'We shall not see one like him again'

With his empty chair on the Tabernacle dais a stark reminder that death doesn't discriminate, Elder Neal A. Maxwell was eulogized Tuesday on Temple Square by the men who knew him best: top leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and his son, Cory.

It has been 10 years and five months since a member of the church's Quorum of the Twelve has died, and when Elder Maxwell passed away July 21 at his home after a protracted battle with leukemia, the men who have become more than mere friends lost one of their own.

"For years we have lived together in love," prayed Elder Russell M. Nelson, a fellow apostle who opened the funeral service. "For days, we have shared tears."

President Boyd K. Packer, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve, said during the decade-plus without a death in the group, quorum members have "grown in unity, experience and age," exhibiting a "spirit of dedication and brotherhood" that its members have mentioned periodically in public.

He told of the last meeting the quorum had before Elder Maxwell died, noting how, as he encountered 98-year-old Elder David B. Haight , Elder Maxwell raised his cane toward his friend in a fencing gesture, "on guard!" Elder Haight responded, and "there was a fencing match of sorts. It broke off without bloodshed on either side," President Packer said, smiling at the memory.

President James E. Faust, second counselor in the First Presidency, remembered Elder Maxwell's example of faith and dedication, particularly as his illness progressed and his suffering increased.

"He spoke often of the quality of meekness. In his own suffering, he came to a total discipleship purged of any personal ego," he said.

Elder Maxwell was first diagnosed with leukemia in 1996. Treatment led to remission until 1998, when he relapsed. President Faust said he served as an inspiration not only for his fellow apostles and church leaders, but for hundreds of cancer patients who were the recipients of his personal kindness and caring.

President Thomas S. Monson, first counselor in the First Presidency, called him a "giant among men. . . . To those who heard his sermons, read his writings or came within the scope of his influence, Neal Maxwell became a part of the family."

He recalled a note Elder Maxwell gave him years ago during a church meeting they were presiding over, which said simply, "Tom, I love you. Neal."

As one whose faith and dedication to God carried him forward despite growing health challenges, Elder Maxwell "accomplished more in these last eight years than most men do in a lifetime," said LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley. He praised Elder Maxwell's signature speaking and writing style.