Hero Friday!

Most of us know him by the great leader he was and by his faith. But I want to touch on the other reasons why he is such a hero to me! "A truly Chirst-like man!!"

President Gordon B. Hinckley

1910-2008

President Hinckley had a true love for people, member and non-members! He spent a large amount of time assisting others in times on need.

The Mormon Church has sent service workers and material relief to victims of over 150 disasters since 1986 alone. Service and aid are provided regardless of any consideration, including religion, ethnicity, and nationality, and is valued in the tens of millions of dollars annually. In the last 20 years, 200 million pounds of food, clothing, and medicine were donated in 147 countries, almost all to members of other faiths. Service is offered to countries where Mormon missionaries are banned by law. The Church is able to send relief quickly because there is no need to wait for donations or purchase supplies. Mormon Church members donate their service and resources regularly, and supplies are stored at Salt Lake and elsewhere, ready for distribution. The LDS Church also works with and donates extensively to other, "non-Mormon" charities. While the Church's specific humanitarian service programs are too numerous to list here, here's a few highlights:

*In 2001 the Church established what it calls the "Perpetual Education Fund." Low-rate college loans are made to impoverished students in the developing world, students that could not otherwise obtain a good education. Over 10,000 loans have been made to date, and the project is expanding.

*The Mormon Church played an important role in the 2004 Asian-tsunami service relief efforts. After working to address the population's immediate needs, the Church began working towards long-term progress, including livelihood restoration, health-care improvement (including operating-room construction, medical-equipment supply, and trauma counseling), and the reconstruction of community buildings (including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques). In all, millions of dollars have been invested in this type of long-term aid.
*The Mormon Church has an extensive vision program in the developing world, where service missionaries provide local health-care professionals with the necessary training and equipment to treat vision problems. Under this program, 20,000 individuals have received eye treatment at a cost of only one million dollars.
*Because world-wide only one percent of all who need wheelchairs have access to one, the Church has distributed over 100,000 chairs to the disabled in developing nations at a cost of $6.8 million.
*The Church has helped 1.8 million people in over 1,000 communities gain access to clean water at an average cost of only $2.50 per person. This service has included digging wells, providing water storage and delivery systems, and installing water purification systems. Mostly local labor was used, and local community leaders were trained in how to maintain the new facilities.
*At a cost of $3.5 million, the Mormon Church has sent service-missionary doctors to developing nations to train local health-care professionals in neonatal resuscitation. Neonatal deaths due to breathing problems cost one million infant lives a year.
*Working with international service partners (the American Red Cross, the United Nations Foundation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, United Nations Children’s Fund, World Health Organization, and International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies), the Church donated $3 million to work towards providing measles vaccinations for 200 million children in 40 African countries.
*Church members donated 10,000 days of service to assist Hurricane Katrina victims.
*The Church offers small-business loans to the impoverished in developing countries.

This list goes on and on. He also tried to bridge the gap between religions. He truly saw the BIGGER PICTURE!!!

Bishop Carolyn Tanner Irish, Episcopal Diocese of Utah

Hearing of President Hinckley's death this evening I find it difficult to imagine the world and its faith communities without him. Leading the LDS Church for decades, he has been its heart and soul to many millions — members and nonmembers alike. Like so many others, I have been deeply touched by his generous wisdom, kindly voice and delicate humor. In my youth and when I returned to Utah to lead another church, he has always been the quintessential “good neighbor.” I pray for his family and close friends who must feel this immediate loss so keenly. His journey here was long and his faith so strong, that his very presence made us all want to embrace life as fully and well as he did.


Larry King, Larry King Live, CNN

President Hinckley was more than a leader of a Church, he was a great friend. I have met very few people in my life who had his passion, his understanding or his wisdom. He will be sorely missed.


Rabbi Gary Greenebaum, American Jewish Committee

The American Jewish Committee mourns today the passing of Gordon B. Hinckley, the president and prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When a delegation of AJC leaders met with President Hinckley and the First Presidency in 2003, we found him to be wise and witty, proud of his Church’s positive history with the Jewish community and a good listener as well. President Hinckley spoke with pride about the creation of the Brigham Young University Center in Jerusalem, the successful negotiations conducted with the Israeli government in order to establish the Center and the fact that Rabbi David Rosen, AJC’s international director of Interreligious Affairs, had taught at the center from its inception. President Hinckley’s friendship toward the Jewish community will be missed.


Jon Meacham, Editor, Newsweek; Author, American Gospel

I met President Hinckley just once, in his offices in Salt Lake, but it was a memorable session. I was there with my Newsweek colleague Elise Soukup for a cover story commemorating Joseph Smith, and I was interested in discussing the idea of ongoing revelation. President Hinckley, I think, enjoyed the theological give-and-take, and was kind about my chances, as an Episcopalian, of reaching Heaven. What remains in my mind is a remark he made not only about his own role but about the great figures of prophecy through the ages. A prophet, he said, speaks to the times. That is at once an exalted and a humbling role — exalted in that so many heed him, and humbling in that religious believers hold that the times in which they live are transient, and that much of the human story is about seeking order and comfort beyond time and space. He was a charming and engaging man, an unlikely prelate — and all the more impressive for that.


Sri Ganesha Hindu Temple of Utah

On behalf of the Indian American Hindu community of Utah, please accept our heart-felt condolences at the passing of President Hinckley on January 27, 2008. President Hinckley was a giant among men. He guided the Church through times of change in our world while preserving the core values of kindness and respect for fellow man. Leading by example, he upheld family values, tolerance, patience and service to God in daily life. He also had immense respect for other religions and was supportive of the diversity of current day Utah. With his passing, the Utah Hindu community has lost a great friend. While celebrating his amazing life and offering prayers for him, his family and the entire Church membership, we look forward to continuing our friendship with the Church.

We thank thee oh God for a Prophet!!!