Salt Lake City, USA - Even as they asked members to be more inclusive, authorities of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints bore witness to the divine mission of their new prophet on Saturday.
Working in a solemn assembly, and standing up in groups according to church categories, and then a second time as an entire membership, LDS Church members were asked to rise from their seats whether watching at home, at church or in person, and raise their right hand to sustain Thomas S. Monson as their new prophet, seer and revelator.
Monson, who then presided over the assembly, introduced speakers but did not speak himself in the Saturday morning session.
Members also sustained a new member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Elder D. Todd Christofferson.
Christofferson, 63, has most recently served the church as a supervisor over church activity in parts of the U.S., including California, Hawaii, the Northwest and Southwest.
A Utah native, he was previously the executive director of the church's Family and Church History Department. Before assuming a position with the church 15 years ago, Christofferson was a lawyer who worked in Washington, North Carolina and Tennessee primarily in banking.
Christofferson appeared with his wife of nearly 40 years, Katherine, at an introductory news conference between conference sessions Saturday. He said he was met with a "degree of incredulity" when Monson asked him to accept the calling last week. He said that was followed by a deep sense of humility and gratitude for the trust being placed in him by Monson.
"Since then, thinking more about it, I felt something of a real anxiousness," he said.
Henry B. Eyring, first counselor in the First Presidency, became emotional Saturday morning as he promised that Monson's family would be blessed because of the prayers of the people.
He gave an emotional telling of how he gained his testimony of the Church as a youth. He then bore testimony of Monson as the new prophet.
"Revelation and inspiration have come to him in my presence, which confirms to me that God is honoring those keys," he said. "I am a witness."
Eyring also said he could see evidence of the prophesy of the perfecting of the Church in the "steady improvement" he has witnessed in the lives of its members.
He also praised members for their willingness to reach out to those in need, even those members who have less themselves, and despite economic turmoil. Such giving is tangible evidence of the people's faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ, he said.
In what may be considered an unusual address, Joseph B. Wirthlin of the Quorum of the Twelve spoke to those who feel uncomfortable as members of the Church.
Some feel they don't fit in because they "look, act, think and feel differently and that causes them to assume they don't fit in," he said.
He noted an "erroneous belief that members should look, talk and be alike," saying the Lord did not populate the world with a vibrant orchestra just to favor the piccolo.
"If only we had more compassion for those different from us, it would lighten the problems in the world today," he said.
There is no sign on LDS meetinghouses saying only perfect people are allowed inside, he said. But he warned those that expected the Church to apologize for its doctrines, which he said is impossible because they are given of God. Those who would fault them should not, given that even "the foolishness of God is stronger than man."
Elder Wirthlin also mourned President Hinckley.
"Of course we miss our beloved President Gordon B. Hinckley," he said. "But we are all better people because of his influence ... the world is a better place because there was such a leader."
He called Monson a "mighty man ... whose life is a practical and exemplary model of the application of gospel principles."
Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve spoke at the Saturday morning session about the moment he heard that President Gordon B. Hinckley had passed away.
"Each of us immediately felt a deep sense of loss," he said. "However, we have felt our mood shift from grief to gratitude for what we have learned from this prophet of God."
In sustaining a new prophet, Elder Nelson encouraged the congregation to focus on their own spiritual salvation.
"The time to prepare for our eternal salvation and exaltation is now," he said.
Throughout the world the family is increasingly under attack, and this, if allowed to continue, will have a global "political, social and economic impact," he warned. "The Church is to assist, and not replace, a parent's responsibility to teach their children."
When correcting children's inappropriate behavior, "do so privately, quietly and lovingly, not publicly," he said.