"He was an articulate leader and defender of our Christian principles and had a unique gift and way about him to communicate with people from all walks of life and all religious persuasions. ... Elaine and I feel deeply privileged to have known such a remarkable man and been touched in so many ways by his life and example."

• Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah: "I have been privileged to know President Hinckley since my early 20s, and the thing that has impressed me the most about him has been his humility. He always viewed his assignments, no matter how great or small, as opportunities to serve rather than positions of prominence.

"He stayed fully engaged and completely up to date right to the end, and his legacy will be remembered long after all the rest of us are gone."

• Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah: "I am saddened to learn of President Gordon B. Hinckley's passing. In my experience, he was a man of tremendous foresight, with a keen awareness of current events and of the challenges and opportunities facing the people of the LDS Church, of the state of Utah and of our country. I will remember him as a devout, compassionate spiritual leader who showed much warmth and humor. I express my sincere condolences to his family."

• Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, said his family has a longtime, personal relationship with President Hinckley, who served in the British (LDS Church) mission "where my grandfather was the mission president. President Hinckley was a missionary with my father (Adrian Cannon). President Hinckley introduced my mother to my father."

"Many people don't realize that President Hinckley was a great wit, and sometimes his wit could be biting, although never harmful," said Cannon. President Hinckley always used to tell the men in the Cannon family that they married above themselves. "He really liked my mother — and he was probably right — we all did marry above ourselves."

Hinckley and Adrian Cannon were strong missionaries, said Chris Cannon. "For many years, no Mormon missionaries preached in Hyde Park" — a famous free-speech area. "They would get beat up. But my father and President Hinckley started preaching in Hyde Park" — with nothing too harmful happening to them.

President Hinckley had a great clarity of vision, said Cannon. And one reason that GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney is doing so well, even though he is a Mormon, this election year, is because President Hinckley over many years publicly spoke on various TV shows and in newspapers about Mormons — showing the world the good side of his religion, said Cannon.

• Utah House Speaker Greg Curtis, R-Sandy: "I'll always remember the first time I met him and shook his hand. It was a great honor for me personally. This is a great loss not only to the LDS Church but to the state of Utah as well. He was a revered and respected leader."