Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin served as an Apostle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints from 1986 up until his recent passing.
At Elder Wirthlin’s funeral service on Friday, December 5th, his son made the following remarks; “Dad just never saw himself as anyone special. When President Monson ordained him an Apostle, he prophetically declared to Dad, “Your humility will endure you to the people”, and so it has. He thought so little of himself because he thought so much of others and their needs. And when you were in his presence you felt important, loved and valued.”
When I was in the missionary training center, Elder Wirthlin came to meet and teach the missionaries. That evening, 8/18/1998, I wrote in my journal that Elder Wirthlin encouraged us to write neatly to our families so that our letters would actually be legible when our Mothers read them in relief society. In addition, “the main focus of his talk was on being diligent and working really hard . . . he encouraged us to follow all the rules and to become very familiar with the sermon on the mount.”
Elder Wirthlin was a quiet apostle. However, over the past couple of years his humble testimonies and sincere stories have rung out loud and clear. About six months ago, one of my roommates, Doug and I discussed how recently Elder Wirthlin’s example and conference talks had really touched us and that there was something humble yet profound in the way he testifies about Jesus Christ.
This last Monday night I was reading Elder Wirthlin’s most recent conference address. As I was thinking about the talk I felt a strong sense of gratitude for Elder Wirthlin. The following morning I received a text that he had passed away the night before.
It is hard to pick a favorite talk he gave, but the last two are great examples of Elder Withlin’s wit, wisdom and love for others:
“Jesus Christ is our greatest example. He was surrounded by multitudes and spoke to thousands, yet He always had concern for the one.”- April 2008 General Conference
“Come what may and love it: The way we react to adversity can be a major factor in how happy and successful we can be in life.” -October 2008 General Conference. (These talks can be accessed at LDS.org, gospel library, general conference.)
Thank you Elder Wirthlin. You will be missed.
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