Elder Wirthlin

June 11, 1917 - December 1, 2008

Today I learned of the passing of a dear man, Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin. For those of you that don't know - he is an apostle of the Lord. He served right up to his passing at the age of 91.
Elder Wirthlin was born in Salt Lake City on June 11, 1917. He graduated from the University of Utah in business administration and played football at the U. Elder Wirthlin worked in the food processing business like his father and grandfather until he became a church leader, a General Authority in October 1986. He served a mission to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in the late 1930s.
He married Elisa Rogers in 1941 in the Salt Lake Temple. They were married for 65 years before Elisa died two years ago.
In the last conference address, Elder Wirthlin gave a talk entitled "Come What May and Love It!". I remember listening to this address and thinking that sometimes it's not that easy to love the adversity that we encounter in our daily lives. However, the advice given seemed simple enough. In this address he taught us to :
*LEARN TO LAUGH (you may remember the part about his daughter who was going on a blind date and got in the car with a man only to learn that it wasn't her date but a parent that had asked her younger sister to babysit - they all laughed!).
*SEEK FOR THE ETERNAL. He said that sometimes the very moments that seem to overcome us with suffering are those that will ultimately suffer us to overcome and we will become stronger with this sort of eternal perspective.
* The Principle of Compensation: stating that the Lord will compensate the faithful for every loss. Meaning that which is taken away from those who love the Lord will be added unto them in His own way.
*TRUST in the FATHER and the SON. He said that the secret is to trust in the Lord, do your best, and then leave the rest on His shoulders. (seems so easy - right?!).
It's always sad when such a great, humble, giant among men, dies. My heart goes out to his family - they will be in my thoughts and prayers.