PRESIDENT GORDAN B

GORDON B HINCKLEY 15TH PRESIDENT OF THE CHURCH PASSED AWAY ON JANUARY 27 2008 HE WAS 97 YEARS THE OLDEST MAN EVER TO SERVE AS PRESIDENT AND YET HE NEVER FORGOT WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO BE A CHILD



PRESIDENT HINCKLEY WAS BORN ON JUNE 23 1910 IN SALT LAKE CITY UTAH AS A BOY HE PRAYED NEXT TO HIS BED EACH NIGHT HE LATER RECALLED JUMPING INTO MY BED AFTER I HAD SAID AMEN PULLING THE COVERS UP AROUND MY NECK AND THINKING OF WHAT I HAD JUST DONE IN SPEAKING TO MY FATHER IN HEAVEN IN THE NAME OF HIS SON I DID NOT HAVE A GREAT KNOWLEDGE OF THE GOSPEL BUT THERE WAS SOME KIND OF LINGERING PEACE AND SECURITY IN COMMUNING WITH THE HEAVENS IN AND THROUGH THE LORD JESUS YOUNG GORDON WAS A GOOD BOY BUT HE WAS'T PERFECT ONCE HIS MOTHER WASH HIS MOUTH WITH SOAP FOR USING A BAD WORD A WORD HE NEVER USED AGAIN GORDON SUFFERED FROM ASTHMA SO HIS FATHER BOUGHT A SMALL FARM IN THE COUNTRYSIDE WHERE HE COULD BREATHE CLEAN AIR DURING SUMMER VACATION FROM SHOOL HE AND HIS BROTHER SERM WORKED HARD WEEDING THE GARDEN PICKING FRUIT AND DOING OTHER CHORES THE FUTURE PROPHET LEARNED THAT HARD WORK MUST COME BEFORE THE HARVEST EACH AFTER NOON THE BOYS PLAYED JUMPING OFF HAYSTACKS AND PLAYING HIDE AND SEEK EACH NIGHT THEY SLEPT IN A WAGON BOX UNDER THE STARS GORDON NOTED THAT WHILE THE OTHER STARS APPEARED TO MOVE THE NORTH STAR HELD IT POSITION THE POLAR STAR CAME TO MEAN SOMETHING TO ME HE LATER REPORTED I RECOGNIZED IT AS CONSTANT IN THE MIST OF CHANGE IT WAS SOMETHING THAT COULD ALWAYS BE COUNTED ON HE DETERMINED THAT HE TOO WOULD BE TRUSTWORTHY PRESIDENT HINCKLEY SERVED AS S AN ASSISTANT TO THE QUORM OF THE TWELVE A MEMBER OF THE QUORM OF THE TWELVE AND A COUNSLEY IN THE FIRST PRESIDENCY HE WAS ORDAINED AND SET APART AS PRESSIDET OF THE CHURCH ON MARCH 12 1995 PRESIDENT HINCKLEY WAS A HAPPY OPTIMISTIC MAN WHO BELIEVE THERE WAS A SPARK OF DIVINITY WITHIN ALL OF US HE CALLED ON US TO BE GRATEFUL SMART CLEA TRUE HUMBLE AND PRAYERFUL HE COUNSLED US TO STAND A LITTLE TALLER TO BE STRONG DECENT COURTEOUS AND ABOVE MORE CHRISTLIKE IN THE MIDST OF HIS MANY DUTIES PRESIDENT HICKLEY NEVER FORGOT THE CHILDREN E PROVED THAT HE CARED ABOUT YOU THROUGH HIS ACTIONS HE TRAVELED ALMOST A MILLION MILES TO VISIT YOUR COUNTRIES HE SPOKE TO YOU AND SHOOK YOUR HANDS HE INVITIED YOU TO JOIN HIM AS HONORED GUESTS TO HELP LAY TEMPLE CORNERSTONES WE KNOW THAT YOU LOVED PRESIDENT HINCKLEY AND THIS GOOD KIND MAN LOVE YOU HIS LIFE WILL ALWAYS BE A SHINING EXAMPLE FOR YOU TO FOLLOW.