Gordon B. Hinckley

It was Sunday night January 27th at about 7:00 PM and I was on the computer in the office checking into my flight when Nicole, who was in the kitchen, got a call from her sister Kristy telling her to turn on the TV, President Hinckley had died.

For some reason it is always shocking to get news like this even when it concerns someone who is 97 years old. I started to pay attention to Nicole's conversation when I sensed the shock and surprise in her voice. It was Nicole that told me and everyone else in that part of the house and I walked in and we watched a news report for a minute or two. I can honestly say that I was not really sad when I heard the news, I would say that I was simply reflective, thinking about the wonderful person the prophet was and what a great example he was. The next thing I remember thinking about were the kids and what they thought. For all of our children this was the only prophet they ever knew. I can remember when Spencer W. Kimball died. It was November, 1985, I would have been just a few years older then Zach, about to turn 15. He was the only prophet I had ever known (He was ordained when I was 3 yrs old). I do not really remember being sad, I only remember thinking that is was going to be strange to have a new prophet. When Ezra Taft Benson was called I do not think I really knew who he was. One thing I do remember was that it was difficult to change my prayers and remember to say the name of the new prophet and not the old one I had prayed for my entire life.

I don't think the kids were sad, I asked them and they did not seem sad, it is hard to say what they were thinking, there was really no major reaction. Even Nicole was not what I would consider sad, she was more interested in watching the news coverage then I was but she was not sad. She did mention how great it must have been for the prophet to see his wife again in heaven. That is a nice thought.

Nicole and I put the kids to bed a little later and then we watched the news together. It was kind of silly how the news covered the story that night, they interviewed people who came down to temple square to sing and lay flowers. I didn't really like that whole scene and how they were covering it. After the news there was an hour long special on President Hinckley that was fantastic. This program was something that was probably put together for one of his birthdays and I do not remember having seen all of it before but I really did enjoy watching it. I do not know what else to say other then how much I admire Gordon B. Hinckley and the man and servant of the Lord that he was. If only we all could be more like he was.

I actually did not finish watching the tribute program, I had to go back and get ready to go to Nashville. My flight to Atlanta was scheduled to leave at 12:30 AM, I left the house at some time around 11:20 PM.

This was the headline in the Deseret News the next day:

LDS President Gordon B. Hinckley dies at age 97
LDS president met call with humility, vigor

President Gordon B. Hinckley, who led The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through explosive growth during his more than 12 years as president, died 7 p.m. Sunday at home of causes incident to age, surrounded by family. He was 97.

There was a tremendous amount of coverage of the Prophet's passing in the Utah papers and media. There was also a good amount of national and international coverage. It was one of the headline stories on Yahoo on Monday which in some ways surprised me. When I got back to my hotel later in the evening it was being reported in some way or another on most news stations. It turned up in a place I never expected, on the Stephen Cobert show which is a comedy show that mocks and parodies real news talk shows. He did quite a lengthy bit on the story and all though he was playing parts of it off for laughs he was not disrespectful in any way to me.

The next thing I saw on the television that night was very surprising to me. Glen Beck was talking about the prophet and his personal feelings on his show and was visibly emotional and weeping. It was very strange to see a big time show on CNN, the biggest news channel in the world, and a well known personality like Glen Beck paying tribute. I have known that Glen Beck was LDS for quite some time now but I had never seen him speak so candidly about it on his show. He expressed his sincere gratitude and love for the Prophet. He spoke of what a great example he was and tearfully expressed his love and admiration on CNN! It really struck me as quite amazing that I was watching this on CNN.

It is a very different time for LDS people right now in this country when you look at things from the standpoint of the media and what people in general are interested in and talking about. With Mitt Romney in the running for the Republican presidential nomination and high profile people like Glen Beck openly discussing the LDS faith on such large stages as CNN it really is a unique time. I personally enjoy it. I have always been asked about my faith by the people I work with and now there is much more to talk about in that conversation besides the same old stuff like polygamy and the word of wisdom.