Elder Packer describes President Hinckley's 'power of communication and charm'

President Boyd K. Packer, whose calling as an assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve coincided with President Gordon B. Hinckley's call to that body, eulogized him as a man who had "the power of communication and charm," a man who understood the word "family."

President Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve recalled President Hinckley as a young enthusiastic returned missionary who first "arrived on the scene" of church headquarters with instructions from his mission president to report to the First Presidency. A planned 15-minute meeting lasted for more than an hour and resulted in an invitation to serve as secretary to the new Church Mission Literature Committee.

"He was on his own to rustle about and find an empty office somewhere. A friend, whose father owned an office supply store, gave him an old, warped table. He put a block of wood under the short leg. He brought his own typewriter from home. He went to the supply room and asked for a ream of paper and was asked, 'Do you have any idea how many sheets of paper are in a ream?"'

He did — 500 sheets. Asked what he intended to do with such an amount of paper, he answered, "I am going to write on them one sheet at a time."

President Hinckley never stopped writing, President Packer said. The two served together in the Missionary Department.

President Hinckley's ability to communicate with people from all backgrounds was evident in interactions with people from far-flung lands. His cordial interactions with a Salt Lake visitor, Dr. Abdurrahman Wahid, who was in the state for eye treatment, resulted in an invitation to Jakarta when Wahid was elected president of Indonesia.

"The first message of condolence I received on the death of President Hinckley was from Alwi Shihab (an associate of Wahid)," said President Packer.

He also touched on the process of succession to the presidency of the church, calling it "a remarkable process." It is an orderly and consistent succession, guided by scripture, he said. "There is no aspiring for position, no avoiding the Lord's will."

President Hinckley did not seek calls and assignments, but did not shy away from them when they came, he said. In the growing church, the Lord provides leaders to meet needs, he said. "They are already there, just as Gordon B. Hinckley was there."

President Packer rejoiced in the reunion of President Hinckley with his beloved wife, Marjorie. "In the cemetery not far from here there is a headstone with Marjorie Pay Hinckley engraved on it and beside her now engraved the name of Gordon Bitner Hinckley."

The Bible tells that Mary learned at the mouth of the tomb where the body of Jesus had been laid, "He is not here, he is risen." In due course, the same will be said of the Hinckleys, President Packer said. "They are not here. They are risen together. "

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