MY PROPHET

When I heard that our prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley, had just died, I first felt disbelief, then like the wind had been knocked out of me, followed by a hollow pit inside. Now, I feel calm and peaceful. What a tremendous man among men. Michael and I had the great privilege of racing to his office in the old Church Administration Building to be present as my mother and father were interviewed by him. My father (another man among men) was then set apart to be a sealer in the Salt Lake Temple. President Hinckley first asked my mother if my father was worthy, and in the typical Lyal Bingham fashion, she said timidly and unasumingly, "Well, I think so." He then asked my father the same question, who answered it in the typical Jay Bingham fashion, "Absolutely, . . . in every way, . . . without question!" It was a powerful experience to be in such a close and intimate setting with the the then counselor in the first presidency. Though he was not the president or prophet at the time, he was nevertheless running the church as Spencer W. Kimball was ailing. I love this picture of him because he looked like he could be everyone's grandpa. It was taken at an important BYU game where they were naming the LaVell Edwards Stadium. He told the players before the game, "Don't muff it!" His talks were always meaningful, always compelling. One of the first things I remember him saying to mothers when he became the prophet was, "Do the best you can." It was so comforting. It was a more nurturing message than I had heard before as a young mother. I will never forget him and all that he has taught me. He was the ultimate example in our day.