5 year anniversary of President Hinckley's passing

[pam]

Today (27th) marks the 5th anniversary of President Gordon B. Hinckley. What are some of your fondest memories of him?

[dahlia]

I don't know when I first saw this, but at some point in learning about the Church, I came upon this video of Pres. Hinckley speaking in Ghana. Around .45 he makes an announcement to the crowd about a new temple. He goes on about looking at land, a new temple, etc. and I'm sure the people have no clue what's coming. Then he says the temple will be in Accra. Look for the twinkle in his eye and the smile. You know he knows what's coming and has an idea of how the crowd will react.

From the speeches I've seen online, he appeared to be friendly with a sense of humor. And from what I've seen of audiences and heard from people in the ward, he was much loved. I'm not surprised.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cm86afuwtMkhttp://

[Wingnut]

From the speeches I've seen online, he appeared to be friendly with a sense of humor. And from what I've seen of audiences and heard from people in the ward, he was much loved. I'm not surprised.

The bolded part totally nails it. I remember once when he had begun to fall into poorer health, and started using a cane. He mentioned it over the pulpit in General Conference, assuring the Saints that we need not worry about him. He was just trying to keep up with the prophets of old, who all used staffs and walking sticks. It doesn't sound very funny typed out that way, but it was that twinkle in his eye -- he was mischievous. :)

[ploomf]

I always loved watching him talk. He just had this wonderful personality that always shone through, I heard someone once describe him as very huggable and that pretty much sums up how I feel about him. I still have one of his books, Way to Be, I love it, it's good advice for pretty much anyone in my opinion.

[Star_]

I remember feeling really sad when he died but I also felt such peace. I was happy that he was reunited with his wife again. What a sweet couple.

Edited January 28, 2013 by Star_

[Vort]

Heard him speak at the MTC at Christmastime in 1982.

[NeuroTypical]

They did a broadcast of a temple dedication in various stake centers. I remember he gave comments on the temple and it's history, then he said something like "So now I'm going to offer the dedicatory prayer, so bow your heads and close your eyes!" It's difficult to describe - he captured the sternness of a slightly annoyed primary president, and combined it with his sparkling eye and loving good humor.

I miss him.

[pam]

Trivia..he dedicated 85 temples during his lifetime.

[dahlia]

Trivia..he dedicated 85 temples during his lifetime.

I know that from the beginning, people expected the Church to grow, but considering its size up through the 1970's, isn't it amazing at its growth and the number of temples in that short span of time?

[pam]

President Hinckley will always be remembered for his vision of temples. More temples were dedicated and/or announced during his time as Prophet than at any other time. Truly amazing. I had noticed in a couple of instances, two temples were dedicated on the same day.

What's note worthy: President Hinckley dedicated the Adelaide Australia Temple on June 15, 2000. He then dedicated the Melbourne Australia Temple on June 16, 2000 and then 2 days later dedicated the Suva Fiji temple. 3 temples in 3 days. Truly amazing.

[Vort]

President Hinckley will always be remembered for his vision of temples. More temples were dedicated and/or announced during his time as Prophet than at any other time. Truly amazing. I had noticed in a couple of instances, two temples were dedicated on the same day.

I may be mistaken, but I believe President Hinckley announced and dedicated more new temples than had been announced and dedicated in the entire history of the restoration before his tenure as president.

[HiJolly]

He was kind and had a great sense of humor, but was also driven and incredibly demanding on occasion. What I have heard related to the building of the Palmyra temple and the Conference center. Very demanding. But what a good heart.

I get the impression that he was a bit like President Kimball, in that it was very difficult for everyone (including himself) to keep up with his vision of what could be done, what must be done. And so funny.

I remember a comment he made at a dinner I attended with him. It was after the 2002 Olympics, we had a dinner where before we ate, a Korean group of dancers performed. Their performance took nearly an hour, at the end of which Pres. Hinckley was in a fairly foul mood. His comment to us before we ate: "Next time we'll have them perform *after* dinner!"

[pam]

I may be mistaken, but I believe President Hinckley announced and dedicated more new temples than had been announced and dedicated in the entire history of the restoration before his tenure as president.

I believe you are correct..but I was just referring to the time that he was president of the church.

[Wingnut]

I may be mistaken, but I believe President Hinckley announced and dedicated more new temples than had been announced and dedicated in the entire history of the restoration before his tenure as president.

I believe that's true -- the number more than doubled during his tenure!

[Bini]

I loved his presence. How he could travel and walk amongst people in completely different cultures and upbringings, and yet, feel at home but more importantly, those people were clearly touched by him, and KNEW he was a living Prophet of God.

[estradling75]

When I served my mission in Washington DC we had an opportunity to have him speak to us. He was in town to handle various needs of the church (I also believe he gave then President Clinton and his family a copy of their genealogy, as part of it). I don't remember all the details of why he was there because I had a different focus at the time.

I do remember my whole mission picking up and leaving the mission so that we could join the Virginia mission at a stake center to hear him speak to us. There was another apostle who spoke first, and I feel bad that after all these years I don't remember who that apostle was. Under any other circumstance he would have been a highlight to remember, but we weren't there to hear from him. Anyways this apostle spoke for a short time and then sat down. President Hinckley then stood up and before he addressed us addressed the other apostle and said that he was suppose to be the principle speaker and that principle speaker should go for about twenty minutes (which he clearly did not). Now I suppose it could have been a rebuke to the apostle, but it came across as a good natured ribbing between friends. President Hinckley then proceeded to use all the remaining time.

That would had been awesome enough, and our various leaders had made a point of telling us that due to the busy day (it was about 9 pm when our meeting ended) and the arthritis President Hinckley had in his hands, that he probably would not up for shaking our hands afterwards. Thus our expectations were manged (no one wanted to hurt him after all) and he had an out.

He could have left us well satisfied after the meeting. In fact I am hard pressed to see any personal advantage he could gain from shaking every hand of that horde of missionaries... Of which I was a part. And yet he did. I am sure I was just another face to him. And the only reason I can come up with for him doing so is because he knew what it would mean to us.

What it still means to us.

[Wingnut]

When I was 14 years old, I attended Academy For Girls at BYU, before they changed the format of the program. One of our outings involved visiting Temple Square, during which time we were free to explore wherever we wanted, so long as our group of 12(ish) stayed together and stayed with our counselor. Our counselor had the idea to visit the administration building to see if we could meet President Hinckley, who had been called as prophet only four or so months earlier. She had tried it during a previous session with another group, but he'd been out of town. They'd gotten to meet Sister Pearce, who was in the general YW presidency at the time.

Anyway, we shuffled into the lobby and sat down while our counselor spoke with the receptionist. She told us that we couldn't meet him without an appointment, then gestured to a woman sitting quietly by herself on the other side of the room. She told us that that woman had an appointment with him in about 10 minutes, and if we wanted to wait, and watch through the 3-inch-glass-doors-with-brass-rods-on-them, we might be able to see him. Sure enough, he came down the stairs, bid farewell to whomever he had been with, and waited for his next appointment. We saw him and eagerly (in all our 14-17-year-oldness) began waving and smiling at him. He saw us, and waved back. We were ecstatic. To our absolute glee, he came out to greet us!!!!!! We were in heaven. We were all wearing the same shirts, so he asked what group we were with. He took time to ask each of us our names, and shake each of our hands. We took a picture with him, and then he went back in for his next appointment.

It's something I'll never forget. He surely had a busy schedule that day and every day, but he took time (much as the Savior might have) to visit with us, and let us know that we were important to him.

[Bini]

Wingnut, DANG cool!

So are you the over-ecstatic one in the middle grinning ear-to-ear? And, LOL at the less-than-enthused girl in the front. Haha.

[Guest]

I don't know when I first saw this, but at some point in learning about the Church, I came upon this video of Pres. Hinckley speaking in Ghana. Around .45 he makes an announcement to the crowd about a new temple. He goes on about looking at land, a new temple, etc. and I'm sure the people have no clue what's coming. Then he says the temple will be in Accra. Look for the twinkle in his eye and the smile. You know he knows what's coming and has an idea of how the crowd will react.

From the speeches I've seen online, he appeared to be friendly with a sense of humor. And from what I've seen of audiences and heard from people in the ward, he was much loved. I'm not surprised.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cm86afuwtMkhttp://

I loved this! Their joy is so contagious. Thanks for sharing!

[Wingnut]

Wingnut, DANG cool!

So are you the over-ecstatic one in the middle grinning ear-to-ear? And, LOL at the less-than-enthused girl in the front. Haha.

I'm the second one in from the left, standing. Not the girl in back with bangs, but the one in front of her.

Edited January 29, 2013 by Wingnut
clarify

[RadioactiveWolfboy]

He is the only Prophet I knew until he passed and President Monson became the Prophet. I have a strong fondness for President Hinckley. He reminded me of my Grandfather. he was a very kind and soft spoken man. He came to our Stake once for a conference, and I was blown away by his words. Everything he said struck a chord with me. I look forward to someday meeting him in person.

[RipplecutBuddha]

Having grown up in the stake that was the center of the Willie's and Martin's Second Rescue, I most fondly recall being present when President Hinckley visited our stake from time to time, meeting with our stake president. The reason this was special is that during stake conferences, he would relate some of the events and conversations he had with the prophet.

Two that stand out the most;

At one point in time, the stake was negotiating with the land owner for access to the sites. The discussions were civil, but the dollar amounts kept shifting here and there, preservation of the land was a major concern, and on it went. When the talks stalled, President Hinckley came to the stake to try and get them going again. By this point, every member of the presidency and the twelve had visited the historical sites, except President Monson, who always had more urgent business to see to. After the first meeting, President Hinckley and my stake president, President Lorimer, were in the prophet's car talking about how little progress had been made that day.

President Hinckley paused in the conversation, then looked at President Lorimer and asked "Well, what do you think we ought to do?" The question so stunned him, that President Lorimer replied without really thinking, "I think we ought to buy the land outright." He immediately fell silent when he realized what he said. Noticing his discomfort, President Hinckley turned to his 'security man' who was also in the car, and said "Did you just hear what he said?" He then smiled and said "I think that's what we should do as well." Ultimately that was what happened, and the sites have been beautifully preserved since.

The second one was a more private moment between the two men in President Lorimer's Stake office. He didn't offer much in detail that I could remember, except that he explained that, in a moment of candor, the prophet began expressing what he saw as shortcomings in himself. To explain what that moment was like President Lorimer said "When the Prophet of God is sitting in front of you, telling you where he needs to improve himself, let me just say it is a very humbling experience."

My most solid take from President Hinckley was one of utter sincerity, complete openness and heartfelt communication, whether it was a stake president in the middle of Wyoming, a television journalist, or the church membership at large during general conference. I could feel his meekness, see it in his movements, and hear it in his words. There was never a doubt how much he loved the members of the church, and he never failed to express it. May God be praised for the wonderful men and women he calls to lead this church, and may we sustain them in their callings as much as we can. There could never be too many people on the earth if they were all like President Hinckley was.