My Prophet

My Prophet

President Hinckley, our beloved prophet, passed away on January 27, 2008 at 7 pm. He died in his home surrounded by family, members of the Quorum of the Twelve, and Presidents Monson and Eyring of the First Presidency.

When I heard the news I stopped what I was doing abruptly. My mind flashed through the moments that linked my life forever with his. It was the fourth time in my life that the President of the Church had died. But this time was different. He was my prophet.

Presidents Lee and Kimball share my March 28th birthday. President Taylor’s stirring testimony in section 135 of the Doctrine & Covenants echoed feelings I held dear about Joseph the Prophet of this dispensation. David O. McKay was the Prophet of our parents’ youth. President Wilford Woodruff’s name graces the New Haven ward building we call home while here at Yale. President Ezra Taft Benson called my Grandfather in law Frederick Babbel to serve a mission in post war Germany. This was service and experience that shaped Grampy Babbel’s life and the lives of his posterity, including his granddaughter Elise – the most wonderful woman to walk the earth. Most of all, the Prophet Joseph who opened the dispensation we are called to serve in and whose question once again opened the doors of heaven so we could live in these great days. Whose life and service inspires me each day and whose testimony and teachings bring me closer to my ultimate goal. I have strong testimonies that each of these men was called of God to serve in that great calling. But only one prophet is my prophet.

President Hinckley was sustained as the 15th President of the Church on March 5th, 1995. One year later, I received my patriarchal blessing (March 5, 1996). Two years later I decided to serve a mission (March 29, 1997). Three years later I was standing in a baptismal font as Kim Jinhee and Hong Seungjung entered to be baptized (March 8th, 1998) just as Christ had almost 2000 years before. I had taught them that there was a prophet in these days. They were the first Koreans that I taught who accepted that God spoke to prophets again and Gordon B. Hinckley was the one who held the keys of the fullness of the gospel on the earth.

President Hinckley had a long history with the Church in Korea. He visited their many times and was among one of the first general authorities to do so. One day in Pusan, when he visited to reorganize the first Pusan Stake, he looked out among many of the worthy and strong Korean priesthood holders in the area. In the middle of the Stake Priesthood meeting he stopped his talk and pointed to a bright, meek, and somewhat shy CES teacher name Min Hyae Kee. He told Brother Min, that he would be the President of this Stake of Zion. The 29 year old was shocked, but heeded the call. Their relationship was strong for years after. In 1998, President Hinckley again called on Brother Min to be the President of the Korea Seoul West Mission, where I was serving. Among all of the amazing men in my life who I have had the wonderful pleasure of interacting with directly, only my father has had a greater effect on my life than President Min. I was moved to tears when during the closing montage of President Hinckley’s funeral service, there was a short clip of President Hinckley getting out of a car in Korea and embracing President Min. I think President Hinckley would have been proud that that moment was included. He has meant so much to the Korean Saints and to Brother Min Hyae Kee. I am forever grateful to this prophet of God that he called on that shy, faithful brother that day in Pusan and that Brother Min responded to the call. My life will never be the same because of it.

Finally, the most direct influence that President Hinckley had on my life was the day he was called to the office that Peter and Joseph and Brigham held before him. I was sitting in a 15 person van filled with sweaty 16 year olds who I called my teammates. Cups of tobacco-spit littered the floor, some of them still holding their waste. Over the radio came a brief news announcement that President Howard W. Hunter, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints had passed away. A couple teammates turned to me and asked me what that meant. First, I was shocked that they were even listening to the news instead of engaging in card games or sordid discussions. Second, I was proud that they knew I was a member of the Church, a topic that rarely if ever came up. But most importantly, at that moment a sure feeling came over me that President Hinckley would be the next President of the Church and the next prophet on the earth.

In the midst of all of this mess and chaos, I knew the answer to their question. I am still amazed that in that instance, in the middle of all of that filth, the Lord saw fit to touch my heart with the answer that there was a prophet alive today and that his name was Gordon B. Hinckley. At the time, I let the moment pass with only cursory acknowledgement. I did not know that this moment would shape my future as a servant in the Lord’s Kingdom. This was the first time that I would bear testimony that Gordon B. Hinckley was a prophet of God. I bore testimony of him every day for two years to the people in Korea that I love so dearly. He signed my mission call. The Lord, through this great messenger, called me to serve the people of Korea. He is my prophet.

Watching the funeral with my boy sleeping in my arms, my eyes filled with tears as I welcomed the emotions that came along with his passing. My only feeling of sorrow was that my children will only know about him in this life. He will be like those great prophets Mormon, George Albert Smith, and Heber J. Grant, among others, that we read about and feel assured that they were prophets. While contemplating that, President Monson stepped to the pulpit to share his feelings on his great friend. This only moved me deeper as I realized that Caleb would also have his prophet. I hope he can have a similar relationship with the prophet who calls him on his mission. I hope each of my children can share this experience. I hope to have the bind with President Monson and those that follow that I had with President Hinckley. But President Hinckley will always be my prophet.