The below
information serves as an introduction to a much more complete chapter about
President Marion G. Romney’s special witness of Jesus Christ, found in my
forthcoming book, I Know He Lives: How 13 Special Witnesses
came to Know Jesus Christ. Brother Romney was a mighty pillar among the
Twelve Apostles of his day (30 years ago plus).
As a boy I
used to listen to Elder Marion G. Romney give talks in General Conference. They
seemed less than compelling to my immature mind. By the time I was old enough
to really pay attention and understand his messages, he was too old to give
them. He spent his last few years largely blind and suffering memory loss.
After some
years passed, I came to recognize what a spiritual and doctrinal giant he was.
I read his fine biography and talked with some mentors who had come to know and
love him before I was born. Some of them spoke of him as an Apostle’s Apostle; I
have found that they were right.
Marion
Romney’s first real awakening to spiritual matters came as he listened to Elder
Melvin J. Ballard (grandfather of M. Russell Ballard), testify in a meeting of
having seen and embraced the resurrected Savior Jesus Christ in the Holy
Temple. This powerful narration electrified him so much that he decided to do
whatever it took to serve a mission. He soon thereafter did so, laboring in
Australia, where he had another precious and remarkable spiritual experience,
firmly cementing his testimony and spiritual roots.
After
graduating from law school, he practiced as an attorney for years, until his
call as an Assistant to the Twelve Apostles, a General Authority calling that
was a precursor to today’s Quorums of Seventy. After further trials and tests,
he found himself called, sustained, and ordained as an Apostle, a special
witness of Jesus Christ. It was while serving as a General Authority that he
came to know of and deeply appreciate what would seem to be his greatest
spiritual gift: to hear the voice of the Lord in his mind.
Elder Romney often made reference
to the experience of the Book of Mormon prophet Enos, who talked about his own
conversion and explained how he had heard the voice of the Lord come into his
mind, giving him direction and understanding. These scriptural accounts carried
great meaning for Elder Romney, who had experienced the same gift from God,
with the heavenly voice coming into his own mind on many occasions. Elder
Romney often testified of having had words, names, phrases, and entire
sentences given to him in his mind, inaudible to the outward physical ear.
These sacred occasions were
completely unlike the false and misleading voices that are often experienced by
mentally ill people, who are sometimes led to do strange or evil things because
of their mental illnesses or use of illicit drugs. Atheists and agnostics, as
well as evangelicals opposing the Church, cannot comprehend the difference
between these sources and therefore dismiss or denigrate the spiritual gift
enjoyed by Enos and Elder Romney and countless other faithful latter-day
saints. We recognize that Elder Romney perhaps possessed this particular gift
in greater measure than some others among us, or those of his day. Yet to him
it was a well of living water springing up, guiding and directing him in his
apostolic ministry. And he taught that others could likewise cultivate and
enjoy the same spiritual gift.
This gift is also among the reasons
he became such a powerful special witness, for he became well acquainted with
the voice of the Lord, and therefore knew the voice of the Good Shephard. When
the Savior spoke to him, he knew with certainty who was speaking and where to follow.
As time passed and he received a call as a counselor in the First Presidency,
his spiritual gifts were magnified and he lived in tune with the Holy Spirit.
We do not know all or even most of the spiritual experiences he enjoyed because
of his obedience to the Master. Elder Robert D. Hales spoke
of his inquiry of Elder Romney about his spiritual experiences:
As a regional
representative, I was traveling with President Romney to a stake conference for
the selection of a new stake president. We had been driving in a car for more
than an hour discussing the Church and priesthood administration. For some
reason, I asked a question that, at the moment I asked it, I realized was
inappropriate.
The question I
asked President Romney was “What is the most spiritual experience you have had
as an apostle of the Lord?” There was a pause. It seemed like an eternity. Then
he said, “I believe what Joseph Smith and Brigham Young taught, that if we
would keep our spiritual experiences to ourselves, many more spiritual
experiences could be shared with us.”
It seemed like
there was a long period of silence after that remark, and then he said to me,
“I owe you a better answer.” Then he gave me great counsel. He said the
greatest spiritual experiences of his life had been when he had been on
assignment from the president of the Church or the president of the Quorum of
the Twelve, as we were that day. He said, “We will interview twenty-five or thirty
priesthood brethren, and there will be more than one who will be qualified to
be the stake president. But after we have done all we can do, we will get on
our knees and pray to our Heavenly Father. We will tell him of our feelings of
who the new stake president ought to be and the reasons why. We will tell him
of the needs of the stake at this time. Then he will give us a confirmation.”
Brother
Romney recorded in his diary (which is quoted in his biography and also in my
new chapter) that he knew the Lord lived, but more than that, he knew the Lord.
He had come to a personal acquaintance. Such is why he served so ably and
powerfully as a special witness in his day, which ended in 1988, when he died
of causes incident to old age. Readers will find much more information and
detail about President Romney’s special witness in my book, I Know He Lives: How 13 Special Witnesses
came to Know Jesus Christ, due out in September.
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