Tidbit Tuesday - The Lord is the Leader

From one of my favorite books:

“Leadership, in the Lord’s view, is the saving of souls. If a leader can turn a person to the Lord, the leader may have given the greatest gift possible. This is also true in families.


“I will never forget a time when the presiding brethren approved the calling of a temple president. As I remember, President Kimball called this good man on the phone to inform him that the Lord had called him to be a temple president. The man was totally overcome. President Kimball told him that he would arrive in his city on a certain day and that if the man would meet him in the temple, he would be pleased to set him apart as the temple president.


“Some days later, President Kimball arrived at the temple. He bore his testimony that the Lord had called this man, and he set him apart as the temple president. After he had finished, he told the new temple president that he loved him and that the Lord would bless him. Then he began walking toward the door. The man panicked and said, ‘Wait, President Kimball, what instruction do you have for me?’


“President Kimball said, ‘Well, the Lord will bless you. You will do just fine,’ and began walking down the hall.


“The man, now with great urgency, came trailing after the prophet, begging him, ‘President, what do I know about the temple? What is I have a problem with the cafeteria or the sprinkler system or with some of the temple workers?’


“President Kimball said, ‘Well, if you have any problems like that, feel free to call the Temple Department.’


“This man now realized that President Kimball really was going to leave. In the parking lot as the prophet was stepping into his car, the man pleaded, ‘President, please, I don’t know what I ought to do.’


“President Kimball said, ‘The Lord has called you and the Lord will assist you. Seek Him and you will know what to do.’


“Not satisfied, the man continued, ‘Don’t you have any specific counsel for me?”


“Finally President Kimball said, ‘All right, if you want some specific counsel, I will give you some. It wouldn’t hurt you to lose about thirty-five pounds. May the Lord bless you, president.’ Then his car drove off.


“This new temple president was just flabbergasted. He went back into the temple struggling with his feelings and wondering why President Kimball had handled the situation that way. The man had no alternative but to do what he should have done in the beginning – fall on his knees and plead with the Lord for help. This good man, this humble man, did exactly that and became a most effective, loving and spiritual mission president.”

Gene R. Cook
From Raising Up a Family to the Lord, Salt Lake City, Deseret Book, 1993, p. 147-149