By following Christ, one's personal influence will be felt for good "wherever we are, whatever our callings," President Thomas S. Monson, first counselor in the First Presidency, said Saturday morning.
President Monson recalled the day that he was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles more than 40 years ago. President David O. McKay welcomed Elder Monson with a smile, a tender embrace and sacred counsel: " 'There is one responsibility that no one can evade. That is the effect of one's personal influence.'
"The calling of the early apostles reflected the influence of the Lord. When He sought a man of faith, He did not select him from the throng of the self-righteous who were found regularly in the synagogue," President Monson said. "Rather, He called him from among the fishermen of Capernaum. Peter, Andrew, James and John heard the call, 'Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.' They followed."
The Redeemer chose imperfect men to teach the way of perfection — He did so then, He does so now, President Monson said.
"He calls you and me to serve Him here below and sets us to the task He would have us fulfill. The commitment is total. There is no conflict of conscience."
The Church leader warned of the temptation to regard one's appointed task as "insignificant, unnecessary, unnoticed."
The family is the ideal place for teaching — a laboratory for learning. Each family member can enjoy spiritual growth through family home evening, President Monson said.
"It is in the home where fathers and mothers can teach provident living to their children. Sharing of tasks and helping one another sets a pattern for future families as children grow, marry and leave home. The lessons learned in the home are those that last the longest. President Gordon B. Hinckley continues to stress the avoidance of unnecessary debt, the fallacy of living beyond one's means, and the temptation to let our wants become our necessities."
Enlisting a personal example of the power of personal influence, President Monson spoke of being a boy in the Sixth-Seventh Ward of the Pioneer Stake in Salt Lake City. The ward was transient, so young Tom Monson and his Sunday School classmates found themselves being taught by an ever-changing roster of teachers. A breakdown in class discipline soon resulted. The class members' "unsavory reputation" reached prospective teachers, who declined calls to teach the unruly Sunday School students.
"We took delight in our newly found status and determined to live up to the fears of the faculty," said President Monson, drawing laughter from the Conference Center congregation.
Then a returned sister missionary who loved young people was called to teach the class. Lucy Gertsch took an interest in each class member, taught from the scriptures and opened up the gospel to her young students. "Our deportment improved. Our love for Lucy Gertsch knew no bounds," President Monson said.
The Sunday School class began saving their nickels and dimes for a "gigantic Christmas party." Tom Monson and the other boys envisioned the money being used to buy cakes, cookies, pies and ice cream. The party would be a glorious event.
"None of us will forget that gray morning when our beloved teacher announced to us that the mother of one of our classmates had passed away," President Monson said. "We thought of our own mothers and how much they meant to us. We felt sincere sorrow for Billy Devenport in his great loss."
That Sunday, Sister Gertsch taught from Acts 20:35, in which the Savior said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." She asked the class if they would like to follow the Lord's teaching and give their party fund to the Devenports. The class unanimously agreed. The children's kindness welded them together.
"The boys and girls who learned, who laughed, who grew under the direction of that inspired teacher of truth, have never forgotten her love or her lessons," President Monson said. "Her personal influence for good was contagious."
President Monson also shared the experience of being a bishop and calling a Relief Society sister to be the ward magazine representative, charging her with the task of boosting lagging subscriptions of the Relief Society Magazine. Sister Elizabeth Keachie enthusiastically accepted the calling, then went door-to-door with her sister-in-law, Helen Ivory, collecting subscriptions.
"The result was phenomenal. We had more subscriptions to the Relief Society Magazine than had been recorded by all the other units of the stake combined," President Monson said.
Yet Sister Keachie was not satisfied. She and Sister Ivory wished to canvass two final blocks of industrial buildings inside the ward boundaries in hopes of collecting more subscriptions. There they noticed a foundry, behind which was a garage that had been converted into a home. The residents were two older men — a 94-year-old father and his 68-year-old son — who had not been to Church in years. The father's membership certificate had remained in the "lost and unknown" file of the Presiding Bishopric's office for 16 years. The men subscribed to the magazine, began attending Church and accepted priesthood advancements. Bishop Monson would later take the father, Charles W. Ringwood, to the Salt Lake Temple so that he could receive his endowments.
The elder Brother Ringwood died a short time later. At the funeral, Bishop Monson saw Elizabeth Keachie and Helen Ivory seated in the chapel.
"As I gazed upon those two faithful and dedicated women and contemplated their personal influence for good, the promise of the Lord filled my very soul: 'I, the Lord, am merciful and gracious unto those who fear me, and delight to honor those who serve me in righteousness and truth unto the end. Great shall be their reward and eternal shall be their glory' " (Doctrine & Covenants 76: 5-6).
President Monson concluded his remarks by testifying of Christ.
"There is One, above all others, whose personal influence covers the continents, spans the oceans and penetrates the hearts of true believers. He atoned for the sins of mankind," he said.