an olive leaf
this is a little something interesting i read in d. michael quinn's "the mormon hierarchy: extenstions of power." after having read of some of the great and loving stances hugh b. brown had made as a general authority, i found this quite touching.
Hugh B. Brown privately related a charasmatic experience which seems unprecedented among twentieth-century apostles. Following a decade of service as a counselor in the First Presidency, Brown was release in 1970 and resumed his position in the Quorum of the Twelve. In physicl decline and unhappy at his release from the Presidency, Brown had an experience which he related to his nephew:
"He said it was not a vision, but the Lord appeared to him, very informal, the same as I was sitting talking to him. The Lord said, ‘You have had some difficult times in your life.’ Uncle Hugh responded, ‘Yes, and your life was more difficult than any of us have had.’ In the conversation Uncle Hugh asked when he would be finished here, and the Lord said, ‘I don’t know and I wouldn’t tell you if I did.’ Then He said, ‘Remain faithful to the end, and everything will be all right.’"
Hugh B. Brown is one of my heroes. I think he's one of the best apostles the church has ever had.
ReplyDeleteI am interested on your take on this. I don't know much about Hugh B Brown's personal life. Are you assuming that the "tough times" refer to the constant conflicts within the hierarchy?
ReplyDeletejohhny:
ReplyDeletei don't know too much about his life beyond his struggles with ezra taft benson's ultraconservativism, the priesthood ban, and other issues as a "liberal mormon". his memoirs, an abundant life, have just appeared on my need-to-read list.