Thomas S. Monson- Lesson 1 Boyhood
by Deborah Pace Rowley
Note: This is the first lesson in a series of seven lessons about President Thomas S. Monson. They are from the book: Three Men They Need to Know.
Activity: Building a Train
Print out the train pictures at the end of the lesson. Thanks for Melissa Depper for the cute train images.
Begin family home evening by placing all the train pieces upside down on the table. Have each family member choose one piece of the train and read the story that goes with that letter. Each letter has to do with a different story from President Monson’s childhood. After you have read each story put the train together by spelling President Monson’s first name.
T- Train for Christmas
In about my tenth year, as Christmas approached I yearned, as only a boy can yearn, for an electric train. My desire was not to receive the economical and everywhere-to-be-found windup train, but rather one that operated through the miracle of electricity.
The times were those of the economic depression, yet Mother and Dad, through some sacrifice, presented to me on Christmas morning a beautiful electric train. For hours I operated the transformer, watching the engine first pull its cars forward, then push them backward around the track.
Mother entered the living room and told me that she had purchased a windup train for Widow Hansen’s boy Mark, who lived down the lane. I asked if I could see it. The engine was short and blocky, not long and sleek like the expensive one I had received.
However, I did take notice of the oil tanker that was part of his inexpensive set. My train had no such car, and I began to feel pangs of envy. I put up such a fuss that Mother succumbed to my pleadings and handed me the oil tanker and said, “If you need it more than Mark, you take it.” I put it with my grain set and felt pleased with the result.
Mother and I took the remaining cars and the engine to the Hansen’s. Mark was a year or two older than I, but he had never anticipated such a gift and was thrilled beyond words. He wound up his engine, and was overjoyed as the engine, two cars, and the caboose went around the track.
Then Mother glanced at me and wisely asked, “What do you think of Mark’s train, Tommy?” I felt a keen sense of guilt as I became very much aware of my selfishness. I said to Mother, “Wait, just a minute, I’ll be right back.”
As swiftly as my legs could carry me, I ran home, picked up the oil tanker plus another car of my own, ran back down the lane to the Hansen home and said joyfully to Mark, ‘We forgot to bring two cars that should go with your train!”
Mark excitedly coupled the two cars to his set. I watched the engine make its labored way around the track, and as I did, I felt a joy difficult to describe and impossible to forget.
Thomas S. Monson, “Mark’s Train” Friend Magazine October 1977, pg.17
H-Homing Pigeons
When young Tom Monson was president of the teacher’s quorum in his ward, he was thrilled when the quorum adviser inquired about his interest in raising birds. The adviser then asked, “How would you like me to give you a pair of purebred Birmingham Roller pigeons?” The female of the pair was special, the adviser explained. She had only one eye, the other eye had been damaged by a car. On his adviser’s instructions, Tom kept them in his own pigeon loft for about 10 days,t hen let them fly free to see if they would return. The male came back, but the female flew away-- back to the adviser’s home. When Tom went to retrieve her, the adviser talked with him about a boy in his quorum who was not active. Tom replied, “I’ll have him at quorum meeting this week.” He took the pigeon home, but the next time he released the pair, she flew once again to the adviser’s home. When Tom retrieved the pigeon this time, the adviser talked about another boy who had not been coming to quorum meetings. Each time the pigeon was released, she returned to the adviser’s home, and each time Tom went to retrieve her, there would be a conversation about another boy.
“I was a grown man,” President Monson recalls, “before I fully realized that, indeed, Harold, my adviser, had given me a special pigeon, the only bird in his loft he knew would return every time she was released. It was his inspired way of having an ideal personal priesthood interview with the teacher’s quorum president every two weeks. Because of those interviews and that old one-eyed pigeon, every boy in that teacher’s quorum became active.”
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “President Thomas S. Monson: In the Footsteps of the Master” Ensign, June 2008
O-On the River
One warm summer afternoon when I was about 12, I took a large, inflated inner tube from a tractor tire, slung it over my shoulder, and walked barefoot up the railroad track which followed the course of the river. I entered the water about a mile above the swimming hole and enjoyed a leisurely float down the river.
I was about to enter the swiftest portion of the river, just at the head of the swimming hole, when I heard frantic cries, “Save her! Save her!” I saw the top of her head disappearing under the water for the third time, there to descent to a watery grave. I stretched forth my hand, grasped her hair, and lifted her over the side of the tube and into my arms. At the pool’s lower end, the water was slower as I paddled the tube, with my precious cargo, to her waiting relatives and friends.
They threw their arms around her and kissed her. Then they hugged and kissed me. I was embarrassed and quickly returned to the tube and continued my float down to the Vivian Park Bridge. The water was frigid, but I was not cold, for I was filled with a warm feeling. I realized that I had participated in the saving of a life. Heavenly Father had heard the cries, “Save her! Save her!” and permitted me, a deacon, to float by at precisely the time I was needed. That day I learned that the sweetest feeling in mortality is to realize that god, our Heavenly Father, knows each one of us and generously permits us to see and to share His divine power to save.
President Thomas S. Monson, “Save Her! Save Her!” New Era, May 1997
M-Mother’s Example
President Monson grew upon the west side of Salt Lake City in an area not known for affluent or influential families, but he was surrounded there by charitable and hard-working men and women, particularly in his own home. His family lived not far from the railroad tracks, and their home was familiar to many of the transients who traveled the rails during the Great Depression of the 1930s. When these travelers--some only young men in their teens--knocked at the Monson back door, the family knew that Gladys Monson would invite them to sit at the kitchen table while she prepared a sandwich and poured a glass of milk to go with it. At other times it was young Tommy’s task to carry plates of hot food prepared by his mother to a lonely neighbor, “Old Bob” who lived in a house provided for him by Tom’s grandfather. The Monson neighborhood was filled with such recipients of Christian charity.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “President Thomas S. Monson: In the Footsteps of the Master” Ensign, June 2008
A-Actions in Primary
During my Trekker year (a class for 10 year olds) I remember that our deportment in Primary was not always as it should be. I had a lot of energy and found it difficult to sit patiently in a class. Melissa Georgell was our ward Primary President. One day she asked me if I would visit with her. We sat on the front row of the benches int he chapel, and she began to cry. She then told me that she was sad because the boys in particular did not behave during Primary opening exercises. Innocently, I asked, “May I hep, Sister Georgell?” With a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye, she responded, “Would you?” I told her I would. The Primary’s disciplinary problems ceased that moment.
Quoted by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “President Thomas S. Monson: In the Footsteps of the Master” Ensign June 2008
S- Sports
As a boy, I played team softball in elementary and junior high school. Two captains were chosen, and then they, in turn, selected the players they desired on their teams. To be selected fourth or fifth was not too bad, but to be chosen last and relegated to a remote position in the outfield was downright awful. I know. I was there.
How I hoped that the ball would never be hit in my direction, for surely I would drop it, runners would score, and teammates would laugh.
As though it were just yesterday, I remember the moment when all that changed in my life. The game started out as I have described: I was chosen last. I made my sorrowful way to the deep pocket of right field and watched as the other team filled the bases with runners. Two batters then went down on strikes. Suddenly, the next batter hit a mighty drive. The ball was coming in my direction. Was it beyond my reach? I raced for the spot where I thought the ball would drop, uttered a silent prayer as I ran, and stretched forth my cupped hands. I surprised myself. I caught the ball! My team won the game! This on experience bolstered my confidence, inspired my desire to practice, and led me from that last-to-be-chosen place to become a real contributor to the team.
Thomas S. Monson, “Called to Serve” New Era, May 2008 pg. 2
Discussion:
After you have shared all the stories, discuss them as a family. What did President Monson learn, as a young boy, which has helped him as a prophet? What qualities did he have in his youth that we can emulate?
Testimony:
Let each family member choose one of these statements to share their feelings about.
- President Monson was prepared when he was young to become the prophet.
- Children can be great examples. We need to become more like little children to enter the kingdom of God.
Game: Train Tag
Play a game of train tag outside as a family. One person is “It”. He runs around and tries to tag family members in a certain designated area. If anyone is tagged, they must grab hold of “It’s” waist and become part of his train. The two of them then race around to tag more players. Anyone tagged must link up and become part of the train. When only one person is left to be tagged, that person becomes “It.” The train immediately breaks up and scatters as the game start again.
Treat: Candy Trains
Provide some candy for the family to make candy trains. Use a candy bar for the body and half a peanut butter cup for the cow catcher in front. A tootsie roll and some mini marshmallows on a toothpick make a great smoke stack. Life savers make great wheels and frosting sticks the whole thing together. Remember how much joy President Monson had sharing his Christmas train with someone else. Perhaps you would like to make an extra candy train to share with someone in your ward or neighborhood. You could include the message, “We choo-choose you to be our friend!”
