Father's life defined by growth, work
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The process of continual growth is the story of the Church, as well as the story of her father's life, said Virginia H. Pearce.
Speaking Feb. 2 at the funeral for her father, President Gordon B. Hinckley, Sister Pearce said: "At no time was this growth process seen more forcefully by us as a family than during the past four years, the capstone years of his life. Following the death of Mother, his grief was almost overwhelming. Characteristically, he acknowledged it — felt it, wept and mourned deeply. He went to the Lord with his tears, thus allowing the loss to carve out an even deeper place in his heart for compassion and dig an even deeper well of faith and trust in God. Then, with that increase in compassion and faith, he put on his shoes and went back to work — in every sense of the word."
Two years later — after facing a diagnosis of cancer — he repeated the pattern, said Sister Pearce. "Knowing his life was in the hands of the Lord, and feeling the power of the prayers of millions of you, he said that he felt compelled to do his part.... The result was a miraculous two-year extension of his life, when he could get up each morning, put on his shoes and go to work."
