Salt Lake City, USA - On a recent Sunday evening, Ann Dibb told her parents about a viewing for a 15-year-old LDS girl who had died in a skiing accident. Dibb described the family's agony and the sweet tributes paid by the girl's friends. Without fanfare, Dibb's father, LDS Church President Thomas S. Monson, decided to attend the funeral. The next day, the man considered a "prophet, seer and revelator" by the Mormon faithful showed up unannounced to greet the surprised and grateful family.
Observers say such impetuous acts of kindness are the hallmark of Monson, who became the top leader of the 13 million-member Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Feb. 3, 2008.
"His unique gifts are an enduring love and care for the sick, the disadvantaged, the lonely and the elderly," said Stuart Reid, an Ogden developer and LDS bishop. "He has made it clear to the bishops of the church that people come before programs. If there must be a choice between helping those in need and maintaining a program, the people in need are always to be helped, even if it means disrupting programs."
That emphasis has been particularly obvious during Monson's first year in office.
While the American public focused on controversies surrounding the Utah-based church, from the evangelical Christians' critique of Mitt Romney's Mormonism to the confusion with Texas polygamists and the rancorous debate over Mormon involvement in a California ballot initiative to outlaw gay marriage, the Mormon president turned his attention to enriching members' lives, to temple-building, outreach, humanitarian efforts and folksy sermons.
Though Monson declined to be interviewed, as did all other LDS Church officials, dozens of Mormons across the country eagerly offered their perspective on the church's 16th prophet.
"I get the feeling he's exhorting people to get out and do and serve more," said Sharidean Flint of Hyde Park. "He has this huge heart. He just loves people."
Study in contrasts
When Monson's predecessor Gordon B. Hinckley became the church's 15th president in 1995, he sprang into action. He named Merrill Bateman the new president of Brigham Young University and simultaneously made Bateman one of the church's general authorities. Hinckley reorganized the hierarchy, retiring the term, "regional representative," renaming such geographical LDS leaders "area authorities," and giving them a higher status. He announced the "Proclamation on the Family," a succinct document that laid out the church's positions on traditional marriage. He spoke at the memorial service for assassinated Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin at Salt Lake City's Congregation Kol Ami.
During his first year, Hinckley met with reporters from nearly every major newspaper and television station in the country. In a particularly risky move, he offered Mike Wallace of "60 Minutes," a lengthy and open-ended interview, with no questions off limits. The aging Hinckley charmed Wallace, who became a friend and admirer.
Hinckley was commanding, insiders say, and Monson is collaborative. Hinckley had a passion for organizational behavior, while Monson emphasizes individual needs. Monson has initiated no new programs, but has continued Hinckley's temple-building push, his openness in historical matters and efforts to retain new members.
During his first speech to the all-male Priesthood session of LDS General Conference, Monson reiterated "his decades-old mantric trifecta: the Lord qualifies whom he calls; when you are on the Lord's errand, you have the right to his help, and the Lord shapes the back of the person to fit the responsibility that will weigh there," said Jonathan Stapley, an LDS chemist in Seattle. "I believe that these three statements summarize Monson's world view. He has the wonderful ability to distill the fruits of the church's enormous bureaucracy into lived religion."
Instead of inviting a parade of reporters to his office, Monson has given only one interview -- to the LDS Church-owned television KSL in Salt Lake City. He has remained in his modest brick home in Holladay, rather than moving into the presidential apartment in downtown Salt Lake City. He still enjoys the occasional fishing trip with his longtime pal, Jon Huntsman Sr. and is an avid sports fan, showing up at a Jazz game even if, as one LDS blogger affectionately put it, "he's dressed like an undertaker." He is a veteran storyteller, often using irony or understatement as a punch line.
In one of his first talks to the young men, Monson wiggled his ears to make a point.
"I'm sitting there laughing my head off. 'He's human,' I thought," said Wayne Lamb, who lives near Fielding. "This guy is real."
Surprising move
One of the most notable decisions Monson made this year was his first -- choosing German apostle Dieter Uchtdorf as his second counselor in the governing First Presidency. The charismatic Uchtdorf represented the church at Barack Obama's inauguration and has become the face of Mormonism in many quarters. By choosing him, Monson clearly signalled his interest in making the church seem less American and more global.
"Spreading the responsibilities and face of the church among many people is wise," said Michelle Lehnardt, a Salt Lake City mother and writer. "President Uchtdorf and [Elder Marlin] Jensen seem to be the best suited to talking to the world."
And Monson is not threatened by stepping outside the limelight and letting them do it, she said.
While it is not new, Monson has maintained the church's efforts "to cultivate and strengthen ties across religious boundaries," said Paul Reeve, who teaches Utah history at the University of Utah. "He appears willing to work for the greater good in common cause with other Christian and non-Christian groups, especially in humanitarian efforts and to distribute that aid wherever needed regardless of the religion of the receivers."
And if Monson has kept the church on "cruise control" this year, said Tona Hangen, an LDS history professor at Brandeis University in Boston, that's not necessarily bad.
"We set expectations for secular leaders ("first 100 days" of a new U.S. president, for example) but there needn't be those same expectations for LDS leaders. He's the prophet. . .prophets testify of Christ and point people towards him," Hangen said. "That fits well with what many people are doing in their lives since the world economy tanked -- retrenching, nesting, stay-cationing, thrifting. He's going to call us back to the frugal, simple values that build and strengthen the kingdom -- values of the pocketbook, values of the heart, values of the social interaction and the ward structure."
The shadow of Proposition 8
Unlike Hinckley, Monson historically has not been deeply involved in the church's political efforts -- until now. In June, Monson signed a letter to all California Mormons, urging them to donate time and money to pass Proposition 8, an effort to establish marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman. The Saints overwhelmingly responded, eventually raising some $20 million and helping the measure succeed. The move generated much opposition to the church and even spawned protest marches in front of LDS temples in California, Utah, Arizona and New York.
"The Proposition 8 issue has been extremely divisive throughout the church," Hangen said. "It has created deep anguish for members on both sides, partly because we were forced to take sides over an issue we are still struggling with as a people, an issue that remains unresolved among the LDS people. We grapple doctrinally, we grapple procedurally, we grapple on many levels. That piece of legislation opened up very difficult conversations within Mormonism, and very ugly confrontations with some outsiders."
It is not clear whether that political involvement suggests a new emphasis for Monson or a one-time attempt.
What is obvious is that Monson, at least so far, has not strayed much from the broad outlines set by his predecessor.
"He stands for that kind of institutional memory, that rootedness in Salt Lake City when Utah was almost completely coterminous with the church," Hangen said. "In a year that was nothing if not turbulent and volatile, he's a steady hand at the helm. I think that's a welcome strength at this moment in time. "