President Thomas S. Monson spoke in a Stake Conference broadcast to much of the Southeastern United States on January 27th. He mentioned in his talk that people often write him and ask what his favorite books are and then he listed a few. With the passing of President Gordon B. Hinckley that evening, I knew President Monson would become the new prophet and president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I thought it would be nice to start with the books he mentioned as favorites that day and add to the list as he quotes from other great works. Fittingly, in his first address as prophet to the membership of the Church, at the Worldwide Training meeting of February 9th, he reiterated a message he has shared before (see
"Hallmarks of a Happy Home",
Ensign, Oct '01)
and asked us to establish a pattern of prayer, a
library of learning, and a legacy of love in our lives. You can find what President Monson said at the bottom of this page.
As well as James A. Michener, President Monson quoted Margaret Thatcher in
his address. So our library of learning begins with President Monson's recommendations...
- A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens
- The Mansion, by Henry Van Dyke
- Les Miserable, the musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the book by Victor Hugo
- James A. Michener
- Margaret Thatcher
Incidentally, the following authors were also quoted in the
Training Broadcast:
· Elder
Holland quoted James Thurber
· Sister Tanner quoted John Milton
· Elder Oaks quoted Pearl S. Buck
