Goodbye President Hinckley

DaKnife · Senior Member

Goodbye President Hinckley

Jen · Senior Bucketkeeper

I'm so sad. I've wished for him that he wouldn't be kept away from his wife or friends for too long. But right now I'm just so very sad. :(

DaKnife · Senior Member

Btw good luck getting into a Utah based news site. Both KSL and the Tribs sites are running like molasses all of a sudden.

Jen · Senior Bucketkeeper

Nothing on the national news or church website yet.

PollyAnna · Senior Bucketkeeper

for all of us. We will certainly miss him.

-- Edited by PollyAnna at 11:58, 2008-02-25

Fregramis · Senior Member

As of 10 minutes ago, CNN was the only on-line news outlet with the news. More will follow with time I'm sure.

rayb · Hot Air Balloon

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695247765,00.html

Me sad.

--Ray

Organist · Senior Member

It is now in deseretnews.com, sltrib.com, nytimes.com, latimes.com, and spreading to many other places. They are placing the story prominently with nice pictures of him.

mirkwood · Senior Bucketkeeper

Sad times, but I'm sure with failing health and missing his wife a happy time for him.

Ros · Senior Member

It's amazing how something you have essentially been prepared for for 10 years can still be such a shock.

I was reminded that President Hinckley has been the only president of the church my son has known. He is about to receive the priesthood. This will be an interesting time for him.

I am happy for him (Pres. Hinckley.) I know he is wrapped in the arms of his Savior and Father in Heaven, not to mention his beloved wife and family....and Pres Faust....and....etc.

You know how you feel when you are finally released from an exhausting calling and you get to sleep in on Sunday morning for the first time in 13 (or 35) years? Imagine it...

And I will miss him.

arbilad · Head Chef

I will certainly miss him. I am very grateful for the temples whose construction he oversaw. I am grateful for his sense of humor. I am grateful for the PR he did for the church. I look forward to President Monson as President of the Church, but that doesn't mean that I miss Pres. Hinckley any less.
And my 12 year old has never dealt with the death of a prophet before. It's harder helping him come to terms with it.

Smaug · Senior Member

I'm going to miss his sense of humor and his down-to-earth attitude greatly. I love that man.

bokbadok · Senior Bucketkeeper

We just had family prayer and we talked about it with the kids. Their reaction? They showed surprise, and then smiled, and said, "I'll bet he's really happy right now."

My feelings exactly.

Jen · Senior Bucketkeeper

I think a lot of my sadness comes from the fact that he was such an optimistic, comforting man. It's scary to raise children and watch the world as it is now. His words were always so inspiring. I'll miss him.

arbilad · Head Chef

I understand that he died surrounded by his family, so for them this wasn't sudden or unexpected. They will miss him, but I'm sure that the eternal perspective helps them a lot.
Pres. Monson, of course, will be exactly what the church needs at this period of history. It's always worked that way.

dilbert · Senior Member

Elder Hinckley (Pres. Hinckley's son) came to our Stake Conference last year. He shared some stories about travels and experiences he has had with his dad. One thing I remember in particular was that Pres. Hinckley said that every morning when he woke up he would try to wiggle his toes. If they wiggled then he would get up and go to work. I guess they won't wiggle tomorrow. I will miss him and all of the talents he brought to his calling, but I am also very happy for him.

What a great example of being a follower of Christ, of being valiant, and of enduring to the end.

rayb · Hot Air Balloon

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8UELGG00&show_article=1

Got this one off drudge report. :) Kinda fun to see how widely this story is getting play.

--Ray

nitasmile · Senior Member

For those who haven't seen this, this is a good photo essay from Meridian Magazine.
Last year, the Proctor's (publisher/editor's of Meridian) spoke at one of the local singles conferences and they did a presentation in which they showed some of these pictures. While all the pictures they showed us aren't shown here, you might enjoy these:

http://www.ldsmag.com/photoessay/060331Hinckley.html

PS (my favorite picture they showed us at the conference was one where they photgraphed Pres. Hinckley doing the mortar detail stuff for a temple where he puts the mortar for one of the special blocks. (can't think of the word for it). Anyway, they showed a picture of Pres. Hinckley accidentaly making a mess w/this and then making it even worse when he tried to clean it up. (as I recall the stuff spilled or something and they showed him trying to use something (spray bottle or some kind of cleaner) to fix it up. It was a hilarious picture and the audience enjoyed the photo!

OK, sorry that was long. A picture is worth thousands of words, sorry I don't have the picture for that anecdote.

-- Edited by nitasmile at 00:55, 2008-01-28

-- Edited by nitasmile at 00:56, 2008-01-28

glumirk · Senior Member

Those same photographers made a movie with all of those pictures and many more called "Gordon B. Hinckley--Temple Builder". I know it was made since last Conference. We watched it for our Institute devotional on Friday. I've been telling Matt all about it ever since. It sure reminded me what a great Prophet we have, and I would recommend it to everyone. I'm so grateful that the Institute director listened to the Spirit and had us watch that because it filled me with such joy that we have a living Prophet today. Even with President Hinckley's passing, now I'm just happy that he can be back with his beloved wife. He loves her so much and I know that reunion must be so sweet.

Valhalla · Profuse Pontificator

Just saw the news on this today. A thing I really love about knowing the fullness of the Gospel is that he gets to be with his wife again. Just another step in life, not an easy one, but part of our progression. I will miss him.

It will be interesting to see Pres. Monson as the prophet.

zealia · Profuse Pontificator

President Hinckley was such a comfort in trying times. Also, I am grateful for the smaller Temples that he was inspired to build. Omaha built a Temple during this time that has blessed the Saints in my area who used to have to go to Colorado, Chicago or St. Louis.

LoudmouthMormon · Profuse Pontificator

I'm with Bok. Yeah, many of us cry and are sad, but really it is a cause for joy. I'm sure he missed his wife. He lived more years than I'm likely to, and accomplished far, far more that I'm likely to.

A well-lived life and a death with dignity is a good thing.

Resting after a lifetime of labor - good thing.

Reuniting with eternal companion after 3+ long years alone - very good thing.

-- Edited by LoudmouthMormon at 10:40, 2008-01-28

dianoia · Senior Member

My first reaction on hearing the news was pure, unadulterated joy. Joy for his reunion with his wife and family and friends who've gone on, and joy for his very deserved rest.

Today, the sadness is kicking in. I'm getting teary as I read all the posts.

Cocobeem · Keeper of the Holy Grail

The joy hasn't kicked in for me yet. I know in my mind that it's all good, etc. etc... but I will miss him so much. He was so inclusive of people. He made people feel worthwhile and important and better about themselves. I always looked forward to hearing from him through the media - he never got tripped up and he never offended. He never talked down other religions. He was amazing.

Euphrasie · Senior Bucketkeeper

I had that same reaction dianoia.

I'm always surprised when things like this catch me off guard, and my reaction is completely different than what I would have expected. Lets me discover new things about myself. It reminds me of that idea that we're on earth to be tested so that we know what we'll do (since Heavenly Father already knows).

Poncho29 · Senior Bucketkeeper

Every prophet we've has had his own unique style and way of doing things and has added something to enrich our lives. But, my heart goes out to the next prophet in a way, because President Hinckley left some big shoes to fill, because he was so beloved.
It must be an awesome thing to live up to and to face to be called as a prophet of God.

Mahonri · Senior Bucketkeeper

My reaction was like yours bok. I am so happy for him. What a wonderful life he lived over such a long period of time. What a marvelous reunion has been taking place.

My 10 year old said, "Wow, the Lord is calling home all of the really great men!" He was refering to Pres. Hinckley and his grandfather who died two weeks before.

My 5 year old is wondering if we are headed to Utah for another funeral.

He touched my life and that of my children. I was in Ecuador when he dedicated that 58th Temple. I remember when the Temple in Boston was dedicated... I was in Mexico at the time attending a stake conference thinking... WOW 100 TEMPLES!! His vision was always optimistic. In his last address he told the members that he hoped he be at conference in April but then added, "I'm 97". No doubt, he'll be there in April to sustain Pres. Monson from the other side.

This little clip really touched my heart. Enjoy.

arbilad · Head Chef

We were at the church cannery today picking up some extra fruit drink (our two year old is addicted to the stuff; he goes through five bottles a day of it). I noticed that the flag if flying at half staff.

Duke of Mirth · Profuse Pontificator

It will be interesting to see if the new prophet takes the church in a particular direction. I think president Hinkley will always be remembered as the great temple builder of the last days. It always seems like each prophet has a particular mission to fullfill and that they leave when that particular aspect is done. I'm not saying that they are done building temples but that huge number of temples is now the norm in most areas. I remember President Hunter encouraging the saints to get temple worthy and to get their temple recommend even if they did not have a temple they could get to. His counsel perfectly dovetailed into President Hinkley's work. Each seems to have built on the foundations left by their predecessors. I'm very excited to see the next chapter while saddened that we have lost a man I considered a friend even though we had never met.

Pt314 · Senior Member

President Hinckley was a great, yet humble man. I am sad that he won't be around to give us his kind advice, but I am also happy that he is back with his wife, and of all the the things he accomplished.

rayb · Hot Air Balloon

http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_8103719

I thought this was nice.

--Ray

rayb · Hot Air Balloon

http://origin.sltrib.com/ci_8100480

The President sends his condolences, as do others... The last quote to Mitt Romney so embodies the lovely optimism of this man that I will miss more than anything else.

--Ray