President Gordon B. Hinckley, 15th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was been laid to rest in the Salt Lake City Cemetery following Saturday's funeral service.

His casket was lowered into a gold-colored vault sitting next to the grave of his wife, Marjorie Pay Hinckley, who died in 2004.

President Hinckley, viewed by 13 million members of the LDS Church as a prophet, died at his home Jan. 27. He was 97 years old.

President Hinckley's son, Elder Richard G. Hinckley, who is a member of the church's Quorums of the Seventy, dedicated the grave during a five-minute graveside service.

Elder Hinckley prayed that President Hinckley's grave would be a sacred place, a hallowed place.

He prayed that it would "not be desecrated or harmed by those who would cause mischief or other damage" and added a plea that "it may be always a place of peace and reverence and love and respect and remembrance."

After the prayer was offered to dedicate the grave, a lone bagpiper approached playing "Danny Boy," one of President Hinckley's favorite songs. President Hinckley often spoke of that song, which he heard during a stop in Ireland when he was a young missionary en route to England. The piper also played "Amazing Grace" and the LDS hymn "Praise to the Man."

About 375 immediate and extended family members and church general authorities attended the service.

Family members and church leaders were visibly moved, and the men who served with President Hinckley saluted him as they filed past.

Following a family graveside gathering, hugs and handshakes were exchanged with the occasional smile, while family members added roses of various colors to the bouquets of red and white roses atop President Hinckley's casket.

Flower arrangements from President Hinckley's staff, counselors, family and grandchildren, the church's Quorum of the Twelve, the University of Utah, Brigham Young University and others flanked the green carpet next to the viewing area.

President Hinckley is buried not only atop native Utah soil but also with soil from Lancashire, England, where he served as a missionary nearly 75 years ago, said his first counselor, President Thomas S. Monson.

After the dedication of President Hinckley's grave, President Monson greeted each family member in the family viewing tent.

The Hinckleys' monument, constructed of excess granite from the Salt Lake Temple and Conference Center, stands about 7 feet tall, and its tiered, symmetrical shape is reminiscent of the Church Office Building, one of the obvious fixtures in Salt Lake City.

The northern face of the monument, located near the corner of 890 East and 405 North in the cemetery, bears the name Hinckley, and the reverse is engraved with his name and birth year, 1910, though 2008 has yet to be engraved.

The monument notes President Hinckley as the church's 15th president, and his name sits above that of his wife, who is described as a "beloved eternal companion."

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E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com