"A Giant Among Men"

I just finished watching President Gordon B. Hinckley’s funeral. I was so happy to find out that the funeral was going to be broadcast over the local TV station here in Pocatello. There were a few glitches in the broadcast, where several times all I could hear were a bunch of people translating the talks into different languages! But even though it was not perfect, I was amazed that as I was sitting here in my living room, I felt the spirit so strongly, as if it were coming through the TV. I loved listening to each of the speakers tell about their memories of the prophet. Since I heard that he passed away last Sunday, I have had what Bishop David H. Burton just explained as an emotional rollercoaster. There have been tears of sadness, but then those quickly changed to tears of happiness. I know that he is in a better place, and that he has returned to be with his sweet wife, Marjorie Pay Hinckley. One of the impressions I had while watching the funeral was that he absolutely loved everyone around him. I also feel this way towards him. I have never met the prophet, but I have been in the same room as him several times during General Conference. Whenever he would walk into the room, everyone would stand in reverence, and you couldn’t help but to feel love for him. I feel like I know him, and I love him as if he were a member of my family. As I watched the procession after the funeral, people lined the streets in Salt Lake City, waving white handkerchiefs to the long line of cars on their way to the cemetery. This again reminded me that people truly loved Gordon B. Hinckley, and are sad to see him go. But even though our prophet has passed away, it is comforting to know that the work will still go on. The Lord has a plan for how the church should move on, and Thomas S. Monson will be our next great prophet. President Hinckley was an extraordinary example of faith and love, and he was truly a man of God. He was responsible for remarkable growth in the church while he served as prophet, with the building of 75 temples around the world and the Conference Center, raising the bar for missionary work, and receiving great revelations for the church. He had such a great sense of humor, and as it was put several times during his funeral, he was a giant among men. To repeat something that was said during the closing prayer, he is a man who has worn out his life in the service of the Lord, and I am glad to have been part of it.

President Gordon B. Hinckley
June 23, 1910 - January 27, 2008