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Duane Cardall reporting The question was raised at today's news conference about President Thomas S. Monson's international credentials and whether the global outreach would be as dynamic as it was under President Gordon B. Hinckley Hinckley.
As one example on his international influence, let's not forget how instrumental President Monson was 20 years ago when the world was a very different place, in the midst of the Cold War when a wall literally separated Eastern Europe and Russia from the West. It was President Monson, among others, who established relationships with high government leaders, especially in East Germany, and began to build bridges. That led to the remarkable construction of an LDS Temple in Freiberg, near Dresden, in what then was behind the iron curtain.
President Monson has demonstrated his knowledge and understanding of world events and affairs and has spent a lifetime traveling abroad and interacting with powerful leaders. His selection of President Dieter F. Uchtdorf as a counselor underscores the international, even global, nature of his budding administration.
In fact, President Uchtdorf today addressed this very issue. "I really believe this was the pattern set for a man who will reach out across the nations around the globe--irrespective of country, nation, or ethnic group--to make these same miracles happen in other parts and around the world," President Uchtdorf said.
President Monson said today that he'll continue to travel. Expect him to do exactly that.
