Passing

I don't like the phrase "passes away" or "passed on" or anything like that. I don't like "died" either. But regardless of what I like, Pres. Hinckley has died. That's a big thing. I am sad to realize that we will not be seeing him wave his cane or smile at his little jokes any more. He has been a presence in our lives for a long time. But I am overjoyed at the thought of his reunion with his wife. (How excited she must have been to know he was coming.) And reunions with his dear friends like, Pres. Faust, Pres. Hunter, Elder Maxwell, Elder Haight and many others.

Pres. Hinckley was born when Mama was 11 yrs. old. Daddy was almost 19 and would soon go on his own Mission to England. Mama and Daddy knew a lot of Pres. of the Church and apostles, but I don't recall ever hearing them mention Gordon B. Hinckley. They were both gone before he became Pres. Hinckley.

For all of our grandchildren, Pres. Hinckley is the only church president they remember. That was the way it was for me and Pres. McKay. I saw George Albert Smith once when we were visiting my grandparents on the Avenues. But mostly it was Pres. McKay. When he died in 1970 people were heard to say, "what will we ever do?" He had been president since 1951. But he was old and weak and unable to attend General Conference before he died. The beauty is that the church will not miss a beat. We will all be sad and will mourn Pres. Hinckley, and rejoice for him, but the work will not be interrupted. We were spoiled. We thought he would last forever, maybe, like I did with my mother. When we saw signs of weakness, as we did at the Christmas Fireside 2007, we hoped they were temporary. But they weren't.

Let me tell you something I learned when my parents died. Especially my mother. It always hurts. Be careful what you say to people who have just lost a parent or spouse. I don't ever say "she lived such a good life...you were so lucky" or "she's in a better place." All of that is true. But I was 9 months pregnant and missed my mother. That's what I learned. It's a very selfish time. You miss them and think about your life without them.

But, back to Pres. Hinckley. This morning's paper had a whole section just about him. Ellen brought it over for us. Pictures of him and things he has done, places he has traveled and so many things he has said. I am grateful for his life and I will miss him.