Just got the news that Truman Madsen passed away today after a battle with cancer. Brother Madsen was probably the Church's foremost scholar on Joseph Smith, and while I have listened to and loved his famous "Joseph Smith Tapes," I was more impressed with him for who he was, rather than what he knew.
I was lucky enough to be in the BYU 5th Stake in the mid-90's when he was called to serve as our Stake President. Up until then, I admittedly barely recognized his name, but after hearing him speak for the first time (and every time after that), I truly felt something stir in my soul. We had a ward conference at Aspen Grove where he conducted a Sacrement Meeting unlike any other I had ever or have since experienced. He actually gave a talk on the Savior DURING the sacrament, and the palm-sized chunks of bread & glass of water passed by the priesthood to the congregation gave ample time to really savor the tokens and ponder the meaning of the sacrament and its relationship to our Savior.
I had the priviledge of being interviewed by him to get my first recommend as I prepared to receive my endowment before I was to serve on my mission. (No, you're not missing anything--I didn't end up going, but that's a different story for another day.) The short amount of time I spent with him was priceless and sacred, and I'm so grateful for the influence he had on me and my life at that somewhat precarious time.
President Madsen will truly be missed!
2 comments:
I had the same memories of him when I heard of his passing. He interviewed me for my first temple recommend before my wedding. And I will also never forget that ward conference. He really had a way to touch our spirits.
I interviewed with him for my recommend too. It was one of the most memorable experiences of my adulthood. I'm so sad to hear he passed away. I remembered that sacrament, mostly because they used jalapeno bread for the sacrament and my mouth was on fire for the rest of the meeting. But he was great....
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