It is to be noted that President Gordon B. Hinckley, President and Prophet of our church, died Sunday evening. I was on the phone with my friend, Laura Ellis, and she said she had to call me back because her dad was beeping in on the other line. Minutes later she called me back and gave me the news. I was kind of shocked and sad, but I also felt peace. He was 97 years old, and his wife had died almost 4 years ago. I am sure he was quite ready to be with her.
He will be missed though - he made such a difference in my own life as well as the lives of others. He was the prophet when I joined the church. He has left such a legacy. He more than doubled temples throughout the world, for the first time ever church membership grew larger outside the states than inside, he started the Perpetual Education Fund, his leadership gave us the Family Proclamation, he announced the new logo for the Church, built the new Conference Center in SLC, transformed "Ricks" into BYU-Idaho, and he talked about the church with media as to change what people commonly thought of "Mormons."
He also dedicated the Houston temple where David and I were married shortly thereafter. He did so much (even more than what I could possibly list). In our FHE tonight we discussed how he had impacted our lives personally by hearing talks he gave or just by his witty personality and his love for others. The church will move on and the work of the Lord will continue but we will miss one of its most influential leaders.
3 years ago
