“The priesthood is not really so much a gift as it is a commission to serve, a privilege to lift, and an opportunity to bless the lives of others.”

American religious leader and author

Thomas Spencer Monson was an American religious leader and author, and the 16th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He lived from 1927 to 2018 and spent much of his life in church leadership and public service. He first worked as a manager at the Deseret News, a Utah newspaper owned by the LDS Church. Later, he became one of the central figures in his faith, serving as church president and, among believers, as a prophet, seer, and revelator.