One of my earliest memories of being a Mormon is President David O. McKay. He became the prophet, in April 1951, and served until his death in 1970, at the age of 96. He had been an apostle, at age 32, since 1906. Three years after he was sustained as President of the Church, I was born, in 1954. He was the prophet during all my childhood and teenaged years. I was in 10th grade, a sophomore, in high school when he died. I didn’t know much about him until I started reading a book. But I appreciate his look on life —
He had a sense of humor, “because of his optimism he was able to see past things that were stumbling blocks for other church members and even to chuckle as he accepted human foibles. He told his fellow General Authorities,Â
‘Now brethren, don’t you worry too much. It’s good for every dog to have a few fleas.'”
Apostle John A. Widstoe’s wife had a very strict and rigid interpretation of the word of wisdom, she forbid chocolate because of its stimulants. McKay chided him, “John, do you want to take all the joy out of life?”
At a reception, the hostess served rum cake to Pres. McKay.
“‘All the guests hesitated, watching to see what McKay would do. He smacked his lips and began to eat.'” One guest, was aghast, “‘But President McKay, don’t you know that is rum cake?'” McKay, smiled and reminded him that the drinking of alcohol was forbidden, not the eating of it.
Another story, another time, it was intermission and his host offered to get him some liquid refreshment.
“‘I said, ‘President McKay, what would you like to drink? All of our cups say Coca Cola on them because of our arrangement with Coca Cola Bottling, but we have root beer and we have orange and we have Seven-up. What would you like to drink?’
He said, ‘I don’t care what it says on the cup, as long as there is a Coke in the cup.'”
The message, is refreshing in itself. As the author of this biography says of President McKay’s point–
“Don’t get hung up on the letter of the law to the point where you squeeze all the spirit out of life.”
The photos: I found these with our family slides, taken by my dad, Glendale, CA.
The book: David O. McKay and The Rise of Modern Mormonism; p. 22-23.
