Thomas S. Monson is the President and Prophet in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church).Thomas Spencer Monson was born on August 21, 1927, in Salt Lake City. He was compassionate even as a young boy. When he found out that one of his friends would be eating only cereal with water for Christmas dinner, he took his two prized rabbits to them and said, “It isn’t turkey, but they will make you a fine Christmas dinner.”
President Monson served in the U.S. Navy toward the end of World War II. He was only 17, and the armistice was signed just a few weeks after he joined. Thomas S. Monson served a full year of active duty before returning home.
In 1948, he graduated cum laude from the University of Utah with a degree in business management. In the same year he married Frances Beverly Johnson on October 7, in the Salt Lake Temple. They eventually had three children, two boys and a girl. President Monson continued studying for his graduate degree as he taught at the University of Utah. He later received his MBA from Brigham Young University.
In his career Thomas S. Monson did well in publishing and printing. He worked on the advertising division of the Deseret News starting in 1948. He then became sales manager for the Deseret News Press, then the general manager. From 1959 to 1962 Thomas S. Monson served as president of the Canadian Mission in Toronto. He worked in this position until 1963, when he was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on October 4, 1963. In 1969 he began service on the National Executive Board of Boy Scouts of America. He has also served on the Utah State Board of Regents, which runs higher education in Utah. In 1981 Thomas S. Monson was asked by President Ronald Reagan to serve on a President’s Task Force for Private Sector Initiatives. He fulfilled his role on the task force until 1982 when it had completed its work.
On November 10, 1985, Elder Monson was called to be the Second Counselor in the First Presidency under President Ezra Taft Benson. On June 5, 1994 he was called to serve as Second Counselor under President Howard W. Hunter. Then, on March 12, 1995, President Monson was called to be First Counselor to President Gordon B. Hinckley. In addition to his responsibilities as First Counselor he also served as trustee of Brigham Young University and on the Church Board of Education.
Upon the death of beloved prophet Gordon B. Hinckley in 2008, Thomas S. Monson was called to be the prophet and president of the Mormon Church. He called Henry B. Eyring as his first counselor and Dieter F. Uchtdorf as his second counselor. President Monson will continue with the program to fill the earth with temples and has emphasized self-reliance and preparedness among the membership of the Church.