Since we're all thinking of Pres. Hinckley, I thought I would contribute my memories of him. When I was a missionary, I met Pres. Hinckley. He was one of several general authorities to come to the Hill Cumorah Pageant in the summer of 1974 (I know, I know. I'm officially old.) Pres. Romney, who was a counselor in the First Presidency, also came that year. He was with his wife and several grand-daughters. He wanted to be driven around and since he had granddaughters with him, my companion and I were involved in that. We also got to eat dinner with him, but that's a story for another time. Pres. Hinckley, who I think was one of the senior members of the Twelve at that time, was totally different. He just wanted to have the use of a mission car and to be turned loose. He was very independent and energetic. One morning, my companion and I were driving down Canandaigua Rd. toward the Hill Cumorah. We looked in the lane to our right and there was Pres. Hinckley, driving a Gremlin. Can't believe the Church actually let people drive those. Anyway, it was pretty funny. For those of you who don't know what a Gremlin is, here's a photo:

One other thing I remember from that occasion is Pres. Hinckley's remarkable memory. As he mingled with the missionaries and they introduced themselves, he would say, "Oh yes, I believe I recently met your parents in Honolulu (or wherever.)" His grasp of who many of the missionaries were was truly remarkable.



If you haven't read this article from the Deseret News yet, I highly recommend it. It's very well written and very appropriate: http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695248628,00.html.