The passing of a prophet

At the risk of repeating what has already been said, I'll add my thoughts from the last week and a half.

Since learning of the passing of President Gordon B. Hinckley, I've been surprised by how many times I've felt the sorrow of his death as I've read about him. During his funeral on Saturday someone mentioned how for the youth of the Church, President Hinckley was their prophet. It is interesting to me how many people have commented, whether in blogs or in personal conversations, on how they felt a strong connection to him. You can count me among the number of people who felt like Pres. Hinckley was their prophet. Even though I grew up in the Church, I never remember feeling close to Pres. Benson or Pres. Hunter. Perhaps Pres. Hinckley's calling coincided with my greater involvement in the gospel. For example, I remember sitting in a BYU devotional my freshman year (with Kim!) listening to him speak, teaching people about him on my mission, listening to his "6 Be's" fireside talk (with Kim!) after my mission, and many other experiences from the last 12 years. Yet another reason who so many felt he was their prophet may be Pres. Hinckley's affability and good-natured personality. He was a remarkable man and someone that I look up to and aspire to follow. I didn't realize the full impact that Pres. Hinckley has made on me personally, and probably can never count the many ways he has influenced my life.

On Monday I watched as President Thomas S. Monson was announced as the 16th President of the Church. Here are a few thoughts on the whole thing.

• Pres. Monson appears more somber than he usually does. Kim has noted besides the weight of new responsibilities, he's also lost a longtime friend.
• As Pres. Monson talked of Pres. Hinckley's life and example, I again felt the pangs of loss.
• Pres. Uchtdorf was asked about being from Germany and representing his German ancestry. In response he said "I learned quickly in the church that we're not representing a nation or country or ethnic group. We are ... representing the church of Jesus Christ. We are representatives of Him." I liked that a lot.
  
• I've always enjoyed listening to Pres. Eyring. I think he is a fabulous choice for a counselor. (Not that my opinion matters, though.)
  
• Finally, it is very interesting to see how easy the whole process has been compared to the US Presidential Elections. Choosing a new Church President is much simpler in terms of resources--time and money--spent on the whole process.