Gordon B. Hinckley: Prophet, Workhorse, Genius

We received the sad news last night that our current prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley, passed away in his sleep yesterday. He was 97 years old and worked extremely hard right until the end. He was a remarkable man leading an amazing life. President Hinckley has been the prophet since I became an adult. He was "my prophet". Let me explain:

I’ve heard many people talk about “their” prophet. Often I hear this about David O. McKay. When someone considers their discipleship in this sense, I think they’d often name the President of the Church who served during their mission or during core formative testimony building years. Also, the sheer length of time the man has served probably makes a big difference as well.

President Hinckley’s signature is on my 1996 mission call. I was fortunate to meet him personally and shake his hand in 1998. I’ve heard so many of his masterful sermons and felt the Spirit early and often as he has shared his testimony and thoughts with the world. In this sense, truly President Hinckley is “my” prophet. His fingerprints are on so many modern-era Church activities that is would be difficult to document. To name a few: accelerated temple building, the perpetual education fund for people in developing countries, humanitarian efforts, conversion & retention & activation efforts, etc. He also dramatically improved the public, external view of the Church just simply by being personable and combining humor with a no-nonsense approach to the business at hand. I will truly miss him. The world has lost a true soldier in the fight for right. But how blessed we have been to have been led for a time during mortality by a truly remarkable leader. Marlin K. Jensen summed it up well in the Salt Lake Tribune this morning:

"His keen intellect and thirst to understand how everything works resulted in a storehouse of knowledge that will be nearly irreplaceable," said Elder Marlin Jensen, the church's official historian. "I believe he was a true prophet but it didn't hurt that he was a genius, too."

Thomas S. Monson, an inspired and hard working disciple in his own right, will now likely be the successor to President Hinckley. As President Monson takes over the helm, we’ll pray for his strength and vitality. How wonderful it is to be led by truly caring, exemplary, down-to-earth, Divinely inspired Priesthood bearers in this day and age.