Remembering President Hinckley - 15th President of the LDS Church - How did he influence you?

[Heather]

President Hinckley has been the Prophet my entire adult life. He was called my senior year in high school. He has influenced my life more than any other Prophet has. The thing that I will remember most about him is his respect for all people and for members of all faiths. I will always admire his friendship and love for leaders of other faiths. He set such a great example for me, and that example is what I’ve always tried to follow when setting a direction for this site. I love his candor, his sense of humor, and his realness. He will be missed and always remembered.

[Maya]

in Finland for opening of the Temple! He was so smiling and frendly. Unbelievably sharpand young for age! And the humor!

He was a great president.

[Canuck Mormon]

I don't have many memories of him as President, only the past 4-5 years or so. I do remember a few years ago, we were down in SLC for conference, and me and my dad attended Priesthood Session. He talked about gambling and the explosion of poker websites and such. I remember thinking at the time, "what is he talking about? There isn't an explosion in gambling and poker." How wrong I was. In the past few years poker and gambling have become a mainstay of society. They even show poker games on TSN (ESPN equivalent). That's when I knew he was called of God and receives inspiration and guidance from the Lord.

He will be missed.

[SmilingRedhead]

He had a spark in his eye. He had a great sense of humour. He was not ashamed of expressing his deep love for his wife. He cared about everybody and he really truly loved his Saviour and Heavenly Father. He will not be forgotten.

[jadams_4040]

President Hinckley has been the Prophet my entire adult life. He was called my senior year in high school. He has influenced my life more than any other Prophet has. The thing that I will remember most about him is his respect for all people and for members of all faiths. I will always admire his friendship and love for leaders of other faiths. He set such a great example for me, and that example is what I’ve always tried to follow when setting a direction for this site. I love his candor, his sense of humor, and his realness. He will be missed and always remembered.

Unlike other so called men of God, {other faiths} President Hinckley truely is, not was, a man of God. he set a very wonderfull excample of what this church stands for, And i bear personall witness of his magnifecant spirtuality and great spiritual prescence, He is very truely a real authoritive prophet of God. He will be sorely missed by all, but also his passing is a good thing for the church in whole because this is going to open up many and wonderfull opportunities across the earth for others to see and witness what this church is all about. And besides that now president Hinckley is with his wonderfull and very much loved and missed wife. Hhhooorayyyy!!!!:)

[MichaelPAGuy]

The world has lost a truly wonderful person and a terrific leader. President Hinckley will be greatly missed.

[LdsNana]

To My Dear Friends Here at LDS.Net,

I have been flooded with various emotions, as of now, only 24 hours since President Gordon B. Hinckley has passed...

I have shared a few of these feelings on my Hub, with many non-members over the last day. It is a privilege to literally SHOUT to the UNIVERSE, that God has provided a living prophet, upon the earth, in this -

Latter-DAY!

As I have stated in other posts today... How is it possible, for those who cherish the Bible; to ignore the fact - that Jesus Christ administers His Gospel, through righteous men, here upon the earth?

I don't think, it has ever hit me this hard before... Those, who will hearken to a prophet of God, will return to live and dwell eternally - in the Presence of our Heavenly Father -- Once AGAIN!

How grateful I am, for this simple and yet powerful testimony, which is a true Gift of the Spirit of God; available to ALL.

IF they will just ASK Him.

As I reflect on these past thirteen years, of President Hinckley as the oracle of God, here upon the earth... I am overwhelmed with gratitude. He is the mouthpiece of the Lord, that all five of my children; have heard the voice of the Lord speaking to them through.

I have a fervent testimony, that his words, will continue to guide them throughout the remainder of their journey's here upon this earth. The teen years are a planting ground for the rest of our lives.

Who we ultimately become, has everything to do with these years and the experiences that we have had during them. How we take what we have learned spiritually and along side of those experiences we go through physically; and then.... eventually put it all together and process it -- this is who we set off to become for the rest of our lives...

We will all have bumps, fall down, get up and go through this cycle continually... but -- those roots of interpretation, which are deep -- will renew themselves as we turn to God.

How thankful I am, for the planting of their youth and the harvests that I am seeing now as they have turned to those teachings of their youth -- and even now have become fruitful.

He is a temple building prophet; both physically in bringing our Temples worldwide to 136 -- but more important -- to OUR Temple. Who can count how many Temples, he has been engaged with, as a general contractor, for individuals?

I love this gentle man's desire to serve God, and bless our lives in such eternal ways.

tDMg

LdsNana

[Mahonri]

Shortly after Pres. Hinckley was ordained as the prophet, my wife wrote him a letter with a picture of our family.

He wrote a very kind, personal letter back to her. We still treasure it.

At a General Conference we were sitting on the front row and on his way out he stopped, looked at my son and said, "Hello there young man". My son about melted. He will never forget that a prophet of God gave him personal attention.

In 1999 in Ecuador my wife and I were blessed to be present when he dedicated the Temple in Guayaquil.

He was prophet when I was released as Bishop.

He sent me a kind letter of release when I was released from my last calling 4 months ago.

He will always be special to our family.

[Kirtlander]

I think he was the 17th president of the church...? I love President Hinckley!! I will miss him terribly. I know that his reunion with his sweetheart was a glorious one. He must have been so happy to see her.

My coolest memory of mine was here in Kirtland. My husband was being taught the gospel by two young elders when they had to leave our discussion in hopes of running into the prophet while on his tour of Kirtland. The elder did get a chance to shake hands and get a picture with him. President Hinckley asked him, "Don't you have some work to do?" How cool is that? He knew that we needed them to complete their discussion. When they came back, the spirit was so strong. The elders put all their heart and effort into the lesson. My husband was babtized months later. I loved his sense of humor. One of my favorite times during General Conference is when he said it was hard to come up with new talks. Other people get to pick apart his talks and he is expected to come up with new stuff. His time had come apparently.

[MormonMama]

He was the 15th president.

I joined the church only a few months after Present Hinckley became the prophet, so I have always felt a special connection to him for that reason. I am torn between sadness for those of us who must now go through life without his presence, and joy at the wonderful reunion he is now able to have with his beloved wife, Marjorie, and other loved ones who went before him. This is a sad time for us, but certainly not for him.

[inthearmsofsleep]

I never met him, but his challenge in 2005 to read the Book of Mormon affected me greatly. I read it, and read it again... and my testimony has grown so much. Well, before I read it I couldn't say that I really had a testimony. I didn't KNOW that the Book of Mormon is true, or many of the things we teach... I believed it, but I didn't have a surety of it. It's because of this newfound testimony that I decided to serve a mission (which I should be soon) and I've never been happier in my life than I am right now.

[Heather]

Really touching video: Glenn Beck - Faith & Inspiration - Glenn's Tribute to the late LDS President Hinckley

[MissouriBoiler]

I remember when he was a counselor and my step-dad and I going to conference together for the first time as non-members and thinking how much he represented the Lord. He stuck out to us then and did the entire time we have been members.

[Heckya]

I never met him, but his challenge in 2005 to read the Book of Mormon affected me greatly. I read it, and read it again... and my testimony has grown so much. Well, before I read it I couldn't say that I really had a testimony. I didn't KNOW that the Book of Mormon is true, or many of the things we teach... I believed it, but I didn't have a surety of it. It's because of this newfound testimony that I decided to serve a mission (which I should be soon) and I've never been happier in my life than I am right now.

What was the specific challenge?

[MormonMama]

What was the specific challenge?

President Hinckley just challenged church members to read the entire Book of Mormon by the end of the year. He was concerned that too many church members had not read the entire book, or had not read it recently.

[tubaloth]

I was reflecting about how Pres. Hinckley changed my life, I realize so much of it is just how he wanted us (members of the church) to always do our best, to go the extra mile, to try a little harder.

As I have seen all the footage on TV of Pres. Hinckley they showed often when he was first called to the be an assistant to the twelve (the black and white footage). I decided to look up the talk. I was amazed at the short talk, and how I feel the same way that Pres. Hinckley felt then. Mostly how he recongized those in his life that helped him get to where he is. I know Pres. Hinckley has helped me get me to where I am! I hope I always remember that. (the talk is found below, its better if you just copy and paste it).

[tubaloth]

Elder Gordon B. Hinckley

Assistant to the Council of the Twelve Apostles

April 6, 1958

My dear brethren and sisters, I am reminded of a statement made by my first missionary companion when I received a letter of transfer to the European Mission office. After I had read it, I turned it over to him. He read it, and then said: "Well, you must have helped an old lady across the street in the preexistence. This recognition has not come because of anything you've done here."

Humbly, I seek the blessings of the Lord. I am overwhelmed with a sense of inadequacy. I feel shaken, and if what I say is largely in the nature of personal testimony, I hope you will forgive me.

Since President McKay spoke with me late last evening I have been thinking about the road that led here. I know that I have not come that road alone, and I feel very grateful for the many men and women—the great and good men who are here today, and the small and obscure, but, wonderful people, many of whose names I do not remember—who have helped me. It is the same with each of us in the Church. No man proceeds alone. We grow according to the help given us by those who teach us and lead us.

I have been marvelously fortunate and greatly blessed. I have had a wonderful opportunity in working closely with the Brethren—all of those who are on this stand, and many who have sat here in years past and who are gone. I have had a sure conviction that President McKay is a prophet of the Lord since the day he was sustained as the President of this Church, and I have had many experiences which have confirmed that conviction.

I had the great opportunity of being with him at the Swiss Temple, and as I saw those people gathered from ten nations to participate in the temple ordinances; as I saw elderly people from behind the Iron Curtain who had lost their families in the wars that had washed over them, and witnessed the expressions of joy and tears of gladness which came from their hearts as a result of the opportunities that had been given them; as I saw young husbands and wives with their families—their bright and beautiful children—and saw those families united in an eternal relationship, I knew with a certainty even beyond what I had known before that this man was inspired and directed of the Lord to bring these priceless blessings into the lives of those men and women of faith gathered from the nations of Europe.

I do not know why under the blessing of Providence I have had the marvelous association which I have had with President Richards. In 1935 when I was released from my mission, Elder Joseph F. Merrill of the Council of the Twelve, who was my mission president, asked that I meet with the First Presidency to tell them of some conditions in the European missions. Following that interview President McKay assigned me to work under the supervision of Brother Richards, and for almost a quarter of a century I have worked under his direction and have been tutored by him. I have partaken of his wisdom—his great wisdom—and his kindness and graciousness. I shall ever be in his debt, and I want him to know of my love and appreciation for him.

President Clark has been my ever-ready friend and adviser. I do not know how to say thanks enough to him. And to all of these Brethren whom I have come to love, and who have been so generous and good to me, I am deeply grateful.

I have been touched by the mission presidents with whom I have worked. As I have known their stories, the great sacrifices which they have made to go into the world, the devotion with which they labor, the manner in which they give of themselves, I have been humbled. I have been inspired by the missionaries with whom I have had association. I have seen them as they have gone out in all kinds of weather, late and soon, doing their work and bearing testimony, often at great sacrifice, and bringing a marvelous harvest of souls into the kingdom of God. I have been touched by their parents, with many of whom I have talked. There are still many widows in this Church who wash and iron, who sweep and empty wastebaskets to keep sons and daughters in the mission field, and who would mortgage all they have to give whatever might be felt necessary to make more effective the work of a son or daughter in the mission field.

I have thought, as has Brother Tuttle, of my teachers of the Primary, the Sunday School, and the MIA, and of the Aaronic Priesthood leaders who helped me along when I was a noisy boy, and who exercised patience and forbearance. I do not remember many of the specific lessons they taught, but somehow there was born in my heart a conviction concerning the truth of this work.

I shall always be grateful to the bishop who recommended me for a mission, for my companions in the field, to the humble men and women of faith among whom I labored; to Brother George D. Pyper of the Sunday School, who invited me to serve on the general board; to my stake president who invited me to become his counselor. To Brother Harold B. Lee I feel particularly indebted for a blessing which he gave me when he set me apart as a stake president. I shall never forget the language and spirit of that blessing.

Now, in conclusion, I should like to express my appreciation to my father. He lies critically ill in the hospital. If I feel any selfish satisfaction in this honor, it is the satisfaction that comes from the realization that one of his sons has been found worthy of the confidence of the Brethren. And if I feel any regret, it is that, unless the Lord rules to the contrary, he will not know of this in mortality because of the condition in which he lies today.

No son ever had a better father. He was busy in the Church—for twenty-five years he was in the stake presidency and fulfilled many other responsibilities—but he never forced his views upon us and never compelled us to participate. He never touched one of his children. But by some inspired psychology he planted in us a faith, a love for the restored gospel, and, I think, a desire to do the right thing.

I would like also to express appreciation to my marvelous and faithful mother. She died three years before I went on a mission. I received my call in the days of depression, and money was scarce, and the mission to which I went was then the most costly in the Church. But we found that she, through the years, had banked some of her small change and set up, as it were, a trust fund so that her boys might go on missions regardless of any economic catastrophe that might hit the family.

I would also like to express appreciation for the wonderful women who have come into our home and for my own beloved companion and our five children.

I say these things for two reasons: first, because I am grateful to all who have helped me along the way, and secondly, because I would like to make the point that all of us, in our various situations, are the result, largely, of the lives that touch ours; and that as teachers and officers in the Church we affect for good or ill all who come under our direction according to our diligence in meeting our responsibilities.

It was Emerson, I think, who was asked what book had had the greatest influence upon his life, and he said he could no more remember the books he had read than he could remember the meals he had eaten, but they had made him. Likewise, all of us are largely the products of the lives which touch upon our lives, and today I feel profoundly grateful for all who have touched mine.

Now, in conclusion, on this sixth day of April, significant under the revelations of the Lord, I, too, would like to bear testimony that I know that God lives, that Jesus is our Redeemer, the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh, the Savior of mankind who gave his life to atone for our sins; that Joseph Smith was indeed a prophet of God, the prophet of this dispensation; that the Lord's work is here and is real and under his direction; and that President David O. McKay stands, as did the prophet of this dispensation, to lead the kingdom of God, as the stone which was cut out of the mountain without hands, which should roll forth and fill the earth.

God help us, you and me, to live up to the testimonies which we carry in our hearts, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

(Elder Gordon B. Hinckley, Conference Report, April 1958, Afternoon Meeting 125.)

[Moksha]

I found President Hinckley's admonitions for Mormons to treat non-mormons with dignity, respect and friendship, as well as his admonition against racism, to be particularly meaningful.