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Truman Madsen was most likely our most beloved LDS theologian. I will miss him, dearly. |
I was glad to become acquainted with Truman Madsen when I was at the Jerusalem Center way back in 1993. I also took a course in Isaiah from his wife Ann Madsen. They are good people. I’m sorry to hear he has passed away. |
I loved to read his work and he will be missed. |
A true orator. I had a testimony of Joseph before I first listened to those tapes, but they only increased my love for the Prophet. Amazing man. As is his wife, Ann, from whom I took the Isaiah course as well. In fact, that was the only class I went to on 9/11. She is a wise woman. |
When I was a student at BYU my wife was working at BYU full time, where she became friends with Ann Madsen. Ann told her that when they were a poor, young married couple and Truman was in grad school, she couldn’t afford much for his birthday one year, so she arranged for one his favorite professors at Harvard over for dinner as a surprise. Following her lead, my wife asked her if she and Truman would come over to our house for dinner as a surprise for my birthday. She didn’t tell me what was going on until shortly before they arrived. I was excited, but extremely nervous. When they showed up, I wasn’t sure what to call him. At the time I think he was a stake president, but he wasn’t my stake president so I didn’t think calling him President Madsen sounded right. He wasn’t my professor, so calling him Dr. or Professor Madsen didn’t seem right either. So when he stuck out his hand and said, “Hi, I’m Truman Madsen,” the only thing I could think to say was, “Hi, Truman!” After dinner I had a chance to discuss a range of church history issues with him and some of the ideas he brought up in his tapes “Timeless Questions, Gospel Insights.” He was very kind, wise, and treated me as if I were one of his colleagues. Definitely the best birthday gift I’ve ever had. |
Tagore. I am beyond envy. I would rather have Truman Madsen in my house than the prophet. When he spoke at the special interest conference (half of us not taking the sacrament because it’s really, really hard to be oh, crap, I forgot the word, it’s not virginal, that word that means…virtuous!–anyway, it’s really hard to be virtuous after you’ve been married and used to regular sex), he had us all mesmerized. The atmosphere was so full of hope and wonder you could cut it, he seemed to glow. He spoke about the possibility that God had made the same mistakes many of us did, when he was human; of course, it was kind of a radical talk. But he asked the question, “Do you suppose God could have been, at one time….divorced?” Many tears in that room that day. I’ve been grateful to him ever since. |
I’ve read his works and enjoyed him. Sadly, he didn’t normally make his way over to the engineering or science colleges, and any classes he taught were hard to get into… I’ve heard it expressed that while he may not be our best theologian, he was the most accessible…. |
Thank you for a wonderful essay. I never had a class with Dr. Madsen, but he had a profound influence for good in my life though his writings and through those with whom he had a more direct influence. See Truman Madsen Tribute. |
Tagore — dinner with Truman Madsen — there’s a birthday to remember. I just wished I’d been there. Seems like most remember the man’s spirit as much as was he said. I came across this that seems to be saying the same thing: Sorry for the long address, I don’t know how to do a link. |