A Day to Mourn the Prophet at 10:31 PM

Instead of talking about myself today, as I promised to do before, I'm putting in a bit of a moment of silence, as it were, out of respect to Gordon B. Hinckley, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. You may have already read about the passing of President Hinckley, or read the thoughts of other bloggers, and I'll add mine to those which have already been written.

President Hinckley is the first living prophet that I was able to see and hear in person (at least the first that I remember clearly; I have vague memories of seeing Spencer W. Kimball when I was younger.) The feeling you get in the presence of one who carries that mantle is indescribable. It seems odd to even be talking about this, even though President Hinckley was 97 years old. He was another who never seemed like an old man. The fact that he was the one chosen to make the Church more well-known to the general worldwide public is hardly disputable. For a quick summary of what President Hinckley did, here's an article from the New York Times. It's hardly all-inclusive, but a good read nonetheless. I don't talk about religion much in this space, but there's a time for everything. I, along with many of the LDS faith, will miss President Hinckley greatly. At the same time, however, what a joyful reunion must be taking place today between him and his wife, who passed a few years ago.