Our beloved prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley passed away this evening at 7pm. These are such bittersweet news; I’m happy that he’s reunited with his beloved wife, Marjorie, the girl of his dreams as he called her, and at the same time I’m so sad that the prophet of my youth is no more on this world. I was baptized in the Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-Day Saints fifteen years ago, and he was the prophet for the last thirteen years. Even though my whole family was baptized the same week I was, they went inactive soon after. Only my sister and my mother attended regularly with me, but now, I’m the only who has been active all these years. During some bad times in my youth, when my mother was so depressed she wouldn’t talk to me or my siblings, when I felt like no one loved me or understood me, I always had Pres. Hinckley’s words to comfort me. I always knew God had a plan for me, that He loved me and knew me personally, all because Pres. Hinckley really loved and trusted the youth of the Church, and I was a part of that marvelous work. When he visited Argentina my younger brother, my sister and I went to Buenos Aires with our church ward. I’ll never forget the wonderful Spirit that was in that soccer stadium that evening, how we could feel it as soon as we saw Pres. Hinckley walked into the arena. Among many things he expressed his testimony of the reality of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and said that if our faith wasn’t enough to believe it, to believe his words, that he KNEW They love us and Know us. My brother doesn’t attend church now, but he said that he has a tremendous trust in the prophet, that so many people have let him down, but if Pres. Hinckley lets him down then nobody could be trusted in this world.
I’ll miss you beloved prophet. Thank you for the life you lived even thought you didn’t know me, but I knew you, and that made all the difference in my life. Enjoy this next adventure!