President Gordon B. Hinckley, 1910 - 2008

Last night, President Gordon B. Hinckley, the 15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and a Prophet of God, was called by that God to come home.

He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Marjorie. I have no doubt that their reunion was joyous and beautiful.

I have a sweet memory of President Hinckley. Sometime in 1969, while I was serving as a missionary in the Colombia-Venezuela Mission, President Hinckley visited the mission headquarters in Caracas, Venezuela, in his capacity of the apostle overseeing the work in South America. We had a zone conference, and he asked that I sing "Let Us Oft Speak Kind Words to Each Other." I don't know who told him I was a singer--perhaps he knew it by the Spirit. In fact, I had been a vocal soloist for many years, and had performed both in church services, and at college and civic organizations. That request, however, was a sacred responsibility to me, and one I took as a great honor. It is now a precious memory.