The Mantle of a Prophet by Mark Stoddard

With the sustaining of Thomas Monson as President of the Church and Prophet, it is good to remember the concept of the Mantle of the Prophet. Here's a quick illustration: My friend, Michael Girilikhes who I worked for at two Los Angeles Street Scene Festivals, was a top CBS executive and started the Disney on Parade shows. He was asked by President McKay to go to Hawaii and create the entertainment for the soon to be opened Polynesian Cultural Center in Hawaii. He met with some opposition to the idea and particularly from Harold B. Lee, then an apostle. Ever the financially prudent advisor, Elder Lee feared the Center would be a financial drain on the Church and said so in a Stake Conference in Hawaii. He also criticized any move to bring "Hollywood types" into the leadership of the Center lest it become what Hollywood often becomes. However, the Center while struggling the first few years became the largest tourist attraction on Oahu, helped finance and educate thousands of students and pours millions of dollars into BYU-Hawaii. Mike notes a remarkable change in Elder Lee: "When Harold B. Lee became President of the Church, I got a call from Arthur Haycock. Would I come over? I came over, and President Lee wanted to apologized to me. He said, "There are times when you don't know all of the matters, and sometimes even our judgment is flawed." We talked for a few minutes, and then I went back to Arthur's office. I said, "I don't understand this. He was so 'these Hollywood people,' and whatever." He said, "I've seen, over all the years that I've been the secretary for different Presidents of the Church, remarkable changes happen when somebody become the President of the Church. There are things you would normally think they would have forgotten long ago, or an attitude that they had, and they just become very different."