President Hinckley passed away tonight

[_Boaz & Lidia]

for some reason I don't think this will be news outside of Utah - maybe Idaho and Arizona but not likely Iowa, New York or California.

You might be surprised how many Mormons there are in California.

Officially in the books is around 700,000.

If we go with average attendance percentages of roughly 40% then there would be just under 300,000 active, and I am sure that is being generous.

While that is a big number to a paltry state population of Utah, it is very very insignificant when compared to the over population of the state of California at 34 MILLION.

[_DonBradley]

I'm on the phone with my mom. We were just talking about President Hinckley, and she suddenly said, "You're the only person I know who's stood that close to the Prophet." "Huh?" I responded. She repeated, "You're the only person I know who's stood that close to the Prophet." Then I remembered. I have a picture of me with Gordon B. Hinckley. He attended 'my' seminary graduation because his granddaughter was in that same seminary graduating class. So, my mom, being the intrepid photographer she is, buttonholed the president (then a counselor), and asked if she could take a picture of me with him. Though he appeared uncomfortable with celebrity status, he obliged; and <snap> there's a picture of me all chummy with the future prophet. I'll have to dig it up.

don

[_Inconceivable]

I think the sincerity of the General Authorities would make a fine topic for a separate thread. So, Inconceivable, if you'd care to answer on such a thread, I'd be curious to hear why you think Gordon B. Hinckley would have been uniquely positioned to know that the LDS church is not what it purports to be.

Don

Not interested, Don.

I am not grieving for him that he has died. I don't miss him. I appreciate that others do.

I am grieving in a different way. I thought he was my friend all of my life. The things I discovered over the past several years placed a great burden on my relationship with him. I feel personally betrayed by him. At one time, I would have died for him.

My family has been all but abandoned and we have been grieving this loss for some time now. He could have done something about this but he perpetuated the lies of his fathers. Surely he knew.

He was not a prophet.

If it was claimed he was merely a president, he would still have much of my respect.

(insignificant as I am in the scheme of things)

[_DonBradley]

You're interested in asserting that he was insincere, but not in backing that up? Considering what kind of evidence you likely have for this assertion, this is probably for the best.

[_Yoda]

Now that everyone has had a chance to read the news, I'm moving this to Celestial. It seems more appropriate. Liz

[_moksha]

http://newsroom.LDS.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/beloved-church-president-gordon-b-hinckley-dies-at-97

I feel really sad about this. Of course he warned us of his frail health two years ago, but still I feel like crying too.

[_Ren]

I think Hinckley's heart was in the right place. I kinda liked him.
A sad day...

[_Ray A]

for some reason I don't think this will be news outside of Utah - maybe Idaho and Arizona but not likely Iowa, New York or California.

Only hours later and it has already reached the Brisbane Times (Australia):

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/wo ... 19710.html

[_Blixa]

for some reason I don't think this will be news outside of Utah - maybe Idaho and Arizona but not likely Iowa, New York or California.

I think with the increased attention on Mormonism because of the Romney campaign, Hinckley's death may be getting wider coverage. Or maybe its a by-product of the internet and faster media being in place now, as compared with the passing of previous Mormon presidents. The New York Times had it on the banner of its website almost instantly, later in the night it was on the front page with a photograph, now its been moved down to "other news," at the bottom of the front page. The BBC website picked it up a bit later, running it on the front page, but as just a small headline in the side bar. I'm sure other major outlets had it fast via AP wire services.

I just looked at the NYT coverage online. Its what one would expect: a repectful, sombre bio/obit. It mentions his PR background, his efforts to build more temples through constructing smaller versions, the proclamation on the family and its insistence on eternal gender, the church's backing of anti-same-sex-marriage legislation. It also mentioned that he came up with the idea of having films in the temple ceremony, something I don't know if I knew or not.

An interesting side note---In a short, two paragraph background blurb on Mormonism that was among the links offered at the bottom of the article, the NYT's wrote:

Among the major differences with traditional Christianity, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as the Mormon Church is officially called, do not believe in the concept of the unified Trinity; the Book of Mormon is considered sacred text, alongside the Bible and two other texts; and Mormons believe that God has a physical body and that human beings can eventually become like God.

It will be interesting to see how the next president of the LDS church deals with various element's of Hinckley's legacy.

[_MishMagnet]

I feel happy for President Hinkley that he was able to live such a long, good life. He was loved by many and will no longer have to live without his companion. We should all hope for such upon our own passing.