Much Loved, Much Missed

"Let us all try to stand a little taller, rise a little higher, be a little better. Make the extra effort. You will be happier."

President Gordon B. Hinckley
“The Quest for Excellence,” Ensign, Sept. 1999

I will surely miss the simple pleas to do a little better. I have felt inspired as I've listened to him speak and encouraged to do little more with my life. I will miss his humor and wit and beautiful teachings. He served as President of my church for the last 12+ years and passed away yesterday at the age of 97. I appreciated his encouragement of education and learning and quest for excellence. His teachings of Jesus Christ and God. Truly he loved God -- and I felt that.

Just a few of my favorite quotes of his:

“This is my prayer for all of us—'Lord, increase our faith.' Increase our faith to bridge the chasms of uncertainty and doubt. . . . Grant us faith to look beyond the problems of the moment to the miracles of the future. . . . Give us faith to do what is right and let the consequence follow.”

“The Lord has placed a mandate upon us that we should study and learn, that we should acquire knowledge by study and by faith, that we should acquire knowledge of a secular nature, as well as the things of God (see D&C 88:118). Don’t do anything which would disqualify you from the opportunity of gaining an education. It is a very important part of your religion. Education is the key which unlocks the door of opportunity. If you gain that key, the world will bless you and compensate you according to what it considers to be your worth.”

“You parents who are fathers and mothers of children, treasure your children. Look to them with love. Lead them … with love. … They will follow after you if you do that. And I make you a promise that if you do so, the time will come when you will feel so grateful that you have done so, that you will get on your knees and thank the Lord for the precious children who have come to you and grown up under your direction”

For more information, go here:http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/