Pres. Hinckley's Funeral

Today was Pres. Hinckley's funeral, and it was a beautiful, sunny winter day. It was cold, but not as cold as it's been. So, I think Heavenly Father was honoring Pres. Hinckley with such a beautiful day and a welcome break from the constant cold, snowy, gray winter weather we've been having. Richard went to work at the temple today even though it was Pres. Hinckley's funeral. I guess they had to keep the temple open for all the weddings that were going on plus other things scheduled there for today. But I told Richard that if he had to be any place else today other than watching the funeral, the temple was a great place to be. I don't think Pres. Hinckley would have wanted all temple work to stop for his funeral; so, it was actually a way for Richard to honor him by being there during the funeral.

I just loved the funeral. Even without being there in person we could feel the spirit of the occasion as we watched on TV. The talks were wonderful as was all the music. The speakers were Pres. Hinckley's daughter, Virginia H. Pearce; Bishop H. David Burton; Elder Earl C. Tingey; Pres. Boyd K. Packer; Pres. Henry B. Eyring; and Pres. Thomas S. Monson. Sis. Pearce said, "My father was adorable, a marvel to watch." She also said, "These past four years (after Sis. Hinckley's death) have been the capstone years of his life." She told how he was very sad after Sis. Hinckley passed away; but, for two years, he went back to work in every sense of the word. Then, for another two years after that, he was granted a "miraculous two-year extension of his life" after being diagnosed with cancer. He kept on working until the end.

Bishop Burton said that Pres. Hinckley was considered by the young people of the Church to be "awesome," that he connected with the young people and encouraged them to "stand a little taller, do your best, and raise the bar," and he gave them (and us) the "six B's" to follow: Be Humble, Be Grateful, Be Smart, Be Clean, Be Prayerful, Be True. He told how several years ago when there were 47 temples, of which Pres. Hinckley had part in dedicating 30 of them, Pres. Hinckley said, "My, I would love to be alive when we have 100 temples." The Rexburg Temple, which was scheduled to be dedicated before he died, is #125. He told how Pres. Hinckley had wanted "Little Cottonwood Granite" to be used in the construction of the Conference Center, but that there was much outside opposition to the use of the granite. When Bishop Burton and others suggested using another material, Pres. Hinckley said, "Don't worry. A way will be provided." He will always be remembered for encouraging us to do and be the best we can and to stand a little taller.

Elder Tingey spoke of the "footprints" left in the sands of time by Pres. Hinckley: as the great communicator; his influence on missionary work--400,000 missionaries were called by him which comprise 40 percent of all the missionaries who have ever served; as a temple builder--there have been 75 new temples since he became president; his sense of humor--he once told a group of missionaries, "You all look like a bunch of penguins;" being a "renaissance man" with the building of the Conference Center, etc.;" his promotion of education with the establishment of the Perpetual Education Fund; the expansion of the quorums of the 70 under his direction; and his love of all people, to name a few. He concluded by thanking Pres. Hinckley for his valiant service; integrity; wisdom; judgement; talks; testimony of Joseph Smith, of our Heavenly Father and of Jesus Christ; and "Thanks you for letting us know that you loved us."

Pres. Boyd K. Packer told how when Pres. Hinckley was first hired by the Church to work in the newly-organized public informtion department he set up a broken desk and brought his own typewriter from home. He requested a ream of paper (500 sheets) and was asked, "What will you do with all that paper?" He responded by saying, "I'll write on it," which he did and "he never stopped writing." He also told of how, as a new apostle, Pres. Hinckley had visited the mission where his son, Richard, was serving. After visiting with his son, Pres. Hinckley watched him walk away with his companion into the cold, dark night and said that was "one of the hardest things I've ever had to do." Pres. Packer said that one of the things Pres. Hinckley understood best was the "family," and that Pres. and Sis. Hinckley's family could be described as "ideal."

Pres. Henry B. Eyring said that Pres. Hinckley's motto was: "Things will work out." He then listed things that Pres. Hinckley had accomplished: He saw the way to build temples across the earth; He saw the way for young people across the world to walk out of poverty; He conceived the Conference Center. His accomplishments always blessed individuals with opportunity. He knew that a loving Heavenly Father had prepared a way for families to be together forever. He learned from his father and encouraged each of us to "forget yourself and go to work." As a young man, he promised the Lord that he would do his best and he has been doing that ever sense. He taught that all that the Lord requires of us is that we do our best, our very best. Pres. Eyring concluded by saying, "We are better because of his influence and his example; and the best is yet to come as we take the Gospel down into our hearts."

Pres. Monson quoted a line which says, "God makes a giant among men" and Pres. Hinckley was such a giant among men. He said that Pres. Hinckley has truly been a prophet for our time. He went about doing good. He reminded us that Pres. Hinckley still lives, he's on a heavenly mission. He concluded on a personal note saying, "Gordon, God be with you 'til we meet again."

As a closing hymn the choir sang, "My Shepherd Will Supply My Needs" over a montage of scenes of Pres. Hinckley going about doing his work as prophet. He never stopped working and loving the people. I thought the whole funeral was a wonderful tribute to him.

After the funeral we got to see the cortege leaving the Conference Center and going to the cemetery. All along the way, people were waving white handkerchiefs and canes. At the cemetery, after everyone was assembled, a bagpiper came from somewhere in the cemetery playing "Danny Boy" and "Praise to the Man." I thought Tiffany would have especially loved hearing the bagpipe playing "Praise to the Man" since that is what she used for the accompaniment to her slideshow tribute to Pres. Hinckley. Everything about the funeral and the day was wonderful. I loved it! We'll miss Pres. Hinckley so much. It's hard to imagine that he has gone, but we can always be grateful for his teachings and his example which he left for us to always remember and try to follow.

Lindy called this afternoon to say they probably wouldn't be coming over for dinner tomorrow evening because her cold was getting worse and Camden had started throwing up. So things don't sound like they're going too well at their house. They've got a lot of bugs flying around: strep, superbug cold, and now the flu! We're hoping and praying that they can get better soon.

For dinner tonight we had steaks and baked potatoes from Macey's. Steven and I went to pick Richard up from the temple, and on our way we stopped by Macy's for some groceries. They were having their annual Super Bowl tailgating party, so it was pretty wild. We were there just as they were getting ready to do the drawing for the big screen TV and the winner had to be present in order to win; so as you can imagine, there were lots of people. Outside they were grilling up some New York steaks; and you could get a steak, potato and drink for $3.00. So we got three and took them home for dinner. Yum!