Amidst today's conflicts and turbulence, "our Heavenly Father provided for us 'a man for all seasons,"' President Thomas S. Monson declared Feb. 2 in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City.

Photo by Scott G. Winterton/Deseret Morning News

President Thomas S. Monson speaks at the funeral of President Gordon B. Hinckley in the Conference Center. President Monson and President Henry B. Eyring, seated on the stand, were counselors to President Hinckley.

"His name: President Gordon B. Hinckley."

Speaking during funeral services for the 15th president of the Church, President Monson, who served as first counselor to President Hinckley in the First Presidency, presided over and conducted proceedings viewed by approximately 16,000 people in the center and broadcast via satellite in 69 languages to more than 6,000 Church buildings globally, as well as over BYU Television and via Internet streaming on www.lds.org.

Speaking tenderly as he paid tribute to his "cherished friend and colleague," President Monson called President Hinckley "a giant — a giant of knowledge, of faith, of love, of testimony, of compassion, of vision."

With his familiar warm tone, President Monson, who has served as a counselor to three Church presidents, declared concerning President Hinckley: "I cannot adequately express how much I miss him. It's difficult to recall a time when he and I did not know each other.

"We were friends long before either one of us was called to be a General Authority of the Church, and we have served side by side for over 44 years in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and in the First Presidency. We have shared much over the years — heartache and happiness, sorrow and laughter.

"Since his passing on Sunday, I have reflected on some of the countless experiences we have had together. I share with you just a few."

President Monson reflected on some of those experiences, some humorous, some spiritual. In the past few years, President Monson said, "we've all enjoyed observing President Hinckley with his cane, walking to his seat in the Conference Center while waving to the crowd or using it to tap someone on the shoulder."

Explaining that he and President Hinckley had gone to the same doctor for years, President Monson related: "During one of my visits a couple of 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.... 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!"'

Then, sharing one final experience, "a simple act which has touched me deeply," President Monson described how every Thursday morning the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve meet in the Salt Lake Temple and are driven by carts underground from the Church offices parking lot to the temple. During the winter months, President Hinckley always wore a coat and hat. As the cart passed under Main Street to the confines of the temple, the Church president seemed instinctively to know when to remove his hat.

"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."

Reminding the congregation that President Hinckley "was our prophet, seer and revelator," President Monson described him as "an island of calm in a sea of storm. He was as a lighthouse to the lost mariner. He was your friend and my friend. He comforted and calmed us when conditions in the world were frightening. He guided us undeviatingly on the path which will lead us back to our Heavenly Father."

Since all who wanted to greet the Church president personally could not come to him, he went worldwide to them, as long as he was able, President Monson said. "He was a prophet to the people. Not neglected were the children who flocked to his side, nor did he overlook the parents of those precious ones.

"President Hinckley has truly been a prophet for our time. It was said of the Master that He 'increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man' and 'went about doing good,... for God was with him.' President Hinckley has devoted his life to doing good, and God has surely been with him."

Saying that President Hinckley has returned to "that God who gave him life," President Monson declared, "Wherever I go in this beautiful world, a part of this cherished friend will always go with me."

President Monson then shared a quotation from one of President Hinckley's general conference addresses, during which the Church president said: "God be with you till we meet again, my beloved associates."

In conclusion, President Monson added: "On behalf of each one of us, my brothers and sisters, I offer our final farewell to our beloved prophet: 'Gordon, God be with you till we meet again."'

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