PRESIDENT HINCKLEY PASSES AWAY

I am wiping my tears as they fall down my face in my selfish sadness that President Hinckley has passed away. I can't really take it in yet, even after reading about it on the Internet and seeing it as breaking news on the television. My heart is cracked and yet happy for him. He is with Marjorie. They are true loves. If we needed an example of a happy marriage it was in watching them together.

Being older than most bloggers, I have a long and comforting memory of President Hinckley being there! He was the leader the entire church looked to when President Benson and President Romney were both so ill they couldn't function fully or be present at General Conference.

I don't think that I fully realize all he has accomplished in furthering the work of the Lord. TEMPLES, THE CONFERENCE CENTER, MISSIONARY WORK, THE MEDIA, WOMEN, (he loves the women of the church so much) PREACH MY GOSPEL, FIRESIDES, GENERAL CONFERENCE MESSAGES,THE NAUVOO TEMPLE, WAVING HIS CANE, SMILING, TELLING A JOKE THAT WAS THE BEST IN THE WORLD, COMFORTING US AFTER 911, GIVING US STRENGTH TO TRY OUR BEST, PROCLAMATION ON THE FAMILY, AND ASKING THE ENTIRE CHURCH TO READ THE BOOK OF MORMON AT THE SAME TIME.
How I love him. How I will miss him. How grateful I am for his willingness to fashion all of his life in service and choices that brought him to be our beloved prophet.

One of my most cherished spiritual experiences happened with President Hinckley. I wish that I could put it into words so that you could truly understand the tangible feeling I had. When President Bednar was inaugurated as President of Ricks/BYU-Idaho, my in-laws were invited to the inauguration and a special luncheon afterwards. Because I had gone to Ricks and had a special love for the school, my in-laws asked me to drive them and go with them. What a blessing in my life! There were about 8,000 people in the arena and we all stood at the end of the program. President and Sister Hinckley led the procession of people down through the long corridor of people on the floor. Of course, President Hinckley smiled and waved as he walked. As he approached the area we were sitting (up off the floor and amid hundreds around us) I had the most remarkable feeling come over me. I KNEW without any doubt that President Hinckley loved me. I KNEW that he cared for my welfare. I KNEW that even though I would probably never meet him face to face, he LOVED me. It was a testament that this is the LOVE the SAVIOR has for each of us. It was a testimony of unconditional and pure love as brothers and sisters and children of our Heavenly Father. I can't describe the feeling other than it was one of the most comforting, peaceful and happy experiences of my life.
It gave me an understanding of the Savior's love as well as the prophet's love.

Now a funny story.....when my father-in-law was stake president, Elder Hinckley was speaking at stake conference and then he was having dinner with my in-laws and their children. My sweet mother-in-law had worked tirelessly cleaning and preparing for him to come to her home. She pulled out the fridge and all the applicances and cleaned, she wiped down everything, worried about her menu, and was very nervous. My father-in-law, Bart, asked Elder Hinckley, "Don't you want to look behind the fridge? My wife had us clean there." Elder Hinckley stood in the kitchen with her at the stove while she was making the gravy. He said, "Sister Wolthuis, you look like you just came from the old country." Ellen, my mother-in-law, always wondered if she looked like an immigrant and she would laugh about it. Stake Conference day ended up being a cloudy and dreary day. They had to turn on the overhead light above the dining room table. She looked up and saw dead spiders outlined in the glow of the bulb. She about died of embarrassment. But it didn't end there....Bart, my husband's older brother, was going to school at Dixie. He unexpectedly came home and blew in through the back door and went straight to the fridge. Of course, a gallon of milk went flying out the fridge door all over the floor. Elder Hinckley said, "Now I feel at home." He was always able to use humor to teach and make others feel at ease. We all laugh when we hear or talk about that President Hinckley story.

I want to express my testimony about living prophets. I ABSOLUTELY KNOW that President Hinckley was and is a prophet of God. I know that he was the prophet for this generation and time. I know he was saved to lead the church at this time in history. He did more for the church than I will ever realize. I know that he loved God, the Savior, the gospel, his family, the members, and all of God's children. I know he led us through revelation and was the mouthpiece of the Lord. I will always be blessed with this testimony of President Hinckely.