'Unforgettable' cameos from life
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PROVO, Utah — At a time when he is emerging as history's longest-lived president of the Church, President Gordon B. Hinckley devoted a BYU Devotional address Oct. 31 to a recollection of "several brief cameos or vignettes or seemingly little experiences" that have touched his life "in an unforgettable manner."
For the most part, he gave the vignettes with little or no elaboration, leaving it to his listeners to ponder what it was about each recollection that was so influential to him.
Entering the massive Marriott Center, the Church president exhibited the same determined stride that has marked his demeanor throughout his 11-year presidency, though he moves a bit more slowly these days. His presence brought a dramatic change in the ambience of the hall prior to the opening of the meeting, with the din of conversation replaced by subdued whispers.
Early in his talk, President Hinckley said he would be departing from the pattern of his previous Marriott Center addresses. "Whether that change will be acceptable or not will depend on you," he said, then added, to the delight of the congregation, "Furthermore, it is Halloween, and that calls for something a little different, but I don't know why it should."
He evoked a swell of laughter when, at the mention of Halloween, he flipped his black-and-orange necktie.
Of the experiences he shared in his speech, President Hinckley remarked, "They have influenced my thinking and behavior. They have affected my life in an unforgettable manner. You likewise will have significant experiences. I hope that you will write them down and keep a record of them, that you will read them from time to time and refresh your memory of these meaningful and significant things.
"Some of them may be funny. Some may be of significance only to you. Some of them may be sacred and quietly beautiful. Some may build one upon another until they represent a lifetime of experience."
The recollection he saved for the end of his talk was of his wife, Marjorie P. Hinckley, whom he married nearly 70 years ago.
"When she was young, I was bewitched and in love," he said. "That love strengthened through the years. She came to be a woman of recognized capacity. She traveled across the world with me and spoke on every continent, giving encouragement and bearing her testimony. She authored books. She was once honored here (at BYU) as the woman of the year. A chair at this university carries her name.
"She left me two and a half years ago. The resulting loneliness never entirely disappears. On the granite marker at her grave site are inscribed the words 'Beloved Eternal Companion.' Such she is and such she always will be."
Reminding students that the association they now enjoy is probably the best time of their lives to find one's own eternal companion, he admonished, "Do so with a prayer in your heart. It will be the most important decision you will ever make. It will influence your life from now through all eternity."
Earlier in the address, he made reference to the handcart pioneers who were making their way to the Salt Lake Valley exactly 150 years ago. He spoke of his wife's great-grandmother, Mary Penfold Goble, and quoted from her written account of the sufferings and deaths she and her family experienced during their handcart trek to the valley.
He told of meeting a couple in Torreon, Mexico, who, after their acceptance of the message of missionaries, joined the Church, pulled themselves out of poverty by building a prosperous business, served in Church callings, sent children on missions and have influenced some 200 of their family and friends who have joined the Church.
"They are a shining and inspirational example of the miraculous power of missionary work," President Hinckley said.
He spoke of being at tombs of famous world figures and in military cemeteries in Manila, Philippines, and Rangoon, Burma (now Myanmar). He said he has reflected on the fruitlessness of war and on the oblivion of the grave. "What would we do without the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our Savior and Redeemer?" he asked.
President Hinckley summarized events of world history, including the deadly plague of the 14th century, the Reformation, the American Revolution and the eventual restoration of the gospel. "All of the history of the past has pointed to this season," he remarked. "The Almighty Judge of the nations, the Living God, determined that the times of which the prophets had spoken had arrived. Daniel has foreseen a stone which was cut out of the mountain without hands which rolled forth and filled the whole earth" (see Daniel 2:34-35).
He related an experience told by Elder Joseph Anderson, who lived to be 102 and thus became the longest-lived General Authority. Earlier in life, as secretary to President Heber J. Grant, Brother Anderson was at the Church president's bedside when he died. On the day before his death, President Grant asked, "Joseph, have I ever been unkind to you? Have I abused you in any way?" Brother Anderson replied that he had not, and President Grant responded, with tears on his cheeks, "Joseph, I am glad that you can say that I have never been unkind to you."
For "a touch on the lighter side," President Hinckley shared a story his father used to tell about a boy who came down to breakfast one morning and said to his father that he had been dreaming about the father. In the dream, he said, he was climbing a ladder to heaven, and on each rung, he had to write one of his sins. "The boy said, 'As I was going up, I met you coming down for more chalk."'
President Hinckley shared his experience of 40 years ago as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve visiting Vietnam when the war was raging. In Da Nang, he said, a meeting was held. "Men came in from the battle areas, stacked their rifles at the door of the building. Three of their number had been killed that previous week, and we held a memorial service for them and had a meeting. The Jews were to have the building that night — it was Saturday — and when they saw how many of us there were, and there were only about a dozen of them, they generously said, 'You go back in and use the building."' He spoke of later conducting a sacrament meeting with men who had not received the sacrament in months.
Near the end of his talk, President Hinckley recalled a conversation he had with Shimon Peres, former prime minister of Israel. Mr. Peres told a story he heard from a Muslim in which a rabbi asked two of his friends how they know the night is over and a new day has begun. One said it is when one can look into the east and distinguish a sheep from a goat. The other said it is when one can look into the east and distinguish an olive tree from a fig tree.
After they gave their responses, the rabbi thought for a time, then said, "When you look into the east and see the face of a woman and you can say, 'She is my sister,' and when you look into the east and see the face of a man and can say, 'He is my brother,' then you know the light of a new day has come."
Prayers at the devotional assembly were delivered by two of President Hinckley's grandchildren: Joseph Hinckley and Elizabeth Hinckley, who are students at BYU.
Music was performed by the university's combined choirs under the direction of Rosalind Hall. The choirs performed "Have I Done Any Good in the World Today?" The opening hymn sung by the congregation was the well-known children's song "Teach Me to Walk in the Light."
BYU President Cecil O. Samuelson, a member of the Seventy, conducted the devotional. In introducing President Hinckley, he noted that the Church president has exhausted many of those who have traveled with him on worldwide assignments as they "find it challenging to keep up with his fast-paced sense of urgency in performing the work of the Master."
E-mail to: rscott@desnews.com
