As a "man for all seasons," President Hinckley was "our prophet, seer and revelator. He was an island of calm in a sea of storm. He was as a lighthouse to the lost mariner. He was your friend and my friend. He comforted and calmed us when conditions in the world were frightening."

President Hinckley "still lives," he said. "All that we knew about him continues. His spirit has simply gone home to that God who gave him life. Wherever I go in this beautiful world, a part of this cherished friend will always go with me."

On behalf of church members everywhere, "I offer our final farewell to our beloved prophet. ... God be with you till we meet again."

President Henry B. Eyring, who was named in October as second counselor in the First Presidency following the death of long-time counselor President James E. Faust, said in the past few days, he has remembered President Hinckley's voice when a difficult problem was brought to him.

"Time after time, he would quietly say something like this, with a pleasant smile, 'Oh, things will work out."'

His accomplishments all had one thing in common, President Eyring said: "Always they were to bless individuals with opportunity. And always he thought of those with the least opportunity, the ordinary person struggling to cope with the difficulties of everyday life and the challenge of living the gospel of Jesus Christ."

His optimism stemmed from unwavering faith in Christ and the power of his atonement, and he recognized that "all God asks of us is that we give our best," something President Hinckley did all his life. "He more than hoped that things would work out, he knew they would if he would go forward in faith."

President Hinckley loved young people, knew their weakness and the opposition they would face. He "knew that God will steel and fortify us all as we choose to take the gospel down into our hearts. ... He knew it was best to make that choice early, in the days of youth."

Those who followed his example are better for it, because he was "a true witness of Jesus Christ and a prophet of God."

President Boyd K. Packer, who served as acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve during President Hinckley's administration, said he first met President Hinckley more than 50 years ago. He remembered his colleague's ability to communicate, saying he began writing as a young man and never quit doing so.

Many times as he met with him in his office, President Hinckley was writing a talk in longhand.

He also remembered a time then-Elder Hinckley watched his son, as a young missionary, walk away from a meeting he had had during a trip on church business. "He said that to watch Richard walk away was the hardest thing he ever had to do. He wept as he told me about it. ... I had seen inside of Elder Gordon B. Hinckley," and such an occasion was rare, because "he has always been a very private person."