President Hinckley

I worked on Saturday and missed the funeral. But during our testimony meeting at church lots of people focused on their personal testimonies or thoughts about Pres. Hinckley. Like Spencer said in a recent phone conversation he was definately a magnificent person and one we can follow. He was at once humble and completely amazing. He did soooooo much during his lifetime for the good of the church and its members (and thus all mankind). I thought I'd share one of the stories that someone in our meeting shared that was particularly touching to me.

This is the story as told by the man in the story's son (who is in our ward).
A young man (we'll call him John since I can't remember his name) was contacted by missionaries when he was about 19 or 20 years old. After taking the discussions John gained a testimony for himself and decided to join the church. While talking to his missionaries he said, "Alright, I want to be baptized, but answer me this. I don't want to be a missionary. Do I have to go on a mission if I'm baptized? Is it a requirement?" The missionaries reassured him that he did not have to become a missionary if he joined the church. John joined the church and ended up going to school for a degree. While flying home for a visit with his family near the end of his education, he sat next to a man on an airplane. They chatted about things and the older man found out John is a member of the church. Since John was the right age, the man asked if he had been on a mission. John said no. The older man said, "I am a member of the church too and you should really go on a mission". He talked briefly for about three minutes about why it would be beneficial, what he had learned from his own mission, etc. Then the subject changed and they just chatted for the duration of the two hour flight.

After getting off the flight John had been so touched by what the older man had shared that he decided he would go on a mission. Although his mission was very tough, it changed his life forever. Our friend in the ward bore testimony that it was a great blessing to their family that the dad had made this decision.

So the punch line to the story? A few weeks after the plane ride, John was watching general conference. One of the speakers was an apostle. John recognized him from the plane ride: Pres. Hinckley (then Elder Hinckley).

I was just so touched by this story for several reasons. First, it was from someone who had a personal interaction with the prophet (our friend's dad). Second, it shows just how humble and powerful Pres. Hinckley was day in and out. He said, "I'm a member of the church too." He didn't say, "I'm one of the twelve apostles and ..." He just loved this young man and spoke the truth quietly and yet boldly. He didn't mince words. But he wasn't condemning or preaching either. Third, we can all be just like him! We will have interactions on a plane or at work or other places where we can interact with others. We can visit with them, love them, share brief honest testimony when certain topics come up and influence others for good! What a great example of missionary work. I need to be better at learning how to chat with all types of people. It requires, I think, interest in what and who they are.

Anyway, neat story huh? Hope you are all doing well. We need some news again from the rest of you!

Emily

Just some of the things Pres. Hinckley did as prophet:

Started the building of smaller temples so more convenient for the members
Dedicated almost 100 new temples
Established Perpetual Education Fund for those in third world countries
Helped bring church out of obscurity (60 minute interview, etc)
Has been prophet while about 1/3 of the current membership was baptized
BOM reading challenge

I'm sure I'm forgetting a ton. What are your thoughts and additions?