With millions of Latter-day Saints worldwide watching and listening live, LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley was eulogized Saturday — his red chair on the Conference Center dais empty and his casket resting in front of the pulpit handcrafted from a tree he planted decades ago.
To members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it seemed only fitting that the "house President Hinckley built" was the site for his funeral, the first to be held there since its completion in 2000. He was remembered by his daughter and fellow general authorities as a giant of a man who built large on a legacy of faith that spans generations for his family.
Thousands braved the cold downtown before 9 a.m. to get tickets for the service after a two-day viewing in which nearly 58,000 people filed through the Conference Center's Hall of the Prophets. The last person in line passed the casket at 11:25 p.m. Friday, waiting between four to five hours to say farewell.
Virginia Hinckley Pearce told those assembled her father felt deeply the hand of ancestral faith, with three generations of forebears who had sacrificed and lived for their faith, and three generations now living who look to his legacy as part of their own.
Quoting him, she said he realized "the tremendous obligation that was mine to pass on all that I had received as an inheritance from my forebears to the generations who have now come after me."
Underscoring the feeling church members have for him, she said, "Our father was adorable. And he was a marvel to watch. Disciplined and courageous, with an unbelievable capacity for work, he believed in growth."
Such continual growth "is the story of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that he loved to tell, as well as the story of his own life. That kind of growth requires faith, courage, discipline and hard work — partnered with the gracious hand of the Lord."
She thanked church members, fellow general authorities, medical personnel and his staff and personal secretary, Don Staheli, for making it possible for him to fulfill his responsibilities as president.
President Thomas S. Monson, who presided at the service, said it was difficult to recall a time when he and President Hinckley had not known each other, having served side by side in the Quorum of the Twelve and First Presidency for more than 44 years.
When traveling together once on an assignment in southern Utah, he noticed that President Hinckley was wearing paper clips as cuff links. Realizing the situation, President Monson complimented him and they laughed, then he offered his extra set to his colleague.
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."
President Henry B. Eyring, who was named in October as second counselor in the First Presidency following the death of longtime 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."
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.
His ability to communicate was legendary, he said. "I have regarded this power of communication and charm in President Hinckley as brotherly love and humility. It was always apparent whether he was with laborers on a dusty road, or a banquet in a presidential palace." Elder Earl C. Tingey, of the Presidency of the Seventy, spoke of the church leader's "footprints in the sand," as an example to all of personality traits they can follow.
Perhaps his most important footprint was his love of people. "Thank you for letting us know you loved us. We are better because of you."
Bishop H. David Burton said President Hinckley was the only prophet young Latter-day Saints have ever known, and lauded their love for him when they used text messages after his death on Sunday urging each other to wear Sunday best to school on Monday as a tribute uniquely their own.
"To use their vernacular, he was awesome! He connected! Because of him, they know what it means to 'stand a little taller,' 'do your best,' 'raise the bar' and what the 'six B's' are: be grateful, be smart, be clean, be true, be humble, be prayerful."
President Hinckley's daughter, Kathleen H. Walker, closed the meeting with prayer, remembering that her father "has worn out his life in thy service. ... May the things we have learned remain with us forever ... as we continue to move forward in every way to bring honor to his life and to his name."
Formality and decorum were evident during the services for those gathered in the Conference Center, who watched on the large monitors as members of the Quorum of the Twelve lined the entryway into the huge auditorium as the casket was wheeled in and moved out following the service.
Usually smiling and animated as they enter during general conference, his fellow general authorities and family members were solemn, some dabbing at tears, as his casket was set in place for the service.
Following the service, the congregation stood as President Monson and President Eyring left the dais first, followed by President Packer and the rest of the Quorum of the Twelve in order of seniority. Members of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, as well as those in the congregation, waved white handkerchiefs as President Hinckley's casket was wheeled from the building, then used them to dab at tears in a final farewell to the leader they loved.
President Monson acknowledged the technological presence of millions via satellite, and noted the presence of government and civic leaders, in particular Mike Leavitt — former Utah governor and secretary of Health and Human Services as a representative of President and Mrs. Bush. He read the Bush's message of sympathy to open the service.
As the service ended, family members and general authorities followed the casket out of the Conference Center, as those assembled stood in tribute.
Once inside the hearse, President Hinckley's casket made its way out of the Conference Center's underground parking garage, traveling south on West Temple, turning east on South Temple where many leaving the service waved handkerchiefs and canes at his cortege, and others gathered in scattered pockets further east stood in respect as the hearse passed.
The procession moved east to N Street and then north to the Salt Lake City Cemetery, where a short, private service was held before interment.
While the cortege was traveling, several hundred members and others stayed behind in the Conference Center and listened to the graveside service via a live audio and visual feed. As a bagpipe player drifted away from the gathering at the cemetery while playing "Praise to the Man," and as the music receded, those in the Conference Center began to spontaneously rise to attention.
They stayed that way for several moments. They then began drifting quietly toward the exits.
E-mail: carrie@desnews.com