On September 15th, President Thomas S. Monson came to BYU to address the students in our weekly devotional. I've heard hundreds of talks from different leaders of the church, but his address was a very unique message, speaking on the prophets during President Monson's life, what they stood for, and what we can learn from them.
Before a word had even left his mouth, there was a high level of authority, or ethos, which came with the name "President Thomas S. Monson." His audience - members of the Church of Jesus Christ and possible investigators - know that Thomas S. Monson is the head of their church, and thus has a high level of credibility and believability. Quite frankly, he is the head of the organization that shapes the audience's lives. A lot of President Monson's message plays off of this fact: the audience believes what he is saying, they know he won't lead them astray, and they know what he stands for.
As if that wasn't enough, President Monson creates an even greater sense of ethos throughout his talk. He could have spoken on the lessons that he learned from all the prophets, but he chose to only speak on the prophets of his life. President Monson has an actual connection and personal experience with each and every one of the past prophets that he spoke on. By throwing in their favorite foods or funny stories that only someone that saw them on a constant basis would know, President Monson gives us reason to trust what he is saying as he connects past prophets to the current prophet – himself.
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