Sunday 27th January 2008- The Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley dies at age 97

This Sabbath day was a day of remembrance. Our block of meetings at 9:00 went very well with Joshua now understanding a bit of how sacrament meeting runs with hymns sung and prayers said. He also does a very good job of taking the sacrament on his own. I taught my first lesson as the Laurel Advisor and it went really well. I made these really cute handouts that I gave to each girl and all the leaders. The lesson was on 'Living the Gospel Daily' and I made cute flower pens with the quote
"Just as a seed needs daily sunlight, water, plant food and T.L.C. to become a beautiful flower; we, as daughters of God need, love prayer, service, obedience, scripture study, and work, daily to become beautiful young women!"

After having dinner at my parent’s house we headed home in the terrible wind. Around 8:30 my mom called with the news that President Gordon B. Hinckley had passed away. It was such a sad but yet peaceful and happy moment. Just a month ago I had finished the book "Go Forward With Faith: The Biography of Gordon B. Hinckley ". I felt such a stronger connection to the Prophet after learning about his life and everything that led up to him becoming our Prophet, Seer and Revelator. My testimony has grown tremendously and my love for the prophet multiplied. I had always known that Gordon B. Hinckley was our prophet and called of God but now it was a lot more than that. I felt as if I knew him personally!
As we watched news documentaries and listened the news stations highlight his life I knew everything they were talking about as if it were my own grandfather.
We are so blessed to have had such a wonderful man as our prophet and even more blessed to have been apart of all the changes and impacts he had in so many lives. Nearly four years ago his wife Marjorie Pay Hinckley passed away while I was in the temple receiving my endowments and now Gordon B. Hinckley gets to reunite with his beloved.
He was a wonderful example in our lives and will never be forgotten. We are excited for the changes and new experiences to come. We are now beginning a new era.