Gordon B. Hinckley

Finally, brothers and sisters, I come to Gordon B. Hinckley, fifteenth President of the Church, ordained and set apart on March 12, 1995, at the age of 84.

Two years after he was ordained a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1961, I joined him in that quorum, and we sat side by side for most of the next 44 years. We had known each other for many years prior to our calls to the Twelve. He was a choice and beloved friend, as well as a trusted and respected colleague.

President Hinckley is the President of the Church most of you will remember best, for he was President during much of the time you were growing to young adulthood. He was a kind man who taught and who lived tolerance, never disparaging another person’s beliefs.

President Hinckley was a wordsmith. I will repeat the word: wordsmith. He was well read and a scholar, and he could put words and phrases together in such a way that it was a pleasure to listen to his messages.

As many of you know, each Thursday morning the members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles have a meeting in the Salt Lake Temple. We are driven in carts underground from the Church Office Building parking lot to the temple. During the cold winter months, President Hinckley always wore a coat and a hat during the brief ride. As our cart passed under Main Street, President Hinckley knew when we were within the confines of the temple, rather than under the street. Without a word he would remove his hat and place it in his lap. He seemed to know instinctively when that moment arrived. It was such a simple yet profound expression of reverence and respect for the house of the Lord, and it made a deep impression on me.

All of you will recall that during the last few years of his life President Hinckley always had a cane with him. He would walk to his seat in the Conference Center while waving to the crowd with his cane or using it to tap someone on the shoulder. President Hinckley and I for years went to the same doctor, and during one of my visits a few years ago, the doctor said to me, “Could you please do me a favor? President Hinckley should use his cane for walking because it steadies him. The last thing we want is for him to fall and break a hip, or worse. Instead, he waves it around and doesn’t use it when he walks. Tell him the cane has been prescribed by his doctor, and he needs to use it as it was meant to be used.”

I listened to the physician’s request and then replied, “Doctor, I am President Hinckley’s counselor. You are his doctor. You tell him!”

One of President Hinckley’s favorite hymns has words written by Rudyard Kipling—that’s the British in him. The hymn is “God of Our Fathers, Known of Old.” One of his favorite desserts was pie and ice cream. He loved the Prophet Joseph Smith; he loved the Savior. A favorite quotation was taken from the words of the Prophet Joseph concerning the Savior:

And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!

For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father.

What would be a guiding principle from President Hinckley’s life? It is one which we would all do well to follow: Do your best.

Gordon B. Hinckley served as President of the Church for nearly thirteen years until his death on January 27, 2008, at the age of 97.

Thomas S. Monson "Principles From Prophets" September 15 2009 BYU Devotional