Gordon B. Hinckley
June 23, 1910 – January 27, 2008
We thank thee, O God, for a prophet
To guide us in these latter days.
We thank thee for sending the gospel
To lighten our minds with its rays.
We thank thee for every blessing
Bestowed by thy bounteous hand.
We feel it a pleasure to serve thee
And love to obey thy command.
–Hymn #19, LDS Hymnbook
Text: William Fowler, 1830–1865
Music: Caroline Sheridan Norton, 1808–ca. 1877
Gordon B. Hinckley has been my favorite prophet so far. He was always so lively, so vivacious. He had a calm, friendly demeanor and seemed to love a good laugh. He was not afraid of what others may think, and so he took risks. He knew it was a risk to do the 60 Minutes interview, but he did it anyway. In the 13 years he was president of our church, the number of Temples in the world grew from 49 to over 120. Church membership grew from 9 million to 12 million.
I personally have sat in meetings where President Hinckley spoke. I could feel his love for us, the audience. I could feel the power and the spirit of God in him. My favorite quote he gave while in a conference at Ricks College when I was a freshman is “Ricks College is what BYU once was, and now strives to be.” He loved education and the perpetual education fund was adopted under President Hinckley’s leadership, making it possible for young men and women from all over the world to get a formal, secondary education when it would not have been possible otherwise.
I will miss his kind voice and straightforward talk. I will miss his jokes and his laugh. I will miss President Hinckley.
Chocolate Phoenix 
Two weeks ago he spoke in our telecasted So.Cal. stake conference. I’m so glad I got to hear him one last time.
His message? Love your spouse. Don’t feel that the church requires women to be constantly “barefoot in the kitchen pregnant”, but don’t feel like there’s anything wrong with motherhood, either. Rejoice in your families.
A month ago we had a similar telecasted stake conference. I loved it. He also gave us the same message about loving your spouse.
Along with everything else, he gave us the old joke about “I am pretty old, but hopefully I will see you all at the next general conference”. I will miss him. But I rejoice that he is with his wife again.
We will miss him terribly too – though I can’t help but rejoice for him to be reunited with his dear sweet wife. (I just read April’s comment, and I swear I didn’t just copy her comment 😉 )
A beautiful tribute to a wonderful man. I’ll miss hearing him speak, I loved his sense of humor, especially when he talked about his own age or health.
He was a great man, and I feel privileged to have been able to have his guidance as our prophet for so much of my life.
it’s 9 and 12 million, not billion….that’s a great difference…
That IS a great difference. Thanks for pointing it out. I fixed it in the post. I guess that’s what happens when I stay up too late and try to write. (Oh boy, am I ever embarrassed!!)
Ethan cried when I told him. Not just cried a little, he cried hard. It seems he thought of him as a great grandpa. I can see why. He is alright now