A Tribute

"The time has come for us to stand a little taller, to lift our eyes and stretch our minds to a greater comprehension and understanding of the grand millennial mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is a time to be strong. It is a time to move forward without hesitation, knowing well the meaning, the breadth and the importance of our mission. It is a time to do what is right regardless of the consequences that might follow. It is a time to be found keeping the commandments. It is a season to reach out with kindness and love to those in distress and to those who are wandering in darkness and pain. It is a time to be considerate and good, decent and courteous toward one another in all our relationships. In other words, to become more Christlike."

- President Hinckley (1910-2008)

Being a Utah resident, ironically I heard the news of the passing of our beloved prophet Gordon B. Hinckley from a brother-in-law in southern Arizona. News spread fast. Even though we have been anticipating his "imminent" death for years, it was still a shock to hear the sad news. My shock then moved to almost happiness as I thought of his dear wife and the joyous reunion they were experiencing right then, but as the night progressed and I watched tributes on TV and read them online, it moved to sadness as I remembered the amazing man that he was and what he accomplished during his 13 years as prophet and 50 yrs + of church service. The quote above by his picture was taken from his first general conference address as prophet and his message never changed throughout his time as prophet. He was always so upbeat and complementary, but encouraging us to "stand a little taller" at the same time. He was a little man in stature, but a giant in the spiritual sense.

I will cherish my memories of the prophet. He was the prophet when my testimony of the church and of latter day prophets really matured. I'll never forget my impressions of the prophet that I had as a 17 year old in the Philippines. Pres. Hinckley came to visit the people of those islands and my family was lucky to attend his address. It was going to be held in a large colosseum. It was not the first choice of venues because the night before a cock fight was going to be held and it would require almost miraculous efforts to have it ready for a prophet to visit, but it was the only place large enough to accommodate the numbers of people they were anticipating. The members worked all night to have it ready and I believe that their efforts paid off. The entire place was filled to capacity and they even had to turn people down for lack of seating. (35,000 seats were filled. It was the largest gathering of church members in church history at that time.) We sat up in nearly the very top rows of the stadium and I thought that I would be barely able to even see him, but to my surprise, when he entered the very large Colosseum, his warm loving spirit filled the entire place. It was then that I knew that he was a prophet of God. When I think what the Savior might be like I think of President Hinckley. He truly exemplified His attributes.

He will be greatly missed and remembered by me.

"God be with you 'til we meet again!"