Our Prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley

There have been many mighty and noble men who have walked the earth. There have been men of great physical strength. But hardly any of them can stand toe-to-toe with President Gordon B. Hinckley. I feel that as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and to a degree, those not of our faith, we all feel we had a bit of ourselves invested in this great man. We felt as though he belonged to us.

Every General Conference, or Stake and Ward Conference, we had the opportunity to sustain this great man. We looked forward to doing so and were equally honored to follow his teachings. How proud we were of him when he appeared on 60 Minutes and on the Larry King Show. He always represented himself and the Church well. He raised the bar and brought new found respect for the Gospel contained in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Everyone across the globe, in one way or another, has a memory of him that remain with them as a testimony that God lives and loves us all. I have chosen to simply relate an experience I had while I worked as a security officer at the Musuem of Art at BYU. I had the privilege to be in his presence on several occasions throughout the years. On one occassion, Sister Hinckley was receiving an honorary doctrate from BYU. This was her day. As President and Sister Hinckley approached the doors where I was stationed, you could see a huge grin on his face, one I can only assume came from the enduring love he had for his beloved wife. I opened the door for him and Sister Hinckley. As in times before, again on this day, I didn't have the privilege to meet him, to shake his hand. But I learned a lesson that day that will stay with me. I didn't need to meet him to know he was/is a prophet of God. I could feel it being in his presence. I could feel it whenever he spoke in General Conference. I could feel it whenever I read a message from him in the Ensign. I can still feel it now, despite his passing.

He truy was a prophet of God and I thank the Lord for allowing us to have the privilege to know this man. He truly was a mighty man.