Today we watched the funeral proceedings of our beloved Prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley. I was shocked last Sunday, when my sister called to tell us the news of his passing. I know that each of our prophets are called by our Heavenly Father, but President Hinckley has always been close to my heart. I know this is going to age me but President Kimball was the prophet while I was growing up as a girl. Then it seemed after he passed away, President Benson and President Hunter both served for such a relatively short time. I also remember them being sickly while they served as prophet and so a great deal of the responsibility fell on President Hinckley. He has just been a favorite of mine: so people oriented, so well-rounded and so divinely inspired. I think my feelings were much like everyone else’s. I am certainly going to miss hearing him speak as a prophet of our Heavenly Father but know how happy he is to be reunited with his dear wife. When we told the news to Sam on Monday morning, he took it harder than I expected. I couldn’t help but turn my thoughts back to when I was a young girl and hearing about the passing of President Kimball. I couldn’t help but think is feelings were very similar to those I experienced as a young girl. This week I got an e-mail from a friend with an article that was published in the New York Times. It was such a well written article. I couldn’t help but be amazed at all he was able to accomplish in his time as serving as President. Here is a link to that article if you are interested. Tuesday, I met a friend for lunch. In visiting with her, we began talking about the dedication of the Rexburg Temple that was supposed to take place this weekend. I jokingly commented that he really messed things up. My friend laughed and said she believed he was giving us one final test as Latter-Day Saints to see how well we can adjust. She had heard him talk one time about our need to be flexible and accommodating and she felt like this was his last test to us. I have thought a great deal about that comment and can’t help but agree with my friend.
I am not one to cry. I haven’t shed a tear all week concerning the Prophet’s passing. However, watching the prophet’s funeral on television today, I couldn’t help but shed a couple tears. One of the pictures from the media showed a picture with Elder Monson sitting in his chair and Elder Irring sitting in his chair. There was an empty chair between them where President Hinckley has sat for many years during conferences and other church proceedings. My heart was touched to see the empty chair.
It seems like all week long, I would hear comments such as this “if the church holds true to tradition, President Monson will be the next prophet of the church.” How comforted I was to hear Elder Boyd K. Packer talk about that there is no doubt who the new prophet will be, our Heavenly Father has established the order of His church in the Doctrine and Covenants. How comforting it is to know that with the passing of our prophet dear, our Heavenly Father has not left us alone. He has left us divine guidance about who the next prophet will be. I was also so touched during the closing song. What a beautiful song. I also found humor as President Monson talked about his and President Hinckley’s doctor asking him to talk to President Hinckley about using his cane for walking purposes and not as a stick to wave. I think the funeral was perfect and exactly how President Hinckley would want it: a memorial to our dear Prophet, laced with doctrine and touched with just the right amount of humor.
I am not one to cry. I haven’t shed a tear all week concerning the Prophet’s passing. However, watching the prophet’s funeral on television today, I couldn’t help but shed a couple tears. One of the pictures from the media showed a picture with Elder Monson sitting in his chair and Elder Irring sitting in his chair. There was an empty chair between them where President Hinckley has sat for many years during conferences and other church proceedings. My heart was touched to see the empty chair.
It seems like all week long, I would hear comments such as this “if the church holds true to tradition, President Monson will be the next prophet of the church.” How comforted I was to hear Elder Boyd K. Packer talk about that there is no doubt who the new prophet will be, our Heavenly Father has established the order of His church in the Doctrine and Covenants. How comforting it is to know that with the passing of our prophet dear, our Heavenly Father has not left us alone. He has left us divine guidance about who the next prophet will be. I was also so touched during the closing song. What a beautiful song. I also found humor as President Monson talked about his and President Hinckley’s doctor asking him to talk to President Hinckley about using his cane for walking purposes and not as a stick to wave. I think the funeral was perfect and exactly how President Hinckley would want it: a memorial to our dear Prophet, laced with doctrine and touched with just the right amount of humor.
1 comment:
Very well said! Not much else to say except "AMEN"
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