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Carole Mikita reportingLatter-day Saints will sustain their new Prophet and President, Thomas S. Monson, tomorrow. As he becomes the world religious leader, many in the faith are remembering his personal touch. Tonight we have the story of a friendship between President Monson and a young cancer patient.
In 1989, a bright, beautiful, bubbly 14-year-old Wendy Bennion was diagnosed with bone cancer. Her mother wrote an anonymous letter to President Thomas S. Monson, asking him to pray for Wendy. He did, he also found the family and invited them to visit him.
Nancy Bennion, Wendy's mother, told us, "She looked up at his face, and there was a tear running down his cheek, and she said, 'Mom, I knew then that my Heavenly Father really loved me. And I knew that President Monson was going to help me, and I was OK.'"
That was the beginning of a six year friendship between a teenage girl and a church leader. President Monson spoke in General Conference of how he admired Wendy's courage. Many times he blessed her, even telling her not to be afraid just days before she died.
Wendy's father, Bruce Bennion, said, "It was a very sweet experience, and all because of President Monson's concern and attention to her."
"I wrote him a letter after President Hinckley had passed away, and I told him that I felt like Wendy would be one of those angels that would be round him to bear him up. And he wrote such a kind letter back, and he said, 'I will never forget Wendy'," Nancy told us.
Just as President Monson prayed for Wendy, her parents now keep him in their prayers.
Wendy Bennion's story is included in Carole Mikita's special conference program, "President Thomas S. Monson, A Life of Service," which will air this Sunday at noon, on KSL 5.
E-mail: cmikita@ksl.com
