President Hinckley's funeral

January 28, 2008 we heard at our mission devotional that President Gordon B. Hinckley had passed away. At first I was saddened because he has been such a positive influence in my life. Then I realized that he won't have to be lonely for his wife anymore and that at 97 years old he was ready for a rest. We attended a devotional at the Salt Lake Temple January 30th with Elder Dallin Oaks. He told us that the last day he had seen President Hinckley come to work was the Wednesday before he died. He didn't feel well the next few days so he stayed home, then passed away on Sunday, January 27, 2008. He worked very hard and stayed alert until the end. He was so optimistic and often said, "It will work out!" February 1st we attended his viewing in the Conference Center. Among the displays of flowers there were 3 displays--one from his children, one from his grandchildren and one from his great grandchildren. That one had a note on it that said something like this--"Dear Grandpa, We will always be grateful, we will always be smart, we will always be clean, we will always be true, we will always be humble, we will always be prayerful because we love you!". President Hinckley had once given a talk and said in it something like--Sometimes you will get As but today I will give you some Bs, and then he talked about each "BE" item. On Saturday we were able to go to his funeral mainly because we are here on our mission. President Hinckley will be remembered for his hard work, optimism, kindness, humor, dedication, temple building, traveling to visit members, his love and many other wonderful qualities. Tomorrow morning (February 4, 2008) the apostles will announce the new first presidency. Sister Jean Larsen