At age 70 or older what do most men do to occupy their time?
-- Sleep in
-- Watch television
-- Travel
-- Putter around the house
-- Watch television
-- Read
-- Play golf
-- Nap
-- Watch television
Compare that lifestyle with the daily schedule of members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve.
Consider their ages:
89 – L. Tom Perry
87 – Boyd K. Packer & Russell M. Nelson (born one day apart)
84 – Thomas S. Monson
83 – M. Russell Ballard & Richard G. Scott
79 – Dallin H. Oaks & Robert D. Hales
78 – Henry B. Eyring
71 – Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Quentin L. Cook, & Jeffrey R. Holland
67 – D. Todd Christofferson
60 – Neal A. Andersen
59 – David A. Bednar
At a stage in their lives when most men would be “kicking back” and enjoying their “golden years,” these men work at an incredible pace of endless meetings, conferences, travel, etc. Just the travel and resultant jet lag across ever-changing time zones would wear anyone down.
Although these men do not speak publicly about how all of these pressures affect them, we are given an occasional glimpse. Here are two from Elder David A. Bednar:
1) “I conclude with an experience Sister Bednar and I had with President and Sister Hinckley. We were eating dinner together at a banquet in Salt Lake City shortly after President Hinckley had returned from a demanding international trip. I asked President Hinckley, ‘President, given your travel schedule and the demands of your office, how do you keep up?’
“He responded, ‘David, I do not keep up. I travel through so many time zones that when I am supposed to be wide awake, I am sleepy. When I am supposed to be sleepy, I am wide awake. The paperwork and other demands in the office are never ending.’
“He then smiled and said something I will never forget: ‘But David, I just keep going.’” (“According to Thy Faith,” BYU-Idaho devotional, Aug. 29, 2000).
2) On another occasion Elder Bednar offered this additional insight I into the private challenges of these men :
“Since my call as a General Authority, I have tried to observe and learn as some of my Brethren have faced the effects of aging or the relentless demands of physical limitations and constant pain. You cannot and will never know the private and silent suffering some of these men live through as they serve publicly with all of their heart, might, mind, and strength” (“Who’s On the Lord’s Side? Now Is the Time to Show,” BYU-Idaho Education Week devotional address, July 10, 2010.)
Some suppose that upon being called to a high position in the Church, the Brethren and their families suddenly become shielded from trials and afflictions -- including physical ills, financial setbacks, and the ups and downs of life within the family circle. But as a recent Church News “Viewpoint” points out, that is not the case:
“Local leaders as well as General Officers can be recipients of our support and prayers . . . Especially should we remember the general governing bodies, including the Presiding Bishopric, Quorums of the Seventy, Quorum of the Twelve and the First Presidency. They shoulder heavy burdens of responsibility and need our prayers.
“Perhaps metaphoric of these burdens is a cameo of one of the Twelve at an airport, glimpsed hurrying to a distant gate down a long concourse, empty but for himself, the last to board. In his hand he lugs a briefcase stuffed to capacity. His face shows a more-than-slight desperation. He's just left people with high expectations. At the other end of the journey wait others with high expectations, and a long and tight itinerary.
“Undoubtedly, he has been detained by some pressing matter. Undoubtedly, he will use the air time to prepare for what is ahead. Undoubtedly, he hurries toward that distant gate with a nagging shortage of sleep.
“Such is the life of an apostle.
“On a yet higher pinnacle is the president of the Church, President Thomas S. Monson. Upon his shoulders is conveyed the heaviest cargo of all.
“Like mythical Atlas, he carries the world upon his back . . .
“As we pray for our prophet and his associates, let us also consider their families. For the most part, their children are successfully reared when the call comes to serve on a full-time basis. Yet so often, travel assignments come irrespective of the needs of family members. And each is the head of generations who are not at all secure. Spouses of General Authorities and General Officers sacrifice for the gospel in ways largely unknown to average members.
“When President Monson tells us, "I love you; I pray for you," he speaks to each of us, individually. He speaks to us as parent and child; to our family. When we pray for him, let us remember his faithful and sacrificing family who mean so much to him . . . In the closing session of last October's general conference, President Monson spoke "with all the feeling of a tender parent" (1 Nephi 8:37). Said he: ‘I love you; I pray for you. I would ask once again that you would remember me and all the General Authorities in your prayers.’
“And so it is with all the Brethren and General Officers. Their families are precious to them, even as they leave once again to the airport en route to another extended trip. They are, to a man and woman, deeply concerned for our families. As we pray for them, let us include their families in our prayers” (Church News, March 10, 2012).
With such a heavy physical workload week after week -- and year after year -- how do men this age possibly keep up? The answer is found in Doctrine & Covenants 84:33 where the Lord promised those who magnify their priesthood callings “the renewing of their bodies.”
You and I are eyewitnesses of the literal reality of this promise.
