Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as Mormons) around the world are mourning the passing of our beloved prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley. He died yesterday at the age of 97.
President Hinckley touched the lives of countless people around the globe, including mine. He will be sorely missed! Yes, we are sorrowful today but we are also filled with joy. Joy because we know that our beloved prophet has gone to meet our Heavenly Father having done all he could to further the kingdom of our Lord on this earth. No doubt, President Hinckley will be received in Heaven, with these words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” We feel joy too because we know he is now with his eternal companion, his beloved Marjorie.
President Hinckley had a way of touching people on a personal level. He made me feel as if he was my friend even though I never had the privilege of meeting him in person. He had the most wonderful sense of humor and had the ability to make us smile even when talking to us about serious matters. He had a way of making you pay attention to his message whenever he spoke, and oh what wonderful messages he had for all of us. As I mourn his passing today, I also recognize that the greatest tribute I can give to our beloved Prophet is to try to live as he lived – in the service of our God.
You too can still get to know this great leader and prophet. You can learn a little more about his life and his Testimony by studying his words and teachings.
If you’d like to read a few of President Hinckley’s recent talks and speeches, please follow the links below. Video and MP3 files of all of these speeches are available as well so if prefer these other formats then go to the General Conference page. Open the link to the 177th Semiannual General Conference and you’ll see the different options available of accessing the contents.
Slow to Anger
The Stone Cut Out of the Mountain –
I Am Clean
The Things of Which I Know
Let Virtue Garnish Thy Thoughts Unceasingly
I would also like to share with you just a couple of my favorite quotes about our families by President Hinckley. They’ve inspired me when I’ve needed inspiration, encouraged me when I needed encouragement, and lifted me up when I’ve felt weary and down.
Do you want a spirit of love to grow in the world? Then begin within the walls of your own home. Behold your little ones, and see within them the wonders of God, from whose presence they have recently come…Behold your little ones. Pray with them. Pray for them and bless them. The world into which they are moving is a complex and difficult world. They will run into heavy seas of adversity. They will need all the strength and all the faith you can give them while they are yet near you. And they will also need a greater strength which comes of a higher power. They must do more than go along with what they find. They must lift the world, and the only levers they will have are the example of their own lives and the powers of persuasion that will come of their testimonies and their knowledge of the things of God. They will need the help of the Lord. While they are young, pray with them that they may come to know that source of strength which shall then always be available in every hour of need. (These, Our Little Ones. Liahona, Dec 2007″)
“There is too much of selfishness. There is too much of worldliness in our homes. We need to get back to the basics of respect one for another and concern one for another, love and appreciation for another, working together, worshiping together, and living together as families who love the Lord and look to Him for light and strength and comfort. Rear our families in the nurture and admonition of the Lord as He instructs us to do. That’s my message.” (Church News, 7 June 1995).
I will miss this great spiritual leader but I also know that another one just as great will soon be called to lead us. President Hinckley will be missed but his legacy can live on through us when we continue to heed his counsel and his teachings.
