Gordon B. Hinckley
Beloved Church President Gordon B. Hinckley, who led The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through 12 years of global expansion, has died at the age of 97. President Hinckley was the 15th president in the 177-year history of the Church and had served as its president since March 12, 1995.
Where were you?
My brother gave me the challenge to remember where I was on the day President Hinkcley passed away. It think it is a great idea Spence, and why it is all fresh to me today, someday I will go back and read this and be glad I did.
All quotes are from President Gordon B. Hinckley
i was in a meeting for girls camp and in the opening prayer I remember the girl praying for the health of our prophet.
Pray for wisdom and understanding as you walk the difficult paths of your lives. If you are determined to do foolish and imprudent things, I think the Lord will not prevent you. But if you seek His wisdom and follow the counsel of the impressions that come to you, I am confident that you will be blessed. Gordon B. Hinckley
amazing photo by chris detrick
I was getting set apart for my new calling with the power of the preisthood that has been given to our prophet
Now you young women are on the threshold of life. You are old enough to have been baptized. You are young enough that the future world of which you dream still lies ahead of you. Each is a child of God. Each of you is a creature of Divinity. You are literally a daughter of the Almighty. There is no limit to your potential. If you will take control of your lives, the future is filled with opportunity and gladness. You cannot afford to waste your talents or your time. Great opportunities lie ahead of you. April 2007
"I believe that others will rally around us if we [keep our covenants]. We can stand for truth and goodness, and we will not stand alone. Moreover, we shall have the unseen forces of heaven to assist us. President Gordon B. Hinckley
Podium in the Conference Center - made from President Hinckley's black walnut tree.
President Gordon B. Hinckley May 1997,
I said goodbye to a ward I had attended for a year.
I was bonded to these people through service
Jeff and I recognized how serving this past year in church has made us stronger as a couple. Our conversation was in the parking lot of the Washington D.C. Temple. It was dark and the temple was all a glow.
"I am satisfied that a happy marriage is not so much a matter of romance as it is an anxious concern for the comfort and well-being of one's companion"Gordon B. Hinckley
Thank you Spencer for encouraging me to do this. Thank you Ryan for waking me up last night to call and tell me. Before Annie Kate went to school I told her while she was eating breakfast. The look on her face was priceless and reverent. She was really sad and asked a lot of great questions.
So where were you?
28 comments:
Wow, what a memorable day for you. We were at our ward's cultural night last night and had just gathered in the gym to look at all the displays when the bishop announced it. We all gasped and then many of us had tears in our eyes. It was shocking news for sure. Then as we said our family prayers last night we asked that President Hinckley's family would be comforted for their loss. After the prayer I said to the kids, "Remember this day."
I was sitting at my computer talking on the phone to my sister in Rhode Island. My husband came in and told me he had something important to tell me.
Someone close to the Hinkleys has just called to tell us of his passing. President Hinkley had only been gone for 30 minutes at that point. I immediately went to DeseretNews.com and read about his death, then began to call and email as many people as possible before it was late here in Eastern Time.
I am hosting a house full of Mitt Romney campaign workers from the DC area. None are of my LDS faith.
President Hinkley's death provided the springboard for some wonderful conversations.
This was such sad news. I know he was in poor health, but I still expected him to be around for a few more years. We spent the afternoon at church, teaching Primary and Sunday School. Then we spent the evening together as a family, we had scripture study and family prayer. It was a good evening for us as a family. My girls don't know yet, as I didn't know until after they had left for school this morning. I am sure there will be some tears.
So so sad. Marc's mom called us last night to tell us. I went in and told the boys, as they had already gone to bed. Their faces were so shocked and sad. How I loved that man!
all of you, my LDS friends, have been on my mind today. i saw the headlines on yahoo news and a year ago that headline probably wouldn't have caught my eye but today i read it and i felt a real sadness for all of you.
from what i have read, and i know how highly you all think of him, he sounds like an amazing man.
hugs to all of you...
Great idea to honor such a great man in this manner. I loved the fact that he made being righteous look like so much fun. He always seemed like he was having a great time whatever he was doing. Truly the best example of the joy of work. I will miss him dearly but know he is happily with his wife he loved so deeply and other family and friends.
it is bittersweet, an era is over. He will be SO MISSED, but can you imagine the reunion he had with his sweet wife? I will miss hearing his voice.
I'm like Carlo, in that being non-LDS (being Church of England), I saw his name listed on Wikipedia under recent deaths, and a year ago that name would have meant absolutely nothing to me - but seeing it this morning, I did quite a double-take and immediately felt my heart plummet for you all.
I've been eager all day to read everyone's reactions to his loss, because I know very little about him. It's funny, with so many of you bloggers being LDS, I assumed his passing would be big news here and kept watching Sky News to see if they'd mention it, but no. Well, not yet anyway. And that's quite sad, because reading Kristi's post here and linking in his quotes, it's clear his was a very great man. A sad time, but it will a significant time to see the LDS church rally together and celebrate many things.
I attended our ward conference and was able to sustain President Hinckley as our Prophet. This morning
as we told our kids about his passing, I told them how neat it was that we were able to sustain him one more time before he died.
My kids faces were the same way this morning when we told them. I love this of remembering what you were doing. I was actually on the couch waitng for Jason. We were heading to the basement to organize some food storage. He was a wonderful man.
What a beautiful post and I love all the pictures. My heart has been filled with affirmations of things he has said, the life he lived, and his wonderful smile and sense of humor. He was a great prophet of God. My heart has been a little heavy today, but I too imagine he and his dear wife were anxious to see each other. I told my boys this morning,(we alway have prayer in the car before we head to school) a hush quieted their rowdy and anxious spirits and they both wanted to pray for his family. What a beautiful way to start the day with this post Kristi. Thanks for helping us "remember".
Kristi, I am so sorry for your loss. Like Amanda and Carlo I am not LDS but have read all of the heartfelt blog posts about him and read how he will be missed. How special that you posted a tribute to him on this day so that you will always have a record of your feelings this day and what you were doing. I also think it is very touching that many bloggers have said that they are happy knowing President Hinkley will now be reunited with his wife.
What a great post and tribute to such a wonderful man and leader. I was introduced to the church in late 1996 so he is the only prophet I have known. My husband's brother called and told us last night and we called our friends as it was such sad news and being here on the east coast news doesn't travel very fast. I was in a branch conference yesterday and was able to sustain him one last time. What a legacy he leaves, but what an amazing moment for him to arrive home again, reunited with his wife and welcomed with open arms.
We were playing a board game as a family when my Dad called to tell us. It was great that we were all together and could sit and talk about what a remarkable life he led.
I spent yesterday teaching my first gospel doctrine lesson (my new calling in our ward). We are studying the Book of Mormon this year, and I'm so thankful that in 2005 I was able to reread it in it's entirety thanks to his prophetic call for the body of the church to reread it. We told our kids this morning and they had those same looks. We are planning to have an FHE tonight about how the Lord calls a prophet...and how the next one will be called. Your post was amazing. What an amazing year!
Thank you for sharing so many beautiful quotes.
reading scriptures with my husband when his mother called and told us what happened.
Last night we had finished watching a movie as a family and I turned on our local (Utah) news. They were showing a clip from when Pres. Hinckley was on the Larry King show, I did not hear a word the broadcaster was saying, but I knew he had passed.
Initially I was a little sad, I guess that was just my own selfishness, knowing that I would not get to see him during General Conference anymore. Any time I saw that man, it brought a smile to my face. I would not hear his words and KNEW they were the words of a Prophet. HW I will miss his words. Then I remembered that he was reunited with his "sweetheart" again. Their love story was something to truly admire and strive to havehere ourselves.
How could I be too upset at his passing? He was 97 years old and had lived every single moment out. Was such an incredible leader of our church and I believe was such a light for all the world.
~~Nik
what a beautiful tribute. thankyou for the wonderful pictures and quotes. he truly was a remarkable man. my family and i were having dinner with another family from the church. we were just about to sit down when my sil called asking if i had heard the news? her sister had gotten a text message (i think that's how the entire youth of the church found out.) it's funny though... although i was saddened at our lost, i couldn't help but be happy for him. he had lived a good life. he had accomplished so much during his time on this earth. but now he had the chance to be with lovely & sweet wife. it wasn't until i thought of their happy & joyous reunion that tears came to my eyes. i am so grateful for the gospel & for the chance that we have to be with our loved ones once again!
I was with my roommates in my apartment, and we all found out at the same time. It was quite a unifying feeling. I talked to my mom, and wrote down my feelings in my journal. This is definitely a day I never want to forget.
I just got a phone call from my sister, and then my mother in law, and then an email from a ward member.
We had talked to our kids about President Hinkley getting old and we had even already talked to them about how the Quorum of the Twelve reorganizes, so our littles accepted it very well.
I really enjoyed how you took your events from Sunday and related it to quotes and teachings from President Hinkley.
(So, YW's camp . . . can you just blog your plans and I'll copy everything you do?)
I went into my kids' rooms to tell them of the news about Pres. Hinckley after they had gone to bed. I did this because I remember my mom coming down to tell me when Pres. Kimball died. I wanted them to always remember that moment and "remember the day." Great post.
Lovely photos, thanks so much. We will miss his wisdom, his humor, his positive attitude. How easy it was to want to be like this remarkable prophet.
I am not a member but its very sad. I heard about it this morning during my commute. I was surprised to hear of his passing.
He was a very inspirational man indeed.
I am not a member but its very sad. I heard about it this morning during my commute. I was surprised to hear of his passing.
He was a very inspirational man indeed.
my dad told me as I was entering the house...it was sweet being that I am at their house visiting...and he is the man I admire most.
Kristi,
We at Marathon Mommy are doing a dedication run for President Hinckley this Saturday. Would you be willing to post about it on your blog, since you get so much traffic. We are trying to run 97 miles for 97 years. WE are up to 80 miles being ran. I would love to reach or surpass that number.
http://marathonmommies.blogspot.com/2008/01/anyone-up-for-dedication-run.html
Someone is even trying to do a news story on it. Anyway, what a better way for us runners to honor a man who was able to walk and not faint, run and not be weary!
Love you!
Hey Kristi,
You always put things so beautifully. I loved the pictures and the quotes. Your day sounds wonderful and a perfect way to remember "where you were." I have been thinking and thinking about my day, and in a lot of ways it was so ordinary it makes me sad. I finally realized that I made a lot of progress in the organizing of my house and not giving up. I feel I was at the start of trying to be a little better. That is what I will remember. Thanks for this post!
I will never forget the look on my son's face. He was so sad. My dad died almost 2 months ago, so I think hearing about someone else he loves and knows a lot about is hard for him.
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