The Sustaining of Church Officers

This entry is part of my general conference application series.

The Sustaining of Church Officers, by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Second Counselor in the First Presidency



I listen to the sessions of general conference while I commute to/from work on my bicycle. The Saturday morning session presents me with a question: How will I show my support of the sustaining of church officers?

I love the thrill associated with raising my hand as part of the sustaining process, but doing so on the bicycle may confuse drivers around me who might assume that I'm indicating a turn. I've adopted a hybrid sign of sustaining where I mentally raise my hand, but physically only raise my fingers. This enables me to not only keep full control of my bicycle and avoids confusing motorists, but to feel the satisfaction of showing my support to leaders.

As I reviewed the list of leaders, I felt gratitude for the divine guidance and direction church leaders receive in their work. I also remembered feeling these same feelings as I watched the choir sing "We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet" in the Sunday morning session. The feelings were enhanced by the music being accompanied by a video montage of President Monson. I've included an embedded video of this very song below (the montage starts at 3:00, and if you watch carefully, you'll see an image of President Monson in the serape he spoke of in his opening remarks).