Latter-day Saint Life

Elder Anderson Shares Beautiful Story of President Monson and His Love of "the One"

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“President Monson exemplified caring for the individual,” Bryan Burningham said. “I am not a person of great consequence, and yet he cared for me and my family. He treated everyone with the ideal that the worth of every soul is great in the sight of God. . . . To me, President Monson’s legacy is one of love and priesthood service. So much of his service will never be seen in the public eye, but it will live forever in the hearts of the lives he has blessed. He was an incredible example of the Savior’s pure love.”

In the fall of 1993, President Monson received word of a 13-year-old boy from Logan, Utah, who, through an unfortunate and tragic event, had been seriously injured. With a gun discharging and a bullet traveling through his face, the young boy was left missing much of his chin, mouth, nose and his right eye socket. Because of the disfiguration, he would eventually go through more than 50 surgeries in an effort to rebuild his face.

President Monson asked Elder Andersen and Elder D. Todd Chrisofferson — two new General Authorities — to visit the boy and offer a blessing on the prophet’s behalf.

“There was great spiritual power in the Lord’s blessing to Bryan that day,” Elder Andersen said of the experience.

Lead image from Deseret News
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