“The time has come for us to stand a little taller, to of this, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”
From the biographical sketch on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints website, we learn the basic facts about Gordon B. Hinckley:
Born in Salt Lake City on June 23, 1910, Gordon B. Hinckley was prepared from his youth to be a prophet. After graduating from the University of Utah, he was called to serve a mission to Great Britain. After he returned, he embarked on a lifetime of service for the Church. He was employed as the executive secretary of the Church Radio, Publicity, and Literature committee, before he was called to be an Apostle in 1961. He was later called to serve as a counselor to President Kimball, President Benson, and President Hunter. Since becoming Church President on March 12, 1995, he has directed the most intense temple building program in the history of the Church in an effort to extend temple blessings to more members. He has exhibited vitality and energy as he has traveled about the world meeting and speaking to members of the Church. Through television interviews and national press publications, he has increased media attention and improved the public image of the Church. He has counseled Church members to fellowship new converts, befriend members of other faiths, live exemplary lives, and avoid the evils of the world.
But it doesn’t describe the twinkle in his eyes or the loving smile upon his face. It certainly doesn’t describe his delightful sense of humor:
“I feel like the last leaf upon the tree.”
Knighting President Henry B. Eyring with his cane after officially presenting him before the church to be sustained as the second counselor in The First Presidency.
In the Sunday afternoon session of General Conference he said,
“Now, my brothers and sisters, we live with an interesting phenomenon. A soloist sings the same song again and again. An orchestra repeats the same music. But a speaker is expected to come up with something new every time he speaks. I am going to break that tradition this morning and repeat in a measure what I have said on another occasion.” The Stone Cut Out of the Mountain LDS General Conference, October 7, 2007
I could go on and on about our wonderful prophet’s sense of humor. But I don’t want to forgo his testimony of Jesus Christ:
The Great Jehovah: “Jesus was in very deed the great Jehovah of the Old Testament, who left His Father’s royal courts on high and condescended to come to earth as a babe born in the most humble of circumstances. His birth was foretold centuries earlier by Isaiah, who declared prophetically, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6).”
Savior of the World: “He was and is the Son of the Almighty. He was the only perfect man to walk the earth. He healed the sick and caused the lame to walk, the blind to see, the deaf to hear. He raised the dead. Yet He suffered His own life to be taken in an act of Atonement, the magnitude of which is beyond our comprehension.
Our Living Lord: “No event of human history carries a more compelling witness than does the reality of the Resurrection. His followers on two continents testified of it. Uncounted millions of men and women through the ages have suffered, even unto death, for the witness in their hearts that He lives, the Savior and Redeemer of all mankind, whose Atonement came as an act of grace for the entire world. How long and how great is the concourse of brave and humble people who have kept alive the name of Jesus and a testimony of His Redemption!
“Now He has come again, in the latter days, to bless us and warm our hearts, to quicken our faith and bring us sure and certain knowledge of His living reality. … We honor Him, we worship Him, we love Him as our Redeemer, the great Jehovah of the Old Testament, the Messiah of the New Testament. The entire thrust of the testimony of the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants declares our living Lord before whom we kneel in humility and faith.”
The Son of God “[we remember] the Lord Jesus Christ in reverence and with love. He has done for us what we could not do for ourselves. He has brought meaning to our mortal existence. He has given us the gift of eternal life. He was and is the Son of God, who was “made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).” A Testimony of the Son of God, Ensign, Dec 2002, 2–5
We have in our midst a living prophet of God in Gordon B. Hinckley. Called of the Lord, named by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, sustained by the membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he guides and directs us as the mouthpiece of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We are so privileged to have a living prophet on the face of the earth today. Many say God stopped talking to His children centuries, if not, millennia ago. This is not true, for God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He still communicates through Gordon B. Hinckley, our prophet, seer and revelator.
Twice a year we are blessed to be able to listen to this prophet of God via television, radio or the internet. His words speak to my soul and it is testified to me, time and time again, that here stands a prophet of God. Like Moses, Noah, and Abraham, he communicates with God and relays those messages to us.
In the magazines of the church, the words of this beloved prophet are given to us on a regular basis. The magazines of the church are: Ensign, Liahona, New Era, and The Friend. There is also the Church News which reports weekly on the state of the church across the globe. Each of these, which contain the messages of modern day prophets and apostles, may be read online or purchased to be read and treasured in your home. Purchase Magazine Subscription. Purchase Church News Subscription. Personally, I appreciate both, because I love to feel the magazine, read the words and underline and make notes. Online, you are able to search for specific topics. For instance, if I wanted to know what President Hinckley has said about preparedness I would simply search for that topic here and would find the following:
“At one time or another, nearly every family will face accidents, illness, unemployment, or other emergencies that will require them to depend on the resources they have stored.” “Are You Prepared?,” Ensign, Aug 2007, 30–33
The words of prophets and apostles at our fingertips. Has the word of God ever been so readily available as it is in this day age? The answer is no. So why not avail yourself of this easy access to knowledge and learn more about Gordon Bitner Hinckley, a living prophet of God.
