. how incredibly lucky we are as a church.