Consider the Blessings:  True Accounts of God’s Hand in Our Lives by Thomas S. Monson

Consider the Blessings is a compilation of stories told by President Monson over the fifty years of his service in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, first as an apostle and now as the Prophet and President of the church.  Many of the stories collected in the book were stories familiar to me, but there were selections that I had not heard before.  All are tender stories of faith, of gratitude and of choosing to heed promptings and see the Lord’s hand in opportunities for service presented.

The artwork for the book is lush and lovely.  My husband and children have picked it up several times just to leaf through the pictures.  While the pictures were not taken specifically for the book, they have been chosen from a wide variety of locations and add a new dimension to familiar stories.

The book is a slim volume, easily read on a Sunday afternoon, but also searchable by index to find a particular story.  I have found myself thinking on the stories and the perspective on life that President Monson has brought to his church service and to his sermons over the years.  He is known for his devotion to service, for swift and tender obedience to promptings and for the ability to see ways the Lord is touching his life and the lives of those around him.

President Monson’s stories echo the Savior’s parables with their ability to use common experiences and personal narrative to teach gratitude, service, faith and other principles.   The stories are memorable and the lessons they teach bolster our faith, understanding and practice of the gospel.

The stories in the book range from boyhood tales, to stories from President Monson’s early military service to his time in church service, first as a bishop, then as a mission president and finally during his service throughout the world as a General Authority.   Their collection in a single volume allows us to have them at hand for use in lessons and talks.  I have already used one of the stories in my youth Sunday School class to illustrate the principle of faith as power.  I can foresee using this book for future lessons and talks and having my children use it for FHE lessons.  It would be helpful in almost any calling.