President Gordon B. Hinckley

As I reflect today on the life of President Gordon B. Hinckley, 15th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, whose funeral will be this morning, my heart warms to the thoughts of the wonderful work that he accomplished.

As a young missionary for this church in Stuttgart, Germany during the fall of 1973, I recorded some of the thoughts of Elder Gordon B. Hinckley, who was then a special witness of Jesus Christ, and who came to visit us. He told the missionaries to be humble and prayerful. He told us to preach Jesus Christ to the people of the world. He wanted us to know that the Lord had sent us to succeed, and that if we would pray and be faithful, the Lord would help us.

I love the book that President Hinckley wrote called "Standing for Something". I have listened to it on CD over and over again. It has such a wonderful message of virtue within it's work.

The ten virtues as espoused by President Gordon B. Hinckley are:

1. LOVE
2. CIVILITY
3. LEARNING
4. MERCY
5. FORGIVENESS
6. THRIFT
7. INDUSTRY
8. GRATITUDE
9. OPTIMISM
10. FAITH

The guardians of virtue as espoused by President Hinckley are:

1. MARRIAGE
2. THE FAMILY

A quote attributed to Aristotle about virtue goes something like this: “VIRTUOUS BEHAVIOR FOSTERS GOOD RELATIONSHIPS, INCLUDING COURAGE, GOOD TEMPER, FRIENDLINESS, TRUTHFULNESS, WIT, JUSTICE AND MAGNIFICANCE. IT IS THE ABILITY TO DO THE RIGHT THING IN A BOLD WAY.”

As I think about President Hinckley, I can't help but marvel at his ability to do great and good things in a bold way. He seemed to have the skills and the ability, somewhat inherent, but I believe also learned, to coach, guide, and counsel others, partly by his example, in a bold and kind way. He was simply marvelous.

He truly lived by the example of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ as recorded in 1st John of the New Testament:

“We love Him, because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19