I See… President Hinckley Moving On

Today’s funeral service for our beloved Prophet President Hinckley confirmed for all of us that he is moving on. Moving on to a long awaited reunion with his dear Marjorie and a life of moving forward in the spirit world in preaching the gospel with the same sense of purpose and meaning he exuded when he occupied his mortal tabernacle. His penchant for moving on, for looking forward, for envisioning a more bright future then putting his shoulder to the wheel to make it happen, should not surprise any member of the church aware of his remarkable life.

When Sariah, Laman, and Lemuel complained that father Lehi was a “visionary man,” it was meant to be an indictment of his foolishness through the worldly eyes of those who care too much about worldly things. Lehi, however, saw the other side of the visionary coin, and frankly admitted that he was a visionary man, because it allowed him to see “the goodness of God.”

President Hinckley was a visionary man. As a humble, dedicated servant of the Lord all his life, he was always looking forward to a brighter future. As a prophet, he possessed that divine talent to receive revelation and envision how the goodness of God could be realized in the future of worthy saints:

When he saw a bright future for millions of members around the world preparing themselves for eternal salvation by living the life worthy of a temple recommend, he sketched out the plan and laid out the strategy to raise a multitude of temples;

When he saw a bright future for thousands of third-world returning missionaries yearning to raise stable families in righteousness, he authorized a Perpetual Education Fund providing the opportunities to acquire the education that permitted them to climb out of poverty;

When he saw a bright future for the powerful spirit produced by large gatherings of saints, he directed the building of the large Conference Center that makes that blessing available to more of them.

He was always looking forward – that’s what prophets do. He invited us to be a part of that future.

We honor the dead in the way we live. The purpose of a righteous death is to inspire righteous living. How will we honor his death? Hopefully, by living our lives in more accordance with the gospel he taught as a humble representative of God. Personally, I plan to at least:

Try to get to the temple a little more often;

Educate myself more in those skills that will help me keep my family out poverty;

Gather with the saints more often in worship and prayer.

It’s time to move on now and look forward. I will be a better man because a better man moved on. How about you?