News Item: Letter From former President Kevin Monson
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Greetings friends and former members of the Uruguayan Liberation Army,
To those who have sent me e-mails over the past six months, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I read each and every one. There is no end to my admiration of you and your continued achievements. The wedding announcements, the baby pictures, and the stories of your struggles and victories make me long to be with you all again. They also make me hungry for a chivito con todo from Hola Maxi (the carrito next to the Shell gas station from which Hermana Monson told you never to eat). I have been more than lax in responding to each letter received. This letter constitutes both confession and the promise of forsaking my lack of diligence (D&C 58:42- 43).
Good news, bad news. The mission web site is up and running. Elder Wortmann has put together a wonderful site for the mission. The good news is that you can keep in touch with friends and associates from the mission. The bad news is that, beginning June 1 (if not before), I'll post a monthly article like I did in the Vid.
Since December, 2000, I have been serving as bishop of one of the two singles wards in Huntington Beach. It has been so much fun. It's like being mission president again, only this time I'm telling the elders to get out there and date. As I spend the majority of my time in interviews, I think of you constantly. I wonder if there are bishops sitting behind closed doors listening to returned missionaries from our mission explain why they have no current temple recommend, why they have lost the companionship of the Spirit, why things got out of control with a significant-other, or why they wish they could feel again like they did on the mission.
I think back to our final charla at the mission home. When I explained about the challenge of staying active and faithful after a mission, little did I imagine that I would see the fulfillment of those warnings on a daily basis as bishop of 225 returned missionaries and other single adults. I am more convinced that ever that the instructions I gave you were correct. You can soar spiritually even higher than the great achievements you felt as you completed your mission. You don't have to shrink back to pre-mission levels of spiritual melancholy. It just takes the small and simple things of which we spoke: daily spiritual renewal (prayer, scripture study, service, and learning), taking the sacrament with full purpose of heart every Sunday, and maintaining a laser-like focus on the temple. Measure yourself. The first day without prayer, the first day without opening the Book of Mormon, the first time ditching sacrament meeting, and the first day without a current temple recommend is the first day of your personal apostacy. No puede ser. Es apostacia.
On March 18, 2001, President Hinckley dedicated the Montevideo temple. Susie and I attended the dedication. It was wonderful beyond words. The temple itself is magnificent. It is difficult to believe that anything so beautiful could be built in Uruguay. The exterior of the temple is a shining granite which exudes strength and the feeling of forever. The Angel Moroni can be seen all around the neighborhood. I bought gas at the nearby Texaco and could see Moroni floating above the trees in the distance. The grounds are not huge, but well manicured. Flowers of every color were in full bloom. At night, the temple has lights illuminating Moroni and the beautiful grounds. It is like a slice of heaven in the middle of the mundane.
The dedication was conducted in four sessions on Sunday. Susie and I were invited to two of the four sessions. In the dedication of the small temples, people are packed into every room, hall, and corner of the temple (about 550 people) with an additional 800 in the new chapel next door, and another 1200 in the Malvin stake center (where we had the conference with Elder Scott). The dedication is conducted from the celestial room with everyone else viewing the service on closed circuit television. The ceremonial placement of the cover on the cornerstone is done during the first session. President Hinckley (or other presiding authority) gives the dedicatory prayer in the first session. After he gave the prayer in English, a copy of the prayer was read in Spanish. In the later sessions, the prayer was read in Spanish.
Susie and I had the privilege to sit in the celestial room for the two sessions we attended. I think it was the last of my 15 minutes of fame.
After each session, I stood in the middle of the street to greet friends and missionaries. The missionaries were allowed to attend the dedication with their respective wards and branches. Before and after each session, I could see them coming. It was so much fun to greet them again. After about 10 minutes, it was as if the past nine months home disappeared. The strange part was meeting so many new faces. A mission is a constantly changing animal. It didn't take long for a whole new crew to show up.
The members came from throughout the country and lined up around the block to enter the temple. They beamed with joy.
After the last dedication, the public affairs people were shooting film and taking interviews to make a video about the dedication. I had the chance to be interviewed (like after the palada inicial). I hope to have the video in hand for our next mission reunion.
Sunday evening, the work began. In order to have the temple ready for business on Monday morning, all the chairs had to be carried from the temple to the chapel, and all the temple furniture had to be carried from the chapel (where it was stored during the dedication) to the temple. Between the removal of the chairs and return of the temple furniture, the entire temple had to be cleaned, vacuumed, and polished. The carpets were stained in places notwithstanding everyone wearing shoe covers. Susie and I joined the crew of workers and spent the evening hauling furniture, scrubbing carpets, and getting the temple ready. What a feeling to be permitted to scrub and vacuum the celestial room.
On Monday, Susie and I attended an endowment session. It was the first day of the first temple in Uruguay. We sat in the celestial room with our Uruguayan friends and tried to soak up the moment. There is a beautiful stained glass window in the celestial room, filling the room with brilliant and warm colors. The magnitude of the achievement in the history of Uruguay cannot be overstated.
Well, I intended to write about my return trip home, visiting returned missionaries in Paraguay (Elders Burgos, Garcia, Suarez, Gonzales, Lugo, etc.) and my old work areas in Brazil, but this is long enough for one letter. Someone wake up Elder Ricks and tell him that I'm about finished. I'll save the rest of the odyssey for the next letter.
There is no question in my mind that you are a significant reason that there is a temple in Uruguay. Your work in building the kingdom, with a focus on solid long-term growth, turned the corner after 50 years of missionary work in Uruguay. The Lord will never forget your dedication and efforts. We worship a God who remembers. I cannot even imagine a finer collection of missionaries than those with whom I had the great pleasure of serving while in Uruguay. There was something different and very special about the time, place, and people who were called from around the world to prepare the country and people of Uruguay for a temple.
Never doubt your great worth in the eyes of the Lord. Never settle for anything less than everything that you can be and achieve. As I met with you in conferences, interviews, and training, the Spirit whispered continuously that you were and are the elect of God. Remember, to whom much is given, much is required. Love the challenge. Love life. If we can't do it right, who can?
I look forward to seeing you all at the next mission reunion in October. More info to follow.
Susie and I think of you, and talk about you, constantly.
Best regards, Kevin Monson
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