We thank Thee, O God, for a prophet

Our dear prophet, Gordon B Hinckley died Sunday night. Charles and I didn't find out about it until the next morning and both of us were sad upon hearing the news. He has been the prophet the whole time I have been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and I have grown to love him dearly. I have seen him speak more than a few times and I will never forget the feeling as the whole congregation stood to greet him as he entered the room. The spirit of God burning in my heart testifying to me that he was truly a prophet of God! I am grateful to have prophets and apostles living today, just as there were anciently, to guide our church so that we can know God's will for us!

Of all the things he has done for the church I think the one that has influenced my life the most was his revelation on the building of small temples. Before this revelation there had only been the construction of large temples which took years to build, complete with laundry facilities, cafeterias and just in general, big. With the new revelation to build smaller temples more could be built faster and in more places. And because of that I was able to go to the open house of the Redlands CA Temple with my family upon returning home from my mission. And what was even greater was the announcement of the Newport Beach Temple where Charles and I were married and sealed to one another and our children for eternity!

We will also be blessed by the Columbia South Carolina Temple (another small temple) when we move to Savannah.