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Prophets I have known;: Joseph Anderson shares life's experiences
Few men, if any, have had the opportunity for over half a century to observe the leadership of His earthly Kingdom as has Joseph Anderson. It was more the fifty years ago that the author began a life-long service that permits him to share with us some of his choice experiences and bear witness to the prophetic leadership of fourteen men wha have served in the First Presidency during this time.
248 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1973
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October 7, 2009
"The presidents I have known have all been great friend-makers for the Church" (124). "I cannot say that I have known a man who lived a perfect life" (229; see 233-234). "These men . . . were men who had in their hearts first the kingdom of God, even though it meant not only the sacrifice of earthly wealth and the acclaim of their fellowmen, but ofttimes accepting and fulfilling assignments that were anything but desirable, that required a separation from their loved ones for long periods of time, and that involved the forsaking of ambitions and the endurance of what otherwise would have been very unhappy experiences" (232).
I couldn't quite give this 4 stars. I both sympathize and agree for review's sake with his assessment, "it is impossible for me to do justice in the written word to the way I truly feel about these brethren" (241). He warns from the outset that much cannot be told (v, 88), and then he largely falls back on quoting others to describe his own personal experiences (see 114, 156, for example). He similarly resorts to frequent expressions to the effect that it simply can't be known how much good someone performed, or how loveable they were. Coupled with his discursive sections on counselors to the prophets (actually not biographies? per 164), and his suddenly waxing briefer with the more recent prophets, one wonders slightly how he was persuaded to write the book. Most of the materials assembled here may be found elsewhere these days, yet I must say his writing served a purpose and it was compact enough to warrant far less criticism than I seem to have served it.
The material itself leaves nothing to be desired except more of the same. A few things that I don't recall encountering elsewhere, not that my memory serves me well: when President Grant chose Charles W. Nibley for a counselor, they had actually been in conflict due to competing companies (75-76); J. Reuben Clark was told, and proud of hearing it, by the ambassador to Mexico that he'd "never known a man who thought less of the dollar" (85), referring to his lack of financial ambition; President Kimball did not count it a sacrilege to compare George Albert Smith at his funeral in a large measure to the Savior's love for fellowman (114-115); President McKay always arose when his wife entered the room (131), as long as health permitted--now that is the kind of loving, awed respect I want to feel for my companion.
I was struck by one common thread, that the prophets were virtually never unkind or even ruffled (56, 115, 122) throughout their entire lives. I guess I've missed that mark by many miles! Small wonder Anderson says these are not "mediocre men" (v), but "different in a sense from other men--they have a keen sense of duty, and they are attended by a spirit superior to that which other men possess" (223).
There is constant reference to work ethic--J. Reuben Clark's standing out for "when others played, he was burning the midnight oil, studying, writing, or otherwise . . ." (91). This leads me to recall President Hinckley's expressing, at least to his wife in private, how appalled he was to learn that presidents of the United States suspended their duties to go swimming every day or golfing or otherwise on weekends (see, for instance, Letters, 124, 140-141). President Grant couldn't even be stopped by illness from making every moment count (20-21), and it is mentioned elsewhere how President Joseph F. Smith (and George Q. Cannon, too) were so indefatigable that they admitted to often being up until almost midnight and then up early the following morning. In my journal entry for June 26, 2005, I recorded how an older man told us that when on his mission he asked President Hugh B. Brown how much scripture study he performed a day, to receive the response of three hours, between 4 and 7 A.M., when there were no other demands on his time, with the query, "How badly do you want it?"
I've always been impressed with a description of Talmage: "In his later years he had no recreational interests in the conventional sense, no sports or games or hobbies that were not closely associated with his work. His work was his recreation" (The Talmage Story, 225). I've often wondered how things would be if the gospel were our hobby...not a hobby horse, and not merely single, twisted facets, but some expression or another, lending infinite variety of usefulness to our brothers and sisters, every waking moment of our lives. The men in this book very nearly accomplished that. In further support of this thesis, I quote another source:
"I had neither time nor opportunity for reckless indulgence. Education, the leading start of my youth, had so entirely engrossed my ambition that, until the Gospel of the Lord Jesus took possession of my mind, it was the genii before which everything else had to bow; then, almost simultaneously, missionary labors succeeded book studies, and no room was left for sportive scenes" (Lorenzo Snow, in Eliza R. Snow, Biography and Family Record of Lorenzo Snow, 27-28).
I couldn't quite give this 4 stars. I both sympathize and agree for review's sake with his assessment, "it is impossible for me to do justice in the written word to the way I truly feel about these brethren" (241). He warns from the outset that much cannot be told (v, 88), and then he largely falls back on quoting others to describe his own personal experiences (see 114, 156, for example). He similarly resorts to frequent expressions to the effect that it simply can't be known how much good someone performed, or how loveable they were. Coupled with his discursive sections on counselors to the prophets (actually not biographies? per 164), and his suddenly waxing briefer with the more recent prophets, one wonders slightly how he was persuaded to write the book. Most of the materials assembled here may be found elsewhere these days, yet I must say his writing served a purpose and it was compact enough to warrant far less criticism than I seem to have served it.
The material itself leaves nothing to be desired except more of the same. A few things that I don't recall encountering elsewhere, not that my memory serves me well: when President Grant chose Charles W. Nibley for a counselor, they had actually been in conflict due to competing companies (75-76); J. Reuben Clark was told, and proud of hearing it, by the ambassador to Mexico that he'd "never known a man who thought less of the dollar" (85), referring to his lack of financial ambition; President Kimball did not count it a sacrilege to compare George Albert Smith at his funeral in a large measure to the Savior's love for fellowman (114-115); President McKay always arose when his wife entered the room (131), as long as health permitted--now that is the kind of loving, awed respect I want to feel for my companion.
I was struck by one common thread, that the prophets were virtually never unkind or even ruffled (56, 115, 122) throughout their entire lives. I guess I've missed that mark by many miles! Small wonder Anderson says these are not "mediocre men" (v), but "different in a sense from other men--they have a keen sense of duty, and they are attended by a spirit superior to that which other men possess" (223).
There is constant reference to work ethic--J. Reuben Clark's standing out for "when others played, he was burning the midnight oil, studying, writing, or otherwise . . ." (91). This leads me to recall President Hinckley's expressing, at least to his wife in private, how appalled he was to learn that presidents of the United States suspended their duties to go swimming every day or golfing or otherwise on weekends (see, for instance, Letters, 124, 140-141). President Grant couldn't even be stopped by illness from making every moment count (20-21), and it is mentioned elsewhere how President Joseph F. Smith (and George Q. Cannon, too) were so indefatigable that they admitted to often being up until almost midnight and then up early the following morning. In my journal entry for June 26, 2005, I recorded how an older man told us that when on his mission he asked President Hugh B. Brown how much scripture study he performed a day, to receive the response of three hours, between 4 and 7 A.M., when there were no other demands on his time, with the query, "How badly do you want it?"
I've always been impressed with a description of Talmage: "In his later years he had no recreational interests in the conventional sense, no sports or games or hobbies that were not closely associated with his work. His work was his recreation" (The Talmage Story, 225). I've often wondered how things would be if the gospel were our hobby...not a hobby horse, and not merely single, twisted facets, but some expression or another, lending infinite variety of usefulness to our brothers and sisters, every waking moment of our lives. The men in this book very nearly accomplished that. In further support of this thesis, I quote another source:
"I had neither time nor opportunity for reckless indulgence. Education, the leading start of my youth, had so entirely engrossed my ambition that, until the Gospel of the Lord Jesus took possession of my mind, it was the genii before which everything else had to bow; then, almost simultaneously, missionary labors succeeded book studies, and no room was left for sportive scenes" (Lorenzo Snow, in Eliza R. Snow, Biography and Family Record of Lorenzo Snow, 27-28).
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October 10, 2023I feel bad for not loving a book about men that I admire and revere so much. I think the style of writing just didn't engage me much, so I quit early. It wasn't biographies. It wasn't the prophet's writings. It wasn't faith promoting stories of miracles. It felt like it was just page after page of the author trying to express his love and adoration for each man and his prevailing virtues, which sounds good but didn't have much depth, relatability, or even instruction that I could connect to.
September 30, 2022
This is a 50 year look at five presidents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and their counselors. In 1922 Joseph Anderson was called to serve as secretary to Presidents Heber J. Grant, George Albert Smith, David O McKay, Joseph Feilding Smith, and Harold B. Lee. He provides many wonderful insights into the service of these Prophets and their counselors.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews