One of the key achievements not listed on this list of incredible life accomplishment and service is President Monson's astute ability to understand divine communication, Russ

Unless there's a typo, he completed his masters degree 11 years AFTER being ordained an apostle?!

Considering that until the mid-1990s General Authorities sat on many boards of directors both inside and outside the church it makes sense that he would get an MBA.
Also, although the Church is clearly a religious organization and not driven by profit like a business, it does have a large beuracracy and it does not hurt to have apostles who understand how to run such organizations.
To me the biggest piece of new info I got was that he was a young men's president before he turned 23 (possibly before turning 22).
Thankyou for this article.

Thomas S. Monson is an amazing individual who took on a high amount of responsibility (civic and religious) early on in his life.

It is clear that he succeeded with great effectiveness at the many responsibilities entrusted to him; especially considering how quickly he moved through positions... not only within the Church, but throughout his professional career.

Within a decade he served as Young Men's President to President of the Canadian Mission! It is as though Church Leaders were impatient to let him complete one assignment before calling him into successively higher positions. Even more amazing is that he was called as Mission President at only 32 years of age! The responsibility must have been incredible; consider that 50 years ago with fewer missions much larger in size, that he probably oversaw all of Canada!

Only a month beyond his 35th birthday, he was ordained an apostle, directly to the quorum of the 12, long before the calling of "70" had been moved from the Stake Level to General Authority.

I look at President Monson with great awe. Is it any wonder that it took him 11 years to complete his Master's degree after being called as an apostle?

I became reactivated in 1993 when Ezra Taft Benson was Prophet. It amazed me all the work his 2 counsellors were doing at the time. When President Benson died I was a bit disappointed that Thomas S Monson was not called as Prophet. Someone explained to me the order oe the Church. So I was delighted to live to see President Monson had finally received his callup.I am a survivor from cancer. The church members here in New Zealand are very pleased and wish President Monson all our love and look forward to one day being able to see him in person one day in New Zealand